As an avid beer drinker, your first stop in Milwaukee on Friday night has to Lakefront Brewery and their signature tour. Though they offer a shortened version now, make sure you get on their $10 standard tours. Tickets are available online or some in person day-of, but they almost always sell out. Hilarious guides, local history, Laverne & Shirley references, and great beer abound.
(Follow along on The Beer Tour map!)
Stay at Lakefront for their signature fish fry, then cross over the Milwaukee River using the unique Holton Street Marsupial Bridge to end up near Brady Street on the Lower East Side.
Wind your way through a couple blocks of odd little streets until you find the newly-transplanted Eagle Park Brewing Company. This literal band of brothers (they are both brothers, and a band) are flooding Milwaukee with beers that are easy to jam with.
Round out the night with some after-dinner flights at Milwaukee’s new craft-beer golden boy: Good City Brewing. After only a year, this urban brewpub set up a prolific canning gig and underwent a massive expansion that includes a live music venue and a rooftop patio.
Call it an early night: you’ve got a long day of beer history and/or drinking ahead of you tomorrow.
Let’s walk the paths of classic breweries that made this Brew City.
I’m ready for a great batch of new craft brewers.
All photos by Joe Powell for The Squeaky Curd.