Milwaukee’s Best Cold Brew Coffee
Cold-brew coffee has moved from niche to obligatory at cafes. Unlike “icing” brewed joe, ground coffee is steeped for hours in cold water, making it stronger (yum!) and less acidic. Which local cold brew rules?
Round 1
ALDERAAN
1560 N. Water St.
Alderaan’s rich Mocha Java brew leaves a delectable, lingering spice flavor.
VALENTINE
The Costa Rican-Peruvian blend is nicely fruity but lacks the body and depth of other roasts.
COLECTIVO
Sweet and roasty Toro espresso beans are a little too bitter.
STONE CREEK
The full-body Black Sheep roast is creamy liquid chocolate – almost. A treat!
HAWTHORNE
4177 S. Howell Ave.
Creamy nitro tap coffee, steeped, infused with nitrogen gas, keg-chilled – like dark beer!
KICKAPOO
232 E. Erie St., Third Ward
Molasses, butter, nectarines, even black tea leaves. All-around deliciously smooth.
ANODYNE
Strong, thick and foamy from the nitro. Atomic Blend lends buttery-caramel goodness.
PILCROW
1739 N. Martin Luther King Dr.
Full-bodied, rich, thick, with off-the-charts roastiness. No ice in this baby!
Round 2
ALDERAAN
The perfect wake-up sipper – intensity coursing through your veins!
STONE CREEK
The dark-roast burn takes your tastebuds by bean storm, crushing the first-round competition!
KICKAPOO
A big Kick! Each sip of this complex brew (using the roaster’s icebreaker beans) offers a different nuance.
PILCROW
Newbie Pilcrow unexpectedly won America’s Best Cold Brew Competition in March. It’s clear why.
Round 3
And the winner is…
Pilcrow! With a strong, foamy head courtesy of the nitro, this is a substantial cold brew. Could have sworn the barista was pouring a Guinness!
Milwaukee’s Best Iced Coffee
Valentine Coffee Roasters
→ Hand-pour or “pour-over” arguably makes a better cup of coffee. The same method works for iced coffee, but with ice added to the dripping container. Hot water ensures that “more of the lively solubles in coffee make it into the brew,” explains Valentine’s Joe Gilsdorf. To aficionados, this made-to-order technique eliminates the funky flavor-causing oxidation that happens when cold coffee sits in the fridge.
Valentine also offers iced Americano and cold brew, a common technique that employs overnight steeping in cold water that adds richness and lowers acidity. Valentine uses coffee from a Guatemalan Chimaltenango microlot to make a creamy cold brew with notes of caramel and chocolate. It’s like drinking dessert. (5918 W. Vliet St.)
Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.
→ Draft coffee – prepared in the same way as tap beer, only the system uses nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide – produces a bright, smooth product. Anodyne’s cold brew uses its Atomic Blend beans. It’s a treat on ice with a little cream, or topped off with cream and hazelnut syrup to make the Nutty Pedestrian. (224 W. Bruce St.; 2920 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.; Milwaukee Public Market, 400 N. Water St.)
Roast Coffee Company
→ Owner Ryan Mason favors the full-immersion cold-brewed method, which he compares to Sun Tea. The combined coffee (Roast’s Raging Bull blend) and water sit for 12 hours, at which point it’s filtered to produce a concentrate. This coffee pushes rich texture and notes of cocoa, and a kind of nuttiness. (2132 E. Locust St.)
Stone Creek Coffee
→ This roaster has a serious regimen for choosing the coffee for its cold brew. The 2015 cold brew beans balance the sweet, floral notes with appreciable body and roastiness. Rich and succulent, it’s pure refreshment. (10 locations)
Alderaan Coffee
→ This north-of-Downtown café carries beans from multiple roasters (local ones, too, such as Anodyne). Its cold brew uses their own Mocha Java, a blend of dark-roasted Sumatra and washed heirloom Arabica. Thick and sweet. (1560 N. Water St.)
