Driftless Brewing Company Reviews

drpimento	3.9 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout The Aromas are roast and cocoa with some dark malt and hints of vanilla, coffee. Flavors are a lot like nose, very good balance between bittersweet and carbonation. Nice beer. Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Brigadier	3.4 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout On tap in Madison, WI A basic and drinkable sweet stout is not quite good enough to merit a visit to the source. Even so if I were to come across Driftless taps in town I might be willing to revisit them. Well made enough to be worth a pint, this otherwise plain release could be a good benchmark for calibrating what defines "good" and "bad". AROMA / APPEARANCE Chocolate, malt, and sweet undertones temper the air like a milkshake slowly melting in summer heat. The modest booziness adds a calming depth to the velvet base which dances around the shaker with a deep brown laziness. FLAVOR / PALATE Smooth chocolate truffle, milkshake, and cream coat the palate in a layer of sweet film. The dry transition offers up glimpses of bitter malt but overall this leans to the creamy and sweet side of the stout style. Beyond that nothing too interesting takes place. If you're a fine of milky stout this one might be worthwhile. Thursday, July 21, 2022
hershiser2	3.3 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale Bottle thanks to Drake! WI brewery #64. Pours brown with a small beige head. Nose is caramel, perhaps a hint of maple, light floral notes. Caramel, brown leaf, toasted malt, light honey. Decent, drinakble. Sunday, May 1, 2022
Drake	3.1 Driftless Lager 12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Madison, 3/5/22. Slightly hazy amber, thin head, fair retention. Aroma of nuts, earthy hop. Taste is dank, earth, nuts. Dry, mild bitterness, crisp. Weird, but it kinda actually works. Sunday, March 13, 2022
drpimento	3.2 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA Bottled on 19 January 22. The aromas are mainly caramel malt with a little hops and a touch floral. Flavors are malty sweet upfront with a slightly resinous bitter finish. Decent body and carbonation. Monday, March 7, 2022
drpimento	3.1 Driftless Kick-Axe Pale Ale The aromas are mainly caramel malt with some hops. Flavors are like nose, bittersweet with good carbonation and body. Forgettable beer. Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Drake	2.7 Driftless Kick-Axe Pale Ale 12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Greenfield, 12/3/21. Hazy orange, very large foamy off-white head, good retention. Aroma of citrus and band-aid. Taste is orange, grapefruit, pale malt. Juicy. Infected. These guys have quality control issues for sure. Saturday, December 4, 2021
Drake	3.5 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA 12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Brookfield, 10/16/21. Hazy bronze, medium tan head, good retention. Aroma of dank, resiny hop. Taste is resin, vegetal, grapefruit, stone fruit. Moderate bitterness. 10 months old even though I bought it last month. Overall decent. Saturday, November 6, 2021
Drake	3.7 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout 12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Brookfield, 10/16/21. Near black, medium tan head, good retention. Aroma of roast, chocolate, lactose. Taste is roast, chocolate. Nice. Saturday, November 6, 2021
Drake	2.4 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale 12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Brookfield, 10/16/21. Clear amber, looks like maple syrup. Large foamy tan head, good retention. Aroma of stone fruit, band aid, honey. Taste is tart stone fruit, caramel. Thin. Clearly infected. Saturday, November 6, 2021
mrjaxson	3.6 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale Nice malty - hoppy combo for a brown ale, with the chocolate aroma in charge at the start, than sweetness in the taste and the softest of bitterness in the finish. A good combination of sensations. Saturday, September 11, 2021
