A visit to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also known as The Brew City, is not complete without a tour of at least one of the local breweries. I’ve been on seven different brewery tours in my life and this one was easily my favorite. The brewery is easy to get to at 1872 N. Commerce Street in Milwaukee, it is right under Main Street so look for it when you are crossing the bridge.
The tour times vary each week so you will need to check out the calendar on their website http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com to see when they will be offered while you are in town. The trend seems to be that they are available at least once each afternoon of the week except for Sundays. Fridays and Saturdays usually have multiple tours but you might have a better chance getting in on a quieter weekday. There is often one at 3PM. The tour fills at 50 people so be sure to get there early to get in because reservations are not accepted.
The cost for the tour is $7. This price includes a souvenir pint glass, four samples of beer, and a coupon for a free beer from any of the following locations: Wolski’s, G-Daddy’s BBC, Bar Louie, Nomad, Brocach, Wicked Hop, Meglio Pizzeria, Karma Bar & Grill, The Garage/Balzac, Palomino, The Tracks, Milwaukee Brat House and Vitucci’s. Lakefront Root Beer is available for those who do not wish to drink alcohol. Keep in mind those four “samples” are each 12 ounces so you are getting a lot of beer and a great tour for your $7. Also, if you have been there before, keep in mind that the tour is optional and you CAN just go there to drink some beer for cheap.
The tour lasts about 45 minutes and I found it to be very informative as well as entertaining. Our tour guide was cracking jokes the entire time. He was knowledgeable and chatted with us afterwards when we had some questions. The tour comes after the drinking, and you are allowed to bring your beer on the tour, which seems to be backwards from many of the other brewery tours I have been on. Our tour guide even lead our group in singing a theme song from a popular 70s TV show.
The tour was definitely worth the amount of money we paid for it. We had a great time and got to try out some locally made, tasty beer.
