Milwaukee

Recently THEbreweryauthority visited Milwaukee for the very first time. Although we didn't have nearly enough time in this infamous beer city, it was evident why Milwaukee has the reputation for all things beer. This region of Wisconsin has some deep German roots and with those roots comes a rich brewing heritage. Even the Major League Baseball team is named after brewing! While Milwaukee is soaked in the history of hundreds of preprohibition breweries, there are also dozens of new school craft breweries that have taken over the beer scene.

But first let's start with the obvious historical brewery which is the Miller Brewery just west of the downtown. Not many craft beer enthusiasts have a positive view on the Big Three (Miller, Coors, Budweiser) and for good reason. Their goal nowadays seems to drive out or buy out the smaller craft breweries we all love. But let's not forget Miller and the other ones helped paved the way for breweries of today. We won't get into the whole preprohibition Brewing Era and influence on the current industry. We could spend weeks discussing that. Let's just thank Miller, Coors, and Bud for brewing such terrible beer that it pushed us all to drink hazy IPAs and barrel aged stouts!

Unfortunately, the Miller brewery tour closed to the public temporarily. However, THEbreweryauthority was lucky enough to snag a private tour! As soon as the tour starts you forget how these corporate giants are trying to destroy craft beer and appreciate their humble beginnings, their contributions to not only beer in the region, but the world, and the overall beauty of the tan brick buildings and antique brewing equipment.

Love them or hate them the Miller Brewery is a cathedral to beer and should be appreciated by beer drinkers, historians, and ANY tourist visiting this area. Hopefully they can reopen the tour soon because this is history that needs to be shared. Just don't get too excited for the free beer at the end.

Only One Place to Stay

If you are a brewery traveler like us then there is only one hotel you can stay at...The Brewhouse Inn & Suites. This hotel took over the old Pabst brewhouse. THE actual brewhouse for the other great historic brewery in town. Pabst no longer brews in Milwaukee, but the whole brewery complex still exists as lofts, offices, and other businesses in addition to the hotel.

The Brewhouse Inn keeps the history of Pabst alive with rooms surrounding the old brew kettles which take up the entire center of the building. Upon seeing this I couldn't believe this was an actual hotel and am still amazed that such a place exists. We have stayed in quite a few magnificent hotels over the years and as avid beer drinkers The Brewhouse Inn takes the cake! There's really no other choice for a place to stay on a beer-cation in Milwaukee. Not only will you be staying in one of the most historic breweries in the country, but you are within walking distance from at least half a dozen craft breweries!

New Age of Beer

Now let's move onto the most important part of Milwaukee....the current craft beer scene! Milwaukee simply has it all when it comes to beer styles. Sure, there's no shortage of those juicy hazies and fruited sours. Eagle Park Brewing and 1840 Brewing are doing probably the best in the city. But THEbreweryauthority was thrilled to see the old German tradition of brewing still dominates the beer scene. Some breweries take it a step further and resemble an actual German beer hall. Breweries like Lakefront Brewing take this concept to heart with their MASSIVE beer hall. Feels more like Munich than Milwaukee!

So what are the "must visit" breweries in Milwaukee? Well all of them feel like must visits, but we will try to narrow it down to the best of the best. We already mentioned Eagle Park and 1840 which have the best newer styles like IPAs and fruited sours. Lakefront has been around forever in Milwaukee (at least as craft breweries are concerned) and has been a destination brewery for decades. Possibly more impressive than Lakefront's beer hall is the riverfront seating where you can watch boats and kayaks float up and down the river.

In addition to these top notch breweries is Central Waters Brewing located adjacently to the Pabst Brewery and Brewhouse Inn. This old church was actually purchased by the old Pabst brewery and used as a beer hall for employees. Central Waters took over not long ago and is making some great brews with that German theme quite prevalent.

Good City Brewing has two locations in Brew City, one of which sits next to the Bucks arena as part of a larger restaurant and bar complex. Great game day spot! Mobcraft Brewing is another local favorite with their hip taproom and wide range of beers.

Short on time? Head to one of the many beer bars in Milwaukee. These are great spots to find a concentration of local brews if you simply don't have enough time to get to the breweries. Some of our favorite spots are Camino which is down the street from Mobcraft, Milwaukee Brat House that serves up some glorious beer brats in addition to the beer, and On Tap that resides in the same building as the Brewhouse Inn & Suites!

Milwaukee has dozens and dozens of breweries and beer bars that even we couldn't make it to. So there are many options in this great beer city. You can't go wrong here, as great beer is always around the corner.

Extracurricular Activities

Now you can't just drink beer every waking minute (or can you?) So you will need something to do in those recovery hours or before the breweries open. Milwaukee does not disappoint when it comes to non beer activities. The Harley-Davidson Museum features hundreds of motorcycles from around the world and ones that date back to the beginning of the company. You can easily spend days at the museum reading all about the bikes.

The Riverwalk area is another Milwaukee favorite. This Riverwalk, unlike Chicago's to the south, is a more relaxed urban trail taking you down the winding river. Some of the best views come from the Riverwalk as well as some of the best photo opportunities.

Baseball fan? Check out American Family Park and take in a Brewers game. No need to drive to the stadium either. Almost every business in town runs a free shuttle to the game. On Tap (the restaurant adjoining The Brewhouse Inn) runs one of those shuttles and since you are staying at The Brewhouse Inn you are in luck! Once at the game make sure to seek out the local craft beer bar on the second level. All the local breweries have a beer on draft.

One of our favorite extracurriculars was the FOOD. My stomach has still not forgiven me for the vast amounts of cheese curds consumed. Honestly, I don't think I can eat another cheese curd unless it's from Wisconsin. Brats and sausages are another must eat in Milwaukee. There's that German influence again. Since we are not sausage or cheese curd experts I can't really say what joint has the best, just know that almost every restaurant and bar has cheese curds and brats!

The Rest of Wisconsin

THEbreweryauthority didn't just invade Milwaukee. No no no...we saw it all. Well, most of it. From a brewery standpoint Madison is second in WI only to Milwaukee. The Green Bay and Appleton areas have a crazy amount of breweries for the size of these small cities. That German influence extends all the way north through Green Bay and even west to Eau Claire. Even though the Eau Claire area doesn't have the crazy amount of breweries as the rest of Wisconsin they do have one of the best Wisconsin breweries. The Brewing Projekt pumps out some tasty fruited sours and juice bomb IPAs and the two story taproom doesn't disappoint with river views, rooftop bar, and bike trail access. The Lazy Monk next door is just another German Style beer hall with all the German beers you'd expect.

In the end, if you are traveling to Wisconsin for the first time then Milwaukee is the place for you. As small town people ourselves we really enjoyed the laid back culture of Milwaukee and the ease of getting from place to place. Think a way more laid back version of Chicago. Also, I can't stop appreciating the availability of traditional style beers as well as the new school varieties. What a relief it is to mix in a Marzen or Czech lager among a world of juiced up IPAs. You may find a lager or two on draft at breweries in other cities, but in Milwaukee they are as common as a nun in church. THEbreweryauthority awaits our next visit to The Beer City!!

Cheers!