If any city has earned the nickname "Brew City," it's Milwaukee. And in the 1800s, German immigrants brought their culture and their knowledge of brewing to the Milwaukee.
Home of Miller, Pabst, Schlitz and many others, the Brew City's reputation for producing spread around the world. While many of those breweries have since closed or relocated, Milwaukee's is still known as a beer drinker's paradise.
And where better to enjoy the beverage that made Milawukee famous than in an outdoor, authentic German beer garden?
They were as much a part of Milwaukee's culture as the beer itself. But when prohibition hit Milwaukee, both the beer and the gardens disappeared. When prohibition was repealed in 1933, the beer returned. The beer gardens, however, did not.
The Old German Beer Hall revived the concept this summer in Estabrook Park. Located on the city's northeast side, the garden served its first beer to patrons in June. Since then, the garden has been open seven days a week, and customers have flocked to the park to enjoy a slice of Munich in Milwaukee.
Overlooking the Milwaukee River, the garden's atmosphere is family-friendly, and patrons are allowed to carry in their own picnic. And since the garden is situated beside a dog park, you'll find a variety of well-behaved, four-legged companions resting under the imported German picnic tables
It's all about "gemütlichkeit." There's no identical word in English. Roughly translated, it's an unhurried, social feeling of community and belonging. You'll find plenty of gemütlichkeit in Estabrook Park.
The beer garden is open seven days a week until the end of September. You can still it enjoy it on the weekends through October and early November.
