"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is back for another round, brought to you by Great Northern Distilling: grain to glass spirits, handmade in Wisconsin. The whole month of March, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars readers poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Seems the world still can’t get enough of Sriracha, the garlicky spicy hot sauce from Hong Fuy Foods which has managed to crop up in everything from mayo and mustard to potato chips, popcorn, vodka and even lip balm.
And now, for the second year running, Rogue has released a batch of its Hong Fuy Foods sanctioned Sriracha Hot Stout, a beer created by infusing Sriracha Hot Sauce into a classic stout during the brewing process.
The spicy stout, which might seem to be a joke at first glance, is rated at 91 points for chili beer on RateBeer.com and earned a score of 80 from BeerAdvocate.com. So we decided to give it a try. Bottle in hand, we passed the Sriracha Hot Stout around the office, allowing interested parties to test it out for themselves.
But was it good?
I found the beer to be more drinkable than expected, with just a bit of kick that hits you in the aftertaste and sticks with you a bit as you swallow. However, despite my love for Sriracha, I didn’t like the brew enough that I’d be interested in drinking an entire bottle of it. That said, I might consider using it in a recipe or two – maybe chili or a marinade for meats – and it definitely has potential for use in a Bloody Mary.
But my opinion isn’t the only one that counts. Here’s how some members of the OnMilwaukee team reacted to a taste of this spicy brew.
If you’re intrigued by the Huy Fong brew, you’ll be excited to note that Rogue has declared March 7-13 as Sriracha Week. For tips, tricks and stories, follow #SrirachaWeek on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.