VISIT Milwaukee Blog

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Friday, May 18, 2012 By Zack Zupke Creative Services Manager VISIT Milwaukee

Ah, summer. It seems like we’ve waited since last summer for it to get here. Now it’s here and there’s no better way to celebrate it than on a patio or deck with an ice-cold beer, breathing in its warmth and soaking up its rays all day. Unless you’re sitting in an office tapping on a keyboard like I am right now, dreaming of after-work hours.

Alas, summer hours don’t have to mean just “weekends and weekdays from 5-8 p.m.” We’re all entitled to a standard lunch break. And we should all make a point (and a pint) of it to take a break at Milwaukee Ale House in the Historic Third Ward and soak up their summer scene.

My uncle and I soaked up some awesome lunch specials, a few pints of Milwaukee Brewing Company’s best (note to boss: pints consumed on a Saturday) and a Brewers game last week at Milwaukee Ale House. Big-screen TVs abound in the expansive bar and we had a seat in front of the biggest.

We were soon also sitting in front of some big-time lunch specials. He opted for the Reuben – stacked with thin-sliced corned beef, it oozed sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and sandwich goodness. I wanted to try something different and was not disappointed with the Roma sandwich melt – onions, red peppers, goat cheese, pepperonis and roasted garlic baked on French bread. My stomach just gave a longing gurgle.

Next time I’m trying the Wisconsin brat…and a few more pints. My sampling that day included a Booyah Farmhouse (barley, malted rye and wheat – quite flavorful and deserving of several “BOOYAHS!”) and a Pull Chain Pail Ale (hybrid of American and British pale ales but the name’s classic Milwaukeean). My uncle’s not a huge fan of pale ales and all the flavors, but he loved the love ROCK, the Vienna-style lager formerly known as Flaming Damsel.

The flame on lunch (and a Brewers win!) soon went out, but our damsel thirst was still in distress. She was soon saved by a two-minute trip to Milwaukee Brewing Company (which started as Milwaukee Ale House and since expanded – Mmmm, beer expansion). The “Beer in Hand” tour is just $7 and includes a free Milwaukee Brewing Company pint they never let you empty.  Refill after refill after refill after…you get the idea. As did a guy on the tour from that one bignormous city way south of us: “You pay $7 for ONE beer in (insert crowded, expensive hard-to-find-parking city name here)!”

I parked my pint under a tap of another Pull Chain to start the tour, then followed with a Weekend At Louie’s, which was the most flavorful (blueberries, strawberries and malts – oh my!) of the day. The tour and guides are “mostly brewery scoundrels and/or accomplished home brewers” as Milwaukee Brewing Co. puts it, so you know there’s just two words to describe this brewery tour: “fun” and “beer.”

But, aren’t “fun” and “beer” synonymous? Isn’t that redundant? Shouldn’t we just do away with “fun” and let “beer” suffice? “Oh yes, we had so much beer at your daughter’s baptism!” OK, so they’re synonymous and equally relevant. As is Milwaukee Ale House and Milwaukee Brewing Company. Fun and beer. Beer and fun.

Details:
Milwaukee Ale House
233 North Water St.

Milwaukee Brewing Company
613 South 2nd St.

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Friday, May 04, 2012 By Jeannine Sherman Director of Public Relations VISIT Milwaukee

Where can you tour a renaissance-style villa overlooking Lake Michigan, climb a 74-foot lighthouse tower, check out a tapestry by March Chagall, ogle the 2000-year-old artwork in a fabulous Tudor mansion and check out a selection of preeminent Wisconsin paintings?

All in one afternoon? Along the Milwaukee Museum Mile, which officially opens with a Kickoff Event on Sunday, May 6 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

The Mile is a joint effort between five unique arts and culture museums located on Milwaukee’s historic East Side and in close proximity to one another along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The group includes the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, The Charles Allis Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art at St. John’s On The Lake, The Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, and the North Point Lighthouse at Lake Park. The museums have partnered together to create a simple and affordable way for visitors to access and enjoy multiple museum experiences. It’s five museums – one destination, and a great way to discover Milwaukee’s hidden museum jewels.

The new Milwaukee Museum Mile brochure, available at each museum, will serve as a ticket to discounted admission at each attraction. The cool thing is that you can choose to visit all the museums, or create your own itinerary depending on your interests.

This great deal gets even better at Sunday’s opening event. On this day, admission at all five locations will be free.  Each museum will offer free docent-led tours and light refreshments – including champagne at several locations. No-cost kids activities will include a fun Milwaukee Museum Mile scavenger hunt.

A free, continuous shuttle bus will be available for travel between locations – and it’s a comfortable walk or bike ride between museums, as well. If you prefer to drive between locations, you’re welcome to park at museum locations where parking is available or utilize street parking.

See you there!

Details: More information about the Milwaukee Museum Mile is available at www.milwaukeemuseummile.org.