Maybe you’ve seen the posters popping up around town and have wondered, “what the heck is this Standard Goods beer that the says it is brewed in Milwaukee?”

Well, like a number of other “beer-flavored beers” – such as Garage Beer, owned by the Kelce brothers but with roots in the Cincinnati-area’s Braxton Brewing – Standard Goods is a budget brand created by a Milwaukee craft brewer.

The grass-roots poster campaign uses phrases like "Real Beer No Bull," "Raise Your Standard" and "Because Beer Deserves Better," and the can design is no-nonsense simple. Even the name has an "Amazon Basics" vibe.

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The lager, in a black can, and pale ale, in a gold one, were launched in June by Pilot Project Brewing, located in the old Pabst distribution facility that was converted in 2018 by Milwaukee Brewing Company into a brewery, taproom and restaurant in the Brewery District. (The Chicago-based Pilot Project bought it in 2022.)

Although Standard Goods was the official beer of the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon earlier this year and has been selling well, not much has been said about it.

There's a Facebook page for the beers, but it has zero likes and zero follows so far.

"The concept of 'Raise Your Standard' has a double meaning," says Pilot Project’s Dan Abel. "One is a bit provocative in reference to raising the bar of what a standard beer can be: Standard Goods. Whereas it’s also a call to 'cheers'."

The beer is priced at $9.99 for a six-pack and Abel says it’s aimed at both craft beer drinkers and macro beer fans.

“There's a lot of price sensitivity with craft beer these days and it's nice to deliver something undeniably craft at a more affordable price point,” he says. “As far as the macro drinkers, it's amazing the level of quality you can purchase for only a couple bucks more.”

Despite the fact that the price is lower, Abel says the recipes, which are new, are not scaled back.

“No adjuncts, so just malt, hops, yeast and water,” he says. “We use all noble hops across both the lager and pale ale meant to strike a balance with what you've grown accustomed to across America lager and pale ale offerings, but with, of course, distinguished technique.

“For us, the focus is creating a quality beer using quality ingredients and the technical prowess of our brewing team.”

The pale ale has light hop fruitiness that could definitely serve as a gateway to stronger, more complex pale ales for folks who fear big IBU beers.

Both beers have 5 percent ABV.

Abel also points out that Standard Goods is not a reaction to the high-profile national launch of Garage Beer earlier this year.

“This project kicked off one month before Garage Beer launched,” he says, adding that Standard Goods lineup will also soon expand.

“While we launched with a lager and a pale ale, we will delve into an additional style or two next year,” he said.

At the moment, the beers are distributed in southern Wisconsin and the greater Chicagoland areas, but Abel says Pilot Project is “geared up to distribute far and wide,” and plans to introduce a variety pack next year,

And how has the reaction been so far?

“Absolutely stellar,” Abel enthuses. “We were a featured product at FOBAB's (Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer in Chicago) lager lounge this year and the city of Milwaukee has responded very positively.

“We've started distributing across southern Wisconsin to Madison and recently launched in Chicago, as well. All to very positive feedback.”