Yesterday, Amanda and I did the Sprecher Brewery tour with her aunt and cousin.
The tour was fairly short and very fun. Extremely affordable at $4.00 per person ($2.00 for minors, $3.00 for seniors and FREE with a Military ID - gotta love a company that respects those that serve). It was 3 stops and then their indoor beer garden. Sprecher makes 8 types of gourmet soda as well as beer, and in the beer garden, minors can drink as much soda as they want (Well, anyone can). And visitors 21 and older get an 8 ounce glass - which you get to keep - to sample up to 4 of the beers they have on tap - unless you look "receptive" to the other guests. At the start of the tour everyone over 21 is handed 4 beer tickets. While we were drinking after the tour a nice couple next to us gave us all 8 of their beer tickets because they were only drinking the soda. Then another gentleman who told us we looked "receptive" gave us four more. And then another wonderful older gentlemen gave us 2 more! It just kept getting better.
The only unfortunate thing was that we stayed past last call and didn't get a chance to use all of the tickets - which I suppose my brain and liver are thankful for. We could have used them all, but I was enjoying looking and smelling and sipping my beers and didn't want to start chugging them just to keep the tickets from going to waste.
Although not all of their beers were on tap, they had more than we tried. What I found to be fantastic was the selection of beers they had on tap. I've had the Black Bavarian a couple of times and I believe the Special Amber once, they were far surpassed by some of Sprecher's other beers that I've never had. I'm not saying the Black Bavarian and Special Amber are bad - not at all - but I had beers that I'd never seen before and they were amazing. It makes me wonder how little I've really looked at Sprecher beers before. Now, I suppose that part of the reason may be that Sprecher is better known for their root beer than their beer (in fact, they produce and sell more root beer than all of their beer combined). Nonetheless, I'll be keeping an eye out Sprecher when I'm out on a beer run.
So the following are the beers that I had and what I thought of them:
IPA²
I loved this beer. LOVED it. It was my favorite of all the ones I tried. For an IPA it was very sweet but not too sweet. It had a mild floral/fruity scent mixed with a nice tangy-hoppy smell. It had a nice medium amber color and a light mild head. I don't mind sweet beers at all, but I think I lean to bitter beers a bit more. But this was a great combination of the two.
Abbey Triple
It was good, but not my style. It had a light pale color with a mild flavor. It had a slightly sweet maltiness and a finish that I can only compare to a slight biscuity flavor. It also had an element to it that I find in Carlsberg that reminds me of childhood and makes me think of my father.
Germanfest
This beer is brewed specifically for Germanfest here in Milwaukee. It was light like a common macrowbrew but with more flavor and a nice hoppiness. It was too light for my taste, but I liked it better than MGD or Bud Light.
Pipers Scotch-Style Ale
It had a creamy, light tan head and an orange-red-brown color. It was very mild, with an almost imperceptible floral scent. It was sweet and smokey - not bitter at all. Despite my preference for bitter, I really liked this beer - with some reservations. I would not drink more than one at any given time, and if I were to drink it again, I want to be eating meat and/or cheese. It would go well with a nice gouda, a pulled pork sandwich and a kielbasa. I think it's because the smokiness was stronger than I would normally want in a beer, but not enough to keep me from coming back to drink it again. I think this would also probably make a fantastic marinade base for beef, pork or chicken. I'd also like to try using it for stew and in homemade BBQ sauce.
Belgian Dubble
This had the unfortunate role as my final beer before we had to clear out, so I didn't give it nearly same the attention as my other beers. It was good. Not much head. Sweet and savory with a hint of bitter and a clean bready finish. I want to try it again to get a better idea of what I think of it.
One that I didn't get to try for myself was their Russian Imperial Stout. Marsha (my wife's aunt) had one before the keg ran out, but I didn't. I had a sip of hers, but that's all I got because after it ran dry, they replaced it with their Hefe Weiss. From the sip I had I think I may really like it, but I'd like to give it a real try.
Afterward, Amanda suggested we all go to the Old German Beer Hall for giant soft pretzels and a couple more beers. She really has the best ideas.
Needless to say, I absolutely want to go back to the Sprecher Brewery, but I think that next time I'll go for one of their Reserve Tastings. They are done in smaller groups than the regular tour, and feature premier and limited edition items. You get ten samples paired with cheese, and it only costs $15.00 per person. I'd willingly pay that price. It still includes the glass you can keep and the tour.
