A Brewery Adventure in Milwaukee Part 1
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a place steeped in beer history and culture. It was home to the beer barons that build the beer industry-Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, and Blatz. Outside of St. Louis and the omnipresence of Anheuser-Busch, there isn’t another city in the United States with a stronger connection to beer history in the United States.
To this day, if you drive around, you see all sorts of colossal buildings and the reminders of these beer barons loom large. Consolidation and ruthless business practices brought an end to many of those brands. Milwaukee’s old history has given way to many new and exciting craft beer brands. That is what inspired me to venture back for my sixth visit to this wonderful beer city for a few days of exploring, eating, and drinking with another beer friend and podcast host, Courtney, of The Brewery Adventure.
Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time
The idea for a jaunt to Milwaukee sprang up in conversation with a former coworker and her husband. We were sitting in the taproom at Modist Brewing in Minneapolis enjoying some freshly-poked doppelbocks. The topic of spring break came up. I was in quite the emotional funk given the horrific stress caused by ICE’s senseless and inept occupation of the Twin Cities. So, the thought of planning a trip was something I wasn’t really thinking about. Maria floated out the notion that I join her and her husband Ben for some beer stuff in Milwaukee. I said I would look into it. The more I ruminated on that idea, the better it sounded. I happened to be chatting with Courtney about it and I asked if she wanted to join me, too.
Despite the fact that Courtney grew up in Wisconsin, she has never been to Milwaukee for beer. I told her that I can’t cohost a podcast with someone who hasn’t tipped back a pint or 7 in this beer-soaked city on the lake. So, we decided to plan a little beer adventure of our own. Our excursion spanned 3 action-packed nights. We had a myriad of fun stops that it was hard to drive back at the end of all of it. We are already planning a return trip because we felt like we barely scratched the surface of the vibrant craft beer and cocktail culture of “the gathering place [by the water],” a Potawatomi Indian term that refers to the confluence of the Kinnickinnic, Menominee, and Milwaukee rivers.
A Must-Stop at the National Mustard Museum
In the many miles of highway I have logged on road trips since I was a wee lad, I have also been fortunate to visit some of the quirkier places in the Midwest. I’ve been to The House on the Rock, I have stayed in an 80s-themed Airbnb called “The Bueller House” in Decorah, Iowa, and I have seen the World’s Largest Prairie Chicken. Despite the fact that my 7th grade English teacher’s curriculum was old and dusty, I haven’t spent that much time in museums. Well, I guess there was one. I have been to the Bily Clocks Museum in Spillville, Iowa. This set a high bar for road trip stops to file under the category of “We’re going to stop where, now?”. I was not exactly at the age where I could fully appreciate the place that I can only imagine was the inspiration for Whitney Houston’s 1988 banger, One Moment in Time.
So, back in 2013 when I first heard that there was a National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, a suburb of Madison, I had to stop. I have been there two other times and when I mentioned in a nonchalant, but secretly excited tone, to Courtney that this place exists, she was over the moon about the proposition of a visit.
Courtney actually tried to visit there over the holidays, but sadly, they are not open on Sundays. So, as soon as we queued up the Brewery Adventure Spotify playlist in the car, we set coordinates for the National Mustard Museum so we wouldn’t miss it.
I am not going to lie. As far as kitschy museums go, the National Mustard Museum checks all the boxes. The museum is located on what I would assume is the main drag of the town of Middleton. With a population of just over 21,000 people, Middleton isn’t small; yet it has a small-town feel. Located on the corner of the building, it is a 2-level building with a gift shop and tasting room on the main level, and the actual museum is located in the basement.
A Museum Where Your Docent Is A Bottle Of Dijon
I wish every person in the world could tap into the unbridled joy that Courtney experienced as she walked into the National Mustard Museum for the first time. I remember my first visit; my mind agog with all the different kinds of mustard they have for sale. My biggest complaint about liquor stores is that there is almost a paralyzing amount of choice. That is not the case when I am shopping for condiments. I, like many other of our nation’s great thinkers, believe that there is a mustard for every mood. As a lifelong lover of sandwiches, mustard plays a key role in my life. The fine folks at the National Mustard Museum share this mindset.
