5 Great Milwaukee Spots for Imbibing

Editor’s note: We reached out to Jennifer Billock to tell us where to find drinks in Milwaukee, a city that is so associated with beer that their major league baseball team is named the Brewers. Billock is the author of Classic Restaurants of Milwaukee and her book is the source for finding the best places for locally crafted cocktails and beer in addition to food. It’s a must for anyone spending time in the “Cream City.”

Milwaukee may be known for Pabst, Miller, and Schlitz, but take a look beyond those big brews and you’ll find a thriving alcohol culture that stretches far past the old standards. We’ve got more than 30 local breweries plus an unexpected cocktail niche spreading their way through the city's bars and restaurants.

1. At Random

Three words: ice cream drinks. This lounge in the Bay View neighborhood specializes in them, serving up each one from an extensive menu with a butter cookie hanging from the straw. All the ice cream drinks are made from Wisconsin ice cream; try the Grasshopper for a time-honored local favorite. At Random has been a fixture in Milwaukee since it first opened in 1964, and the vintage styling stays with the lounge today: the lights are dim, the seats are velvet, and many of the recipes are secret.

If you’re not feeling ice cream, there’s also a full menu of cocktails and the famous Tiki Love Bowl, a massive fishbowl cocktail for two that’s legendary in the city for making and breaking relationships. If you’re looking for beer or wine, try another spot—the selection here is very minimal.

2. Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge

The team behind Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail lounge, also owns the aforementioned At Random. But this spot, opened in 1938, strays from ice cream drinks (though they do have some) in favor of highly custom and historical cocktails. Case in point, Bryant’s doesn’t have a menu—even though they offer more than 400 cocktails. Each drink is crafted after a conversation with the bartender. Want a specific type of alcohol? Tell them. Feeling like something sweet, sour, or bitter? They’ll hook you up. You can even ask for a drink by strength. The lounge does offer a short list of cocktail suggestions for people who aren’t willing to say “surprise me,” though, including the DeFrongue (an aphrodisiac cocktail that’s served with a book of poetry), the traditional Wisconsin Old Fashioned (made with brandy), and the Brain Buster (named for nearby Marquette University).

3. Lakefront Brewery

If you’re heading to Milwaukee on a beer-focused tour, the first place many locals will tell you to go is Lakefront Brewery. The brewery opened in 1987. It doesn’t just have a great selection of locally famous and award-winning beers—including the Lakefront Lager, Wisconsinite Weiss, and Fixed Gear IPA—it also has a massive beer hall regularly humming with polka music as diners enjoy local cheese, fish fry, and sausage flights. Interested in the inner workings of the brewery? Go on the famous tour—one of the highest rated in the country. You might even get a chance to be crowned the Bung Queen.

4. Wolski’s Tavern

Wolski's Tavern, photo credits to Shelly

Though not the oldest bar in the city—that distinction goes to Landmark 1850—Wolski’s is a close competitor. The tavern opened in 1908 and is still in the Wolski family today. The beer selection includes local big brews like Schlitz and Miller, plus craft beers from smaller local breweries including Sprecher and Lakefront. But the thing Wolski’s is really famous for is something more simple: a bumper sticker. If you stay at the bar through last call, you’ll be gifted with an “I Closed Wolski’s” bumper sticker to display your allegiance to the Milwaukee landmark. The bumper stickers have been seen stuck in spots around the world since they were first introduced.

5. Sugar Maple

Sugar Maple, photo courtesy of Sugar Maple

Sugar Maple is regularly considered one of the best craft beer bars in Milwaukee, and it’s easy to see why. The bar has 60 beers on draft, including ones from local breweries like Mobcraft, Third Space, 1840 Brewing, and Black Husky. It’s a neighborhood hangout but welcoming to everyone, and each customer leaves feeling like they’ve made a new friend—whether it’s one of the bartenders (who are listed online with their photos and bios so you can get to know them before you go), or someone else hanging out in the bar or on the patio.

The large, airy space inside the former bank building that Sugar Maple occupies is also the perfect spot to take a look at large-format local art—a great distraction for an eye searching the walls for a television that doesn’t exist inside the bar.

Travel, Cocktails, BarsJennifer BillockJanuary 22, 2021travelComment