Milwaukee Brewing Increase Wheat Review

Name: Milwaukee Brewing Increase Wheat
Style: Berliner Weisse
ABV: 3.1%
IBUs: 5

Though the summer seasonal beer releases are starting to fade away, I still do have a beer or two in the fridge that are technically summer seasonals. The beer I'll be looking at today is Milwaukee Brewing's Increase Wheat. It's a Berliner Weisse style ale that is brewed with Gooseberries. For the record, I've never actually consumed Gooseberries before and have no idea what they taste like. In fact.........

I don't think I've ever reviewed an actual Berliner Weisse on this blog ever. That's not to say that I haven't had them before, I had the Schell's North Country Brunette & New Glarus' Berliner Weisse but I wasn't taking notes at the time (or taking photos for that matter.)

Appearance - Foggy pale yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation climbing up the sides of the glass. The head is fairly thin for the most part with some very sparse lacing along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Picking up on some light sour notes with hints of berry sweetness (which I'm going to assume is the gooseberries). As such, I'm also getting some malted wheat in here as well.

Taste - Getting some moderate sourness upfront paired with some malted wheat, the former of which gains momentum in the back of the palate which consists of some mild gooseberry (I think) and white grape sweetness. As for the aftertaste, it's fairly dry save for a mild indeterminate tartness.

This is definitely not the sourest nor the most complex Berliner Weisse I've had. At the same time, it's tolerable, drinkable and possesses a decent flavor though this probably wouldn't be my first choice as far as the Berliner Weisse style goes. Try a pint and decide for yourself.

Milwaukee Brewing Increase Wheat - 7.5/10

Milwaukee Brewing Booyah Review

Name: Milwaukee Brewing Booyah
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.5%

So a funny thing happened to me last night: I unknowingly started a reviewing a beer that I already reviewed, which was Milwaukee Brewing's Hop Happy. I had the article entire proofread and everything before I looked at the bottle and realized the name looked awfully familiar. It was then I looked back at my history and realized that I had this back in May. For the first time, ever I had to scrap a review.

Well it's time to move on and I'm doing so with Milwaukee Brewing's Booyah Saison Style Ale. Why such the in-your-face name? Rather than try to explain the story behind the name, I'm just going to cut and paste from the brewery's website:

We love Wisconsin. Our history and culture give us inspiration for brewing and naming beers.
Since this is a Belgian-style beer, the Flemish-Belgian history of the Green Bay area flows with stories like a keg with a bung blowout.

A very social cultural staple is the Booyah, which is a 55 gallon drum-over-fire stew that is cooked using an “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality, and tended by cooks over a few brews.

.....makes sense to me! Let's find out how this is!

Booyah pours a very cloudy dark orange color with no visible carbonation. The head takes on a very thin, almost-translucent appearance.

The nose has some spices, pilsner malts and usually strong lemon zest. I'm also getting some pale malts and some funkiness that resides in the back. It smells like a saison with just a touch of Brett.

The flavor starts out with some mild Belgian Yeasts with some strong lemon zest. I'm also getting some moderate Brett funkiness, a bit of malted wheat, tart white grapes, and pilsner-pale malts. As for the aftertaste, it's surprisingly dry with just a hint of tartness and light yeastiness. The description says there is rye used in this beer but I'm not really picking up on any of it with the exception of the nose. The best way to describe the taste is that it's like a Saison and a Berliner Weiss.

As you have have guessed, the taste is a lot more complex than the nose leads you to believe. It may seem a bit too sour for those looking for a traditional saison but I think this works quite well for what it is. Your best bet is to have a glass and decide for yourself.

Milwaukee Brewing Booyah - 8/10

Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Demise Review

Name: Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Demise
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5.5%

It's been a few months since I've reviewed anything from Milwaukee Brewing Company, but thankfully I'm looking to make up lost time by reviewing their self-proclaimed flagship beer Louie's Demise, which is the brewery's Amber Ale.

Now I had a variation of this beer last year called Louie's Resurrection, which was a more imperialized version of their Amber Ale but aged in bourbon barrels. Sadly I didn't take notes at the time, let alone take a photo of the said beer. Hopefully in the near future, I can do a proper review of that beer. For the time being, this will have to do.

