Millstream Brewing Company - Windmill Wheat

Perfect for the last days of summer, this is a solid example of the American Pale Wheat Ale style. Malted wheat is carefully blended with malted barley, and brewed with German Tettnanger hops to create a "Summer Fest" beer. Light and zesty in itself, the beer is often served with a slice of lemon. There's a lot of debate out there about adding a lemon wedge to wheat beers. Bottom line is, if you like it, go for it. Stylistically, our opinion is that if you're going to add the lemon (we usually don't), American Pale Wheat Ales are better suited than Bavarian or Belgian versions, mainly due to the increased wheat-twang found in American versions. And as most American versions are filtered, the lemon wedge and light coloration make for a visually appealing presentation. This one presents a typically clean wheat nose, with a particularly present citrus note (stylistically-speaking). Expect slight wheat bitterness in the flavor, with hints of oranges and pears, and a mild acidity—look for a very light banana note and increased sweetness as it warms. We agree with the brewery that this is a great breakfast beer to pair with omelets, cheese, sausage and bacon.

The Millstream Brewing Company opened up shop in 1985 in Amana, Iowa as the area's first brewery since 1884! (and their first microbrewery ever). After 101 years devoid of local brew, this was a town very ready for a new brewery. The art of brewing came back to Amana as a result of brothers James and Dennis Roemig's & Carroll F. Zuber's strong desire to create a local brewery producing hand crafted brews reminiscent of the finest in Europe. To help produce these European-style beers, they hired one of the country's most 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 lineup 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 (one of our featured beers this month). 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! Chris and Aaron both trained at the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology, so rest assured, their brewing skills make the cut on paper... But hey, paper ain't the best tasting stuff, so let's move on to the tasting notes below and pour a couple of their beers for the real proof behind their brewing prowess. Just be sure you save enough Oktoberfest for your celebrations! For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours call (319) 622-3672 or check out their web site at www.millstreambrewing.com. If you're ever in the area, stop in and visit the brewery and their gorgeous Biergarten.