Burlington, WI
Crusin' Rating: B
Booze Rating: B-
The second of two breweries in my hometown of Burlington, Wisconsin, Low Daily Brewing is run by an old friend from highschool, Tim Sullivan. It just goes to show you, it’s a small world. If you read our write-up about The Runaway Micropub & Nanobrewery, you’ll recall that the proprietor there went to highschool with my parents. It is a small world indeed. I was just as excited to hear about Low Daily as I was with The Runaway. In another coincidence, the two breweries opened within months of each other in 2020. In other words, while the world was really in for a downturn, Burlington, or as Low Daily has affectionately named it, Beerlington, had a great coming out year as a destination for craft brews.
Tim got his start creating small batch home brews and, unsatisfied with the results, decided to pack up and move to San Diego in order to attend the UCSD brewing program. From there he worked all around California and Oregon before returning back home. He has since taken over what was formerly the Burlington Standard Press building (for you locals) and has turned it into quite the operation.
When you walk into Low Daily you’re immediately struck by a sense of youthful hipness, which does seem out of place in historic downtown, but it’s a welcome change. The owners decided to keep the 100 year old original terrazzo flooring and the walls are full of exposed brick of the original building. There is a ton of space inside and through a glass door you see several large beer tanks. There are some sofas in front of a large screen TV off to your left, a subway tile backsplashes tap bar, trendy chairs and tables and even some added greenery from faux plants. Hannah pointed out that the decor was very mid-century modern.
Through the fermentation room off to the right of the tasting room, and then through it, you reach the back patio. While it juts up against the railroad tracks (a lot of downtown Burlington does, by the way) it’s such a huge space. There’s a fire table, additional seating, and a screen that was in use for some classic horror films for the Fall. There is so much space back there that Low Daily is able to host fall photo-shoots and are planning on their own Christkindl Market this winter. The possibilities are endless, if limited by the weather somewhat. I would like to, eventually, see an outdoor bar there at some point. Currently you need to walk from the back, inside, and then to the front of the building to get a refill and then back out. If they want that back patio to be the go-to hangout spot, a full service Bier Garten would be the sublime choice.
It was nice that Low Daily was open on a Sunday and later in the day at that. I know they tend to stay open for Packer games and that puts them at a good counterpoint of the Runaway which isn’t open at all on Sundays. The space felt laid back, not too loud, and would be a great place to sit and hang with some friends, maybe even play some board games if they got them. I could even see myself writing the blog there while sipping on a beer, it was spacious enough and had tons of natural light inside, almost like contemporary cafe, but with beer! With all of that natural light it was a bit of a shame to find out the plants were fake. A bit of natural greenery in there would really help the space out and help it feel a little more natural rather than old industry (which, admittedly, it is, since it was the old newspaper building).
Looking at the beer, it was $10 for a flight of five 4 oz. pours served by fairly knowledgeable and friendly staff.
Banjo Kӧlsch (4.7% ABV) - This Kӧlsch had high clarity with golden color and a chalky wheat aroma. Featuring medium high bitterness and notes of cereal grain on the nose I think this is a solid beer that sort of serves as their flagship and even features on tap at one of my favorite spots to eat in town, Fred’s Parkview. Overall, it checked the necessary boxes of the style with even the slight minerally taste hints being acceptable, which is not something you see with every beer of this style. I think this beer can do with some fine tuning, because I didn’t find it as delicately balanced as the style calls for, especially with that high amount of bitterness on the tongue.
Antler (6% ABV) - You know by now that we have had our fair share of Festbiers and this one, with it’s light brown bronze color, high clarity, and that sweet malty nose. This beer was no exception to that, although I didn’t get as much toasted malt richness as I have with others. I can say that I am just not a fan of the Festbier craze. I prefer that deep, strong Märzen style. But, since they are two different styles, does this beer meet the expectations of the contemporary Festbier? Yes, to an extent. I found moderate malt but missed out on spice in the aroma. I found the taste to have little notes of bread dough and higher bitterness than the style calls for and I found the finish to be a little lacking. I think this could be tuned up to be a solid example of the style.
Lounge Hours (5.7% ABV) - This Orange Sour was one of the first beers they had, along with Banjo, if memory serves, and is definitely one of our favorites. Enough to earn a crowler to take home. This sour smells of strong orange citrus zest and tastes of European orange juice, which, last I checked, was a less sugary version of our own here in the states, without the artificial coloring, and the odd addition of carbonation. I think this beer is about as close to a beermosa as you can get with that orange juice flavor up front but ending in some malted wheat goodness. I think this cloudy yellow offerings could make an excellent breakfast beer and honestly it’s done in such a way it could be hard to tell it’s even a beer after one or two. We agree this beer is a winner.
Splash City (5.7% ABV) - This sour was made with pineapple, guava, and coconut. There was no doubt that you could pick up the the guava, mixed with notes of wheat on the nose. When tasting there was a smooth start to this sour and none of us picked up any notes of coconut whatsoever, which works out well for Hannah, but not for me or the Pranskter. This beer was a pale, milky yellow with a hint of orange, almost like a dreamsicle. Our resident sour expert, Hannah said this was a miss for her especially when compared to the win that was Lounge Hours. This sour was simply not sour enough for her and for me, I found the lack of the coconut to be a letdown.
