Vogue: Milwaukee is Cool

[Dr. Blackheart]

https://www.vogue.com/article/travel-guide-milwaukee-wisconsin-midwest-coolest-city/amp?__twitter_impression=true

[MUEng92]

It's nice to see they edited the story that originally referred to "its proximity to the University of Wisconsin" which had me confused to more accurately read "University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee"

[warriorchick]

https://www.vogue.com/article/travel-guide-milwaukee-wisconsin-midwest-coolest-city/amp?__twitter_impression=true

I don't think anyone who reads Vogue could be successfully convinced that Milwaukee is cool. And I am completely fine with that.

[tower912]

Milwaukee has always been cooler than it gave itself credit for.  The biggest problem is proximity to Chicago and an inferiority complex.

[Galway Eagle]

Milwaukee has always been cooler than it gave itself credit for.  The biggest problem is proximity to Chicago and an inferiority complex.

 that same proximity issue with attracting visitors from the rest of the country might be its biggest advantage in terms of getting people up there for the major festivals all summer.

[GGGG]

Milwaukee has always been cooler than it gave itself credit for.  The biggest problem is proximity to Chicago and an inferiority complex.

And that Milwaukeeans tend to be reserved about their own city.  There is a German word for it, but I can't recall what it is.

[GGGG]

that same proximity issue with attracting visitors from the rest of the country might be its biggest advantage in terms of getting people up there for the major festivals all summer.

Definitely.  The more the Chicago suburbs creep north, the more "discovered" Milwaukee is getting. 

[Its DJOver]

Only learned relatively recently that a chaser with a Bloody Mary isn't standard everywhere.  Between the chaser, and generally more extravagant garnish, I don't know why anyone would get one from anywhere other than Wisconsin. 

[Blue Horseshoe]

Only learned relatively recently that a chaser with a Bloody Mary isn't standard everywhere.  Between the chaser, and generally more extravagant garnish, I don't know why anyone would get one from anywhere other than Wisconsin.

I don't understand why drastically improving the drink in other parts of the country has never caught on. A bad Bloody Mary is depressing.

[dgies9156]

Definitely.  The more the Chicago suburbs creep north, the more "discovered" Milwaukee is getting.

Brother Sultan, exactly!

I own a house about 15 miles south of the Wisconsin Border (known locally as the Cheese Curtain). It is less time and less hassle for me to get to downtown Milwaukee than it is to the Chicago Loop. And the restaurants in Milwaukee are more reasonably priced.

[mu03eng]

One of the unrecognized benefits of Milwaukee is that all the up and coming chefs out of Chicago come up to Milwaukee to cut their teeth on owning/managing their own restaurants where it's cheaper/easier to succeed than it ever would be in Chicago. Some even end up staying. As a consequence the food scene in Milwaukee has really come into it's own which really benefits MKE.

Only thing I worry about with Milwaukee is while I absolutely love the craft beer scene/options it has really exploded and I think the market may be saturated but we'll see.

[RJax55]

Only thing I worry about with Milwaukee is while I absolutely love the craft beer scene/options it has really exploded and I think the market may be saturated but we'll see.

I feel like that can be said for a number of cities, both large and mid-size.

[Galway Eagle]

One of the unrecognized benefits of Milwaukee is that all the up and coming chefs out of Chicago come up to Milwaukee to cut their teeth on owning/managing their own restaurants where it's cheaper/easier to succeed than it ever would be in Chicago. Some even end up staying. As a consequence the food scene in Milwaukee has really come into it's own which really benefits MKE.

Only thing I worry about with Milwaukee is while I absolutely love the craft beer scene/options it has really exploded and I think the market may be saturated but we'll see.

Am I the only one who feels MKE is extremely late to the game for craft beer considering it's reputation

[mu03eng]

Am I the only one who feels MKE is extremely late to the game for craft beer considering it's reputation

Late to the game in what way? Lakefront was killing the game in 2000 at least and that pre-dated the craft beer boom.

[MUBurrow]

Am I the only one who feels MKE is extremely late to the game for craft beer considering it's reputation

Caveat that I'm talking totally out of my keister - but I feel like MKE beer was in a tough spot in the early-mid days of the craft beer boom because MKE's rep was built as a lager-pilsner-marzen town.  Until fairly recently, most of the craft beer movement was preoccupied with cramming as many hops as possible into IPAs and making the darkest, strongest stouts and porters . But I also think that now, most casual beer aficionados have tired on that, and the craft community is embracing those traditional session varieties again. I think that puts MKE breweries in a much better spot to be widely appreciated and make some really good beers that will be embraced by craft drinkers.

[muwarrior69]

And that Milwaukeeans tend to be reserved about their own city.  There is a German word for it, but I can't recall what it is.

zurückgehalten

[brewcity77]

Definitely.  The more the Chicago suburbs creep north, the more "discovered" Milwaukee is getting.

We were out for lunch a couple summers ago while the Cubs were in town. A group of Chicago residents were raving about how easily they found parking, not having to wait to be seated, and the prices of food and beer. I chuckle because my mother in law from Burlington finds Milwaukee prices and wait times to be things to complain about.

I thought this was a good article. They two of my personal top-5 higher end Milwaukee restaurants (Ardent & Odd Duck) but also hit places that are more working class like Burnheart's and Comet. Also liked the mentions of Kinn and Ursa, which are both within about 100' of my firehouse.

