*This is the fifty-seventh post in an on-going chronicle dubbed the Great Wisconsin Brewery Tour. Follow the journey here.*
The Bavarian Bierhaus
700 W Lexington Blvd
Glendale, WI 53217
(414) 316-9583
Visit date: 05/30/16
Quick Hits:
1) How many different beers?
2 of their own, goal is 14.
2) How long operational?
April 2016 (1 month).
3) Why? (here, this, etc)
Site of former Bavarian Inn, renovated by national company with “hands-on investors.”
4) Distribution?
Growlers to go.
5) What sets you apart?
Goal-oriented business dedicated to a fun atmosphere.
6) How did you get your name?
Homage to the Bavarian Inn and the fact that they’re now a haus that servers bier.
The Bavarian Bierhaus in Glendale. All photos by Joe Powell.
$10 million can get you a lot these days, including the transformation of a shuttered local German landmark into a new gathering place for families and friends. The Bavarian Bierhaus just opened a month ago, and that newness glow is still radiating from the surfaces and the employees.
I don’t recall ever visiting the Bavarian Inn, open from 1967 until 2011, for which the Germanic-lodge building was built, but I can only imagine that those old Milwaukee Germans had exactly this in mind.
The giant beer hall.
Besides the beautiful formal dining space and cool pub, there is a ginormous interior beer hall. I’m talking dozens of large communal tables, towering ceilings, a huge bar backed by gleaming brewing equipment, all tied to a stage up front where a man was blowing on one of those Ricola horns.
We tried both of the house brews they had available. As our server, Andrea, told us, “We’ve got goals.”; there’s 3 more beers coming out soon with the end-game to hit 14 available at all times based on their current equipment setup. Liters and half-liters, of course.
Zwickel
A dry, crisp start to a light but malty beer.
Hefeweizen
The foamy head hits your palate first preparing it for the creamy, lingering wheat beer. A more subtle banana note than expected.
We enjoyed our steins on the beer garden patio, which overlooks both the Bavarian Soccer Club’s playing fields and the local German Society’s festival beer garden. The entire park complex is approximately 10 acres and is just as impeccably-maintained as the Bierhaus itself.
Andrea told us that “here, it’s all about the experience.” She referred to her dirndl as a “costume, not a uniform”, and stressed how they’re trying hard to make everyone’s visit (and the worker’s jobs) part of a fun atmosphere. It’s hard to not join in on the merriment with free-flowing good beer and plentiful pretzels.
And beer cheese dip.
I was impressed with how well the remodeled space and re-thought business meshes with the surrounding park. Even the 50 foot blue beer tower doesn’t seem out of place.
How do I get up to that stein?
Pairing German heritage with beer is nothing new, but the dedication to the whole experience is what’s sure to draw in the crowds at The Bavarian Bierhaus and keep things feeling as fresh as the beer, pretzels, and polka.
