Verona, Wisconsin
Crusin’ Rating: B+
Booze Rating: B-
This week - we are through our Alaska Series and back in Wisconsin - visiting a place that is not only close to home, but one of the breweries we visited before this blog even started! Just a short 15 minutes from Madison is Lake Louie Brewing Company - formally Wisconsin Brewing Company - in Verona, Wisconsin.
You may be already familiar with Lake Louie’s flagship offering - Warped Speed. A distinctive color pattern and fishing lure label. You may be thinking - like we did - that Lake Louie is located out in Arena, Wisconsin - not Verona. Well, Lake Louie was purchased by Wisconsin Brewing Company around 5 years ago and then - for a little bit - Wisconsin Brewing Company kept the branding all the same, and even had Lake Louie still being produced (at least in part) still in Arena. Now, the former Wisconsin Brewing Company has fully adopted the title Lake Louie Brewing Company and it has been a somewhat confusing merger to say the least.
Lake Louie Brewing, Arena WI —>
Purchased by Wisconsin Brewing Company —>
Wisconsin Brewing Company continues to make Lake Louie Beer and Wisconsin Brewing Company Beer —>
Wisconsin Brewing Company adopts “Lake Louie” branding as its own —>
Lake Louie is now all that remains, making Wisconsin Brewing Company Beer and Lake Louie Beers in Verona
The end result - Lake Louie is now the Brewery in Verona, WI that puts out former beers of its namesake and the beers they’ve always made.
For as long as we’ve been going here, whatever name the brewery has gone by has always had a solid outdoor space. In truth, it’s the main reason we go there; the beer is secondary. With an absolutely massive patio, including outdoor beer-tap bar, fire pit, and plenty of varied seating. It’s a spot that’s close enough to us where we can bring Barlow and enjoy some fall, spring, and, especially, summer weather. Lake Louie, with it’s ample outdoor space, gives you enough room to sit outside and gives a puppy, who is somewhat of a menace, a wide berth to explore while sipping on brews.
It’s really a go-to for us when we want a bit of a picnic. The nearby Sugar River Pizza, North & South Barbecue, often varied food trucks, and heck, even Costco, give you plenty of options to carry in or order your own food to enjoy while sitting on a blanket next to the pond. True, it can get a little crowded, and on a recent visit there was a food truck that demanded a 3 hour wait (no joke), but for the most part - Lake Louie is a just reliable space to snag a decent beer and enjoy some time with friends or family. If we had one critique on the outdoor space it would be a request for more firepits as fall settles in and the fact that it’s a rare occurrence for the outdoor bar to actually be open. If you’ve got a 3 hour wait for a food truck - the line wrapped right around the bar - so why are we waiting inside for 20 minutes for beer? In our opinion, that outdoor bar should be open when it’s warm to fill up some pitchers for a Terrace Union experience away from the Terrace.
I’d also encourage anyone going during the warmer months to bring a picnic blanket or foldable chairs because it - gets - busy! Which is always a good problem for a brewery to have.
Anyway, - the inside is serviceable enough, always clean, the bathrooms are clean, and there are often games of trivia on weeknights. Although, we both wish the inside was a little cozier. It’s a little late in the game to have a fireplace in there, but I’ve always thought between the high ceilings, epoxy-concrete floors, and high tables, the inside has always seemed a little snug, and just not really a spot that you want to sit in for long periods of time. It’s tough to put my finger on - it’s fine, there’s nothing really wrong with it - there’s large windows to let in plenty of light and ample seating for fifty or so, it just lacks that cozy factor in the colder months.
That may be Lake Louie’s Achilles heel, at least to us. That the outside is so great to enjoy that we don’t really frequent the inside space.
I’m going to compare Lake Louie a lot to Hop Garden in Paoli - not only because they are ten minutes from each other, but a lot of what can be said about one, can be said about the other - with the exception of the cozy factor. Maybe it’s the fact that Paoli is just located in a smaller building, even with the loft, that makes it seem a little more snug when the snow starts to fall. But again, if not for the Winter Games and Soup contests in Paoli, we probably would not venture out there too often in winter, as it’s also primarily a fair weather venue.
Let’s talk about the beer a little bit here. On the whole, I think the beer is serviceable - maybe slightly above average. One of their beers - Sandy Cheeks - which I did not review here, is a tried-and-true local summer beer - a Pineapple Hefeweizen that can help scratch that Summer Shandy itch from time-to-time without being overly sweet and still offering something different.
I snagged a flight for our actual review, and have been here enough to have tried at least a pint of each.
S’Wheat Caroline (5.0% ABV) - This American Wheat Ale poured cloudy gold and featured light notes of dough and low citrusy notes - specifically lemon which is appropriate for the style - note, there shouldn’t be banana here unlike a Hefeweizen. This beer had a grainy wheat flavor that was thin, with a little bit of lemonhead candy sweetness in there with, what I would say was moderate-heavy hop bitterness that Hannah thought bordered on IPA levels and I do agree, it was reaching pretty high on bitterness. This one wasn’t for us, but was an example of the style which we don’t see a lot of.
Tart Lime Twist (4.6% ABV) - This Fruited Gose poured gold with high clarity and a ½ inch bright white head. With an aroma that featured coriander, spices, lime zest, and a what could be described here as pickles on the account of the salt character and spices being mixed. There was salt up front, without being really salty as a beer, then lime, cereal grain, and a mouth-watering tartness, with overall high notes of lime throughout and a tangy finish. I would’ve like the salt to be a little more prominent and Hannah agreed with me, but this was a fully serviceable gose.
Oktoberfest (6.4% ABV) - This festbier - not marzen, poured copper brown with high clarity and a somewhat lacey off-white head. We both got notes of toasted bread but that quickly gave way to what was a clearly oxidized beer tasting both metallic and cardboard, along with smelling musty. The off-flavors here made it a struggle to look for anything in the flavor that was positive but I think there was some maillard reaction toastiness, light fruit, and soft biscuit, again though, I was really digging for these. Hopefully it was just that instance.
Warped Speed (6.9% ABV) - This Scottish Wee Heavy pours deep amber, almost brown in color and fairly clear with a nice beige head. Caramel, toffee, treacle, and toasted biscuit meet your nose here. Tasting, you get notes of caramel, bread pudding, toffee, and some low dried fruit, almost bordering on raisins in that bread pudding. I think this beer is easily drinkable for a Wee Heavy and it’s on the drier side for the style, and I think theres a decent hop presence that may travel into moderate territory rather than the low you expect for the style. Overall though, this is what I think of in my head as a Wee Heavy when I think of that style in Wisconsin. There’s a reason it’s well known.
There’s something to be said here about consistency. Hannah and I know going to Lake Louie that we are going to be able to find a beer we like. Will it be the best beer of a particular style? Rarely. Will it be a good example of the style? More than likely. And you know, with a lot of breweries churning out beer that are not great examples, Lake Louie fills a space where we know we won’t be disappointed going. It’s a spot we can meet friends after work for a happy hour, a spot where we can enjoy some gorgeous weather, and a spot for a picnic with Barlow. We find ourselves there a handful of times each summer due to the consistency, and knowing that we will not leave disappointed. And in a spot with a competitive beer scene like Madison, is a bigger compliment than you may, at first, think. I’d recommend a stop out here if you’re going to be in Madison and need a spot to enjoy the outside, maybe you’ll catch us there on a sunny evening.
Until next time, keep on Crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Lake Louie Brewing and Wisconsin Brewing Company please visit their website at: lakelouiebrewing.com or on Facebook: @LakeLouie or on Instagram: @LakeLouieBrewing
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