Louie's Demise pour a clear red color with no visible carbonation. The head is quite foamy and the lacing is abundant.

The aroma is mainly toffee malts, a bit of roasted barley, some chocolate notes and some bitter hoppiness.

The flavor is toffee & chocolate malts, roasted barley, and bitter hops. Aftertaste is mild roastiness but otherwise dry.

Louie's Demise is a fairly straight-forward amber ale and the flavor really leaves something more to be desired, it almost makes you wish that you were drinking something better. It plays it safe with the flavor but it gets the job done and but it's certainly not one of the better amber ales I've had recently.

Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Demise - 6/10

Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor Review

Name: Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor
Brewed by: Miller Brewing Company
Style: Malt Liquor
ABV: 5.6%

Every once in a while, I like to look at beers that have either a questionable (at best) reputation or something that I very well know will taste bad. That's why for this review, I'm changing things up a bit by tackling a beer that has a fairly low opinion in the craft beer community, to put it mildly. That's right, I'm reviewing Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor from the Miller Brewing Company; All of it contained in a 40oz "shatter-proof" green plastic bottle that I picked up for $2.

Now some of you may be wondering why exactly I'm reviewing this? The same reason why I review beers like Molson XXX and Miller Fortune: I review it so you don't have to deal with the experience of drinking a bad beer.

And in case you're wondering: No, I didn't drink the entire thing.

Mickey's pours a very clear pale yellow color with a soapy white head. There's no lacing to speak of on the sides of the glass and the visible carbonation is quite high.

The nose consists mainly of cardboard, pale malts, cooked adjuncts and a very mild but noticeable skunkiness. I'm not picking up on any boozy scents which I'm actually pretty surprised about.

The flavor is mainly just pale malts, some booziness, cardboard, cooked veggies, adjuncts like rice and cereal grains and a fairly dry aftertaste. The skunky flavor does start to become a bit more noticeable as it warms up. The body is fairly light but, as expected, it's got some fairly high carbonation.

To it's credit this isn't as bad as I expected it to be. At the most it's like a less intense version of Bud Light Platinum. Don't get me wrong, it still does taste pretty rank and there's no getting around that but at the same time, I've had much worse than this. My advice though would be to spend an extra dollar or so on a bomber of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale instead; You'll get much more of your money's worth with that.

Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor - 3.5/10

Lakefront Beer Line Review

Name: Lakefront Beer Line
Style: Barleywine
ABV: 12.5%

It's been a long time it seems since I had a barleywine, after all spring seasonals tend not the be heavier in alcohol content. That's why I bring to you Beer Line, the latest barleywine offering from Lakefront Brewery. From what I gathered, this actually hasn't been brewed for quite a few years and Lakefront only recently brought it back.

It seems to me that Lakefront also has a thing for brewing organic barleywines as this is the second one I've had from this brewery; The first being Chad Barleywine, which was released under the "My Turn" series.

Beer Line pours a dark hazy red color with a thin filmy head. The visible carbonation is on the milder side and the lacing is somewhat sparse.

The nose has a strong caramel malt base with some strong citrus hops, vanilla, some mildly roasted malts and an encompassing yeast-doughy scent. It smells a bit like bourbon almost!

The flavor is also very malt forward with notes of caramel, yeasts and some citrus hops that make themselves more known as it warms up. As a whole it's very similar to the nose, though I can't help but feel that this should be barrel aged. There is also no booziness here and considering the ABV, that's quite an accomplishment!

The palate possess a very heavy body but with some mild carbonation. The overall texture is quite smooth, which makes this very easy to drink.

Beer Line is an excellent example of how to do an English-style Barleywine right. It's got a nice flavor profile and it's extremely easy to drink. My only gripe about this beer is that it had the beginnings of a nice bourbon barrel-aged flavor and I feel it really could've benefited from that. With that said, Beer Line is still definitely worth checking out, especially if you are into the barleywine style!

