Suggestions for Milwaukee breweries to check out

Sprecher and Lakefront for sure, though I'm not sure if either gives tours on Sunday (I last lived in Milwaukee two years ago, things may have changed). Lakefront gives an uproarious brewery tour - one of the best I have ever been on. Just be sure to buy tickets ahead of time as it can get quite busy on the weekend (I believe they are available on their website). The Milwaukee Brewing Company has an event on Saturday night (or at least it last time I checked) where you paid $10 and got basically a 2-hour binge-a-thon to consume as many brews as you please. However it can be a bit of a drunkfest and the beer, while still quite enjoyable, isn't as good as the other two locations. If you are looking for a great beer bar, check out Sugar Maple, too. Cheers.

 

Definitely do Lakefront. It's rated the 3rd best brewery tour in the country, and for good reason. It's a lot of fun.

Milwaukee Brewing can be as much of a drunkfest as you want to make it. They have a lot of high ABV brews now, so it's not too difficult to ruin your night. They've improved a lot over the past year and have a lot of excellent hoppy and barrel-aged brews. I highly recommend it.

Sprecher is neat, but really nothing special. It's quite a ways South of downtown Milwaukee as well, so I wouldn't go out of your way to see it. Besides Czaw Brew, Commando, and Black Bavarian, the beer is meh. The soda is world class though.

The Pabst brewery is very cool. I really enjoyed that tour. Lots of history and it's a really neat facility (or at least what's left of it).

Miller Brewing has a free tour. Obviously it's not a micro-brewery, but it's neat to see a massive brewing operation and see the historic caves. It's free and you get a beer out of it. If you like history, do it.

For bars, hit up Rumpus Room, Sugar Maple, Burnhearts, Palm Tavern, or Romans. Those always have excellent beer selections.

 

I agree with pretty much everything AstraExtreme said, although Sprecher is North of Milwaukee (Glendale), not South. Still not worth visiting. Lakefront is a must, MKE is fun, Brenner Brewing might be worth a shot if you wanna see something different (and new to Milwaukee). I would also recommend Tornado Brewing in Cudahy, he's doing good things down there.

 

Lakefont for sure ... It's about the only one I have been on that you do your drinking during the tour (and after of course)!