Slow Prime (6.7% ABV) - This English Pale Ale was rich brown mahogany in color with low to medium clarity. This beer smelled of allspice and the taste started with notes of rich caramel and ended in high hop bitterness. I don’t want to get into the fine details of the English Pale Ale, I’ll let someone else explain here. I was surprised by the overall sweetness of this beer. I definitely picked up on some earthy notes, but it just seemed too sweet. I was ready for some biscuit flavor, maybe breadiness of other pales, but I do not think this one hit the mark.
Plum Expert (4.8% ABV) - Why is this called plum when it’s a Blueberry Lager. Perhaps an inside joke I am not in on, but from an outsider’s perspective I was super excited to taste a plum beer, which I have never had and don't know if it would even work, but it was not meant to be. This blueberry lager smelled strongly of fields of prairie grass and tasted of real blueberries which was a surprise. We have thus far tasted a lot of fakish blueberry flavorings but this beer smelled like you stopped on the side of the highway, walked into the brush, and picked yourself some fresh blueberries. This beer was an excellent mix of tart and sweet and although blueberries are far from my favorite fruit I think this beer nailed it, even down to some purple hints underlying the overall pale straw color.
Cowboy Cowboy (7.3% ABV) - This hazy IPA smells strongly of stone fruit, mosaic, and maybe even some cashmere hops. It had a silky mouthfeel with low to no hop bitterness with a creamy, but slight, slight hop finish and and overall floral and pine flavor. The low carbonation makes this an easy drinker but it was not my favorite. I suppose I want more fruitiness to my hazy IPA’s and am not a strong fan of resin.
Some Summers (6.5% ABV) - This is a farmhouse ale (think a Spotted Cow) was filled with aromas of banana, clove, and wheat and tasted bright and fruity. Perhaps a little less heavy than spotted cow, but perhaps a little to wheaty, treading closely to a Hefeweizen, especially with that cloud gold color. This beer had medium clarity and medium carbonation. It’s tough to judge this one, when, to me, farmhouse ales are a category of ales that can be a Gueze, Saison, or Biere de Garde. I guess a common factor in all farmouses is a funkiness, kind of like wet hay and I did not find that here.
Just Pumpkin Spice (6.3% ABV) - This beer smelled of fresh pumpkin bread which I am not in love with, but Hannah and the prankster thought was good. It, likewise, had a flavor of fresh pumpkin bread with a dark chocolate end. Did we mention this is a stout? And, while we are not always fans of beers that are black as night with notes of roasted coffee and low carbonation, this stout was actually pretty sweet, even with some earth notes added in there. Hannah, of course, appreciates a good pumpkin beer.
Mell (5.8%) - This is a seltzer made with apple cider and black currants. While a beautiful fuchsia in color, this seltzer definitely tasted like apple cider which sort of just left us wanting a hard cider from the nearby Appeltreow Distillery and Winery (more on them coming soon!). This seltzer had medium carbonation and, of course, you are expecting more carbonation with a seltzer. It smelled of mellowed black currants and was delightfully princess-y. Hannah was a fan.
Vector Stuff (7.5% ABV) - This West Coast IPA had medium clarity and was cold straw in color. It was quite bitter with hop notes up front and then smoothed out and smelled of noticeably floral nelson hops but no one got much out of this other than soapiness (Hannah) and “bitter" (Pranktser). I didn’t have much else to add other than strong floral hop character and I was not smitten.
Just Stout (6.3% ABV) - What can I say? This is just a stout. Straightforward, dark, with a smokey coffee nose and notes of black coffee on the tongue. Staff was kind enough to offer us this one for free because they saw we were taking notes which was a very cool and hometown gesture. There was a certain creaminess to his mouthfeel and the Prankster said it left him craving an after dinner coffee which, as a non-coffee drinker, I can only assume is a good thing?
In sum, I am so happy to see two breweries really laying down some great beers and I think Tim is off to a wonderful start with a good smattering of different styles. I think if he can bring some other beers up to the level of Lounge Hours he might easily make our top ten breweries. For now, I think it’s easy to say Low Daily is off to a really strong start in its first year. I would love to see some real greenery but the history in the building is simply amazing. The outdoor space could become a full service Biergarten and I know it’s called a beer garden now, but to me, a beer garden has some beer service, some ivy, and that communal feeling which I definitely think they are on the right track of thus far. I’m really excited to see where Low Daily goes and, of course, I am going to have some hometown bias, but I will absolutely endorse a trip from anywhere in the state to my hometown to try Low Daily, Fred’s, Appeltreow, The Runaway, Gooseberries, and Rustic Roots. We have some of the best beer in the state and it’s only going to get better. If you’re looking for an excellent little town that’s serving up some solid beers, check out Beerlington, Wisconsin.
Until next time, keep on Cruisin, don’t stop boozin’.
To learn more about Low Daily visit their website: www.lowdailybeer.com or on Facebook: @LowDailyBeer or on Instagram: @LowDailyBeer
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