Lakefront Beer Line - 9/10

Lakefront Big Easy Imperial Maibock Review

Name: Lakefront Big Easy Imperial Maibock
Style: Maibock
ABV: 7.6%

After being in absentia for a few days, I feel it's time to get back to doing reviews. It's been a long time since I have reviewed anything from Lakefront Brewery. In fact, now that I mention it, the last time I reviewed anything from Lakefront was from back in July of 2013; Where does the time go?

Anyways, tonight I have Lakefront's Big Easy Imperial Maibock. While looking it up, I found out that it is sometimes referred to as "Big Easy Lager" and the ABV is listed from 6% all the way up to 7.1% (per RateBeer and BeerAdvocate respectively). However, Lakefront's website lists it at 7.6%, which is what I will be going with.

Big Easy pours a hazy orange color with a thin white head. The visible carbonation is very mild in appearance and I'm not getting any lacing along the sides of the glass. Doesn't look too lager-y from my point of view.

The nose starts out with a solid malty base with notes of caramel, sweet honey and light floral hops.

The flavor also isn't too different from the aroma, consisting mainly of caramel, sweet honey and light floral hops. All of which are backed up by a solid malty backbone.

The overall palate is moderately weighted and lightly carbonated, making this a pretty easy-to-drink and refreshing beer.

All and all, this is a solid Maibock-style beer. It doesn't do anything terribly different as far as Maibocks are concerned but I've certainly much worse than this. I'd say this one is worth checking out at the very least if you get the chance to do so.

Lakefront Big Easy Imperial Maibock - 8/10

Miller Fortune Review

Name: Miller Fortune
Style: Amber/Vienna Lager
ABV: 6.9%

Today I have a special review lined up and that is Miller Fortune from The Miller Brewing Company, which was just released within the past month or so. This is MillerCoors' answer to Bud Light Platinum and, more namely, Budweiser Black Crown. Both of the latter beers mentioned have a higher-than-normal ABV for a marco-lager.

About a month or so before it's release, I was seeing posters for this beer in stores everywhere; Like it was the newest upcoming release from Michael Bay. I have never seen such a huge push for in-store marketing like there was for Miller Fortune.

Now before I start, I'm going to break my normal rule of keeping a neutral tone and just throw this out here: I did not like this beer and anyone who is curious to try it out should avoid this at all costs.

Miller Fortune starts out with a clear amber color with a amount of high carbonation. The head is rather fizzy which settles to a small filmy appearance and there is no lacing left behind.

The nose itself is actually quite promising with Munich and pale malts, mild hoppiness, barley, caramel with some minor but noticeable boozy notes. Booziness aside, this actually has the aroma that is fairly typical of a Vienna Lager.

Flavor-wise, it's a much different story. In what I can only describe as "bizarre," the flavor is mixture of cardboard, barley, metallic rust, very strong booziness and Munich Malts. It's almost like they made a malt liquor with munich malts

The body is fairly lightweight but, as expected, the carbonation is very heavy and intense. As you can probably guess, this does not sit well on the palate.

I may not be a huge fan of the regular offerings of Bud, Miller, or Coors but if someone offers it to me at a party, I would not turn it down. Miller Fortune has the rare distinction of venturing into Molson XXX territory as being one of the beers that I would turn down at a party if I was offered it for free. You aren't missing anything by having this, trust me.

Miller Fortune - 1/10

Horny Goat Exposed Review

Name: Horny Goat Exposed
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 4.9%

I recently got a bottle of beer from a co-worker of mine to try out to see if I like it. It's from a company called Horny Goat Brewing but it's owned by a company called Rex Beverage Holdings. From what I have gathered, their primary beers are the Horny Goat Brand but I could be mistaken.

I recall seeing Horny Goat in a few stores while I was in college. A couple years ago when I was still in school, I remember it being on sale at Zipp's Liquor near the back of the store right next to the malt liquor cooler and thought nothing of it.

Now thanks to my Co-worker, I now have the opportunity to try out their Exposed Cream Ale. From what I understand, alot of beer made by Horny Goat rely heavily on double entandrés and if you need to look up what that means, you're probably not old enough to read this blog.

