Dave Rossetti, Ryan Bray & Brian O'Connor
Anyone spending his or her college years in Milwaukee has plenty of potential to become quite the boozer.
In the Brew City, beer is everywhere — even in the name of the 25 men masquerading as a major league baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, who play in Miller Park, no less.
And with cold, bitter winters, mountains of snow making it hard to navigate and the most bars per capita among the United States' 50 largest cities, well, it doesn't take an Einstein-sized intellect to figure out how many of us pass the time.
With that in mind, the Tribune took the tours offered by Milwaukee's three major breweries, Miller, Sprecher and Lakefront. While they all offer different highlights and perks, they're all uniquely worthwhile and deserve to be checked out — just don't forget your designated driver.
Miller Brewing Company, 4251 W. State St.
Miller isn't just Milwaukee's oldest and largest brewery, though those attributes alone are pretty hefty claims to fame. Of course, it also helps contribute to the city's wonderful smell, especially when the wind's blowing from the west.
The free Miller tour, available daily every half hour between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., takes visitors through the brewery's massive facilities — 76 buildings on 82 acres of land. A fair amount of walking, about four blocks worth, is required to see all the tour has to offer.
The tour begins with a 12-minute video that plays out like a humorously overdone commercial thanks to the presence of the unmistakable narrator that made Mr. Collar-Putter-Upper-Guy famous. Though the video proves valuable for understanding the general history of the brewery, built in 1886, its more memorable for its gruffly uttered gems, including "1933: Goodbye Prohibition, Hello Miller Time."
From there, the tour — led by informative and easygoing guide Ryan Boettcher — moves to the South Packaging Center, where filled 12-ounce cans whiz by at a rate of 2,000 cans per minute. While tourists aren't allowed on the floor at this point, the observation hallway provides a great view of all the action, and our guide offered plenty of facts highlighting what was happening on the floor.
The trip to the second stop, the shipping center, takes patrons onto the brewery floor, where the source of Milwaukee's signature scent is readily identified. The impressive shipping center, the size of five professional football fields, houses 500,000 cases of beer — the amount shipped daily from the brewery.
The tour moves on to the Brewhouse, where guests can look into the mouth of a working brew kettle and then onto the caves. Though they're no longer in use, the caves were used to ferment, age and store beer cooled year-round with ice cut from area bodies of water until mechanical refrigeration found its way to Miller in 1906.
Guests finish the tour at Miller Inn, where they're offered three 8-ounce samples, just under an hour after they began. Everyone over 21 is treated to glasses of Miller Lite and High Life, but the third sample can be chosen from an 11-brew menu that includes SAB Miller's Peroni and Australian-import Foster's. It's a solid tour and giver of a notable buzz.
More info: Visit www.millerbrewing.com/brandsBreweries/tourInfo.asp or call 931-BEER.
Sprecher Brewery, 701 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale
The most interesting thing about the Sprecher Brewery tour might just be the beer.
While the tour begins and ends in places that seem to be concealing magical, lederhosen-clad, beer producing elves (the brewery's gift shop and beer-tasting tent, respectively), the middle section of the tour seems very much like being led through a small factory and warehouse cluttered with the paraphernalia associated with the brewing industry.
The simplicity of the place might just be its strength. The brewery holds fast to the 1715 German purity law that requires beer to be composed of four ingredients: malted barely, hops, yeast and water.
Nor is the brewery's history as ancient as the brewery's logo and elf-concealing appearance might make it seem; the place was founded in 1985 after Randy Sprecher returned from a military tour of duty that included a long stopover in Germany, according to the tour guide. After dalliances in oceanography and a stint at the Pabst Brewery, Sprecher founded his own establishment dedicated to a range of specialty beers and gourmet sodas, including a legendary root beer.
A word on the beers; there are four beers in year-round production and a variety of seasonal beers, including possibly the most delectable beer ever made; Generation Porter. It's brewed using raspberries and chocolate, then aged for six weeks in tanks converted from old dairy tanks. The strongest point of the brewing process at Sprecher is its simplicity, and the heritage it shares with the dairy state.
The majority of the tour doesn't have some of the flashier aspects of the big-budget breweries like Miller or Budweiser; OSHA regulations keep the machinery off while tours are in motion. It wouldn't be advisable to bring restless tots, because unlike the Miller tour, the main reward of the tour is the beer.
Visitors get four beers, to be exact, and a commemorative tasting glass — all for $3 per head. It's not a bad deal, given the overall quality of the beer. There's also the wonderful gourmet soda available for whichever tortured soul you coerce into being your designated driver, since Sprecher is a little further afield than most of the breweries.
