I’m spending a couple of days in Milwaukee this week, and I decided to drag my family downtown for lunch yesterday. My sisters recommended the Milwaukee Ale House so we decided to check it out. They mostly said they liked the food (which wasn’t anything special) and were sort of “whatever” about the beer, which turned out to be very, very good. My wife and I shared a flight of the house-brewed beers. They brought us an Orange Blossom Cream Ale, an Ulao Wit, a Louie’s Demise, a Weizen Bock, and Imperial Black Ale and a Sheepshead Stout (this list lines up with the pick above starting on the upper left and working to the right, top row, then bottom row). I won’t go into detail on each one, except to say that they were all really good, which is a bit of a surprise.
Usually when you go to a place that brews its own beer they have one or two selections that are alright, a couple that taste like middling homebrew and a couple that are a sour mess. That wasn’t the case here. Each beer in the flight was well made, true to its style and something that I’d order again – they all tasted fresh, smartly conceived and expertly brewed. They even finished very neatly and with confidence, a weak spot for many house-brewed beers, which tend to meander into mediocrity as the flavor fades.
Unfortunately I couldn’t go nuts as I was piloting the vehicle yesterday, but I look forward to going again and trying some of their other selections. They also had a well chosen selection of regional beers, so there’s something for every beer geek in the group. If you happen to find yourself in Milwaukee, you shouldn’t miss the Milwaukee Ale House. I feel like an idiot that this was the first time I made it there after several visits to the 414.
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Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Sounds good. I’ll have to try it out next time I’m back in the area. (Don’t get back there much anymore.) What was the Orange Blossom Cram Ale like?
Usually for Jim it’s Cram n Whale.
This place sounds great, some day I’ll have to get to Milwaukee. I love it when you stumble on a place and it turns out to be a gem. That’s why I try to get in to the breweries and brew pubs wherever I travel to, even if it’s slightly out of the way, you never know what you’ll find. I agree with you that for there are quite a few breweries out there with “filler” beers in their line-ups, it’s rare to find a place where every single brew is outstanding.
Well stop on by Milwaukee boy and I’ll buy you a few rounds here in Chicago. Only 90minutes away! I will try this place as well.
Thanks, John. If we were driving home, I’d take you up on it. Unfortunately the pilot won’t stop in the Windy City!
Slacker! Safe travels and remember to stock some New Glarus for the trip home.
Hey John;
Having been born and raised in the windy city (Humboldt Park, 1800N/2600W–Cubs territory), I’m very interested in hearing of any good new brews you find there. When I was growing up, Heilemann’s Old Style was about as adventurous a brew as one could find there. Most folks I knew did CC w/ a Hamm’s chaser–not exactly avant-garde.
We were just in Milwaukee and hit Lakefront and Sprecher but missed the Ale House. Will definitely have to check it out next time we roam that way.
I did Lakefront last year and was disappointed. Love the Bridge Burner in the bottle, but was underwhelmed by what I had there.