Latest / Stream of Consciousness with Dan: Stories from the Midwest / Stream of Consciousness #65 - Mike Walker - Lakefront Brewery

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Stream of Consciousness #65 - Mike Walker - Lakefront Brewery · Stream of Consciousness with Dan: Stories from the Midwest

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: All right, everyone.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are live with Stream of Consciousness with Dan.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Today's guest is Mike Walker from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Mike has been with Lakefront for nearly 14 years, and he currently oversees the on-site business while also helping shape the brewery's marketing and dabbles in just a bit of beer development.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's someone who has a real hand in what Lakefront has become, not just as a brewery, but as a Milwaukee institution.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, this one hits close to home.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: I was born in Wisconsin, and I just learned we were born probably about like five miles away from each other.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And my dad grew up in Mekwan, just up the road from Milwaukee.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: So Lakefront was always a part of the backdrop of my life.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a name that's been in my world for as long as I can remember.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Mike, how are you doing today?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: I am doing great.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I told you I'd be doing better if I had a pint of Lakefront in my life.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right, yeah.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta we gotta make sure that uh if we ever do this again, that we make that difference.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Gotta get you on.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it is only 1115 though, so that's true.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a little early, but thanks so much for being here.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so yeah, so as a kid in Wisconsin, beer is pretty much everywhere.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: You see it at cookouts, you see it at family parties, uh, but as a kid, you're definitely not drinking it, or at least shouldn't be.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious before beer became a part of your career, what were the things that uh kind of lit you up as a kid?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Any early obsessions or hobbies?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And what kind of shaped you as a child?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, I grew up, like you said, not too far from Triple Falls.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and growing up in Wisconsin and Eau Claire was great.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: I really enjoyed my my upbringing there.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And um I uh got into acting.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: I was I was enjoying being in front of people and uh performing.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um I got into improv comedy uh a lot in in like the high school days.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so found myself on stage trying to make people laugh a lot.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh that that uh that kind of was a thing for me for quite a while.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh I had you know, kind of somewhat related.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: I have an interest in film and and movies and acting and and that kind of thing.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I went to film school at UW Milwaukee, and that's what took me away from Eau Claire.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I continued to do the improv and the comedy and that kind of stuff.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um when I came to Milwaukee, I found uh a group of people that that uh expressed interest.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, comedy sports was around, and uh so I kept doing that and went to film school, had a great time in film school, great experience at UW Milwaukee, got my uh film degree.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I didn't quite want to just go out to LA or New York.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's kind of the best move to make if if if you want to try to pursue that career.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously there are jobs in Chicago, there are jobs in Milwaukee, but um you're gonna find uh it easier in LA or New York if you're just you know loading film or something very basic to start.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I I I I really was enjoying the improv comedy scene.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: I I was playing music in a band, uh still playing music in that band to this day.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I do play guitar.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I had things here in Milwaukee that that made me not want to leave, uh good connection of people and friends.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: And um so I stayed after I graduated.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And not too long after I graduated, maybe about a year or two, uh I started working at Lakefront Brewery as a tour guide.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it was a great fit for me, given my background in improv and comedy and making people laugh.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the the brewery tours here at Lakefront are well known for being highly entertaining.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and it's almost like a 50-minute show you put on for up to you know 30, 40 guests.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I started as a tour guide, loved being a tour guide.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was around that time that I first tried craft beer.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't know much about it.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, I knew about the domestics, the millers, the Budweisers, you know, from from earlier in life.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I remember first having uh our flagship beer, River West Stein.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's an amber lager.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh one of the first four beers we ever made back in 1987, 88.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, I tried it and I I could not believe what I was tasting.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: I've never tasted anything like that before.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: The the quality, the flavor, the carameliness, the the maltiness.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um it just it blew me away.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh from there I you know I tried the Sierra Nevadas.