Mindy and Milwaukee Part 1

Mindy Smith is awesome. After Saturday's concert, that's all I can really say.

I got into Milwaukee around 5:45 and decided to grab some dinner. My target was the Milwaukee Ale House just a mile or so down the street from the theater where the concert was. Being that it was Saturday and I was in a new city, I searched hard for a parking spot until I parked right across the street from the restaurant. I parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant, but I guess the Milwaukee cops are cool.

So I went inside and noticed a very busy atmosphere. There was a guy playing a guitar on stage and there ws a pretty good mix of people. Mostly white, but there were families, business people, groups of friends, and a few people my age. The wait was already 45 minutes and that would have just been for me! So I went to the bar and found a seat.

I ordered a sampler of beer which was 6 beers (30 ounces) for 7 bucks. Not too bad. The tender laid out this placemat with a spot for each beer. Each square contained the history of the beer and how it related to Milwaukee's culture and history. I guess beer can be educational.

The Downtown Lites is a light, flavorful, crisp ale brewed with pale malt and 60 pounds of Wisconsin honey per batch. I like a crisp beer, but this was a little light for me. I needed a ittle more body. Then I had a Session Beer, which varies from season to season. I don't know what it was, but it was hoppy and I thought it was good enough. Then came the Solomon Juneau. Excellent. It's a golden ale with a crisp dry finish thanks to genuine saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Not too light, not too heavy, refreshing, yet substantial. Thumbs up.

Then came the Pullchain Pail Ale, a hoppy American ale built with Cascade hops and balanced with choice British East Kent Goldings. (Yes, I'm quoting from the website!) A little more complex than the Juneau in terms of flavor. I still enjoyed the taste. I would have gotten this with a hearty meal in cool weather. Then came Louie's Demise, and the body picked up. This is a more German style ale. This would be more of a cold weather beer, if I was to drink a beer in cold weather. Finally, the Sheepshead Stout. It had that dark Guinness look, and tasted really strong. It was a creamy stout brewed with nine malts. Not my taste. Strangely, of the 5 specific beers I mentioned, the Juneau has the lowest number of votes according to an online survey about people's favorite beer at the ale house. A lot of the darker ones are ranked higher. Ah well.
So I ordered a sirloin steak sandwich and a Juneau beer. Just before my food arrived, a couple of ladies around my age, Mickie and Jamie, sat next to me. It was a little hard hearing them with all the noise, which made for some strange misunderstandings. Like I thought one said she was a baker and it turned out she said banker. They even said I mispronounced Wisconsin, because I didn't say it Wis-caan-sin. They could tell I was from out of state. We talked about work, things to do in the city, and the whole just out of college thing. Sorry, just not much more to say...

The sandwich was served with sauteed mushrooms and onions and horseradish spread on a ciabatta bun with mashed potatoes on the side. Ciabatta seems to be the big bread now doesn't it? It's the midwest's attempt to be Italian. Trying to avoid fries, I hoped the mashed would be really good, especially at an ale house. But no skins, cheese, or herbs. They were just whipped potatoes with seasoning. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare with a crispy char crust on the outside. The horseradish had a more of a creamy consistency which blended in well with the shrooms and onions. For the sampler, sandwich, and beer, I paid 25 bucks, which is not bad.
Actually, felt like steak and the sandwich was 12 bucks by itself.