We decide to start in the museum area. As you walk down the stairs, you are greeted by a well-lit celebration of mutsard. On one wall, protected behind what I assume is bullet-proof glass, are mustards from every single state in the union. It is pretty clear that I have to get on the horn with my congresspeople because Minnesota’s presence in the pantheon of mustards is laughably lackluster. There is also a movie area that is called the “Mustard Piece Theatre” for folks who want the full AV experience.
As you meander around the floor there is artwork. There is a ring-toss game where you can win free mustard. Festooned around the other walls are informative mustard facts, humorous mustard advertisements, and eclectic knick-knacks that really bring the room together. After seeing all we could see and Courtney posing for a picture, it was time to taste some mustards.
The National Mustard Museum, in addition to being just a really fun time, is bar-none, the best place to buy mustard. Yes, they have thousands of brands for sale. However, it is the try-before-you-buy policy that really gets me. We decide we need to sample some mustards. I knew that I was going to walk out of there with at least one box of mustard, so I just needed to try a few special ones. After some more shopping and sampling, I had a box containing $85.00 worth of mustard. I walked out of the National Mustard Museum a satisfied customer who may or may not being signing up for a monthly mustard subscription.
A Short Walk to The Longtable Beer Cafe
As much as I would love to wax poetic about mustards, this is a beer blog. Courtney and I realize that we are famished and the roadtrip research revealed a place just down the road where we could both quench our thirst and fortify ourselves with some food. The Longtable Beer Cafe turned out to be an absolute gem. My inner Balki (Google Balki from Perfect Strangers Happy Dance if you were born after 1981) was doing a happy dance when I sat down at the bar and saw that The Longtable Beer Cafe had beers from Maine Beer Company and Trillium Brewing.
When Happy Hour Turns Into Hoppy Hour
Most people know that I gravitate towards lagers and UK-inspired beer styles. However, when I see a Hazy IPA from an iconic East Coast brewery, I have to have it. I also know that we are going to be diving head-first into a charcuterie board. Pairing rich cheeses and meats with a beer full of juicy, bright hop flavor and aroma is a can’t-miss pairing. Since Courtney is driving, she opts to go with a Potosi Brewing Cave Ale.
Charcuterie Pairs Well With Different Opinions
We also need something to nibble on. The bartender mentions that during happy hour, the charcuterie boards are on special, so that is what we go with. The board arrives and it is more like a work of art then a snack. There are 3 different kinds of cheese, pickled beets, carrots, trout spread, toasted sourdough, honey, and crackers. Charcuterie boards are the perfect accompaniment to a nice conversation between friends with a few beers.
Heck, you can even enjoy a charcuterie board with a friend and then have a stranger at the bar butt into your conversation, periodically, to infuse just the perfect ratio of fun and ignorance to the conversation. This is exactly what happened as were were sitting there. A gent who was in town to do some sort of contracting work decided that he would be our resident chatterbox while we were there. This was music to my ears because I love meeting people at the bar. If I had to guess, I think he might have been from Eastern Europe based on his accent. Our conversation was a pickleball match of topics ranging from how he believed EVERYONE who showed up to a No Kings Protest was unemployed to what kind of a house $450,000 would get you in Minnesota.
As we snacked and marveled at the euphoric buzz of the first beer stop of the day, our buddy at the bar would occasionally pop back into our conversation. This added a fun element to our time at the Longtable Beer Cafe. While we both agreed it would be nice to spend more time here, we had to get on the road to Milwaukee because we had a lot more fun ahead of us. We closed our tab, I grabbed a bottle of Giant Jones Brewing bareleywine to go, and we get started on the last leg of our journey to the Airbnb.
Our Bayview Home Away From Home
There are a lot of great neighborhoods in Milwaukee to stay where you are a stone’s throw away from fun. Bayview is, as Frank Costanza says, “The place to be!” Whether you are looking for coffee, food, or adult beverages, it’s an absolute treasure trove of fun. We get settled and then begin our two minute walk to go and meet Ben and Maria.
The Sugar Maple
Anytime you can stay 2 minutes away from one of the most iconic beer bars in the Midwest, you do it. This wasn’t as good as staying directly across the street from Begyle Brewing in Chicago, but it is a close second. Mother Nature didn’t get the message that I was on spring break and kept things chilly and windy almost the entire time we were there. Lucky for us, we would find shelter from the storm at The Sugar Maple on three different occasions over the 3 days we were there.