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's uh an older beer from Lakefront called Bridgeburner, and I remember buying uh at the time bomber bottles of Bridge Burner and taking them to parties and and not really paying attention to the ABZ and uh just drinking this Bridge burner, this really hoppy uh red ale and um kind of learning learning the uh the other side of craft beer when it you know it's very filling and and it can catch up to you quick, I guess.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so yeah, uh that's kind of how I got introduced to beer.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then I started working at Lakefront.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Then I started learning about beer.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, as a tour guide here, you you need to know the process, you need to know how it's made here, um, you need to be able to answer questions.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I I learned about craft beer through through being a tour guide at Lakefront Brewery and um fell in love with craft beer, definitely.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh uh very love at first sight, love at first drink, whatever you want to call it.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh no, absolutely.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, this is the thing.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty eye-opening.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like I grew up in Wisconsin, my dad would drink ham red dog, uh about any cheap pills there you could buy in the in the store, and then you you taste a craft beer, and it's like, oh my goodness, this is something different.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what have I been missing?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I just wanted to take a step back because I I I didn't know about your uh improv and comedy and kind of film stuff.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So do you have any uh specific uh you know comedians or or people you kind of looked up to?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, obviously I you can look to Chris Farley first because he's from Wisconsin.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, yeah, Chris Farley is is wonderful.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um some of my favorites um uh let's see here.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Will Forte always gets me going.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I really like um Fred Armison.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: I enjoy his comedy.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um but um yeah, those those two kind of stand out for me.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, a lot of like the the um I.O.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: like you know, some of the classics, Second City, those those classics that you know they they were there before they went to SML.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely were into a lot of them.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um Will Farrell, I was a big fan of growing up, and um yeah, so uh more recently, uh Tim, Tim and Eric definitely you know won me over pretty early on.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um Tim Heidecker and Eric Warheim, that kind of comedy got me going.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so uh those are some that's so cool.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it's it's that's really neat because like you were super successful in film school and everything like that, and then you end yourself up in a completely different spot than you thought.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so that's that's really cool though, because you'll always have that.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we've we've had things here where you know filming is involved, and and it it's it's been able to you know tickle that for me.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And um I end up on the on the news a lot lately, um, which is which is fun, and um that also gets me in front of people again.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and so it's been interesting um given my my schooling and and what I was interested in growing up and how that kind of has um returned in in certain facets of of my career here.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's really cool.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I want to talk about Lakefront in particular, because as you've kind of touched on, it's not just another brewery.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of those places people talk about with a sense of pride and in a state where beer is you know kind of woven into our DNA.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think makes Lakefront so special?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to get anything proprietary or anything.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: But uh what's kind of the heartbeat of the place that keeps people coming back?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think it's to me it's it's uh it's the the leadership, you know.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Russ, he's he's could be looked at as kind of a grandfather of craft beer.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: He was one of the the first, him and his brother were were some of the first to to do it, you know, with the likes of Sierra Nevada and more locally, Sprecher.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, he was around in the beginning before anyone knew what craft beer was or anything like that.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: So so looking at him and his brother Jim, they they brought craft beer back to the forefront uh after Prohibition in a way, and and I think that's really important and uh a really cool historical thing for Milwaukee.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and they've always been all about Milwaukee, they've always been about um giving back to the community.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's um it's a business that's um cognizant of the environment, and it's always been um innovative and on the cusp of the next thing.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we were the first brewery to make a certified organic beer.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: We were the first brewery to produce a certified new uh gluten-free beer.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we were one of the first to to brew a beer with pumpkin, um, cherry.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, so there's a lot of innovation here, and uh it's it's really cool to to be a part of something that has um made made such an impression on the greater Milwaukee area and and craft beer across the globe.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Touch on B Corp?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I wanted to touch on that because I thought that was really neat.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so B Corp, uh they're they're all about um you know using business as a force for good, making sure that your business is giving back and being environmentally conscious and um giving back to its stakeholders and making sure employees are valued and all the really good things about a business.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so there is, you know, there's a benchmark you have to reach.