Coming this April: Bar hopping on The Hop.
The Milwaukee streetcar system is teaming up with New Berlin-based alcoholic-beverage distributor Beechwood Sales and Service to host the inaugural “Hops and Stops” pub crawl. It will run from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, and will feature food and beverage specials for eight downtown bars and restaurants located on the streetcar route.
One of the streetcars will be wrapped with imagery of the frothy head of a “perfectly poured beer,” according to a news release. The wrap will also include the logos of each participating Wisconsin-based craft brewery. Starting today, the streetcar wrap will remain through the event.
The participating breweries include 3 Sheeps, Central Waters, Good City, Hinterland, Milwaukee Brewing, New Glarus and Third Space.
“This partnership is a fantastic opportunity for us to introduce streetcar riders to the outstanding downtown bars and Wisconsin craft breweries that make our city special while also bringing a new audience on board The Hop to learn how easy it is to connect with great downtown entertainment destinations via the streetcar,” Dave Cartwright, Beechwood director of sales and marketing, said in the release.
It is the latest example of area companies getting involved with The Hop, either through sponsorship deals or unique programming.
The first instance of this is Potawatomi Hotel and Casino’s $10 million, 12-year naming-rights deal. The sponsorship allowed the city to offer free rides for the first year of the streetcar’s operation. The Hop began revenue service in November 2018.
During the NBA playoffs last year, the Bucks wrapped a streetcar with the team’s colors, logo and “Fear the Deer” lettering.
A two-month, $90,000 sponsorship from Cleveland-based fiber network provider Everstream late last year financed The Hop operations through the holiday season. The deal also included an Everstream-branded, holiday-themed streetcar.
Most recently, We Energies pledged $100,000 to finance operations during the Democratic National Convention in July.
