Millstream Brewing Company - Warsh Pail Ale

One of our beer panelists and newsletter writers missed out on our panel review for this beer, but still wanted to get a few bottles to sample so that he could chip in his ‘brew cents’. So, he did what any of us would do—he called the brewery and asked for a couple of bottles. To his surprise, the folks at Millstream told him that they didn’t have any to spare, as all of their Warsh Pail Ale was being brewed right then, in a special preparation brewed specifically to fulfill our Beer of the Month Club order! So you see, what you have in your hands, in essence, has been brewed just for you and other beer gourmands who subscribe to the club! How’s that for hand-crafted small batches of beer (don’t get us wrong, we have quite a few members, but think about it—they couldn’t spare a single bottle for our panel member—every last drop went to the club!) Here’s what our panel member missed out on (that’ll teach him to miss our review sessions!!): Warsh Pail Ale is a break from the hop-heavy pale ales that seem to be everywhere these days. This well-balanced, light-to-medium-bodied brew gets its hop bitterness from a tasteful degree of dry-hopping with Cascade hops, which provide a nice citrus zing. Lying somewhere between the typical American and classic European Pale Ale, this is another brew that carries the unique stamp of the Millstream Brewing Company. Quite tasty alongside lamb or game dishes. Cheers!

The Millstream Brewing Company, located in Amana, IA, first opened its doors in 1985, and was the first brewery to operate in Amana since 1884! You could say the area was long overdue for a new brewery! The Millstream Brewing Company came into being as a result of the strong desire of brothers James and Dennis Roemig, along with Carroll F. Zuber, to create a local brewery producing hand crafted brews reminiscent of the finest beers in Europe. To help produce these European-style beers, they hired one of the country’s more widely recognized masterbrewers, Joseph Pickett Sr., to develop their recipes. Joe formulated the Millstream Lager, Schild Brau Amber, and Millstream Wheat brands. These three top-notch beers comprised the brewery’s primary line up until the year 2000, when it was sold to Chris Priebe, Aaron Taubman, and Teresa Sly Albert. As you might expect, along with the new owners came new brews, as the threesome added a German Style Pilsner, Oatmeal Stout, and several other fantastic seasonals including a Maifest (a maibock beer), a Bavarian-style Hefeweissen, and an Oktoberfest. They’ve even added root beer and cream soda to their bag of tricks, but you’ll have to buy those on your own as you won’t be finding anything other than hand crafted, microbrewed nectar ‘of the beer sort’ in this here club! Millstream recently claimed a silver medal at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival Competition, the largest national beer contest recognizing the most outstanding beers produced in the United States today. The Millstream Brewing Company was recognized in the Vienna Lager beer-style category for its Schild Brau Amber, a red Vienna lager rich in caramel and malt flavors. Proud, but deservedly boastful upon hearing the results, Aaron Taubman, one of Millstream’s brewers, is quoted as saying “our beer keeps getting better every year, and this is proof of that. This is the second year in row that we have won a medal in this category, and second place out of 25 similar beers is no small feat.” We’ll drink to that Aaron! Got any extra Schild Brau Amber you can send our way? So, anyone out there been to Amana, IA? Didn’t think so… but hey, now you have a reason to drop in during that cross country drive you’ve been meaning to take, right? The truth is, the Millstream Brewing Company is one of the nicest, most attractive, rustic breweries in the country. Seriously, check out their website (listed below) and have a look at their online brewery tour—you’re sure to be inspired to take a trip to Amana! We recommend you sit in their hop garden and have a brew amidst the aromatic scents of freshly grown hops. Hmmm… sounds like heaven to us! Who knew it was in Iowa!? For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (319) 622-3672 or check out their web site at www.millstreambrewing.com.