Two words: Free beer.
A couple of popular Milwaukee-area beer gardens will be opening for the season later this week – and free beer is involved.
The Estabrook Park Beer Garden will be doing a Hofbräu Maibock keg tapping at 6 p.m. on its opening day, Thursday, April 30, with free beer from 6 to 7 p.m., according to Hans Weissgerber III, who operates the beer garden.
That’ll be followed up by two more keg tappings as a part of the beer garden’s grand opening weekend: One keg tapping featuring Lakefront on Friday, May 1, and a Third Space keg tapping on Saturday, May 2. Free samples from those two kegs will be available until they run out, Weissgerber said.
For the Third Ward Beer Garden’s opening day, Friday, May 1, there will be a ceremonial keg tapping at 5 p.m. with free beer from that keg while supplies last, according to a news release.
More on these two beer gardens and their season openers below:
Estabrook Park Beer Garden
Following preseason openings, the Estabrook Beer Garden – modeled after Munich beer gardens – is throwing a Maifest Beer Garden Season Opening Celebration.
The beer garden, 4600 Estabrook Drive, serves Hofbräuhaus and local craft beers, wine, cider, hard seltzer, draft root beer and Pepsi products, according to its website. While beer is served in traditional “Isar Seidel” dimpled glass mugs, visitors are welcome to bring their own favorite beer steins.
For food, there are beer-garden basics, like bratwurst, hot dogs and giant fresh-baked pretzels. Note: The beer garden is cashless.
The beer garden is a fundraising operation for Milwaukee County Parks, Weissgerber said, with 20% of the beer garden’s gross year revenue and 10% of food sales going to the county.
The beer garden’s opening ceremony, with a ceremonial tapping of the wooden keg, will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 30, with county and park officials, and beer lovers, a news release said. There will be music from Keith Gennerman from 5 to 8 p.m., and a masskrugstemmen stein-holding contest at 7 p.m.
On Friday, May 1, there’ll be a Lakefront Brewery keg tapping with Lakefront founders Russ and Jim Klisch at 6 p.m. with free samples until the keg runs out. Lakefront swag will be available. There’ll be music from Carol & The Keynotes from 5 to 8 p.m., and a masskrugstemmen stein-holding contest at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, May 2, there will be a Third Space Brewery keg tapping of Happy Place Midwest Pale Ale at noon with free samples until it runs out. There’ll be a performance by The Squeezettes from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., a masskrugstemmen stein-holding contest at 2:30 p.m., and music from Bob Brauer from 3 to 6 p.m. Polka Steve will be performing on Sunday, May 3, from 2 to 5 p.m.
The beer garden’s entertainment schedule, which is continuously updated, can be found at estabrookbeergarden.com/events.
A limited number of reserved tables may be booked via the Beer Garden’s office with a credit card pre-payment, though reservations aren’t offered for many dates and times (details on that here).
Park amenities include trails, playgrounds, a disc golf course, a dog park, soccer fields and a riverwalk.
Once open for the season, the beer garden will be open from noon to 9 p.m. daily through mid-November.
Note: Guests may bring in their own picnic baskets, or have pizza or sandwiches delivered to the beer garden. While soft drinks can be carried in, outside alcohol is strictly prohibited. Grills and outside event catering services also aren’t permitted.
For more info on the beer garden, visit estabrookbeergarden.com or its Facebook page at facebook.com/ABCEstabrook.
Third Ward Beer Garden
While the Third Ward Beer Garden, located in Catalano Square at 147 N. Broadway, has been hosting preseason pop-ups, it’ll open for the season at 3 p.m. Friday, May 1, the news release said.
Its menu features local craft beer, imported favorites, wine, canned cocktails, nonalcoholic options and more.
A portion of proceeds will benefit the Historic Third Ward Association and Business Improvement District No. 2, supporting ongoing maintenance, programs and improvements to the square and surrounding neighborhood, the release said.
Entertainment will include yard games, Music Bingo from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and live acoustic music from the beer garden’s rooftop stage from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturdays. On May 1, local singer-songwriter Ben Harold will be performing from 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Local musicians and DJs will fill the park with original beats on select Sundays in collaboration with 88.9 Radio Milwaukee. Those shows will be announced on social media and online.
For seating, the beer garden offers classic German-style picnic tables, as well as high-tops crafted from repurposed beer barrels.
From May 1 through mid-October, the beer garden will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 to 9 p.m. Fridays, noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.
For more info on the beer garden, located at Broadway and Menomonee Street, visit thirdwardbeergarden.com or @thirdwardbeergarden on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How to get free beer at the openings of two Milwaukee beer gardens
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
