Milwaukee Visit

[trojan]

It looks like I may be making a trip to Milwaukee in the next few weeks for work. Anything or anywhere beer related that I should try to do?

 

[JonM]

Sure is!

The Lakefront Brewery puts on a really fun tour. It's even more fun when you do it in a Friday afternoon and finish it off with the fish fry in their beer hall. Other fun tours are the Milwaukee Brewing Co, which isn't far from the Harley-Davidson Museum.

I know some people stick their noses up at all things BMC, but the Miller Brewery really is cool to see.

Some great places for food and beer are: Cafe Hollander/Cafe Centraal, (Cafe Centraal is next to one of the best beer bars in town, Sugar Maple), Hinterland (they make their own excellent beer), the Rumpus Room, and World of Beer (which is just up the road from Northern Brewer.)

 

[mongoose33]

Tour Lakefront Brewery. For me, every brewery tour I've ever had is the same--there are these tanks, they pump grain and water and wort around, and eventually it ends up in bottles or kegs.

But this one is different. You can drink beer during the tour, and there's a spot to replenish. The tour guides are genuinely funny, and it's really a joy to do it.

And the beer is excellent. The cost is...something like $5 or $7 or something, can't recall exactly. For that the "Tour includes a souvenir pint glass, & four 6oz pours of beer. Tours also include a coupon for 1 free lakefront beer at one of many local establishments."

Here's the link:

http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/

For each tour they have something like 45 tickets sold online and 15 are walk-ins. Depending on when you do it it may be ok to walk in, but I'd probably get mine on line just to be sure.

 

[JonM]

And the place where you top off your beer mid-tour is the Bernie Brewer Chalet that was rescued when they tore down County Stadium.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452889648.016334.jpg

 

[Magnushate]

Looks like prior posts covered alot of the big ones. Throwing out a few less traditional you might consider since they havent specifically been mentioned yet.

I would recommend also trying Sprecher. They're famous for root beer/soda but have a decent sampling of different beers as well. I am partial to the imperial stout. Their restaurant on the north side is pretty good. I havent done it in a while but the tour used to be cheap, comes with unlimited soda samples for a time and a few small beer samples.

If this is your first time in wisconsin i highly recommend finding some New Glarus. Everything they do is a fine example of the beer style. I have yet to find something that wasnt done right, just things that didnt fit my tastes. The by and large favorite of Wisconsinites is the spotted cow cream ale. New glarus is out by madison so tours are likely off the list.

Another good but lesser known brewery in WI is Potosi. The good ol beer is what always comes to mind for the word beer. Thier steamboat shandy is sweet, lightly lemony and overall pretty tasty for a hot summer day. Can be found in milwaukee area if you look. They are out in the south western corner of the state but a neat little brewery if you go by it.

 

[JonM]

Yes. Stock up on New Glarus if you're not from Wisconsin or right on the border. Their Thumbprint Series is always excellent, as are their sours in the 750 ml bottles.

The regulars like Moon Man and Spotted Cow are great too.

 

[dmtaylor]

You must do the Lakefront tour. It's, like, mandatory! Milwaukee Ale House also makes some excellent beers. Be sure to taste some Brenner beers someplace along the way or stop at their tasting room as well. On the far west side of the greater metro area, if you can get out that far, Delafield is worth checking out. And while not brewed in Milwaukee but still great, if you can get your hands on 3 Sheeps or Ale Asylum beers, you will never be disappointed. There's also this little place called New Glarus, maybe you've heard of it? Get anything BUT the Spotted Cow and you'll be happy.

Cheers!

 

[burnsie8791]

The rumpus room is way under rated. Great taps and a fantastic bottle list.

 

[JonM]

My only caution with the Rumpus Room is that it's across the street from our Performing Arts Center and really close to the Pabst theater and Bradley Center. They're used to people with concert/basketball etc tickets needing to be in and out fast. You kinda have to slow the staff down if you want to linger and savor (which I highly recommend doing.)

 

[mongoose33]

Another good but lesser known brewery in WI is Potosi. The good ol beer is what always comes to mind for the word beer. Thier steamboat shandy is sweet, lightly lemony and overall pretty tasty for a hot summer day. Can be found in milwaukee area if you look. They are out in the south western corner of the state but a neat little brewery if you go by it.

