From Miller to Lakefront, here are 5 brewery tours to check out in Milwaukee
Milwaukee is known as Brew City for a reason. Once home to some of the country’s largest breweries — Pabst, Miller, Schlitz and Blatz — today the city builds on that legacy with a burgeoning craft beer scene.
Many breweries in the city offer a chance to get a closer look at their history and brewing process through brewery tours.
We set out to go on some of Milwaukee’s best known tours and see what makes them great.
For this list we considered breweries that hold weekly public tours. Many smaller breweries in Milwaukee host tours a few times a year, or allow groups to set up private tours.
From the best brewery tours for families (yes, families, because this is Wisconsin) to where you can learn the most about beer, here are five brewery tours to check out in Milwaukee.
Best for comedy: Lakefront Brewery
Our tour guide Sergio "Serg" Sepulveda provided brewery information and well-delivered jokes on our Lakefront Brewery tour, as is the norm for this spot. Every Lakefront Brewery tour I've been on has a guide who easily pulls laughs from the crowd and keeps everyone engaged.
The tour started in a private taproom where attendees grabbed a beer, one of four 6-ounce pours that were included on the tour, delivered via beer token. Serg gave a history lesson on brewing from its origins in Mesopotamia to when Lakefront's co-owner, Jim Klisch, made his first batch of Riverwest Stein. Serg followed that with the history of Lakefront, one of Milwaukee’s largest craft breweries.
Weekend tours go through the production facility and lead to the historic Bernie Brewer's chalet that was in the Brewers' old home, Milwaukee County Stadium. Since we were on a weekday tour, it skipped that portion and went straight to the brewery's new canning area.
While canning was a worthwhile shift from bottling for the brewery — cans are infinitely recyclable and are helping the brewery boost shipping efficiency by 50%, cutting down on carbon emissions — it did take away a cherished "Laverne and Shirley" bit from the tour. Previously, tour guides turned on the bottling line and would pick an attendee who would put a glove on a bottle as it moved down the line, like in the show's opening credits.
While the guide still played the show's theme song and got our group to sing and dance along, the bit no longer includes the glove part because the canning line does not turn on as fast. Sometimes the tour attendee who most enthusiastically sings and dances along gets an extra beer token.
The tour did still include the bung hole bit. Go on one yourself to find out what that is all about.
Cost: $12 on weekdays, $15 on weekends; advance online purchase required; age 21 and older only unless supervised by a parent or legal guardian
Hours: Starts on the hour noon to 3 p.m. Sunday and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on the half hour noon to 7 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday
What you get: Four 6-ounce pours, Lakefront pint glass or key chain, and a coupon for a free Lakefront beer to be used at nearby bars within three days
Accessibility: The tour includes stairs, but there are ramps into the tour room and to the lower level for accessibility.
Location: 1872 N. Commerce St.
More information: lakefrontbrewery.com
Best mix of past and present: Miller Brewery Tour
I got to the Miller Brewery tour a little before 10:30 a.m., with the next available tour at 11 a.m. They are offered first-come, first-served on every half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.
While waiting, I checked out the connected gift shop and grabbed a complimentary bag of pretzels. I also learned about the history of the brewery from 1855 to today from a timeline that spans two full walls in the waiting area.
The tour started with the guides handing out a taster of Miller Lite while sharing information about the brewery in a theater room. It then moved outside for a three-block walk through the W. State St. campus to the brewing facility.
The only optional part of the tour was to climb 56 steps to view the tanks in the brewing facility where Molson Coors, Miller's parent company, makes beer for a 10-state region. The modern facility is across the street from the original brewhouse, visible from outside the brewing facility or after climbing the steps. The building was not part of the tour.
To cool off after walking in the brewing facility, which was hot in the upper level, the tour went underground to the historic caves that were created in the 1800s and sealed off in 1906. Frederick C. Miller, grandson of Miller founder Frederick J. Miller, reopened the caves in 1953, and they have been part of the tour ever since.
The caves were a unique view into how brewing was possible before electrical refrigeration, with tools that would have been used by brewers in the past.
The tour then went to a historical inn on campus that once sold Miller beer and had rooms for overnight guests; today it's used mostly for events. Fredrick C. Miller imported stained glass windows from Germany along with antique steins for the inn that are still there. It's also home to letters written by Fredrick J. Miller and a diorama of the current campus.
The tour wrapped up with stops at the bottling facility where 600,000 items are bottled daily and the warehouse where about 1 million cans and bottles of product are stored.
The tour ended at an outdoor beer garden where visitors could try various Molson Coors products for free.
Cost: $10; free for ages 20 and under (no beer samples)
Hours: Walk-ins only with limited space, running on the half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday
What you get: Four 4-ounce pours and a Miller glass
Accessibility: The tour includes stairs, but accessible tours are available by calling (414) 931-3552 at least 24 hours in advance.
Location: 4251 W. State St.
More information: millerbrewerytour.com
5 breweries that made Milwaukee famous: Miller, Schlitz, Pabst, Gettelman and Blatz
Best for history: The Best Place at Pabst Brewing
This historic brewery doesn't actually brew in Milwaukee anymore, but the site where Pabst Brewery was founded is still worth checking out. Beer enthusiasts who take multiple tours on this list will also see Pabst’s influence in almost every one.