Exposed pours a hazy yellow color with a fizzy white head and high amount of visible carbonation. Since there's no lacing, it has a very clean finish.

The nose starts things off with some pale malts and grassy notes.In the back are barley and cereal grains with a cardboard like quality.

Flavor has a maltier grassy taste but is otherwise the same as the nose with a less pronounced cardboard flavor.

Body is light and moderately carbonationed, and it comes across as rather crisp and refreshing.

If you were to take Spotted Cow and mix it with a Budweiser, this would be pretty close to that. It's not as bad as it could've been, but I wouldn't buy this. The good thing about this? I got this for free.

Horny Goat Exposed - 5/10

Milwaukee's Best Premium Review

Name: Milwaukee's Best Premium
Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company
Style: Pale Lager
ABV: 4.3%

The name of the beer is Milwaukee's Best Premium.....or as we called it in college: The Beast.  Yes, I recall many times with The Beast. Every once in a great while we would tire of Miller Lite and Natural Light and seek out some Milwaukee's Best. You see to a 21 year old college student, Milwaukee's Best was considered ”high end” due to the price we would have to pay at the various University of Minnesota campus liquor stores.

Of course, all of that changed when my old roommate from Wisconsin introduced me to New Glarus Spotted Cow. Now that I'm a few years older, I've decided to take a look at the beer that helped shape my college experience.

Milwaukee's Best Premium pours a very pale yellow color with a high amount of carbonation and a foamy head. There's also no lacing to be had here.

The aroma is mainly cereal grains, pale malts, grassiness and cooked corn. With that said, the taste is also pretty much the same but with a more pronounced barley flavor.

The body is pretty light but it's very heavily carbonated, but crisp at least.

For an adjunct lager, it’s not too bad and it's higher in quality compared to other beers of the same style. With that said, I really can't say that'd go out of my way to try this but I can say that it's tolerable at least.

Milwaukee's Best Premium - 5/10

Lakefront My Turn - Chad Barleywine

Lakefront Brewing has been doing a lineup of beers called the "My Turn" series. It's where the various brewers employed by Lakefront take turns releasing their own take on beer styles for release. The beers themselves have the namesake of the brewer on the bottle as well as their description of the beer itself. The series is supposed to have 3 releases a year, what I have here is #4 as shown on the label. So it's safe to assume this has been going on for a while and I'll have to keep my eyes open for the other My Turns out there.

What I have here today is Barleywine Style Ale (Or Chad Barleywine) made by Chad Sheridan, the lead cellerman employed by Lakefront. It's an organic barleywine and it has a fairly hefty ABV of 12.5%; Something which I don't see fairly often with the barleywines I usually drink.

Chad Barleywine what looks like a dark Brown/Black color but it turns into a mildly hazy Crimson color when held up to a light, The head has a filmy slightly brown appearance that has average retention.

The nose mainly consists of toffee, caramelized malts, mild citrus hops, rye and some booziness. The aroma in particular lets you know that what you have is a stronger caliber barleywine and says to you that it isn't messing around.

That is, however, until you actually start drinking it. The flavor has some nice caramel, butterscotch, toffee, citrus hops and malts. The booziness that was present in the nose is nowhere near as strong here, I would even go as far as to say it's quite mild and almost blends in to the rest of the flavor.

The body is surprisingly smooth and creamy thanks it's moderate thick body and mild carbonation. It may be a strong barleywine but it goes down fairly easy.

It's a bit rough around the edges but at the same time it's surprisingly smooth and flavorful. Even more surprising was that it tasted nowhere near as boozy as I had expected, so points for that as well. If you hate barleywine, this isn't the beer for you. Anyone who loves the barleywine style, however, should check this out.

Lakefront Chad Barleywine - 8.25/10

Miller Genuine Draft Review

Don't think you'll get away from me that easily, Miller Genuine Draft. Just because I reviewed your sister beer, Miller Lite, doesn't mean I forgot about you! Though that usually seems to be the case with alot of casual beer drinkers because the majority of the top selling beers in America are mostly lighter beers. In fact, MGD doesn't even break the Top 20. I snagged an MGD from one of our softball games for reviewing purposes and have waited about a week to finally review it.

