701 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale
Phone: 414-964-2739
Year opened: 1985
First year’s production: 1,100 barrels
2000 production: Beer – 14,000 barrels; Soda – 34,000 barrels
Facility square footage: 70,000 square feet on 3 acres of land
Web site: www.sprecherbrewery.com
Tours: Friday 4:00 & 5:30 p.m.; Saturday 1:00, 2:00 & 3:00 p.m. (Also weekday tours in the months of June – August); Fee: $2 (over 21), $1 (under 21); reservations required.
Regular beers: Special Amber, Black Bavarian, Hefe Weiss, Pub Ale, Pale Lager
Seasonal beers: Winter – Spring: Mai Bock, Imperial Stout; Summer – Fall: India Pale Ale, Oktoberfest; Fall – Winter: Winter Brew, Dopple Bock
Gourmet Soda: Root Beer, Cream Soda, Orange Dream, Ginger Ale, Lo-Cal Root Beer
Mistake: Naming a soda ‘Grand Cola.’ "You can’t compete with a cola," Randy Sprecher says. "I should have called it Love Potion No. 9 – anything – and it would have flown by itself. We’ll probably have to re-issue that someday with a different label."
Lakefront Brewery
1872 N. Commerce St., Milwaukee
Phone: 414-372-8800
Year opened: 1987
First year’s production: 56 barrels
2000 production: 3,616
Facility square footage: 24,000 square feet (old one: 3,600)
Web site: www.lakefrontbrewery.com
Tours: Monday – Friday 3:30; Saturday 1:30, 2:30 & 3:30; Fee: $3 or $5 (includes souvenir pint glass); no reservations required
Regular beers: Riverwest Stein, Eastside Dark, Klisch Pilsner, Cream City Pale Ale, Organic Extra Special Bitters, Fuel Café Coffee Flavored Stout
Seasonal beers: Pumpkin Beer, Holiday Spice, Bock, Beer Line Barley Wine Style Ale, Cherry Beer
Soda: Golden Maple Root Beer
Tourist attraction: Bernie Brewer’s chalet and slide, formerly located at Milwaukee County Stadium, is the featured attraction of a tour through the brewery. (If you behave on the tour, they might let you take a ride down the slide.)
Port Washington Brewing Co.
100 N. Franklin St., Port Washington
Phone: 262-377-2337
Year opened: 1996
First year’s production: 350
2000 production: Beer: 650 barrels; Root Beer: 150 barrels
Facility square footage: 1,800 square feet
Web site: www.execpc.com/~brewmstr
Tours: No set time or days, just pop in and if Jeff Kolar’s around, he’d be glad to talk beer and show you the operations.
Regular beers: Pier 86 Lager, Amber Ale, Old Port Porter, Black Cherry Porter, Hefeweizen
Seasonal beers: Spring: Portinator Doppleboch; Summer: Raspberry Wheat; Fall: Oktoberfest, Pumpkin (not every year; Winter: Stout (occasionally)
Soda: Port Washington Root Beer
Historical fact: The original Port Washington Brewing Co. (later named The Old Port Brewing Co.) produced a beer, Premo, with the cheeky ad line of, ‘The beer that made Milwaukee furious.’
Harbor City Brewing Co.
535 W. Grand Ave., Port Washington
Phone: 262-284-3118
Year opened: 1996
First year’s production: 400 barrels
2000 production: 800 barrels
Facility square footage: 3,000 square feet
Web site: http://www.execpc.com/~oldcat/hcbindx.htm
Tours: Saturday, Noon – 4 p.m.; no reservations required
Regular beers: Mile Rock Amber Ale, Main Street Brown Ale, Harvest Wheat
Seasonal beers: Summer: Raspberry Brown Ale
Brewery fact: Brewery owner Jim Schueller’s cousin owns the New Belgium Brewing Co., the second largest brewery in Colorado (after Coors).
Oconomowoc Brewing Co.
750 E. Wisconsin, Oconomowoc
Phone: 262-560-0388
Year opened: 1998
First year’s production: 160 barrels
2000 production: 150 barrels
Facility square footage: 2,000 square feet
Web site: www.obcbeer.com
Tours: By appointment, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Regular beers: Amber Rye Lager, German Style Kolsch
Seasonal beers: Winter Brew (Porter), German Style Alt
Most unusual item sold on Web site: A model railroad car with the brewery’s logo on it.