The tour stared in the historic brewing complex's Blue Ribbon Hall with a presentation on the history of the brewery and the option to enjoy a pint of Pabst or Schlitz, which is included in the ticket price.
The tour guide talked about how Pabst started as Jacob Best Brewery in 1844. Their original building on a historic plank road, today’s State Street, was sold to Fredrick J. Miller who started Miller Brewing.
The history lesson continued with a tour guide explaining how the brewery moved to the current campus, and how Captain Fredrick Pabst took over and grew the brewery to be the largest lager brewery in the world at one time.
From the main floor of the hall the tour moved to the balcony, while passing a section of the building that is being refurbished. Paystubs and letters on the wall on the way up showed the brewery's more recent history before it left Milwaukee in 1996.
The tour was peppered with interesting facts about the nearly 170-year-old brewery, like how Pabst did not want his name on the beer, and that the employee's union successfully bargained to get a free pint of beer per shift.
Next the tour moved to the Great Hall, which is not often open to the public but is popular as a wedding and event space.
It has stained glass, ornate wood finishes and Fredrick Pabst's original office. Below that is a speakeasy with a jail cell. According to our tour guide, it was for Pabst employees who may have had more than their single free beer during their shift and became drunk and unruly.
The tour then passed the courtyard which has a statue of King Gambrinus, the patron saint of beer, and ended in the guest center that has German saying along its walls.
Cost: $14 for adults, $12 for students, military and seniors (age 60 and older); free for kids 13 and under
Hours: On the hour at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Sunday; noon through 4 p.m. Friday; 12, 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday
What is included: A pint of Pabst or Schlitz beer or soda, with $4 refills
Accessibility: The tour includes stairs with elevators available for those who need assistance.
Location: 917 W. Juneau Ave.
More information: bestplacemilwaukee.com/tours
Best for learning about brewing: Pilot Project
This new Milwaukee brewery tour might not be on many people's radars yet. My co-worker and I went on a Friday at 6 p.m. and were the only ones on the tour. Regardless, our guide gave an informative and entertaining tour.
Chicago-based Pilot Project is new to Milwaukee after they moved into the former Milwaukee Brewing Company space in late 2022. They are a brewery incubator, meaning they help start-up breweries get to market, assisting them with supplies, marketing, canning and more.
I'm not sure if it was because there were only two of us, or because they don’t push a singular brand, but I learned the most about brewing on this tour.
The tour started at the back bar where we could sample one of the five breweries that are currently their partners. We then moved to the balcony of the back space for a slideshow of their current partners and more insight into their diverse lineup.
Next, the tour moved to the tanks where we got an up-close view of the hot water tanks used to make beer, including a peek into the mash tuns where ingredients are brewed.
From there we moved to the fermenting tanks where we got a better view of the warehouse and brewing equipment.
One interesting artifact hanging there is a large neon Pabst Brewery sign that was found in the building. Pilot Project's space was the last building Pabst Brewery constructed before they left in 1996. The large sign was once used at the Pabst-sponsored stage at Summerfest.
The tour then went through the canning facility and ended in cold storage where beer is stored along with a variety of supplies. There the tour guide spoke more about those supplies and the different varieties of yeast, hops and malts that go into making beers.
Cost: $18, for ages 21 and up only
Hours: 6 and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. Saturday
What's included: Five 5-ounce pours and tasting glass
Accessibility: The tour includes stairs, with elevators available for those who need assistance.
Location: 1128 N. Ninth St.
More information: pilotprojectbrewing.com/milwaukee
Best for families: Sprecher Brewing
Sprecher Brewing is popular not only for its local brews, but also its non-alcoholic root beer and cream ale. While there are limits on the beers included in the tour, there is unlimited soda for all. Children on our tour excitedly cycled through the new sodas on tap at the bar. They even had flights of soda, like ones that are usually used for beer.
The beers and sodas were poured in the main hall where tour-goers waited.
The tour started with the guide giving a history of the brewery as it moved into a hallway with photos and trophies from the brewery's various awards. Randy Sprecher opened the brewery in 1985 after being a brewing operator at Pabst.
The guide explained how Sprecher was hesitant to get into soda production, which began with root beer in 1989. It was a good business move as root beer alone makes up 75% of their sales and beer only 10%.
The tour then went through the production facility. Our tour was on Thursday, which is the only day the tour goes through the facility while it is operating. Because of the loud machinery, it was sometimes hard to hear the tour guide. It was interesting, though, to see brewing in production and people moving ingredients from trucks to tanks.
The tour then returned to the main hall where people could resume drinking while learning about the bottling process. There was also the option to walk single-file into the canning facility to get a more up-close view, before returning the main hall to enjoy the rest of the free beer and soda.
Cost: $12 for adults, $5 for ages 20 and under, free for ages 5 and under
Hours: 2, 3 and 5 p.m. Thursday; 2, 3, 5 and 6 p.m. Friday; noon, 1 p.m. and on the hour 3 through 6 p.m. Saturday; on the hour noon through 4 p.m. Sunday
What you get: Four 8-ounce pours, Sprecher pint glass, unlimited soda
Accessibility: The tour does not include stairs and has space for wheelchair accessibility.
Location: 701 W. Glendale Ave.
More information: sprecherbrewery.com
Beer Near A guide to Wisconsin breweries
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee brewery tours worth checking out, from Miller to Lakefront