Tonight, it was to meet Ben and Maria and figure out a dinner plan. We walked in from the gloomy and blustery elements to discover the warmth and familiarity of a place I remember fondly. Memories of previous visits come flooding back and I feel oddly at home. We see Ben and Maria have a table and we go over to greet them. I take a look at the taplist and beeline for the bar to order a 3 Sheeps Brewing Shorts and Hoodies, a German Pilsner. There are a lot of things to choose from, but I go for something light since I am guessing this isn’t going to be the last beer of the night. Courtney gets a beer from Indeed Brewing. Yes, Indeed Brewing has a brewery in Milwaukee where they do mostly pilot batches. So, there isn’t a whole lot of overlap between what you can get on tap in Minneapolis.
We start chatting about where to go for dinner and the schedule for tomorrow. Maria has, for years, been extoling the virtues of Milwaukee’s custard scene. Since I have really only had Culver’s, this is something that I have to check off the bucket list. We are sipping our drinks and we realize that we need some food. Luckily, there is place next door with both a killer taplist and a great food menu. So we close our tabs and head to Centraal Grand Café and Tappery.
Centraal Grand Café and Tappery
As we step out into the drizzle of the now evening darkness of Bayview, we traverse the 25 steps down the sidwalk to the corner builidng Centraal Grand Café and Tappery. The last time I was here was a beautiful June day and the place was packed. We sat out on their patio, which was lovely. Tonight, we are among perhaps 8 other people in the place. There is a party of 4, 3 women and 1 baby, seated several tables away. I noticed them through the window and I thought that 8:30 at night was an odd time to be bringing a baby out on the town, but it is Wisconsin, so who knows. We pile into a booth and I realize that this is the first time I ever noticed the decor.
Centraal Grand Café and Tappery looks like it could be a European train station. As I look at the menu, it clicks because it has a wealth of incredible import beer options. By now, I am definitely ready for food. I begin perusing the menu while I wait for the server to bring me my Chimay 175 Belgian Blonde ale. For me, there is nothing more satisfying than Belgian beer done well. I often here people say that they don’t like Belgian beers. Belgian beers are complex. So, if you are n’t quite sure what you are getting into, they can be hard to approach. Brewing Belgian beers requires a steep learning curve. This results in a lot of subpar iterations of Belgian styles out there in the market. Lucky for us, tonight, we are getting nothing but the hits on tap. We have beers from Chimay, La Chouffe, St. Bernardus, and Rodenbach. This is the Mount Rushmore of Belgian beer brands available in the United States.
Everyone is sipping away at their beers. Courtney, orders a flight. Ben and Maria each get a full beer. Our food arrives and we are really content. Between bites, Maria and I regale the group with funny stories from our time together at West Jr. High. Being that Courtney is the only one in our group of four who is not in public education, she is a good sport when it comes to hearing the stories. Although, when we vent about some of our most annoying coworkers, Courtney chimes in with stories of people who she knows fit that category. I order another beer, a Bavik Super Pils from Brouwerij De Branandere. It is crisp and goes quite well with the rice bowl I ordered for my dinner.
An Old Fashioned Night Cap
It is getting late, and aside from the group of women with the nocturnal 3 year-old, it is just us in the place, so we decide to get out of their hair. We try a bar down the street because online it looked like a neat little pub. However, when we arrive, it is Karaoke night and there is no tap beer. Our group was actually 50/50 on whether we should stay and watch some really enthusiastic Karaoke, but it was also hard to hear so we opted for something different. So, we decide maybe our nightcap should just be back to the Sugar Maple. We get back into the Sugar Maple and I am ready for my first Wisconsin Old Fashioned. If you aren’t familiar, the Wisconsin Old Fashioned is made with Brandy and at the Sugar Maple, they use Sprite. It is garnished with a cherry and orange slice, just like the Bourbon Old Fashioned. I have to say that it is delicious. I don’t mind a cocktail that is a little on the sweeter side, so I approve.
After we finish our drinks, we set a rendezvous plan for the morning and say goodbye. Courtney and I begin the easy 2-minute walk back to the Airbnb for some shut-eye. Tomorrow is a big day with an itinerary of custard, beer, and perhaps some laughs.
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