In Wisconsin Taste Test, two Milwaukee Record folks share their thoughts on two new-to-them “Wisconsin-y” food or drink items. This week: a trio of beers 3 Sheeps Brewing made for Piggly Wiggly.
Three sheeps and a pig walk into a brewery. No, that’s not the setup for a bad joke. It’s the abridged backstory of how a trio of new craft brews came into existence. Over the summer, Sheboygan-based 3 Sheeps Brewing joined forces with Piggly Wiggly—a once-prominent grocery store chain that still has something of a stronghold in Wisconsin—to release three new collaborative beers.
Piggly Wiggly’s German Pilsner, Midwest IPA, and Amber Lager are exclusively available at the beers’ eponymous grocery retailer. In learning of their existence, we knew we had to try them. We found each variety available for $9.99 per six-pack at the Oklahoma Avenue location (the only remaining Piggly Wiggly in Milwaukee proper), but prices may vary. Here’s what we think!
German Pilsner
Tyler Maas: I followed the pig’s pointing hoof to the beer aisle and procured all three varietals for us. I started with the German Pilsner, which seemed to be the best baseline entry to this craft beer collab on account of being a lighter offering than its counterparts. It’s just that—light and “crushable” (a term I’ve grown to hate, but is actually apt here) with a lager-like character.
As a longtime fan of 3 Sheeps, I have to admit the Piggly Wiggly German Pils reminded me a little of 3 Sheeps Pils. With differing ABVs (5.2% to 5.3% respectively) and the assurance these beers were created specifically for Piggly Wiggly, I’m inclined to believe they’re different. As such, I’ll focus my evaluation on the German Pils alone. It’s clean, smooth, and refreshing. If you like Lakefront’s Dive Beer or High Life, you’ll be happy with this one too, though this one is noticeably sweeter than both of those. If I’m offered one, I’d happy take it, but I’m not about to make a special trip to a Piggly Wiggly to grab this. I’d just get a strikingly similar 3 Sheeps Pils or, like, a Modelo instead.
Matt Wild: I, too, thought of Lakefront’s Dive Beer when I swigged the Pig. I also thought about one of my first jobs as a teenager: a grocery bagger and shelf stocker at the Piggly Wiggly in Mayville, Wisconsin.
The Pig has always loomed large in Mayville. It not only serves as the city’s one and only grocery store, but as the city’s main gathering place. “I have to run to the Pig.” “I saw so-and-so at the Pig.” “I have to run to the Pig again.” Those are sentences every Mayvillain has uttered at least 8,000 times in their lives. You don’t just “shop the Pig” in Mayville; you live the Pig.
I didn’t drink as a teenager and these Piggly Wiggly beers didn’t exist in the ’90s, but if I did and if they did, I would have “crushed” these suckers after work every day. “I saw Matt drinking after his shift at the Pig!” would have been a common Mayville refrain.
Tyler rating: “Yeah, sure.” (Okay)
Matt rating: “Oh, ya!” (Good)
Midwest IPA
Tyler: In an article about this collaboration, 3 Sheeps founder and brewmaster Grant Pauly says he considers his Midwest IPA to be “right down the middle.” That couldn’t be more true. This is what I think of when I see the letters I, P, and A arranged in that order. These days, beer drinkers are prone to encounter west coast IPAs, New England IPAs, juicy IPAs, hazy IPAs, and the like. This one doesn’t land anywhere near those. It’s an old school and by the book IPA that, at 6.5% ABV, is tasty, lightly bitter, and (yes) “right down the middle.” Hey, I wouldn’t mind being blindsided by hints of guava or some citra hops on occasion, but there’s something to be said about just making a good, standard IPA. Piggly Wiggly’s Midwest IPA absolutely fits that bill.
Matt: Aren’t we all supposed to hate IPAs now? Aren’t we all supposed to snicker at bearded, flannel-wearing IPA drinkers and share photos of “beer snob” Spirit Halloween costumes? I don’t know. All I do know is that I still enjoy IPAs, and that I enjoy the hell out of the 3 Sheeps / Piggly Wiggly Midwest IPA. “Right down the middle” is indeed right.
Anyway, I was a terrible grocery bagger and an even worse shelf stocker. The only reason I got the job in the first place was because my mom had worked at the Pig years before me. (Yes, I was a Piggly Wiggly nepo baby.) The couple who owned the Mayville Pig, Jerry and Pat Mountin, were like Mayville royalty. I remember Jerry calling me into his office once. I was convinced he was going to fire me, but all he did was ask that I not run my hands through my (then-long) hair so often when I was bagging. Fair enough. Then he smiled and said: “Don’t worry, Matt. I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like you.” I don’t know why, but I’ll never forget that.
Oh! Here’s Jerry!
Tyler rating: “Oh, ya!” (Good)
Matt rating: “Oh, hell ya!” (Very good)
Amber Lager
Tyler: To quote Pauly from this article once more, “we love our amber ales in Wisconsin.” I can’t speak for the entirety of a state, but I can wholeheartedly confirm that, yes…I do. I really do. In my opinion, amber lagers and amber ales are among the best indicators of a brewery’s overall quality. And 3 Sheeps has a few very good ambers in its arsenal. I’d say Armchair Quarterback qualifies, as does Rebel Kent (one of the brewery’s flagships and one of my favorites of theirs as well) and this Piggly Wiggly Amber Lager.
Again, I see similarities to Armchair Quarterback, but this Amber Lager is 0.5% higher in alcohol content, so I digress. Like other 3 Sheeps amber counterparts, it’s malty, full-bodied, and altogether delicious. Now, THIS might be worth a journey to shop the Pig. Then again, I live less than two miles from a Piggly Wiggly. If you don’t share my fortune, you’ll get a similar sensation from 3 Sheeps’ two other aforementioned ambers.
Matt: Yep, another winner. Huh! Was I expecting to enjoy these beers as much as I did? I was not. Did the can designs make me think of off-brand sodas instead of top-quality beers? They did. (Does Piggly Wiggly have its own soda? It should!) Am I grateful that you, Tyler, so expertly shared your beer knowledge and opinions so I could reminisce about a job I had more than 30 years ago? I am. Am I headed to Mayville this very weekend, and will Piggly Wiggly be one of my first stops? “Oh, hell ya!” is right.
Tyler rating: “Oh, hell ya!” (Very good)
Matt rating: “Oh, hell ya!” (Very good)
Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Wisconsin Taste Test: Miller-branded Pringles, Miller-branded bar nut mix
• Wisconsin Taste Test: Kwik Trip in-store items (various)
• Wisconsin Taste Test: Pork King Good pork rinds (various flavors)
• Wisconsin Taste Test: Red Hot Pickled Eggs and Mild Polish Sausage from Bay View Packing Company