Robin Shepard
About six years ago, Milwaukee artist Mike Brenner noticed that people attending art events around town also liked good beer and thought he might be able to use craft beer to bring more people to art, while using beer sales to support artists. “I decided to make a hobby of brewing beer and use it as a real way to support art,” he says. “Hobby” led to brewing degrees from the Siebel Institute of Technology and the Doemens Academy and now, his own brewery.
What is it? City Fox from Brenner Brewing Co. of Milwaukee
Style: The pale ale is a medium-bodied beer known for its firm yet medium-to-high hop flavor and aroma. The American pale ales feature American hop varieties that are often stronger in citrus or resiny character, while English versions of the style often have less assertive hoppiness that comes off more herbal and grassy. The American pale ale commonly ranges from 4.5% to 5.5% ABV and 30-50 IBUs (International Bitterness Units).
Background: Mike Brenner’s approach to making beer is that of an artist, literally and figuratively.
Before opening his brewery, Mike Brenner owned the Hotcakes Gallery, managed the nonprofit Milwaukee Artist Resource Network and also worked for Turner Ballroom Preservation Trust in Milwaukee. And on top of that he was an aspiring musician in the band John the Conqueroo. However, he says he found that being an artist didn’t go far enough in paying the bills. “I spent eight years sweating and starving and doing everything I could to support the art community, and it all came down to sleeping on an air mattress in the back of my gallery,” he says.
Becoming a brewmaster and opening his own brewery has played out well for Brenner. The space he leases for the brewery includes not only the brewhouse and tasting room; it’s surrounded by over 20,000 square feet of art studios and gallery space. The brewery’s tasting room opens to the Pitch Project, which contains the works of more than two dozen local artists; another gallery shows the work of non-Wisconsin artists.
As an artist, Brenner wants to push his audience’s comfort level. That’s part of his brewing philosophy, too. “I feel my goal is to create a solid body of really accessible, easy-drinking beer, and then do some stuff that is more out there and challenging,” he says. So there’s his approachable City Fox Pale Ale, but there’s also Bacon Bomb, a strong smoked rauchbier that appeals to beer geeks.
Brenner calls on his artist friends to help with packaging. Each beer features a different label design from a local artist. The brewery is in the heart of Walker’s Point, an artsy neighborhood just south of downtown Milwaukee.
City Fox is the brewery’s current best-seller. It features a single variety of hops, Mosaic, which offers a blend of tropical and piney flavors. “It’s a pretty simple beer, all about showcasing Mosaic hops,” he says. Mosaic is a relatively new hop that’s becoming more common in American pale ales and IPAs. To give the beer a fruity edge to complement his choice of hops, Brenner uses an open fermentation process. He ferments City Fox in wide, flat-bottomed vessels that sit in their own room with a separate air handling system that reduces threats from contamination. “That pushes some of the fruity esters and pumps up the hop flavor,” he says. Brenner got this idea as he traveled in Germany while working on his brewing degree.
City Fox finishes at 5.3% ABV and 33 IBUs. It’s sold in six-packs for around $8-$9.
Robin Shepard
Tasting notes:
Aroma: A mixture of citrus and pine hoppiness.
Appearance: Golden copper color with a bubbly tan head.
Texture: Medium-bodied and bubbly.
Taste: Begins with a tropical blend of flavors that eventually become piney.
Finish/Aftertaste: Some light pine flavor, but this beer finishes crisp and clean without lingering bitterness.
Glassware: The Willi Becher will focus the light tropical citrus tones just enough to combine the aroma with the flavor really well.
Pairs well with: City Fox is a versatile meal beer. It matches especially well with grilled meats. Its sharp tropical hop notes also go well with young cheddar.
The Verdict: This is a bright and sharp pale ale. The tropical, juicy hoppiness has hints of tangerine and melon. As the beer warmed, I also found light flavors of orange and lemon. There are some piney notes too, but those come in a little later in the overall flavor and finish. This isn’t an aggressive pale ale. What’s distinctive is how it focuses on tropical and piney flavors of hops without harsh bitterness. Put City Fox on your list of pale ales to try if you haven’t already.