mrjaxson	3.6 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale Good looking from the moment it emerges from the bottle to create a medium head with matching lacing over fair carbonation, and good tasting from the first sweet moment to its mostly sweet and a little dry finish. The aroma is close to the honey wheat bread msjaxson makes in the home breadmaker. Would be even better on a warm summer day. First beer I've tried from this brewery, and I'll look for more. From a 12-oz bottle with a label date of 12.09.2020 but no clue of whether that is a packaging or best-by date. Saturday, May 15, 2021
pkbites	1.2 Driftless Lager Average yellow pour with DOA white head. Aroma is quite sweet with metallic hints of grain and marshmallow. Flavor is overly sweet, grainy, and a bit odd. There is a slight bitter aftertaste but it is more astringent than hoppy. Mouthfeel is more like a pilsner than an American lager. The over sweetness and marshmallow aroma and flavor add the death blow to an already pointless beer. Bottle. Saturday, April 10, 2021
Drake	3.7 Driftless Saison de Jardin 12 ounce bottle from Woodman's Kenosha, 2/6/21. Hazy orange, thin head. Aroma of stone fruit, yeast. Taste is yeast, stone fruit, apricot, citrus, hints of mango, bready malt. Medium bodied, lingering spice. Nice. Sunday, February 7, 2021
Drake	3.5 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale 12 ounce bottle from Woodman's Kenosha, 2/6/21. Hazy orange, floating particles, thin white head, fair retention. Aroma of honey, grain, toast. Taste is grain, honey, toast, butter. Medium bodied, good for what it is. Could suffice for breakfast cereal. Sunday, February 7, 2021
Carlisle	3.5 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale Bottle. Pours deep brown with light tan head. Bready malt, chestnut, and chocolate aroma. Chocolate, peanuts, and bread crust with subtle floral notes. More chocolate in the long finish. Medium body. Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Carlisle	2.9 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale Bottle. Pours deep gold with white head and lacing. Honey and bready malt. Light cracker malt with honey notes. Light body. Short finish. Saturday, December 7, 2019
saw2k	3.9 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale Saturday, June 15, 2019
saw2k	3.3 Driftless Saison de Jardin Saturday, June 15, 2019
saw2k	4 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout Saturday, June 15, 2019
saw2k	3.2 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale Saturday, June 15, 2019
Brigadier	3.2 Driftless Gin Cask Saison 22 ounce bottle Thanks to a friendly local for bringing along this bottle to a tasting a month ago. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up to expectations as it instead offered more gin and less saison than desired. With a little tweaking a future release of this could fix up the weaknesses. AROMA / APPEARANCE Mint and hay deliver a first impression that is primarily gin and toothpaste. The botanicals manage to overwhelm all but a few traces of earthy hay. The glowing body at least looks appealing with a modest set of legs adding some contrast. FLAVOR / PALATE The strong taste of mint toothpaste masks the other flavors. Eventually a bit of oaked chardonnay does escape. A sticky finish slowly unfolds on the tongue. The intensity could be dialed down and this would be much smoother. Overall it shows signs of promise but the final experience is a let down. Saturday, March 30, 2019
drowland	3.3 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout 10/24/18. Bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. Black pour with a nice tan head that does its best to stick around and laces pretty well. Roasty aroma, a bit toward the savory side of things, think soy and bacon, with some sweet cream, nuts, coffee, and caramel. Sweet entry, milk chocolate and sweet cream ice cream, a surprising fruity aspect, think banana and fruity pebbles, cut by ashy dryness, touches of coffee. Effervescent; lots of carbonation. I was thinking this was okay but it kinda got worse and worse. Not terrible. Thursday, October 25, 2018
drowland	2.9 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale 10/24/18. 22oz bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. If you’re keeping tabs, I got like 80 Driftless bombers from them. Haha. Copper pour with a frothy white head that fades to a foamy ring with minimal lacing. Not digging the aroma on this one... bitter, cream corn, yeasty honey. The flavor is a bit better, kind of refreshing actually. Malty, pale malts, dough, some earth, tea, grass, lemon peel. Eh. Thursday, October 25, 2018