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of a lot that you have to do.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's not an easy um thing to get for your business um because it's you know it's a well-respected and um uh important thing.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so we we are B Corp certified.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's um I think we are the first brewery in Wisconsin to be B Corp certified.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: And uh not only is it tough to like get B Corp certified, but you have to retain that.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there are checks every so often to make sure that you are hitting the marks you need to hit uh to be a positive force for good for for the world around you and and as close as the local businesses around you and and and the environment around you.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: And um so we're really proud of that.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's not an easy thing to keep up with.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you have to track a lot of things, you have to make sure that you're um staying up on on the important things that I think some businesses uh kind of let fall to the wayside.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, it keeps you honest.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's part of the importance of it uh being a B Corp certified uh business.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: People are looking to you to to to be um conscious of the things uh that your business can do um for good.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well that I mean that's awesome.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I thought that was really cool, so I really wanted uh you to talk about that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, we're we're proud of that one.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have uh you know it it takes it takes a lot of work, and so you know, shout out to uh Kelsey.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she's kind of the one that um has taken the lead on that, and uh I know it's a lot of work, so shout out to her.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Kelsey, I'll do it.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, okay.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: So now I'm gonna kind of put you to the test on your touring skills for just a dummy who lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: How do you make beer?
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't need to be, like I said, anything proprietary, but how do you make beer?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the there are four ingredients to beer.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um that is gonna be malted barley, it's gonna be hops, it's gonna be yeast, um, and then the one that people probably don't think about or or realize is is water.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh those are the four ingredients in beer.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um long, long time ago, I think it was 1516, the first consumer protection law was called the Rhein Heitzgeboat.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: The Rhein Heitzgebot was the law that said every single beer needs to have barley, water, and hops.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: That is what you need to put in it to be beer.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's the only thing you can put in it.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um later, I think it was in the 1800s, Louis Pasteur discovered yeast and they realized that this entire time natural uh airborne yeast was was fermenting the beer, uh, which was what was creating the alcohol.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um so then that was amended.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: So now, you know, like I said, it's got those four ingredients barley, water, hops, and yeast.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you start with uh barley.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um you get uh the little cur little uh barley kernels, you get them uh slightly cracked open before you send them into uh our our auger.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Augur takes it up, puts it in our uh our brew kettle, uh, which is where it is mixed with water.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that water is very important to beer.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: The quality of water, the the different levels of soft or hard water will affect flavors of beer.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so um we are lucky next to Lake Michigan with good quality water here in Milwaukee, uh, that's great for our beer.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: And uh that can be said the same thing for other parts of the country.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um but the the malted barley is mixed with water and it's you know steeped together.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: And what it does is uh the sugars from that malted barley uh mix with the water and create a very sugary water called wort, W-U-R-T wort.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um so um from that that boiled kettle, uh the mixture, the malted barley and water mixture goes to um our louter tongue.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Our louder ton is um kind of a giant coffin filter.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: It separates the grains from the wort.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it sprays the grains to get all those sugars off of those grains and into that water, that wort mixture.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so the the grain is essentially separated from the wort.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: From there, that wort travels over to our boil kettle.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's where we add hops.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Hops do a few different things for beer.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's a natural preservative, so it'll uh help your beer last a little bit longer.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then uh it also, depending on when you add it in in the process, it can either be a bittering agent, it can help bitter your beers.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: If you're making an IPA and you want to have a nice citrus bite to it, um, you're gonna want to add some bittering hops.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then um that's I think the the early, you know, when you're putting hops in early in the boil, that's gonna give you your bittering.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, when you add hops late in the boil, that's gonna be more about the the hop flavor that you're gonna get out of your your your beer and your IPA.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the more the more hops you add at the end of the boil, the more flavor, the hop flavor you're gonna add, depending on um which hops you add.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's so many different kinds of hops out there, and they all you know perform differently, do different things, provide different flavors.