I do love this city and look forward to raising our daughter here. There's always something to do and new places to explore. This is much better than the standard Pfister/5 O'Clock/Safehouse articles that seemed to define Milwaukee for decades.

[muwarrior69]

Milwaukee is cool, especially in January.

[Galway Eagle]

Late to the game in what way? Lakefront was killing the game in 2000 at least and that pre-dated the craft beer boom.

Yes and while they sat on one maybe two craft breweries Denver, Chicago, Portland, and most major cities built up dozens of established solid brands.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Am I the only one who feels MKE is extremely late to the game for craft beer considering it's reputation

Sprecher, 1985.  Mmmmmm, Mai Bock.

And now I see they currently have four limited release Belgians, and there is no distributor near me. #sad

[PBRme]

Sprecher, 1985.  Mmmmmm, Mai Bock.

+1  and the Abbey Triple

[Spotcheck Billy]

Yes and while they sat on one maybe two craft breweries Denver, Chicago, Portland, and most major cities built up dozens of established solid brands.

To be fair, Denver, Chicago, Portland are all larger than MKE but a fair point that MKE was a slow starter (except that Sprecher and Lakefront are older than most craft brewers), but there has been an explosion in recent years although some have already gone out of business (Brenner, Horny Goat).

Here's the BA list:
•Third Space Brewing  - 1505 W St Paul Ave, Milwaukee
•Black Husky Brewing  - 909 E Locust St, Milwaukee
•Eagle Park Brewing  - 823 E Hamilton Street, Milwaukee
•3 Sheeps Brewing  - 1327 Huron Ave, Sheboygan
•1840 Brewing Company  - 342 E Ward St, Milwaukee
•Raised Grain Brewing Company  - 2244 W Bluemound Rd, Waukesha
•Good City Brewing  - 2108 N Farwell Ave, Milwaukee
•Rustic Road Brewing Company  - 5706 6th Ave, Kenosha
•Like Minds Brewing Company  - 823 E Hamilton St, Milwaukee
•City Lights Brewing Co.  - 2200 W Mt Vernon Ave, Milwaukee
•Silver Creek Brewing Co.  - N57 W6172 Portland Road, Cedarburg
•Lakefront Brewery, Inc.  - 1872 N Commerce St., Milwaukee
•Biloba Brewing Company  - 18720 Pleasant St, Brookfield
•Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery  - 740 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee
•The Fermentorium  - 7481 Highway 60, Cedarburg
•The Explorium Brewpub  - 5300 S 76th St, Ste 1450A, Greendale
•Delafield Brewhaus  - 3832 Hillside Dr, Delafield
•MobCraft Beer  - 505 S 5th St, Milwaukee
•Brewfinity Brewing Company  - N58W39800 Industrial Rd Ste D, Oconomowoc
•Public Craft Brewing Company  - 716 58th St, Kenosha
•Milwaukee Brewing Company  - 613 S 2nd St, Milwaukee
•Company Brewing  - 735 E Center St, Milwaukee
•Enlightened Brewing Company  - 2018 S 1st St, Milwaukee
•Urban Harvest Brewing Company  - 1024 S 5th St, Milwaukee
•Big Head Brewing Co.  - 6204 W State St, Wauwatosa
•St. Francis Brewery & Restaurant  - 3825 S. Kinnickinnic Ave, St. Francis
•Sprecher Brewing Company  - 701 West Glendale Avenue, Glendale
•District 14 Brewery & Pub  - 2273 S Howell Ave, Milwaukee
•Water Street Brewery  - 1101 N. Water Street, Milwaukee
•Milwaukee Ale House  - 233 North Water Street, Milwaukee
•Water Street Brewery  - 3191 Golf Road, Delafield
•R' Noggin Brewing Co  - 6521 120th Ave, Kenosha
•Lithia Brewing Company  - 825 Schoenhaar Dr., West Bend
•Bavarian Bierhaus  - 700 W Lexington Blvd, Glendale
•Pabst Milwaukee Brewing  - 1037 W Juneau Ave, Milwaukee
•Riverside Brewery And Restaurant  - 255 South Main St., West Bend
•Chameleon Brewing  - 701 West Glendale Avenue, Glendale
•Miller Brewing Co.  - 3939 West Highland Boulevard, Milwaukee

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I was just reading today in the latest Marquette Magazine, that four of those breweries were started by Marquette alums.

[Galway Eagle]

Sprecher, 1985.  Mmmmmm, Mai Bock.

And now I see they currently have four limited release Belgians, and there is no distributor near me. #sad

Sprecher has some of the worst beer I have ever tasted.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

As was Wasatch Brewery in Utah, 1986.  Greg is an MU alum. Plus, he pokes the Mormons with his Polygamy Porter and Evolution Ale.

“Where’s the beer? Where are the breweries?” Those were among the first thoughts Greg Schirf had after moving to Utah from Milwaukee in the early 80’s. Incredibly, drinking and brewing were all but forbidden. Greg took matters into his own hands and did what any self-respecting midwesterner would do: He started a brewery. Wasatch was the very first brewery in Utah – and one of the first craft brewers in all of the U.S. – brewing award-winning brews since 1986.

In 1988, Greg Schirf proposed another bill to the Utah Legislature making brewpubs legal in Utah and opened the first brewpub at the top of historic Main Street in the resort town of Park City. Wasatch continues to misbehave, turning out naughty beer after naughty beer year after year.

https://www.wasatchbeers.com/