READ MORE OF OUR “BEST OF MILWAUKEE 2025” FEATURE HERE.
The way we form opinions about the taste of beer – or, really, nearly any consumer product – is loaded with bias. Before even a sip, your brain is already making decisions based on what it knows: a beer’s maker, its name, its packaging, your previous experiences with it. By the time your taste buds join the party, they barely have a chance.
That’s why blind tasting is the gold standard of beer competitions. For the Best of Milwaukee IPA contest, I chose five of what I believe are some of best widely available, locally made versions of craft beer’s most popular style. I did not see the beers poured into five sampling cups: No labels, no names, just beer. Here are the results:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Editor’s Pick: Haze the Lord
COMPONENT BREWING
It starts with a voluminous aroma of marmalade and juicy citrus. My note after the first sip: Yum! That tropical profile explodes on the palate, with muted bitterness on a very soft body. This banger is a nearly perfect modern IPA and was my clear winner.
Set List
EAGLE PARK BREWING
A lovely profile of pithy grapefruit, apricot and resin and perfect bitterness brought this nicely balanced beer to a solid second in my rankings.
Hazy Rabbit
LAKEFRONT BREWERY
Am I smelling anything? Not really. I am tasting something, though, and that off-putting dank note on the front end makes me pine for the soft-citrus profile of a real hazy IPA.
READERS’ CHOICE WINNER
Readers’ Choice Winner: Upward Spiral
THIRD SPACE BREWING
This beer won the blind tasting competition at the 2018 Wisconsin IPA Fest, but it didn’t fare as well here. With a muted aroma and down-the-middle profile goosed up a little by a nice, dank bitterness, it just didn’t stand out.
Yeah, We Got Beaches
GATHERING PLACE BREWING
This one spices up the straightforward tropical fruit profile with a little resin, but nothing really pops.