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, some are better for bittering, some are better for flavor.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's the boil kettle.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, from the boil, you're you're heating up that wort, getting rid of anything that you don't want it, bacteria, all that stuff.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, then it is put through our uh whirlpool here.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: A whirlpool uh is uh helps separate any uh excess solids that are in the wort.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it also goes through a heat exchanger before it goes to the whirlpool that helps bring that boiling wort down to a reasonable temperature.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh from there, from the whirlpool, the wort, uh now that it's had the barley, water, and hops, it moves to a fermentation tank.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: We've got many, many fermentation tanks, all of different shapes and sizes.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh depending on the size of batch that we're making, uh, the the wort moves to a fermentation tank.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and that is where the yeast is added.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the yeast is added to the fermentation tank.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, depending on if you're making an ale or a lager, um, that's going to uh determine how you're making your beer.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so an ale, those are gonna ferment at a warmer temperature and not for as long.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, those ales kind of come through a little bit quicker and a little bit warmer the temperature.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: A lager uh is it's fermented at a colder temperature, and those typically stay in the tanks for another week or two longer.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you're gonna have lagers, they're gonna be a much more clear liquid to look through.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then ales are gonna be a little bit more cloudy, um, maybe a little bit more sediment, that kind of stuff.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: So basically, the yeast does its thing in the fermentation tanks.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: It uh it spits out some CO2, so some of the bubbles that you get in your beer, and then it also um spits out alcohol, everyone's favorite part of beer for the most part, I would say.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh so it's so you're getting your alcohol, you're getting some of your CO2 in the fermentation tank.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, once it's been in the tank anywhere from three to six weeks, depending on the beer.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we take the the yeast out, we're able to propagate the yeast, use it multiple times, anywhere from maybe five to ten times, depending on the yeast.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: We can keep using that yeast.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but then the beer moves through uh some filtration systems.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a few different ways that we filter our beers to get all the solids and sediment out of the beer, make sure it's a nice clean, clear liquid.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we've got some bell filters, uh, we've got a Westfalia separator, which is a um some it's basically uses centrifugal force and it just it spins it at this crazy speed uh and and separates everything out as best as we can.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then it moves to what we call bright tanks, B-R-I-T-E, that's a bright tank.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: And those are kind of holding tanks uh before packaging.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh those holding tanks are where we kind of dial in the CO2, the amount of bubbles, the the mouthfeel that you're getting out of beer.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's where we kind of dial in the CO2 to be the right level.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh from there, it moves into a keg or a can.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a uh a canning machine here.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: We used to bottle, uh, but now we can our beers.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so this is a keg or a can.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh from there, uh it goes to our warehouse.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: We uh we have this on-site you know brewery that you can come visit and tour and eat and have a great time, lots of cool events.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but this is not where we actually hold all of our beer.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: We have uh a warehouse about a mile, mile or two from the brewery uh where we hold all of our beer.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's where our distribution happens.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: So we distribute to uh around 30 states right now and a couple countries.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so that that operation, that distribution operation, though, not a lot of people know or see that operation, um, but that is about a mile or two from here where all the trucks go and pick up the pallets of beer.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's one interesting thing.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you work here for a little bit and you're here at the brewery and you see beer being made and you have fun at the events or eating and drinking, and then um it's not until you walk into the cooler at our warehouse and you see the stacks of cases and kegs way high up, and you kind of get a picture uh of of how big our operation actually is.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so that's kind of the the path from from malt to to distribution.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I should have asked for like the four-year-old version of that.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: You were you were that was very descriptive, and I think for everyone out there listening, when you're you know purchasing any beer, hopefully Lakefront, that there's so much hard work that goes into you know making it you know a a can of beer.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that was really that was really awesome.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: That was good practice for me.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't really gone through that in a long time, and uh I I still have the information I've I've come to learn.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so now we're gonna have a little fun because I want to talk about beer.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so I do a segment, it's called Mount Rushmore, and it's just beer styled.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: We don't Have to talk about uh brands or anything like that, but just kind of your top four beer styles.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to go first and then we can just go back and forth.