Potosi Brewery is also the home of the National Brewery Museum, and they do their own brews there as well. It's going to be about a 3 hour drive from Milwaukee. If you're only going to be there for a short amount of time it's probably out of the picture, but as a day trip it could be interesting.

http://www.potosibrewery.com/index.cfm

The museum:

http://www.potosibrewery.com/museums_brew.cfm

Costs $5 for the museum but as I recall, you get a ticket for a free pint.

 

[trojan]

I have done the Lakefront tour before and loved it. If I have time or run out of things to do I will definitely do it again. Also stopping by NB while I am there as well.

I have had New Glarus and haven't had one I didn't like. Their tour is still an option.

 

[trojan]

Thanks for the suggestions. I found online a brew pub called the Horny Goat. Has anyone tried their brews or eaten there? It looks like it is in downtown Milwaukee. I was thinking it may be more novelty than anything worthwhile.

 

[bossman]

I have always been really underwhelmed with Horny Goat. The impression I got was that they were always more about getting people into their bar with a huge volleyball court and TV's than making good beer. Strange enough, they closed the brew pub in October but are still making beer so I don't know what they still have open to the public or what their long term plan is.

 

[trojan]

I thought it was odd when I went to the website they seemed to showcase the pub more than the beer. Thanks for the info.

 

[JonM]

Horny Goat went out of business. Their beer sucked, but they had a great location on the river.

 

[JonM]

I have done the Lakefront tour before and loved it. If I have time or run out of things to do I will definitely do it again. Also stopping by NB while I am there as well.

I have had New Glarus and haven't had one I didn't like. Their tour is still an option.

I know all the cheesehead jokes, blah, blah, but if you do get out to New Glarus, Edelweiss Creamery is nearby and it is legitimately one of the best cheesemakers in the world. (Seriously - in some big international cheese competition, their Swiss cheese beat all other Swiss cheeses, including the best ones made in Switzerland.) I think they have a full-blown retail store in New Glarus. If not, it's in grocery stores in Green County.

 

[trojan]

Thanks JonM. I will definitely stop in there if I make it down to New Glarus. There was a tiny brewery down near the Great Lakes Distillery when I was there 18 months ago. Are they still around? I wish I could remember their name but they were friendly and their beers were pretty good at the time.

 

[deere322]

Downtown - Old German Beer Hall (Hofbrau, also serves Usinger sausages)

By the Airport - Landmark 1850 Inn, clean tap lines, fresh beer, can't go wrong here.

 

[bassmang4]

For a good beer downtownish (bay view)
Romans
Palm Tavern
Sugar Maple

A little west is The Malt Shoppe. Beer store and growler filler that you can get a pint while you shop. Over 1000 different beers in bottles.

A little farther west is Champps Americana. Yes it's a chain sports bar. But not your average sports bar. A really amazing beer menu. Had a Southern Teir Oats 2012 on tap there last night. Awesome beer.

World of beer has a large selection too. Not a lot of special stuff though.

Just check beermenus on them

A tour is a tour. You've seen one. You've seen (almost) them all.

 

[JonM]

Thanks JonM. I will definitely stop in there if I make it down to New Glarus. There was a tiny brewery down near the Great Lakes Distillery when I was there 18 months ago. Are they still around? I wish I could remember their name but they were friendly and their beers were pretty good at the time.

Yep. That's the Milwaukee Brewing Co., and they're still around. (Fun fact - look them up Google Street View and there appear to be bins of grain or spent mash waiting to be carted away.) If you are into good coffee grab a pound at Collectivo Coffee Roasters, which is about a block away from the brewery.

 

[trojan]

My trip to Milwaukee is over. Thank you for all of the suggestions. I did not make it everywhere I wanted to go, but work kept getting in the way. I did do an All Grain Brewing class at Northern Brewer followed by a visit and tour of Brenner Brewery. I did eat dinner at Water St. Brewery and took a tour of Sprecher. I made sure to sample as many New Glarus and Lakefront offerings as possible. Lastly I did get a Holiday Sampler from Brennan's Market which provided several other Wisconsin offerings. Thanks again for all the suggestions.