Do you like beer? Do you like being outside? This Sunday, you can enjoy the first one while supporting the second one as the inaugural Pours for Parks takes over the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery.
More than 20 breweries from the Milwaukee area will put their best beverages forward for an event that benefits Milwaukee County Parks by welcoming beer appreciators of all kinds throughout the day April 7. In addition to a pair of general admission sessions from 12:30-3 p.m. and 4-6:30 p.m. ($60 per ticket), there will also be a limited VIP session from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. ($75 per ticket) featuring pours you can only get during that early entry.
This first edition of Pours for Parks sprung from the mind of Elise Strupp, event and programming manager at MobCraft Beer, who was also behind the lone Winter Whales beer event that took place in January of 2020 and — like many other things — was scuttled by the pandemic. Undaunted, Strupp wanted to revive the Milwaukee-first format and do something charitable in the process, so she contacted Park People of Milwaukee County director Dana Hansen.
“Reaching out to Dana was a no-brainer,” Strupp said in a release. “Parks in Milwaukee have a unique connection to beer because of our amazing beer gardens. The goal is to host this festival annually and to make a sizable contribution to a different park every year.”
This time around, Pours for Parks will throw its support behind Humboldt Park Friends, which focuses its efforts on the 73-acre park located in Bay View. Specifically, proceeds from the event will go toward restoring the educational placards and the pond shoreline.
Helping MobCraft and Park People of Milwaukee County put on this year’s Pours for Parks are Milwaukee Records and Fun Beer Tours Milwaukee. Paul Hepp from the latter group noted in the release, “As Milwaukeeans, we’re fortunate to have a rich historical beer legacy. We’re also now fortunate to have a thriving craft brewery scene.
“I think craft brewers universally have a strong appreciation for those that came before them. So to be able to showcase so many amazing breweries of Milwaukee in one of our city’s coolest historic beer venues is truly the best of both worlds.”
You can find a list of the craft brewers pouring at Sunday’s event below and pick up tickets on the Pours for Parks event page.
Pours for Parks participating breweries
- 1840 Brewing Company
- Bavarian Bierhaus
- Big Head Brewing Co.
- Central Waters Brewing Company
- Company Brewing
- Dead Bird Brewing Company
- Explorium Brewpub
- Indeed Brewing
- Lakefront Brewery
- MobCraft Beer
- New Barons Brewing Cooperative
- Ope! Brewing Co
- Pilot Project Brewing
- Radix Fermentation
- Rookery Brewing Co.
- Sahale Ale Works
- Sprecher Brewing Co
- The Fermentorium
- Torzala Brewing Company
- Wizard Works Brewing Company
- Young Blood Beer Co.