• 22:11
  unknown: Okay.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I have to say, number one is a very specific style.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um at Lakefront Brewery, we have what is called the My Turn Series.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: The My Turn Series is a uh series of beers that are made by full-time employees here.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: And now we've actually had a couple part-timers as well.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but four times a year, you get to go down to the brew deck and make a beer that you want to make.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you get together with the head brewer and you discuss flavors and styles and additives and things you want to uh make, and then and then you make you make a beer.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then it is distributed.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's called the my turn, you know, insert your name.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's distributed across Wisconsin.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and it's been going on since about 2011, 2012, somewhere around there.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and in late 2016, early 2017, the my turn mic came out, and that beer was an imperial brown ale aged, or imperial brown ale, just brown ale with coffee and hazelnut.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was the beer I wanted to make, and so that would probably be my favorite style.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: That'd be my first uh face on on the Mount Rushmore would be an Imperial brown ale with coffee and hazelnut.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, because that was my my turn beer, and uh I really, really liked it.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds really good.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so my first is it's just an IPA.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, again, you can't have too many, or you probably shouldn't have too many.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's very filling, but just that those pops, I kind of like the it's almost even grapefruity.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Some of those IPAs are.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: I just love a great IPA, and it's really hard to beat.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's definitely my number one.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, my number two would would be uh a hazy IPA.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just like you were kind of saying, that's kind of my my go-to.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm I'm gonna go to a brewery or go to a bar and order a craft beer, I'm I'm usually looking at their IPAs and uh the citrusy, the better.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh a lot of the sea hops, the citrus, uh citra, centennial, cascade, chinook, those are all the sea hops um which can kind of give good citrusy flavors.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so um I'm looking for the freshest uh citrusy IPA.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I agree with that.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so, second, since I'm a Wisconsinite through and through, I'm just going Pilsner because if I'm sitting down and watching a Packer game or a Bucks game, and you can just throw them back, and it's just crisp and clean.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's just it's just a Pilsner.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: There, there's it's just kind of beer in its purest form, like in my opinion, I guess.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I'm I'm sorry to be copying it, but that would be my third one.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's a nice, easy drinking, clean cut pilsner lager.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh in the industry we call them crispy boys because they're just clean and crisp, and you can look right through them, and um they go down so easy.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: They're lower ABB, so you can have uh more.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh they're just great bready multi-placer.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this is going well.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're kind of on the same page.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I know it's not the fall season right now, but I'm not ashamed to say a good pumpkin beer really hits the spot in the fall, in my opinion.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I mean, uh we make a pumpkin lager.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Most pumpkin beers you find out there are ales.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so we've had a pumpkin lager for a really long time, and and I I have to I'm probably a little biased, but I think it's one of the best out there.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um just because it's different.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's more like a lager, like a clean, crisp lager, but it's you know bursting with with great pumpkin flavors and pumpkin pie type flavors.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um that was one that I I really enjoyed when I first started working here.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's a special one, you know, something you always look forward to every year.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and then you you knew it was getting made because you would you would get out of your car for work and you could just smell the pumpkin in the air and be like, ah, we're making pumpkin right now.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um for for me, I would have to go.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Man, that's tough.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'd have to go with probably uh a Bach beer, um something a little bit darker, uh my Bach or uh or just a regular Bach.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's just it's either that or just a dark beer in general.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we make we make uh Eastside Dark Lager here.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh one of the first four beers we ever made, and it's still uh here to this day.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: And and that that dark lager is is really, really, really good.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe I'll switch from a bock or my bach to to a dark lager.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'll just switch it right now.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm a l I'm pretty close to you on my fourth.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: I just like a good brown ale.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um it again's a little richer, but it's just so it's it's very satisfying.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: It has a almost a good mouthfeel, if that makes sense.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I just got a good brown ale, like uh like a new castle, like I just new castle or something like that.