drowland	2.8 Driftless Kick-Axe Pale Ale 10/23/18. 22oz bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. This brewery has been around over 5 years? Jesus. You’d think they’d have learned how to brew by now. This “pale ale” pours a deep amber, lots of red when held to the light, under a good off-white head that laces mildly. Some citrus aroma, a definite bubblegum aspect, earthy, herbal, some spice. Malty flavor, caramel, dough, lingering dry spice, herbs, lemon peel... super old school and not great. Wednesday, October 24, 2018
drowland	2.9 Driftless Cultivation Series IPA #004: Idaho 7 10/23/18. 22oz bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. Lighlty hazed amber pour with a small khaki head that laces okay. Faint hop aroma, some dank, earth, tea, plenty of caramel. Lightly sweet entry, caramel, dough. Leads to medium bitterness, earth, tea, hint of citrus and pine. Very old school... malty... hints at buttery. Eh. Wednesday, October 24, 2018
drowland	3.2 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA 10/22/18. 22oz bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. Copper pour under a small off-white head. Good aroma, some citrus, pine, bitter, touches of caramel. Bitter flavor, chalky, metallic, caramel... and I think diacetyl as it warms. Smelled okay, tastes... not so good. Meh. Tuesday, October 23, 2018
drowland	2.8 Driftless Fresh Hop Pale Ale 10/21/18. Bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. Amber pour with a nice off-white head that sticks. A bit dark looking for my tastes... yep. Old school. Malty, doughy and caramel, some hints of citrus and pine, mainly touches of floral, tea, earth. Same on the flavor - malty, caramel, some dough, a hint of a metallic aspect, some citrus, pine, floral, tea. Old school. It's like every home brewer's first pale ale. Meh. Monday, October 22, 2018
drowland	3.7 Driftless Harvest Pear Saison 10/21/18. Bomber from Viroqua Co-Op. Surprisingly dark pour, sort of a dark orange bordering toward amber, under a fluffy khaki head that sticks. Saison phenols hit the noise, think French saison homebrew yeast, with touches of apple, pear, dough. Light flavor, bright, crisp, hints at pear and apple, mild bitterness, Saison spice, dough, touches of lemon, caramel, biscuit. Not terrible. Monday, October 22, 2018
bytemesis	3.7 Driftless Solar Town Stout Bottle, thanks to Jimmy!!! Pours clear reddish black, medium tan head, some lacing. Aroma is roasty, touch of smoke, anise. Flavor is light sweet, light plus bitter. Medium body. Unusual and interesting. Monday, July 31, 2017
BrewHaMeister	3.5 Driftless Cow Cult Milk Stout Bomber bottle poured dark cola brown with a thin head and dissipating lacing. Aromas of dark chocolate, lactose, and biscuit. Flavor is lactose smooth with a semi sweet chocolate finish. Saturday, March 18, 2017
BrewHaMeister	3 Driftless Kick-Axe Pale Ale Bomber bottle poured clear copper with a medium off-white head and nice lacing. Aromas of malt, biscuit, hops, and grass. Flavor is mildly spicy sweet. Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Skyview	3.8 Driftless Solar Town Stout - Whiskey Barrel Aged Picked up single 22-oz bomber at Viroqua Food Co-op in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours an opaque reddish dark brown colored brew with a heavy and rocky beige head that develops quickly and sticks around. Lots of sudsy foam head that’s easy to sculpt with retention. Aroma of toasted dark black and chocolate malt, some whiskey notes, soy, and a touch of Baker’s chocolate. Taste is medium to medium-full bodied, flavors of Baker’s chocolate, sweet, young whiskey (without the charred oak profile), floral hops and some roasted nuts. Finish is semi-sweet with dark chocolate and whiskey aftertaste that slowly disappears. More of the Centennial hops in the finish than in aroma and flavor. Don’t cellar. Drink as fresh as possible to enjoy the rich chocolate flavors as I’ve enjoyed in their regular Solar Town Stout. Allow to warm up and the sweet whiskey flavors become less in strength. Friday, January 13, 2017
