Tuesday 26th of April 2011 02:23:48 PM

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The beer is average. it wasn't horrible but nothing you would seek out. They have 5 beers that are made in house and a rootbeer as well. I sampled 4 of the five since they were out of the mariner nut brown both times I went. Hopefully they can play with their recipes a bit and fine tune the beer to become something of star for them.

The food was better then average. My group all agreed the food was good. We got a bunch of different entrees and appitizers and shared so we could get a good sample.

The service was a bit lackluster but, I'm not going to hold it against them. The staff all seems young and needs to get some experiance to up their speed and quality.

The place itself is beautiful very rustic looking with a large bar and large wooden table and chairs.

Overall it's all we've got on the southside of Milwaukee in terms of breweries so I'm willing to give it time. I think with a little work this could be a great place.

Sunday 23rd of January 2011 09:14:12 AM

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Overall a great experience, and my wife and I will definitely stop in again if we're in the area (we live about 40 miles south of their location, which is a bit off the beaten path).

The service was great, although they were not very busy at 7:30 on a Saturday night. Our waiter was quick to arrive, got our order exactly right, and was friendly without being over the top. The hostess greeted us promptly and sat us right away.

The menu is just the right size - not so many selections that you don't know where to begin, but enough that you feel like you've got a few good options. Their appetizers are fairly typical for a pub, but are well done - we went with the soft pretzels and were very pleased with how they were done, and the Beer Soup that goes alongside is excellent.

My wife went with the ham sandwich on a pretzel roll with cranberry mustard and the sweet potato fries. It was great. I went with the half slab of ribs with their signature BBQ sauce, based on some recommendations from other visitors. I was not disappointed in the least.

The beers...

The beers are alright, but nothing to write home about.

Kitzinger Kolsch - nice and clean, a bit on the sweeter side for my tastes
KK Weiss - a decent wheat beer, beautiful color and haze, a bit tart
Archbishop Amber - a bit bitter, but good body and nice color
Mariner Nut Brown Ale - my least favorite; a bit bland, too light in color and thin on flavor
Doppelbock (seasonal) - very drinkable; the best of the bunch, IMO; nice caramel notes and texture
South Shore Stout - a bit thick; subtle, smoky notes; nothing spectacular in this one
Harvest Strong Ale (seasonal) - this was terrible which is disappointing since I am huge fan of big beers; it had a very septic aroma (think band-aid) and the same flavor to go along with it; it was a beautiful deep ruby color, served appropriately in a large snifter; I kept thinking that the band-aid thing would disappear with my food, but no such luck. My guess is that there is some issue with the sanitization process that produced this, and I'm frankly surprised they put it on tap, but I suppose that flavor ok for some folks.

Overall, a good experience, and I'd highly recommend a visit.

Wednesday 24th of February 2010 06:44:34 PM

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Stopped off here at St. Francis Brewery for lunch. Brand new building, nice brewing facilities. Located seemingly off the beaten path in what appeared to be a predominant older residential area south of Milwaukee proper. Music all late 50s to early 70s. Large open bar w/ 4 flat panels.

KK Weiss - wheat, but light strong clove/banana notes. Good w/o lemon wedge. Ok for wheat

Kitzinger Kolsch - clear, sour aroma, more like a pils, not to my liking.

Archbishop Amber - Lt amber, mild maltiness, light hops w/slight bite. Smooth, but a little off, maybe too light for amber? Seems to hold a bitter edge over maltiness.

Double Red - reddish amber, nice aroma, smooth on tongue w/ good hop-malt balance. Mild alc note on after taste. Good stuff and it is running at 7.8%alc.

Mariner Nut Brown Ale - brown w/tan head, nice roasted aroma. Great roasted nutty flavor w/o being over done. This is a drinker! Great stuff.

South Shore Stout - dark brown to black w/ tan head (minimal-pushed w/CO2). Sour note on aroma and on taste. Doesn't hit anywhere near a Guinness or Beamish, although stated as a "dry oatmeal stout". OK, better on 2nd taste while eating.

Food - sounded good, looked even better. I had hot-soft pretzels with an amazing beer/cheese soup for dipping and a house salad w/ vinaigrette. all very good.

Monday 23rd of November 2009 10:03:51 PM

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This is a great new brewpub, built from the ground up rather than fitting a brewery in an existing building. They opened in April 2009 with Scott Hettig as the brewmaster. They have five regular beers on tap plus seasonal. Their regulars are a weiss, kolsch, amber ale, brown ale and an oatmeal stout. The current seasonal is a Pumpkin Ale, Cranberry Rye will be their holiday ale beginning in mid-December. They also have homemade draft root beer. This place has nice open seating on two levels and is completely no smoking. The brewing equipment is located in one spot to the right of the bar. It’s there to see but isn’t the centerpiece of the place. There's a separate banquet room that can be opened up for additional seating. They have an excellent menu and the special loaded club sandwich I had was very good, served with hot from the fryer French fries. They are open at 11 am daily except Sunday’s when they open at 10 am for Sunday Brunch. They have a mug club that offers discounts to members. There is ample free parking.