Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Crusin’ Rating: A-
Booze Rating: B-

We are starting off the new year by visiting a type of imbibery that is doing something unique in the way it labels and what it does for the local beer scene. You’ve heard plenty about breweries by this point - but have you heard of a brewery incubator? That’s right - without a single egg or baby chicken in sight - Pilot project Brewing earns its moniker by acting as a jumping off point for breweries that run into major barriers such as; finding their own space, ramping up production, marketing, distribution, business development, or even assisting with recipes. Think of Pilot Project as a training ground and tutor area for those that aren’t quite ready to strike off on their own yet.
Now, you might think this is a little similar to another spot we reviewed (also in Milwaukee), New Barons Brewing Cooperative. The difference though, is New Barons is a community space shared by member-owners who will at times brew their own beer, and some just pay for a membership to enjoy tasty brews made by their neighbors or community members. It was started by a group of homebrewers who decided to go in together to get a shared space. Again, this one is more of a group effort when compared to Pilot Project - also, Pilot Project, from what we can tell, often has the goal of getting brewers off the training wheels and into the great wide world of beer.
It’s definitely unique and takes the idea of contract brewing, which we have definitely seen some larger spaces do before (Octopi comes to mind) and make it their entire business plan, with the added bonus that Pilot Project seems to be able to step in just about anywhere you could need them - bottling, marketing, or even recipe work.
Now the caveat here - and one we don’t want to talk too much about - Pilot Project was actually started in the state southward of us, perhaps coincidentally, on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Yes, technically they started in Illinois, but this location does produce its own beer and is host to local Wisconsin brewers.
Hannah and I arrived with Papa Perch and The HGTV Mom on a rainy winter day - how we had been in the Deer District, fairly recently, and not noticed the absolutely massive building that houses Pilot Project is something we are still scratching our heads over. Even moreso when it’s only a block from Fiserv Forum. Maybe we aren’t as observant as we tell ourselves! Like I said, the building looks big from the outside, angular and flat-fronted, with large lettering that reminds you somewhat of a corporate building - but with some telltale tables on a patio that overlook the historic Pabst Brewery. Inside, the space was just as large - if not larger - and it just - kept - going as we took breaks from our lunch and review to explore more and more.
Walking into the space, you’re greeted by a long hall, that opens up as you get farther into it, going from a simple one story to 3 or more and absolutely flooded with natural light on account of the glass roof - so even on a rainy day - you’re not sitting under fluorescent lights and get to snag some of the sun's light which you know we are big fans of. A very industrial but trendy space, complete with a long bar and a massive plant wall that would take a serious ladder and the better part of a day to make sure they are all watered. With all of that space we could easily see it becoming quite loud if it was packed to the brim - luckily for us, it was a quiet afternoon. At the far end of this massive space - interior garage doors opened to extend the space, and several sets of bags were set up and available to play inside. This extra space can be closed off for private events that we were told include weddings - in case you know anyone looking!
Behind the bar, and an entire wall to your right is glass with a production space in full view, a canning line running Carbliss seltzers, fermentation tanks, and bottling lines. Later, upon exploring this space - you can see the full extent of the operation from a second-story observation walkway and it is quite impressive to see - this is no small operation. Hannah and the HGTV Mom did the full “tour” themselves and mentioned that there is a rooftop balcony that was not going to be much use to us on account of the temperature and the rain, but I would like to go back to see it in action.

We all ordered food - elevated pub food, and everyone was pretty happy with the food they ordered. The fish fry that Hannah ended up with was enough to easily feed the two of us. The cheese curds were solid, and the food was enjoyable enough that I could also see us eating there again if in the area.
While there were a ton of options for beer - Pilot Project itself does pretty limited brewing on its own behalf. Instead letting other breweries and their full bar do most of the lifting in the beverage department. We did snag a flight that came in a stone flight holder, a first for us and it fit in with the plant wall we sat next to.

Horchata (8.6% ABV) - This Golden Stout by Pilot Project, like it’s namesake, had an aroma of condensed milk, white chocolate, vanilla cupcake and cinnamon cake batter. It sported low clarity and was warm gold in color with tight foam and good head retention. Nutmeg, vanilla, creme brulee, sweetened milk, and low notes of white chocolate were all present hen tasting and reminded me of spiced cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone. With just a slight bitterness in the finish as to not be a complete sugarbomb, while sweet, this one I was quite a fan of - although it does stray on the sweeter side.
A note on a white stout - it isn’t recognized as a style by the BJCP. Common beer sense tells us its a bit of a blonde ale that’s going to exhibit some of the flavors of a traditional stout (chocolate, coffee). In fact, it ends up that the topic can be pretty polarizing.
A Little Idiom (5.0% ABV) - This beer, created by the Brewer’s Kitchen, is a fruited kettle sour that was peachy-straw in color with low clarity and no head retention. With lots of citrus on the nose and a brightness to it, there were notes of grapefruit, lemon, and sour candy when tasting. Hannah, the sour expert, said that she would definitely drink this, but it didn’t really wow her - there weren’t a ton of fun flavors and the sourness was light for her taste.
Obelix (6.5% ABV) - This French Pale Ale brewed by Pilot Project in collaboration with Obelix (resturant in Chicago)- This beer features french malt and has low clarity, high carbonation, and good high bubbles in head retention, and is a coppery yellow in color. With aromas of tangerine, orange, and grapefruit rind coupled with what I thought was Citra hops - general citrus and low pine sap. With flavors of soft orange pith, cotton candy, and pink grapefruit and not overly aggressive hop notes, this was more malt dominated than hop dominated but that was after careful observation and review - most would say this is a mild IPA if you went in tasting blind based on flavor - Hannah definitely thought it was too far onto the hoppy side to be a pale ale (note, a pale ale lets the malt balance the hops, instead of very ho-dominant).

Donna’s Pickle Beer (4.4% ABV) - Simple folk, if we see a pickle beer, we are probably going to try it. This beer by Donna’s Brewing was golden in color with medium clarity and carbonation with medium-low head retention. With a vinegar-forward briny aroma and heavy dill, this had a sweetness to it up front when tasting, bright and almost green-vegetal notes, fresh cucumbers, herbs - specifically coriander, and dill, then a salty finish. While that may sound like a lot, in the grand scheme of things, this was a fairly inoffensive, mellow pickle beer. Hannah was hoping for more bold flavor - the closer to pickle juice the better.
If you are in Milwaukee or within an hour, even two hours - Milwaukee has so much to do and has more breweries than any other city in the state. It’s an easy trek from the Pabst Brewery, MSOE, or the Deer District and has solid food and a large selection of beer. I might even suggest a one-two punch of a tour of Pabst and then straight across the street here for a solid afternoon combining the old and new beer traditions of Milwaukee. There are a ton of brewery options in Milwaukee, and we’ve only begun to scratch the surface, but for my money, this is a great option for a winter visit, and we will definitely be checking out that rooftop when it warms up.
Until next time, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Pilot Project Brewing please visit their website at: www.pilotprojectbrewing.com or on Facebook: @PilotProjectBrewing or on Instagram: @PilotProjectBrewing
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