Lakefront Brewery Tour: The Best Beer Tour Ever

I can’t believe it took me so long to work it out.

Despite being from the UK, I’ve been into baseball since 1998. I’ve seen the Milwaukee Brewers play on TV several times but hadn’t ever thought much about why they were called that.

Well, the Milwaukee part is obvious, but until visiting the city on our 50 state road trip, I hadn’t realized there was such a huge brewing industry there.

We’d had a couple of people recommend that we go on a Lakefront Brewery tour while in the city. It seemed to be highly rated online and I’ve enjoyed going on brewery tours before, so off we went.

Shae did a bit of research online beforehand and saw that the founder and owner – Russ Klisch – was due to give a tour that day. Even though there were a dozen tours that day, his was a little more special.

Not just because of him being the founder and owner, but because he only gives a tour once a week and part of it includes an environmental aspect.

The tour itself cost $11 which was a bargain. Not only do we get an interesting tour, but also a souvenir pint glass, four 6oz pours of beer at the brewery and a free beer at one of a number of other bars.

To get beer on the tour, you’re given four tokens that you can use for nearly any of the beers on their menu.

You start the tour with a “plastic” cup which you get filled before setting off. The tour’s thirsty work, so you need something to keep you hydrated along the way. As part of Lakefront Brewery’s commitment to the environment, the cups are made of corn and get recycled and composted.

The tour starts at one side of the beer hall, next to a giant beer mug. The mug was originally from the old Milwaukee Brewers stadium; Lakefront Brewery bought this and some other stuff when the team moved stadiums.

The tour began upstairs, with Russ giving us some general information about the tour. Before heading downstairs, those of us with now-empty glasses were able to use another token to get them refilled.

Once downstairs, Russ shared more of the history of the brewery – from when they started making their own beer in 1981 through their growth over the years to the increased success they’ve had in recent years.

Lakefront Brewery was the first brewery in the US to launch a certified organic beer in 1995. Not only do they have organic brews, but they’re also certified by Travel Green Wisconsin – part of the reason they give an environmental tour. They use renewable energy, their used hops and grain are composted and they make other efforts to be environmentally-friendly.

After more than a decade, they outgrew their old brewery. In 1998, they moved into their current building which used to be a power plant.

Seeing as their beer is so popular, they need a lot of brewing equipment. And not just regular-sized equipment – here’s a photo of Shae to give you an idea of how big some of it is.

About halfway through the tour, Russ pointed out the chalet sitting above us. This was Bernie Brewer’s Chalet at the old Milwaukee Brewers stadium – their mascot would slide down from the chalet and land in the giant beer mug that’s now in the beer hall which you see at the beginning of the tour.

Every Valentine’s Day, Lakefront Brewery brings in ordained ministers and offers free weddings in the chalet.

Once the tour’s over, you can take a look inside the chalet.

There are beer stops throughout the tour, so I got another fill-up at this point. Shae’s not a beer fan, so I got to use a couple of her tokens as well.

The tour moved on to a different part of the brewery where we got to see some of the kegs that they use nowadays.

One of the most popular features of the Lakefront Brewery tour is when you get to the bottling room. In here, you get to sing along to the Laverne & Shirley theme tune.

In the TV show, Laverne & Shirley worked at the Milwaukee-based (fictional) Shotz Brewery. Russ set the bottling machine going, picked someone from the tour and she got to place the glove on top of a bottle while we sang along.

In case you need to jog your memory, here’s how the intro of Laverne & Shirley went:

And here’s a video of our version:

I know – the similarity is uncanny 😉

Shortly after that, the Lakefront Brewery tour was over, but the fun didn’t end there. For starters, we got to chat to Russ for a minute or two and got a selfie with the founder and owner.

Russ also gave us the inside scoop that there might be a few bottles of Golden Maple Root Beer hanging around. Shae managed to track one down and so was able to exchange a couple of her tokens for a bottle so she could enjoy a bottle of (root) beer at a brewery.

I still had a couple of tokens left and Shae was interested in getting a snack, so we made our way to the beer hall. This is a huge room with a ton of tables. It was a Friday night, so they were set up for their weekly fish fry.

I ordered a couple more beers, while Shae ordered some beer-battered cheese curds which came with a side of garlic ranch dip.

Friday’s definitely a great day to visit Lakefront Brewery. Not only do they have a fish fry, but they also have the Brewhaus Polka Kings playing who were a lot of fun.

While eating and drinking, we got chatting to a really nice family who had an awesome daughter with a unicorn headpiece (Hi Dan & Amy!). Norm and Sara at the brewery also helped Shae with some shenanigans in order to get some root beer for Dan & Amy’s daughter.

Despite me being somewhat tipsy by this stage, the drinking didn’t end there. The Lakefront Brewery tour comes with a coupon for a free Lakefront Brewery beer from one of several nearby pubs serving their brews.

Shae and I hopped in the car and made our way to Nomad World Pub. (n.b. One of the best parts of going on a brewery tour with someone who doesn’t like beer is that you have a designated driver 😉 )

Nomad World Pub had a couple of Lakefront Brewery beers – River West Stein and an IPA. I tried both and think I preferred the IPA out of the two.

In terms of beers I tried on the tour, my favorite was one that tasted like a mild Hefeweizen. I’d thought it’s their beer called Rendezvous, but the notes I made on the tour became gradually more non-existent the more beers I consumed, so I’m not certain that’s which one it was. Their stout was very good too.

Final Thoughts

If you like beer, the Lakefront Brewery tour in Milwaukee WI is something you need in your life. It’s fun, great value and – most importantly – has delicious beer. All of the staff we came into contact with were all incredibly friendly, so Russ  and his team have done a great job hiring the right people at the brewery.

Address

Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St., Milwaukee, WI 53212