When Miller Lite was introduced in 1973, I'm not sure if people realized it would go on to be one of the   highest selling beers of all time. It's younger sister, Miller Genuine Draft, didn't hit the markets until 1986 and I believe it was released in response to the growing popularity of Budweiser. Despite not being Miller's top seller, it manages to have a solid customer base and they have continued to make it for a while so let's have a look at it.

It pours a clear pale yellow color with a surprisingly foamy head, good lacing retention, and a high amount of carbonation.

The nose consists mainly of pale malts, cereal grains, corn and a slight yeasty scent. The same can be said about the flavor with more an of adjunct sweetness and a cooked veggie flavor. The aftertaste is fairly dry so there's no offensive taste lingering in your mouth.

The body is light but a bit heavier than Miller Lite and the carbonation, while still strong, is not as intense as Miller Lite's

If I had to choose between MGD and Miller Lite, MGD would be the clear winner because the flavor, smell and overall body are much better than Miller Lite's. Does that make it an outstanding beer? No, but it makes it preferable at the very most.

Like PBR and Miller Lite, drink it from the can; Trust me on this one. It's better that you don't get a whiff of the aroma.

Miller Lite - 4/10

Lakefront Bridge Burner Review

So I've been on a bit of a Surly Spree these past few days, so let's get back to something that isn't Surly, and that's Lakefront Brewing's Bridge Burner with an ABV of 8.5%. Now when I picked this up, the clerks told me it was a Barleywine, but when I got home, I found it was an American Strong Ale; Much to my minor disappointment.

Bridge Burner pours a fairly clear but dark crimson color with a off-white head that has a brownish tinge. The lacing it leaves behind is decent as well.

The nose has some fruity-plum notes followed by a spicy & licorice scent before ending with a citrus hop and caramel malt finish. The smell almost reminds me of Stone Arrogant Bastard but with a couple of differences; In fact if you were to blindfold me, I would probably mistake this for a Arrogant Bastard solely based on the smell.

The flavor has a fairly strong citra-hop kick up front, followed by licorice, caramelized malts, fruity notes and spices. Again it reminds me of Arrogant Bastard, but the big difference is that Arrogant Bastard uses Piney Hops, not Citrus Hops.

The body is moderately weighted and the same can be said about the carbonation. At the same time, it feels quite watery and thin feeling; It doesn't really feel right considering what kind of ale this is.

Even with it's imperfections, Bridge Burner is a solid Strong Ale with a great taste that is worth checking out. It's nice to see a change-up in how Lakefront has been doing business in terms of beers they offer. Hopefully their Chad Barleywine will be as good as I was told.....but that's another review.

Lakefront Bridge Burner - 8/10

Miller Lite Review

Using my incredible psychic powers, I can project your current thoughts onto the space below. Don't believe me? Watch this:


"Why are you reviewing this? We've all had it before!!!!!"


Yes, I can safely say the majority of beer drinkers out there have had Miller Lite at least once in their lives even though some of us will not admit to it. EVER. I'll admit to drinking it, even now, if it's the only thing available that is! Whether it's at a softball match, a hockey game or a bonfire; You will never see me turning down beer.

Miller Lite is one of the most widely sold beers in the world, but is out paced by it's distant cousin, Bud Light. Still when it comes to beer, Miller Lite is a heavyweight...at least when it comes to sales.

For me, Miller Lite brings back memories of a simpler time: being a broke college student! Miller Lite was the cheapest beer that we could find in mass quantities. Back then things were simpler, we didn't care about how it tasted, how it was made or what kind of hops (or lack thereof) were used nor did we worry about the crippling amount of student debt we would all incur one day. We cared about one thing when drinking Miller Lite: That it was cheap beer!

Now that it's been a few years since those times and my palette is a bit more refined, I'm going to approach Miller Lite from a critical point of view. Marketing gimmicks aside of course....

Why thank you! I always wanted an unnecessary porthole to help make my drinking experience more enjoyable.