More info: Visit www.sprecherbrewery.com/sprtour.html or call 964-2739
Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St.
For the past 17 years, Lakefront Brewery has been the toast of the town, earning accolades from publications as diverse as Milwaukee Magazine and Maxim for its friendly atmosphere and award-winning microbrews. Founded by brothers Russ and Jim Klisch, this well-versed microbrewery serves as a tribute to Milwaukee's beer-soaked roots. While much smaller than such high-profile tours as Miller (the tour constitutes a walk through the facility's two rooms), the Lakefront tour is fun and engaging and does a fine job of informing its guests without overindulging in the specifics. The tour also offers new specialty suds every month, allowing for a potential third visit to the brewery to be every bit as rewarding as the first.
One of the great things about Lakefront is the attitude its employees take toward their craft. If you're lucky enough to have Jim Klisch himself as your guide, you're in for a treat, as his warm, inviting sense of humor only adds to the excitement of the tour. Visitors should come to Lakefront not only to see how beer is produced, but to see how it is done in their own backyard by people who love their beer.
On a side note, don't forget to stop by the gift shop on the way out. Whatever it is you're looking for, chances are they've got it here, from shirts and hats to shot and pint glasses, all at reasonable prices.
At a cost of only $5, which includes a pint glass and redeemable tokens for the brewery's plethora of beers, you really can't beat the Lakefront tour. They've even got Bernie Brewer's slide from the old Milwaukee County Stadium. And with that, I rest my case. Check it out.
More info: Visit www.lakefrontbrewery.com/analog.asp or call 372-8800.
Milwaukee's three brewery tours have plenty to offer to both the inquisitive and thirsty college student, but the Brew City's not the only place in Wisconsin where booze is born and bottled. Seen all the tours in Milwaukee? Then hit the highway for three different alcohol-fueled experiences. Again, don't forget your designated driver.
Capital Brewery, 7734 Terrace Ave., Middleton
Miles from Marquette: 90
Tours: Guided tours are available at 3:30 p.m. Fridays, 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturdays. Monika Greenheck, Capital Brewery's events coordinator, said tour organizers appreciate if groups of fewer than 15 people call ahead, but it is not necessary. Larger groups are asked to call (608) 836-7100 before heading out for the tour.
Cost: $2.75/person
What to expect: Capital, founded in 1984, makes 15 brews — including Blonde Dopplebock and Autumnal Fire — that can be purchased in Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. The tour takes about an hour, Greenheck said. It also features up-close looks at equipment imported straight from the Hoxter Brewery in Germany, including two large copper brewing kettles.
Tasting: Patrons can choose from six Capital varieties during the winter and from nine to 12 during the summer. Guests are allowed to taste any brew they wish of those currently available with 3-oz. tasting glasses, Greenheck said.
New Glarus Brewing Co., County Road W and Highway 69, New Glarus
Miles from Marquette: 104
Tours: The brewery is open for self-guided tours anytime from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. It can be reached at (608) 527-5850.
Cost: $3.50/person
What to expect: New Glarus Brewing, opened in 1993, features some of the best-named brews in the business — including Fat Squirrel and Spotted Cow. Visitors are allowed to go at their own pace on the tour and are asked to remain in non-business areas, said Cherri Kempfer, a manager at the brewery. If you're dying to know all there is to know about this fast-growing microbrewery and are willing to wait just a bit, Kempfer said there should be handheld electronic tour guides available by the summer.
Tasting: Guests are allowed samples of three 3-oz. glasses of New Glarus' products.
Joseph Huber Brewing Co., 1208 14th Ave., Monroe
Miles from Marquette: 108
Tours: Guided tours are available at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. every Thursday through Saturday. Reservations are recommended for groups of 15 or more people, and are available by calling (608) 325-3191
Cost: $2/person for those 15 years old and over. Children are free.
What to expect: Huber Brewing, makers of Berghoff and Rhinelander, is celebrating its 160th year of continual brewing. The tour takes about 40 to 60 minutes and allows visitors the chance to see the entire process — from brewing to bottling to keg filling, said Huber spokesman Gary Knowles. Tourists also get to witness a modern-day brewing rarity: stoppers being hammered into kegs by people rather than machines.
Tasting: Guests are usually allowed between three or four samples, according to Knowles, but the four-beer limit isn't set in stone. "If you want to try something, you'll get a chance to drink it," Knowles said.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 27 2005.