Skyview	3.6 Driftless Autumnal '16 Smokey Ale Picked up single 22-oz bomber at Viroqua Food Co-op in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours a hazy orange dark amber colored brew with an average sized off-white head that slowly dissipates and leaves behind some excellent lacing. Aroma of pork jerky spice, smoked caramel malt, a touch of hard pitted fruits and floral hops. Taste is medium bodied, flavored of smoked apple wood, sweet caramel malt, floral hops and some hard pitted fruits. Finish is both semi-sweet with a hint of smoked wood with apples and caramel flavors. Not a full-strength Bamberg smoked raunchbier, but just enough to enjoy during a Wisconsin autumn season. Friday, January 13, 2017
Skyview	3.7 Driftless Ridgetopper Amber Rye Ale Picked up single 22-oz bomber at Viroqua Food Co-op in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours a hazy golden dark amber colored brew with a thick light beige head that slowly dissipates and leaves behind some excellent lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, a hint of citrus, and a touch of herbs. Taste is medium to medium full bodied, some dark pitted fruits, caramel malt, citrus zest and a touch of tart berries. Finish is semi-sweet at first, followed by a mild tart fruit secondary finish and then a mild lingering bitterness. Rye malt bill is very light if any to detect, but plenty of wheat profile in the finish. Friday, January 13, 2017
Skyview	3.6 Driftless Tie 1 On Session Pale Ale Picked up a single 22-oz bomber at the Viroqua Food Co-op in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-clear golden straw colored brew with a thick and rocky off-white that has excellent retention and lacing. Aroma of spruce, pine, citrus zest, golden grain malt, and touch of sawdust. Taste is light to medium light bodied with flavors close to what was detected in aroma with a touch more earthy hop presence. Finish has a short spicy earthy and piney hop aftertaste that quickly disappears. Drink as fresh as possible to enjoy more of the pine and earthy citrus flavors. An excellent example for a earthy profiled session pale ale. Wednesday, December 28, 2016
nuplastikk	3.2 Driftless DiRT Brown Ale Tap at Hop Garden. Unfiltered toffee brown-black body. Creamy, malty brown ale. Refreshing, but sort of one-dimensional. Creamy brown chocolate. Nothing to write home about, but a fairly respectable example of the style.. Monday, April 25, 2016
JK	3.4 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA Bottle shared by Bob. Very dry and bitter. Lots of herbal hops, some citrus in the flavor. Cloudy gold appearance. Good flavor and aroma but it could have possibly used more hops. Saturday, June 6, 2015
nuplastikk	2.8 Driftless Metamorphasis Spring '15 Amber Ale 22oz bomber scooped up at the Hop Garden in Paoli. Pretty much has the body, tone of a homebrew. Thin, with an extract feel...but maybe that is the maple syrup. Not so bad for a spring beer in flavor and theory, just has no life to it, very bland and watery, no yeast notes. Sessionable and if this were 2 dollars a pint at a bar, I can see that. As a premium priced bomber, no way. Amateur hour. Saturday, June 6, 2015
deyholla	3.6 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA Bottle shared by Bob, thanks! Pours a near clear orangish gold with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has musty pine with a bit of grass and a bit of light grain backing. Flavor has a bit of bitter citrus with growing notes of grass and pine backed by light grains. Sunday, May 31, 2015
arminjewell	3.6 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA Pour out of 22 oz bottle, thanks Bob! Hazy orange pour with white head, aroma brought notes of lots of canteloupe, melon, slight earthy, spicy notes with a hint of orange peel. Taste was melon forward, some orange, grapefruit notes into more earthy, spicy hops with a mix of bready, caramel notes, finishing bitter. Pretty interesting! Sunday, May 31, 2015
BVery	3.4 Driftless Rolling Ground IPA Bomber shared by Bob - thanks! Orange pour with a small white head. Floral, a little syrupy. Some sweet malt. Decent. Saturday, May 30, 2015