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: That kind of like almost sugary, uh sweet, um not like too sugary by any means, but like just enough that malty uh sweetness.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, kind of like what I talked about, River West Stein, kind of having that caramely uh wow factor.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Our Eastside Dark here has a similar uh but darker kind of wow factor for me, where it's just um it's just got such good flavor.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um it it's Eastside Dark is is definitely the favorite beer here, if you're asking any of the employees.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's definitely our most decorated beer.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's one European gold beer stars, you know, beating out, you know, it's a it's a European style beating out European brands.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we're really proud of that one.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's awesome.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we got a pretty good Mount Rushmore up there.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think we should go to the bar right now.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_02: Sounds good.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, but seriously, so uh while we're kind of winding down, I'm curious, is there anything on the horizon lakefront?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you guys are pretty um innovative, but uh any new batches, new ideas, anything you're excited about?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um if you can't say anything, that's fine.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: I just I just wanted you to be able to uh uh have the floor to talk about kind of what's coming up for you guys.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so on May 17th here at Lakefront Brewery, we are hosting our fifth annual My Fest, MAI Fest.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's kind of our spring celebration uh of it getting warm out.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but what it has become is it's a gluten-free festival.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: It is the biggest gluten-free festival in in the Midwest, if not more.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and it's very much centered on gluten-free food and and drink.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: We we wanted to provide something for people that have gluten intolerances uh to come and safely consume really good food and really good drinks without having to worry about getting sick or anything like that.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as I said, we were the first brewery to produce a uh gluten-free, certified gluten-free beer called Nugris.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: That was back in 2005.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so we have three different nobrists right now.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: We've got the Nubris Pilsner, which is the original.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: We've got our Nubrist IPA, which is um selling like crazy out in the market, and then our uh our nubris rattler, which is like a grapefruit kind of beer and soda cocktail.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: That one just came out.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got our nubris brands, which which do all well out in the market.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um we also have a food truck called the Curd Wagon, and I think it was maybe two summers ago.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: That Curd Wagon, that food truck went all gluten-free.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that food truck is always gluten-free no matter when you order from it.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that, you know, we we realized there's a there's a need out there for for people that have gluten intolerances to be able to kick back and enjoy good food and good drinks and not have to uh be concerned about what's in everything they're consuming.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: So my fest became the Midwest's largest gluten-free festival.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's on May 17th.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're doubling our festival space, we're closing down the street in front of the building.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: We've got our auxiliary lot next door that we're ripping the fence down and uh making more space over there.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so we're we're we're going big for our fifth year.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so my fest, uh, it's on our website, just got announced um yesterday.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and yeah, we're really excited about that.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: That is that is really freaking cool.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll definitely plug that into the episode description when I publish that, because that's awesome.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because just because you have a health condition doesn't mean you need to, you know, sacrifice enjoying great food and great drink.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so I always like to ask this question towards the end, since I'm talking to a fellow Wisconsinite or a Scani.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um so for me, being born in Wisconsin is something I'm very proud of.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my parents moved back there full time now, and it just always feels like home no matter where I no matter where I am in the state.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just curious, what does it mean to you to be from Wisconsin?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's the only state I've ever I've ever known.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I feel like when I go on vacation, when I go places, um it's not like man, this is so much better than Wisconsin.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's like this is different.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I just think I love the lushness of Wisconsin, the the pine trees, the greenery.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not just a bunch of flat land with nothing on it.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's a lot of are you making fun of Nebraska?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, no.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Flat land with nothing.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but yeah, and I think um growing up in Eau Claire, it it was a really good city uh to grow up in and have a family in.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of support for the creative arts.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I, you know, played trumpet in in band, I got into the jazz band, um, then you know, started the improv comedy, and you know, it's all creative stuff, and it it had a lot of support uh back back when I was Chino Claire.