Despite the label on the can that says "Great Pilsner Taste", this isn't a Pilsner and tastes nothing like one. Miller Lite is an American Adjunct Lager with 4.2% ABV

To start off, it pours a very clear and pale yellow color with tons of carbonation. The head is quite fizzy with a bit of foam to it and it finishes rather clean despite some lacing early on.

The nose is rather skunky with cooked corn, cereal grains, yeasts and a bit of malt sweetness thrown in.  The smell gets more offensive the more it warms up, not surprisingly. The flavor is pretty much the same but the flavors aren't as noticeable; This could also be because it's got a very dry aftertaste to it but  much like the flavor, it starts to taste worse the more it warms up.

The body is light and the carbonation is too heavy for it's own good, so not really a surprise there.

Even if you are a casual beer drinker, you know exactly what you are getting when you buy this. Much like Pabst, Miller Lite is best enjoyed straight from the can because if you pour into an open glass, everything about it goes further south than it already is. The difference between PBR and Miller is that PBR only gains a bit of skunkiness after an extended period while Miller tends to gain alot of skunkiness after a short period of time. Drink Miller Lite if it's the only thing there, otherwise seek out other options instead


Miller Lite - 2/10

Pabst Blue Ribbon Review

Name: Pabst Blue Ribbon
Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company
Style: Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.74%

Where do I even begin with this?

Pabst Blue Ribbon or PBR, has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a previously untapped market, Hipsters. Say what you want about Hipsters, but you have to give them credit for bringing back a brand to the forefront of our culture.

But we're here to talk about PBR itself. It was originally brewed in Milwaukee, WI in the 1800's and reached it's peak in sales in the late 1970's. Even though the Pabst Brewing Company technically no longer exists, it is contact brewed out of Los Angeles, CA under a different company. As you may already know, they usually come in their trademark "tallboy" cans; I have yet to see an actual bottle of PBR. You can also find it in pretty much any liquor store and bar in America sitting next to the Schlitz and Old Style.

PBR pours a clear pale yellow color with a high amount of carbonation activity. The head starts out fluffy and soapy but quickly vanishes in just a couple of minutes.

The nose has a pale malts, cooked corn, cereal grains and barley scent. So far it smell pretty much like any typical Adjunct Lager but nowhere near as offensive. Flavor-wise you have your cooked corn, pale malts, lemon zest and some mild grassy notes. The aftertaste is also pretty dry as well.

The body is light and the carbonation is moderate and nowhere near as intense as Budweiser's carbonation, so it does have a crispness to it.

I'll put it to you straight: It is by no means a good beer at all, but if you're short on cash and want something that isn't cheap malt liquor, PBR does the job as long as you don't have high expectations. This beer also tastes better straight from the can and there is a reason for this; Because by pouring it into a glass, you're also getting a whiff of the odors which some would consider to be unpleasant and it ends up distorting your sense of taste. 

Pabst Blue Ribbon -  5/10

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout

Lakefront Brewing just recently celebrated their 25th year of operations and to celebrate, they will be releasing 4 Limited Edition beers in commemoration. The first one, which I will be reviewing today, is an Imperial Stout. The other beers planned are a Bourbon Doppelbock, Saison, and Brandy Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale, according to BeerPulse.

It pours a pitch black color with a brown-red colored head. It doesn't really leave behind any lacing and it finishes rather clean.

The nose has a nice aroma of Vanilla, Rum Raisin, Chocolate and Cocoa. Reminds me a bit of Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, but with more Vanilla. Flavor wise, it's very vanilla and chocolate heavy upfront, followed by a rum raisin and cherry notes and has a boozy aftertaste.

The body and carbonation are both fairly light and doesn't really feel like something you'd expect from an Imperial Stout. How one interprets this is a matter of opinion.

So how do I feel about this beer? It's got good, unique and somewhat robust flavor, thanks to the vanilla and cherry flavors but the booziness does hurt the flavor. The body also is a bit watery for this style of beer and feels out of place but that does make it easy to drink. I have had much worse Imperial Stouts than this, but for this particular style of beer it's very in the middle of the road

Lakefront 25th Anniversary Imperial Stout - 7.5/10