The craft beer maker brews its eclectic range of beers by combining Old World barrel tradition with a fresh, modern twist.
When most people think about Milwaukee’s beer tradition, visions of industrialists and blue-collar workers crowding into corner bars for banter and lager easily come to mind.
By the turn of the century, competition among the city’s emerging beer barons was brewing, turning Pabst, Schlitz, Miller, and Blatz into household names, and earning Milwaukee one of its own, Brew City. After all, beer is what “Made Milwaukee Famous.”
As major beer companies merged, moved, or shuttered throughout the decades, Milwaukee’s beer culture has lived on, leading to a new crop of modern craft brewers to pop up in their place.
Milwaukee ranks third in the country for its number of breweries — more than 32 — and the number of bars per 100,000 residents, making it a reigning city for beer drinkers.
But while the city maintains a strong appetite for sipping pints of classic American lager or German ale, younger generations are increasingly drawn to the diverse, experimental flavors found in artisanal craft brews, thrusting Milwaukee into a new beer era.
In 2020, Wisconsin produced more than 839,400 barrels of craft beer alone, with Milwaukee craft brewers driving most of the production.
The combination of Milwaukee’s growing craft beer scene and its rich Old World brewing tradition is just one of the reasons why Minneapolis-based Indeed Brewing Company chose to open its pilot brewhouse here in 2019.
Housed at 530 South Second Street in the Walker’s Point Neighborhood, the 8,000 sq. ft. space includes a 10-barrel brew system and a neighborhood taproom, featuring a historic Hamm’s Brewing back bar — an ode to its home state's own brewing history — and a biergarten, as an ode to the history of its new one.
Last year, the craft brewery also opened a rooftop patio, Indeed at el Jardin, atop the historic Clock Shadow Building, honoring the neighborhood’s Hispanic heritage.
Indeed Brewery does more than draw upon local influences for a name; it also taps into the spirit of Milwaukee to brew its pilot beer creations.
In addition to bringing Indeed Brewing fan favorites such as Flavorwave IPA, Mexican Honey and Pistachio Cream Ale to Milwaukee, the company has produced creative iterations inspired by Brew City, including Hello, Milwaukee! Milwaukee Honey Barleywine, and Star-Crossed Mexican Chocolate Churro Stout, a limited-release inspired by the sweet flavors found on the city’s South Side.
“We’ve actually done a handful of beers here that are revived old recipes and we’ve done more lager beers here,” Indeed Brewing Company sales manager Jeff Gray told Beer Dabbler, a craft beer video series, last year. “We wanted to be authentically a part of Milwaukee’s beer scene.”
Indeed isn’t afraid to experiment with new flavors and techniques. This year, Indeed released the Hurricane Cocktail-Inspired Fruited Ale, a super fruity, tart and sweet beer inspired by a night in New Orleans French Quarter. It has also tested non-beer items, like hard kombuchas and seltzers out of its R&D space.
Feeling thirsty, yet? Indeed Brewing Company is just one of the craft breweries included in the Brew City Beer Pass from Visit Milwaukee. Grab this free digital ticket to your next craft beer adventure, and be sure to check-in to Indeed Brewing’s taproom by this summer.
