Tried to visit Miller's yesterday; got to view the outside of the brewery ;( and the visitor's center but that's about it. (The equipment that the big guys have is jaw-dropping.)
Visited Saint Francis brewery this evening and had a double Red 8.5% and an American Stout.
Then hit the offlicense to pickup some of the rare stuff. (This off-license is amazing; I've taken a video while walking through the beer section and plan to post it somewhere once I figure out where...)
Came away with:
1. North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin 12th Anniversary (750ml 11.2% RIS aged in Bourbon Barrels)
2. Avery "The Czar" Imperial Stout 10.82% (This is the only beer in the Avery speciality series that I haven't been able to track down before; the last of the Dictator Series)
3. Rogue "John John Ale" -Dead Guy Ale aged in Dead Guy Whiskey barrels (Dead Guy opened a whiskey distillery) This contains barley ("Farm Dare" and "Risk" malts grown on the Rogue farm, and "Rogue Micro Farm Hopyard Revolution" hops also grown on teh Rogue farm, in addition to Carastan, Saaz & Willamette hops, and Rogue's "Pacman" yeast.) -It's distinctly Rogue, arguably more than any other beer they've made.
4. Left Hand Brewing Company 2009 Oak Aged Imperial Stout (25% is aged in Oak Brandy Barrels)
5. New Glarus Rasberry Tart -America's Rasberry Frambois brewed in oak barrels, spontaneously fermented, brewed with Wisconsin malt and cherries and 1 year aged Hellertauer hops.
Milwaukee is definitely an American brewing mecca (and only 1 hoour and 15 minutes north of Chicago). I'd put Denver, and Portland higher on the list but I'd say that Seattle and Milwaukee are pretty evenly matched although Seattle is a lot better to visit...
Great trip; one brewery left to go tomorrow night, and then on to Goose Island in Chicago on Saturday...
Adam
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