nuplastikk	2.8 Driftless Kick-Axe Pale Ale 22oz bomber, Filtered orange-gold body. Foamy white head. Kind of earthy and bland. The hops are kind of plain. Drinkable, not off, but just a little amateurish in the body and overall feel. Tuesday, May 19, 2015
drpimento	4 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale Decent beer good honey malt flavor. Long-lasting head very little lace hazy amber color. Good body. Has kind of a strange alcohol warmth although it’s low test. Saturday, September 20, 2014
Skyview	4.1 Driftless Solar Town Stout One of the first beers sampled at the 2014 Starkbierfest in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pours and opaque dark brown colored brew with an average sized off-white head that slowly dissipates to a thin creamy off-white film top. Aroma of chocolate malt, a hint of mild citrus hops and a touch of black malt. Taste is full bodied, average carbonation with more chocolate malt flavor than its aroma originally detected. Finish is quite smooth, silky with a short quite bitter bite followed by a lingering chocolate malt aftertaste is worth another pour. Okay, maybe a third pour just for general purpose. Nicely done! ! would like to see an Imperial Stout of this beer. Sunday, March 23, 2014
Skyview	3.5 Driftless Resolution XV Picked up a 22-oz bomber at the Viroqua Food CoOp in Western Wisconsin and at the Starkfest 2014 in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-clear amber colored brew with a decent off-white head that slowly dissipates to a thin white ring and some spotty lacing. Aroma of both earthy and citrus hops, caramel malt, a hint of herbal spice and light tobacco. Taste is medium bodied, soft carbonation with flavors of caramel malt, wild multi-hop profile and a touch of earthy spice. Finish is both semi-sweet and mildly bitter that retains some of the earthy hop profile after the finish. A mildly hoppy American style amber ale. Sunday, March 23, 2014
Skyview	3.8 Driftless Hop Goddess Double IPA Picked up a 22-oz bomber at the Viroqua Food CoOp in Western Wisconsin and at the Starkfest 2014 in Middleton, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-hazy orange amber colored brew with a thick off-white head that has some excellent lacing and retention. Aroma of floral hops, light citrus and multi-grain malt. Taste is like border line between IPA and APA with more floral hop presence than bitterness. Flavors of floral hops, a hint of ale yeast, caramel malt and a touch of mango. Finish is quite smooth for an IPA. A light caramel and floral hop aftertaste at first followed by some mild bitterness that slowly disappears. Nice enhancement to their regular Hop Goddess. Sunday, March 23, 2014
mtaifa	4 Driftless The Local Buzz Honey Ale Thursday, March 13, 2014
Skyview	4 Driftless Eve's Seduction Graf Picked up a 22-oz bomber at Viroqua Food Co-Op in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours a semi-clear brown amber colored brew with a creamy off-white head that sticks around with minimal dissipating and leaves behind excellent lacing. Aroma of roasted caramel malt, sweet apple juice, a touch of Bazooka bubble gum, allspice and a hint of toffee. Taste is well-balanced of caramel malt and apples, soft carbonation and a touch of toffee. Finish is semi-sweet, some mild alcohol warmth with a continued balanced caramel malt and lightly tart apples. Liquid caramel apples without the stick? Pretty close. Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Skyview	3 Driftless Hop Goddess IPA Picked up a single 22-oz bomber at the Viroqua Food Coop in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Pours a clear light brown amber colored brew with a fast dissipating off-white head that leaves behind a thin white ring and film top. Aroma of caramel malt, grassy hops, some light brown sugar, and a touch of apple. Taste is full bodied, soft carbonation with more caramel malt, toffee, simple syrup, and a touch of floral hops. Finish is semi-sweet, mostly a full-bodied, malty caramel and apple juice aftertaste with some mild bitterness that eventually develops quick and disappears just as fast. Some alcohol warmth in the finish when allowed to come up to room temperature. Not your typical West Coast caliber Cascadian IPA, but more of a floral hop full bodied amber. Recommend to drink this as fresh as possible. Monday, September 2, 2013