Positive Friday - Pragmatic Monday

Pragmatic Monday is a classic Hefeweizen brewed as a nod to traditional German wheat beers, interpreted through Positive Friday’s experimental yet respectful lens. Pouring a pale golden hue with a soft haze and a fluffy white head, this beer immediately signals its wheat-forward character. The aroma leans into familiar Hefeweizen territory, offering notes of banana, clove, and gentle spice, supported by a subtle grainy sweetness from the malt bill of Pilsen and wheat malts. On the palate, Pragmatic Monday is smooth and approachable, with a light to medium body and restrained bitterness that allows yeast-driven flavors to take center stage. Soft fruit esters and mild phenolic spice carry through the mid-palate, while a clean finish keeps the beer refreshing and highly drinkable. At 5.7% ABV and just 12 IBUs, it remains balanced and session-friendly without sacrificing character. This Hefeweizen pairs beautifully with bratwurst, roasted chicken, soft pretzels, or mild cheeses, and also works well with lighter fare such as salads or grilled vegetables. Best enjoyed at 45–50°F from a pint glass, mug, or IPA glass, Pragmatic Monday is an easygoing, thoughtfully brewed wheat ale that lives up to its name.

The story of Positive Friday is intrinsically linked to the venerable Millstream Brewing Company in Amana, Iowa, which opened in 1985. In March of 2021, Millstream was acquired by Steve & Susan Charlier and their business partner Justin Cohanim while the previous owners, Tom & Teresa Albert, continued as owners of the adjacent Millstream Brau Haus. The new owners sought to maintain the brewery’s core, often traditional German-style beers while expanding the lineup to include more contemporary styles. They also added a canning line to adapt to the modern demand for this packaging format.

Tom, Teresa, and Justin launched the Positive Friday brand in 2021 to provide an avenue to their brewers for experimentation into new styles and a more nimble vehicle for them to get these new creations into the hands of beer lovers much faster, and to a larger audience than the more local-centric Millstream brand. As Justin explained to us, at Millstream the process to introduce a new beer can take months, with multiple pilot batches sold largely out of the taproom. With Positive Friday, they’ve created a separate entity, one in which they hand the reins entirely to their very experienced brewing staff and tell them to come up with something new and exciting – which immediately gets created and distributed within just a few weeks, and to a broader market at that.

As of this writing, they’ve released several new beers including both West Coast and New England Hazy IPAs, Wheat Ale, Vienna Lager, German Pils, and a rather bold Irish Red boasting a stronger than normal ABV. We’re looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.