Stoutmaker.beer

This week’s featured variety pack comes from Milwaukee’s very popular, Lakefront Brewery.

The Lakefront Brewery has been around for quite some time. Opened in 1987 by the Klisch brothers, originally up in the NW Milwaukee suburb Riverwest. 

Quickly outgrowing the small, mostly hand built set up, growing production needs forced them to move operations a short distance to the current 1872 N. Commerce St location in 2000.

Always been known for its innovative brewing, Lakefront has several notable firsts that have kept them in the forefront of not only the local but also national breweries.

• First Organic Beer: In 1996, Lakefront became the first certified organic brewery in the U.S., creating a beer made from 100% organic malt and hops.
• First Post-Prohibition Fruit Beer: They were the first U.S. brewery to legally bottle fruit beer since the repeal of Prohibition, starting with their Cherry Lager in 1992.
• First Government-Approved Gluten-Free Beer: They pioneered New Grist, the first gluten-free beer to receive official U.S. government label approval.
• 100% In-State Ingredients: They produced the first modern beer made entirely with Wisconsin-grown ingredients, down to a locally isolated, wild indigenous yeast strain (Wisconsinite Summer Weiss)

Today, Lakefront produces about 8-900 barrels a week, or around 40,000 a year, and distributes to over 30 states and 6 countries.

Lakefront Brewery continues to be a popular, inventive brewery and one of the top touring destinations in the Milwaukee area.

The Lakefront sampler pack is always changing its line up. This time we have the flagship Riverwest Stein Amber ale, IPA, Hazy Rabbit and Dive Beer Lager.

That is a pretty good swath of styles.So stay tuned this week for the individual tasting notes and overall impression of these beers.

Better yet, go pick up a this sampler or even just the single cans and we can compare notes.