Milwaukee for 24 hours

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...ison-and-surrounding-area-suggestions.524597/
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/milwaukee-bars.495269/

 

If it were me on Friday night I'd take an Uber to Bay View and do a bar crawl. From downtown it's about a 10 minute ride. Start at Roman's Pub, then it's about a three quarter mile walk/Uber to Palm Tavern. Then another three quarter miles to Burnhearts. After Burnhearts walk across the street to the Vanguard and get delicious sausage. If you're still walking after that, Sugar Maple is another option. Those four bars are all in Bayview and have been named in one publication or another as a top beer bar in the country.

Then Saturday stay downtown, grab brunch and just wander. There are bars and restaurants all around you. Go check out the new Pabst brewery for the history. If you want to check out some new breweries the two that generate the most buzz are Third Space and Good City. Third Space is probably about a mile from DoubleTree, Good City is an Uber.

Enjoy!

 

If you want something relatively close to the Double Tree:

http://docsbbq.net/milwaukee/on-tap/

 

There have been a few discussions in the past about Milwaukee, here's some links to them, though some of the info is a little old but you can get some good variety of opinions in:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bottle-shops-in-milwaukee.158324/

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/a-couple-of-milwaukee-questions.125793/ (more bars and such)

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bottle-shops-in-milwaukee.122990/


Everything is unfortunately spread around so an Uber is key without a car. Really, it boils down to a few locations in each category in my opinion:

More specific to downtown as far as buying beer to take home, theres a convenience/liquor store around the corner from the Double Tree but don't know the availability/quality of stuff there (but NG is pretty much everywhere).
There's also the Milwaukee Public Market (~1 mile walk) 400 N Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202
and a grocery store a little further away
Metro Market - 1123 N Van Buren St, Milwaukee, WI 53202


Other things to check out in Milwaukee

Bottle & Growler Shops

Don't forget to check their Facebook and/or twitter feeds for new releases and beermenus.com or app for tap lists

Discount Liquor (51st and Oklahoma) - probably biggest bottle selection in the city, my preferred choice typically, (FYI only open 10-2 Sundays)

Ray's Wine and Spirits (~90th and North Ave in Wauwatosa) - Another great liquor store with a big selection and a big plus that virtually all their beers are in the cooler

Otto's (Particularly on Oakland and Otto's Wine Cask on Brown Deer Rd) - Nice store with good selection and always seems to have a couple nice bottles of limited or vintage beer

Woodman's (Oak Creek, Kenosha, Waukesha, Menomonee Falls) - HUGE grocery and liquor stores with big selection, good prices

Three Cellars (Franklin [far south suburb] and Menomonee Falls [north suburb]) - Two nice bottle shops with tap rooms and Menomonee Falls doing crowlers. Always seem to have a good selection and some solid and limited/unique taps

Draft & Vessel - Cool place in Shorewood, has some bottles and a pretty solid tap list typically. Really cool aesthetic and vibe to it. It's a ways away from where I live so I haven't gotten there much, but they recently expanded and heard the space has only improved even more


Beer Bars

Just check facebook/twitter/beermenus for their up to date tap selection, but really you can't go wrong with almost any of them

Stubby's Gastrogrub and Beer Bar has great taps and solid food

The Rumpus Room The casual/trendy restaurant for the big restaurant group in town. Good food albeit higher-end/pricey, lots of great beers, plus if you want to mix it up, their true specialty is that they make amazing cocktails. Plus an incredible bourbon list (used to regularly have pappy available by the pour, but now you know, it's pappy so...) But this place can get really busy FYI.

The Lowlands Group restaurants (Cafe Hollander, Cafe Centraal, Cafe Benelux, Trocadero, Cafe Bavaria) are themed on Belgian/European beers and food and are all really solid places, but less emphasis on local brews than then above places.

But really, just go to Bayview. 4 of the top 100 beer bars in America IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD all within about a mile or 2 of each other. Sadly none really serve food, but there's good options nearby

Sugar Maple in Bayview has a superb selection of beers but no food, but many really good restaurants within walking distance.

Roman's Pub has a great tap selection as well - check out their Facebook for updates.

Burnhearts another really good, nationally rated bar that has some awesome taps and bottle selection (and they're only a couple blocks from Vanguard and Honey Pie, two great restaurants, Vanguard for Sausages and bourbon and old school wrestling on TV and Honey Pie for way above average local/american meals

The Palm Tavern (New addition to the top 100 this year) great taps awesome bourbon, and occasionally a really nice surprise on tap (one day just randomly put on BA Victory at Sea just cause)


Breweries

Lakefront - Friday nights has their famous fish-fry. Really good, one of my favorites. But be prepared to wait if you get there after about 5:30-6:00. Unless you've already been on the tour, don't dismiss it. One of the best in the country. Otherwise during the days and weekends, it primarily is a brewery with tours and then they sell their taps too, but now has food daily in their beer hall

Good City Brewing - Brand new in the last month or two. Great location and space. Really enjoyed their Motto mosaic Pale Ale. Also looked like they had some nice food, but I didn't eat there.

Third Space Brewing - Head brewer was at Hangar 24. Making some really really good beers lately. Closest to downtown and pretty much walking distance

Company Brewing - newer place in Riverwest. Beer was good, but impressed with their good food.

Black Husky - newly opened brewery and tap room in Riverwest but have been getting bottles down here for a couple years. Haven't been myself to the new brewery yet, but heard nothing but positives for the new location and their beers are well regarded with the hoppy beers being their forte.

Raised Grain Brewing - in the Western Suburbs, but really been making some impressive beers. Sometimes you can find them on tap at other bars/growler shops


Hope that helps some and if you have any questions or want more specifics, I'm happy to chat some more. Enjoy your trip to The Good Land (insert Alice Cooper here). Cheers!

 

If New Glarus is your target I would check out a bar in West allis (15 minutes from downtown Milwaukee), called The Drunk Uncle. They just had a New Glarus tap takover awhile ago and still have 9 on tap. Very good and affordable craft beer selection. Also a brewery called Westallion Brewing around the corner from it if your'e inclined to go.

https://www.facebook.com/thedrunkuncle/

 

Not specifically a recommendation based on beer selection, but as a spy nerd, I highly recommend the bar Safehouse. It's a big, cool/kitschy place, and can be a chill place to have a drink or two (again, if you like James Bond-type shit). They do have some craft beer options, including their own house beer.

 

If you want 3f on tap check out docs smokehouse on 4th Street. Also Friday night starting around 630 there is a War Pigs launch party at Burnhearts in Bay View.

 

Resurrecting an old thread, but thought there may be value in adding some more Milwaukee info here.

I'll be in the Milwaukee area the next couple days for work. I don't have a lot of time (unfortunately), so is there anywhere in town where I can spend a few hours walking between a local bottle shop or two, and a brewery or two?

Otherwise, I may just get a ride to and from Discount Liquor on Oklahoma for some to-go beers. Any recommended local beers in distribution that come in cans (easier to fly with)?

Cheers!