Brewfinity - Oconomowoc, WI

As I left Milwaukee after going to a con with my son, I decided to hit a brew pub.  The one I chose was closed for rebranding upon reaching the property.  Google Maps, which I despise, lied to us again.  It mentioned nothing about being closed and said it was moderately busy.  First they track your every move, then openly lie to you.  I hate Google, but that is for another time.  I chose a different brewery not too far away and we were starving, so it had to have food.  When you get to the building Brewfinity is in, you ,might just think they are out of business too as it looked like a shutdown warehouse out front, but a sign directs you to the left, so I drove around the building and found the brewery.  It is tucked away, but was a nice little space for a tap room.  There were just five other people in there on a very hot Saturday, so we grabbed a spot near the front.  The bartender came right over and gave us some menus.  Since I hadn't been there before, he asked me what kind of beer I like and directed me to their flagship beer, the Sailor's Delight, which is an American Amber.  I probably would've chose this beer anyway, so it was a good call.  Biscuity and malty, just like I like it.  The beer was a nice amber color and was really good.  It finished well, not too hoppy, and smelled  just right.  American Ambers are unique in that they use American hops and derive their sweetness from the malts they use.  They are fermented in a cleaner way than their British cousins and are distinct by their balance.  I get the feeling that the hey day of IPA's is over and that vacuum will be filled by amber ales.  They are far more drinkable, yet may struggle to earn their keep as a summer beer.  Perhaps less refreshing to some drinkers as a number of IPA's can be, but I tend to think they appeal to a far broader audience of beer enthusiasts.  Every brewery makes one, they just don't experiment as deeply and wrongly, in my opinion, as they did with a rash of IPA's.  

My next beer was a battle of wills.  I had eyed the Ye Old German Ale since I sat down, but the beer at the bottom of the list was calling my name.  A 2020 Silver Medalist at the US Beer Open, the You're Killing me S'Mores, a S'mores flavored Porter had to be tried.  It was 90 and humid out, so the choice would not be a good one sitting in the sun on a patio, but in the air conditioned tap room, I needed to know.  I was still enamored with the Nutter Butter Porter I had in Colorado two years ago.  This one smelled like S'mores and tasted like S'mores.  It was good, however, it differed from the Nutter Butter one in that I almost felt like I was drinking a dessert.  It was more of a eating melted ice cream experience than drinking a beer.  It was unique, but still tasted good and I had no qualms about it other than it felt different.  I can see why people liked it enough to give it a medal.  I don't think I could drink it all night, but it was flavorful and heavy like a porter should be.  The S'mores smell catches your attention as soon as you lift it to your mouth.  It had a frothy head on it too.  I wonder if sitting in the barrel for awhile would change its consistency at all?  Probably don't pour a lot of them in the summer, so maybe that could be it.  The more I think about it, it was thicker than I expected maybe and that's why it felt different.  The one in Colorado was a fresh barrel and it was March and had just snowed 20 inches.  Any way, I still think it is worth trying as was the Sailor's Delight.  I could've stayed for many more, but we had places to be.  I wanted to get a t-shirt, but I didn't.  I'm going to have someone get me one on their way through there though.  It looks like Brewfinity has another location not too far away in Pewaukee, so you've got twice the chances of stopping by.  There are lots of choices for beer in the greater Milwaukee area, but if you want a smaller, out of the way place to enjoy good beer, give Brewfinity as try.