Milwaukee Ale House

1/8/2008 10:44:31 AM, tuesday, january 08, 2008
I’ve spent many an evening at the Ale House, and I’d consider it time well spent. They have a large area for concerts (and they bring in solid bands), plenty of TVs, and a cool location on the river. The food is usually quite solid, and the beers are servicable (every once in a while really good). All in all a fun place to hang out.

1/6/2008 5:42:46 PM, sunday, january 06, 2008
The Milwaukee Ale House is definitely the best brewpub in Milwaukee, but that doesn’t really say all that much. The beers range from average to slightly above average, and the food and atmosphere is good, but it still leaves you wanting more. There just aren’t enough truly interesting beers to really recommend it, and after being to some of the other brewpubs in the state (the Grumpy Troll and the Great Dane), it’s kind of hard to get excited about this place.

7/15/2007 6:06:51 PM, sunday, july 15, 2007
This is a great place to spend an evening. The building is old style architecture with lots of wood and is located on the Riverwalk. We ate indoors but outside is a great deck with a lot of seating there. Food was good and pretty much what you would expect in Milwaukee. I enjoyed a brat with sourkraut. Service was good and there were plenty of servers on hand. They brew 6 beers on site and all were good.

6/29/2007 7:35:08 PM, friday, june 29, 2007
A great spot. Huge bar area, decent dining area, and an excellent deck with a view of the river. Beers were excellent, staff informed and a bit of an inspired menu. Thought it was a great place!

6/29/2007 10:16:44 AM, friday, june 29, 2007
Awesome place to go to on Water Street. Spaceous place. We sat by the window where we could overlook the river. Really good food, and not too expensive. Nice selection of beer, and they were at worst drinkable, and at best damn tasty. Service was really good too. I can’t wait to come back.

6/26/2007 11:26:12 AM, tuesday, june 26, 2007
The place looks great nice and spacious and we were there on a beautiful day to sit on the patio on the river. Couldn’t beat that. Then the beers came a sampler tray in which half of the beers were skunky. HOW ARE KEGGED BEERS SKUNKY!!! I don’t understand it at all. Just had a snack for food, some Carnitas Nachos that were solid. The chocolate weiss was the only beer I really liked. Never again.

6/19/2007 9:30:42 PM, tuesday, june 19, 2007 [ Updated tuesday, june 19, 2007 ]
This is a really enjoyable place to pay a visit. A large, welcoming space in a renovated warehouse, part Cheers bar, part brewpub, part trendy restaurant on the riverwalk. One thing I like about it is its appeal to all ages -- the trendy 20-somethings I work with like it as much as the laid back middle-aged crowd. The live music likewise appeals to all ages. The beer they brew is only average to somewhat above, although I always enjoy the Louie’s Demise, a drinkable Scotch Ale. There’s a sense of authenticity to this place, highlighted by the "family history" they work into the stories of their beers. Truly, you’d have to stretch to call it a craft beer bar, but the vibe here is so content, I love the place. The food is solid-to-good, and the deck on the river is really nice. Also -- when the place is jammed, there’s a small, little-known basement bar (also with a view of the river) that can feel like a refuge.

6/16/2007 12:02:38 PM, saturday, june 16, 2007
How you can say anything other than 5 for ambiance is beyond me. There’s an outdoor patio overlooking the river. The inside is upscale, clean, and cozy. Really nice place. Service was excellent. They gave my son crayons, were nice to him, etc. They brought ketchup without us having to ask, and didn’t have it sitting outside in the searing heat. They have their stuff together.His chicken fingers weren’t dry and the dipping sauce was good. My chicken quesadilla was excellent with a phenomenal dipping sauce. Beer selection is limited and beer quality is perhaps only above average, but nevertheless, a must stop when in Milwaukee.

4/11/2007 7:56:18 PM, wednesday, april 11, 2007
Though the smoking does hurt your sense of smell, it isn’t that bad in there. The bar is a cool shape and there are plenty of bar tables and TVs. The dining area is in the back. I felt the bar was a little bit commercialized, but it was still a nice brewpub. I got an eight beer sampler because they had 3 seasonals on tap which usually doesn’t happen.

3/21/2007 7:37:21 AM, wednesday, march 21, 2007
This is a nice place to hang out on a weekend or after work, has a good feel inside, is right on the river, and has a lot of events/music at it. Beer can be pretty good, and pub grub is decent (although I should caveat by saying my wife thinks the food’s terrible). I’ve visited the Ale House a number of times, mostly for lunch or for an after-work happy hour (I grabbed a burger there last night). This is a large brewpub, and is very active in the local community: they sponsored a race I ran in last year, have a lot of live music, and I saw the brewers once at a charity beer dinner I attended. During my visit yesterday (a weeknight), they featured a number of special beers brewed for St. Patty’s day, our service was good, and my $6.99 burger with chips was OK (home-made chips were disappointing). Pints were $5. Ambience of this place is pretty cool, with a bar, stage, and tall tables up front and tables along big windows overlooking the river in back. Food is OK, but nothing to write home about. Beer ranges from OK to pretty good. Probably the best brewpub in Milwaukee, but I’ve been to far better elsewhere.