The Milwaukee Brewery Tour Trifecta Part 3 - Lakefront

The third leg of the brewery tour day was my favorite. I was interested in Lakefront beer when I tasted it in Milwaukee last summer when at Miller Park, where they served Riverwest Stein Beer on tap. The brewery is located just south of the appropriately named Riverwest section of Milwaukee, and occupies a factory building on the river with the brewery downstairs and the Palm Garden bar upstairs.

We entered the building from the street side and it led us directly into the bar with the gift shop and restaurant, which was bustling with the Fish Fry crowd and tour goers. Having waited so long for this brew I bought a pint of the Stein Beer while we waited in line for the tour tickets. They had tours starting downstairs periodically but having never toured there I did not realize they were taking groups of people right away without having people wait in line too much.

With the ticket we were given a plastic cup and 4 wooden chips and sent down right away. At the bottom of the stairs was a beer station with pourers offering 4 choices from their bar. Here I tasted a Big Easy Maibock (a seasonal lager) after finishing the RWSB, then I decided on the Monkey Wheat to take with me on the tour. This, I found, was a mistake, because I was not too thrilled with the fruity yet bitter taste (an odd combination).

The tour was informative but mostly entertaining, since the tour guide was a much tattooed local school teacher who emphasized the fun of it more than the education. But halfway through when we went around a corner near the mash tuns was Bernie's Brewhouse from County Stadium, and your choice of more beer to taste!

Here I sampled the Eastside Dark, a strong malty brew that was very satisfying for the rest of the tour. Back at the bar after the tour was over I sampled their IPA with my last remaining chip. It was a classic IPA and also a good choice. When the tour finished we were offered a choice: we could keep the plastic cup we sampled with or trade it in for a glass Lakefront pint. We took the glass pint.

The beer there is great and I had to bring some home, including the growler of Riverwest, the 2 sixpacks I bought at the Midget Store, and I couldn't resist buying the 8-bottle variety pack at the bar for $11. The beertender was even good enough to exchange the Monkey Wheat for an adiditional Eastside Dark for my variety pack.

I would strongly recommend going here, especially on a Friday. I did not sample the fish fry but enjoyed the polka band. For next visits I would like to try the Ale House and Water Street Brewery, two establishments I have not been to in many years. Milwaukee, what a great beer town.