Milwaukee Brewfest 2012 – Photos

Milwaukee Brewfest took place last weekend along the shores of Lake Michigan – perfectly sunny day with enough chill of the water to keep the high heat at bay a bit. It was our first time there and we were getting a feel for the fest to be included in the next edition of Wisconsin’s Best Beer Guide.

One of my favorites was attending, Lake Louie. The founder himself, Tom Porter was also there serving his brews. I love their banner. (In reference to their brewhouse back in the woods unseen from the road.

Woodman Brewery offers some really unusual brews. Cupcake? Mushroom? It’s some adventurous brewing and while I don’t always like each one, I am all for exploring. I overheard some positive comments about the mushroom wheat ale. I thought it was good myself. Earthy, I think is the word.

Ale Asylum, right on the cusp of opening their huge new brewery not far from my house, was nevertheless in attendance.

Milwaukee Brewing Co. brought out the firetrucks for the three-alarm brew fest.

Hofbräuhaus Beer is represented in Milwaukee by the Old German Beer Hall and brought their own entourage.

One of the newer breweries on the Wisconsin beer scene is 3 Sheeps from Sheboygan. They have a really nice black wheat beer.

You’d think all that drinking beer might relax a guy, but just in case, they had some massage on site.

There were three long tents of brewers, plus a perimeter of individual tents set up. Plenty of beer to go around. Some served on tap by the brewers themselves, some on tap by volunteers, and still more by volunteers with bottles. A decent mix for a brewfest, but not a full-on brewers’ sort of event.

Drinking at the Hofbräuhaus set up.

Potosi Brewery has a miniature recreation of their awesome handcrafted wooden bar to take on tour. They had their Tangerine IPA with them, a great summer beer.

Kurt Mayes at Milwaukee Brewing had me try his O-Gii Imperial Wit. Potent and delicious and with a chamomile finish. Kurt likes infusing his beers with Rishi teas for very interesting results.

Cheese Jerky. It already sounds like a winner, and after a simple, I’ve confirmed it is. I suggested a bacon version FTW.

Pretzels as big as your head.

A banner for Lakefront’s totally — and I mean TOTALLY — Wisconsin beer, Wisconsinite. Of course the barley and wheat are from Wisconsin, and malted in Chilton, WI, and the hops are grown here. But here’s the real kicker: the YEAST strain was taken from indigenous wild yeast here in Wisconsin. That’s some cool stuff.

And what’s a brewfest without a brewfest Queen contest? I’m not sure of the answer to that question, but I think it’s still technically a brewfest. Not as fun I suppose.

Milwaukee Brewfest is a nice excuse to go to the lake and sample a truck ton of beers from mostly Wisconsin, the wider Midwest, and a few long range arrivals (including a few Belgian brands via distributors). We ended the day with a meal at Braise, an amazing farm-to-table place about 10-15 minutes south of here.

Next trip is NORTH to the grand opening of a new National Park…. Stay tuned!