East Troy Brewing Company
- Cru and Hannah
- Mar 28
- 6 min read
East Troy, Wisconsin
Crusin’ Rating: B+
Booze Rating: C+
This week, we are visiting a spot in East Troy, Wisconsin. If that village name sounds familiar to you, it’s because we were there last year with the Thirsty Troll searching for inspiration for his own home brewing and looking for some tasty mead at the Hive Taproom. We left Barlow to snooze on the couch on a rainy March morning and drove just over an hour to East Troy to meet some family for lunch and then check out the beer at East Troy Brewing Company.
Opening in 2018, East Troy Brewing Company has taken over the former space of a bank with the building’s history reaching back to 1892. East Troy Brewing Company is a full service restaurant, 10 barrel brewhouse, full bar, and hang out space.
Knowing we wanted to do a review somewhere between Madison and Burlington in order to meet family and knowing that East Troy Brewing Company serves food was an easy choice for us. While I had eaten there one other time (prior to Crusin’ for Booze) I couldn’t recall much more than the food being serviceable and that the space was neat.
We left Madison amidst a downpour and an hour later we were just ahead of that downpour as we walked inside to grab a table.
If you’ve followed along with us for a while, you know we dig historic spaces as much as, if not more, than brand new spaces. Something about taking something old and making it new or repurposed is always a great idea in our book. It’s evident that this is an old, old space from the moment you walk in. Old, cream-colored brick walls, black iron, new wood tables, and plenty of pieces left from the original bank make this a unique fusion of historical and contemporary.
We sat in the bar area after being greeted by a busy server, and, although we arrived 30 minutes after open, there were already a few folks at the bar who had already had a beer and invested in a basketball game. It only got busier as the hour went on and I felt for the one bartender who was harried but polite as more and more folks showed up for lunch. Hannah and I took note of the bank vault, complete with 12 inch thick steel door and penny-encrusted floor. To walk in and see the safety deposit boxes is a blast from the past. There are pictures throughout the brewery of the bank in its heyday as well as shots from the village square. The bar itself is where the bank teller counter used to be, complete with the security bars still jutting down from the ceiling.
The four of us sat next to a window and ordered our food. Everyone enjoyed their food and while I won’t go into too much detail I will say it was above-average for what we expect from a brewery. I got chicken wings and fries, and as a a fan of chicken wings, and I will say that for $16 bucks, you definitely got your money’s worth. They were the largest chicken wings I have seen in a long time, amidst a slurry of places that are known for wings that seem to get more expensive and smaller as time goes on. I got jerk rub on my wings and while I wish they had had more heat, they were definitely tasty and easily a full meal.
There’s a small swag section, a backroom with extra seating, and even some plush couches by a fireplace which was a great thing to see on a rainy day. You can see all of the brew tanks right inside and there’s even a counter to sit at and enjoy your food while looking over them slightly beneath you. While there were plenty of windows in the space - and we sat next to one, it was a little dark in the space, even for a rainy day - but that would really be my only quibble with the space. It was a mesh of old and new that worked together really well. It was downpouring, but we noted that there is an outdoor space with picnic tables, what looks like a pizza oven, and a gazebo to sit under.
We ordered four samples of beer in a flight for $10. There were options for a six-beer flight, and even a stout flight of four should you choose. There’s wine, cocktails, and beer available along with N/A options. The flight came in a safety deposit box fashioned into a flight holder and that was a great little touch to stay on theme.
Peach Sipper (4.7% ABV, 5 IBU) - This fruited sour poured hazy gold and had mixed aromas of peach puree, peach sorbet and sourness. Hannah thought it smelled just like a Bellini and I had to agree. With an initial hit of sour, followed by sweet stone fruit and then back to sour with a doughy aftertaste - this beer made your mouth water and was a bright, easy drinking sour. We missed out on the described vanilla - thinking it stuck firmly to peach. Hannah noted that it wasn’t sour enough for what she prefers but was still happy with it.
Helles of Troy (5.0% ABV, 15 IBU) - I ordered this one because the name alone is clever. Gold with brilliant clarity and a bright white head - this beer had an aroma of super grainy, slightly sweet malt. Denoting this was freshly brewed in most instances. While the aroma was absolutely on point, I did detect enough bitterness to almost border on astringency in the finish of this beer. It started malt forward with a little bit of earthy spice from the hops. I don’t think this was just hops astringency though, but I suspected an off flavor from maybe too high pH balance in the mash or sparge but that’s only a guess. It’s a shame because I think without that this would be a really solid example of a local Helles lager. We do know that off-flavors happen and can be a one-off so I encourage anyone to try and see what they think!
Chill Guy Cold IPA (6.7% ABV, 45 IBU) - A meme-ly named beer that poured light gold with medium clarity and a low-white ring of carbonation acting as the head.
I’m not going to go too far down the rabbit hole regarding what is a cold India Pale Ale (IPA) is and it really is just an International Pale Lager (IPL) and under a more friendly marketing name. I will say a cold IPA uses lager yeast and is - well it’s an American Adjunct Lager with a lot of hops - crispy and very hoppy. The "cold” part comes from temperature that it’s fermented at being cooler than other ales. In short, it’s about as clear as mud.
We got aroma’s of citrus orchard, lemon, orange, and green sage leaves. With a little dankness in flavor, citrus, notes, and bitter herbs this beer had a notably soft mouthfeel and a complex finish that went from juiciness that moved into cotton candy and a lingering pine bitterness.
J. Henry & Sons Bourbon Barrel Aged Wastelands (10.5% ABV) - This was an easy choice to taste as we love seeing breweries and distilleries supporting each other and the secondary use of barrels. This beer featured a lingering tan ring of head that stuck around and featured a heavily woody aroma. Hannah aptly described it as smelling just like J. Henry’s rickhouse - boozy and woody.
The flavor here, perhaps unsurprisingly, leans heavily into bourbon barrel - heavy on wood notes with a little brown sugar and bitter chocolate hiding in there. I really tasted more wood and barrel than bourdon here and you could’ve told me this was aged in a new barrel and I may have just believe you. Usually you want to pick up some of that bourbon complexity here but instead I got a much simpler taste of wet wood. I had high hopes here, but this would be a wildly big hit with the carpenter bees that plague my soon-to-be in-laws pergola, which was a bummer for my taste buds.
Hannah and I both agreed we would come back here and I think it’s probably worth a trip from Burlington or Milwaukee to check out and grab some food and a beer if you’re looking for someplace with some history to explore. East Troy is also home to a great little old-time ice cream shop that is a snapshot of railroad history - and Gus’ Diner is definitely a blast from the past as a drive-in spot with food and shakes. There’s also a nice spot to check out in summer, Pizza on the Farm - with live music, wood-fired pizzas, and local brews to check out in summer. You can definitely make a day trip out of East Troy or stop by and head to Waterford Stillhouse, The Runaway, Low Daily, or Topsy Turvey for a bit of a booze cruise. If you make a day of it, it’s worth a trip from Madison also to check out some small-town charm.
While I wish the beer was a little better, it was all drinkable and that Helles was so close to something great.
Until next time, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’
To learn more about East Troy Brewing Company please visit their website at: https://etbrew.com/ or on Facebook: @ETBrew or on Instagram: @EastTroyBrewery
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