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um, there's uh Boney there who Justin Vernon, who's a pretty popular musical artist, he went to my high school and uh Oh my god, no, shall it's you know, growing up at Eau Claire was was special and uh um you know maybe maybe I should be saying that I really love Eau Claire.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um but Eau Claire is a part of Wisconsin, so um a lot of my my feelings about Wisconsin probably come from Eau Claire, but but then again, you know, I I moved to Milwaukee in 2010 and I'm here 16 years later.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's it's not just Eau Claire.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: Milwaukee has been amazing too.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: I I think um it's a best kept secret kind of city.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there's such good food and drink and entertainment.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: We've got the Summerfest Grounds, we've got the largest music festival.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it there's there's there's so much going on in the summer.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's it's really a special few months in Milwaukee that you gotta come and check out.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so yeah, I I've lived in two places and they've both been wonderful, and they're both in Wisconsin.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I've got my Milwaukee Bucks shirt on.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I shouldn't be wearing that because we're not having a very good season.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean uh go brewers, I'll just say that.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, don't want to say go brewers.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, so no, so being being Wisconsin for me is we're a very proud state, I think, but not at the level of like it's not arrogant pride, it's just just being proudful.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we work hard, uh, we have so many natural resources.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I just love it.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I love asking that question.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: So uh before we wrap up, I really want to give you the floor.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: So for anyone listening who wants to try lakefront beer or visit the brewery, can you order online, find your beers in uh retail stores?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: Where should people go to drink your beer?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I said, we're we're in about 30 states, uh definitely biggest in Wisconsin and definitely like the southern half of the state.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: You are in those in that area.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can find us at almost any you know, grocery store, retailer, liquor store, uh Costco.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: You can find us at Costco.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then most oh yeah, we've got we've got a 24-pack at Costco.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um awesome.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so as far as like draft beer, you can find us uh at most bars and restaurants in in the Milwaukee area uh and and and further out.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um, but what really is uh a fun time is coming to Milwaukee and coming to the brewery and getting on a brewery tour, trying our cheese curds, uh experiencing a Friday night fish fry, or just coming here on a Saturday in the summer and checking out our amazing patio we have out back on the river.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh yeah, so that's we we we you know, if you want to find our beer and you can't find it, um talk to your liquor store owner, talk to your uh to your restaurant owner and say, hey, I want lake front beer and uh reach out to your distributor and see if we can get some.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, there's always always an avenue to get you latefront beer.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's just some some hoops you got to go through to get it.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we've we've got uh an amazing array of quality, award-winning beers.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Our River West Dynamber Lager that talked about it is great.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a great Lakefront IPA, which is a very balanced, good Midwest IPA.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: Our hazy rabbit is a big deal.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's a hazy IPA, it's one of my favorites.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: Our dive beer is a Milwaukee lager.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's a little bit of a lower price point, but that's that easy, clean, um, crispy kind of drink.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh yeah, so come come check us out, whether that's at the store, the restaurant, or come pay us a visit at the brewery.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's a destination brewery.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: You can come visit us one day and come back a couple days later before you head out.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Mike, this has been so awesome.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: And ever for everyone listening, you heard it from the horse's mouth.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: Get to Milwaukee as soon as you can and check out Lakefront Brewery and not even just Lakefront Brewery, but Milwaukee in general.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: It really is an underrated city, in my opinion.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it it's it's grown so much, I think, in the last couple years uh since I've been there.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, well, I could sit here and talk beer all day, but uh, I'll let you get back to actually uh selling it and uh helping make it and everything like that.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks so much for your time.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the stories and just giving us a look inside Lakefront.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: So then go visit the brewery, take the tour, grab a pint, find it in a local retailer, uh buy some merch as well.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Buy some merch.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we got we got merch.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: You won't be disappointed.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that stuff's available online though, too.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_01: You can actually get the merch just going online.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: So this has been Stream of Consciousness with Dan, and this has been Mike Walker of Lakefront Brewery.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time.