Do you like ubiquitous Wisconsin restaurant group Lowlands Group (Café Benelux, Café Bavaria, Café Centraal, all 8,000 Café Hollanders)? Do you like beer? Do you like local beer? Then you’re in luck, because Lowlands Group has just announced the new lineup of exclusive “hyper-local” beers for its Lowlands Locals series. Fun!

“We’re known for our collaborations with Belgian brewers, but we’ve had some great success in collaborating with local Wisconsin brewers too, like Central Waters and Hacienda Brewing,” says Dan Herwig, director of brand and marketing at Lowlands Group, in a press release. “Lowlands Locals is an evolution of that idea, but we wanted to focus it on breweries that are right in the neighborhoods that we serve.”

Here’s what will be featured at Benelux, Centraal, and all Southeast Wisconsin Hollanders. (All beers will be served on draught and available to-go in growlers.)

Good City Brewing – Sehr Gut Helles
Third Space Brewing – Happy Place Citra
Raised Grain Brewing Co. – Oranje Juicy IIPA
The Fermentorium – Blushing Aura English Mild Ale
Black Husky Brewing – Tripel Dog Elite (Aged in Cabernet barrels starting in July!)

And here’s the full press release:

LOWLANDS GROUP EXPANDS LOWLANDS BREWING COLLABORATIVE WITH NEW LOWLANDS LOCALS SERIES
Group announces collaborations with ten Wisconsin craft breweries.

Milwaukee, WI – July 9, 2018 – Lowlands Group today announces an expansion of its Lowlands Brewing Collaborative program with the launch of a whole new line-up of hyper-local beers. The group collaborated with 10 local craft breweries—five in Milwaukee and five in Madison—that are all located within a 5-mile radius of one of its European-inspired grand cafés.

“We’re known for our collaborations with Belgian brewers, but we’ve had some great success in collaborating with local Wisconsin brewers too, like Central Waters and Hacienda Brewing,” says Dan Herwig, director of brand and marketing at Lowlands Group. “Lowlands Locals is an evolution of that idea, but we wanted to focus it on breweries that are right in the neighborhoods that we serve.”

Through their Lowlands Brewing Collaborative the group collaborates with Brouwerij Van Steenberge and Brouwerij The Musketeers—two Belgian breweries—to create unique beers that are available exclusively at their cafés, which feature extensive import and domestic craft beer menus. Like their imported beers, Lowlands Locals will feature unique beers that are brewed solely for Lowlands Group and available in their cafés and in select brewer’s own tap rooms.

Eric Schneider, from Black Husky Brewing in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood says, “When we first started talking with Lowlands we were pretty excited to feature our beers in a different setting. By that I mean American Craft Beer styles and interpretations alongside their European forebearers. Homebrewers began brewing by trying to clone European beers. As American craft beer developed, it began to mutate away from European styles. By and large, those have remained two separate and distinct entities: American Craft Beer and European Imports. Lowlands Locals is a fantastic opportunity to compare and contrast diverse styles firsthand.”

The goal of Lowlands Locals is to highlight the diversity of beer styles that are being produced by local craft breweries and to allow the brewers to take a step outside of their normal comfort zones through the collaborations, which include unique styles such as The Fermentorium’s Blushing Aura and Funk Factory Geuzeria’s Soured Wheatly.

“The opportunity to work with Lowlands is especially significant and exciting for us,” says Dan Katt, Co-Founder of Good City Brewing. “We’re East Side residents who spent many afternoons dreaming and plotting plans for our brewery on the patio at Café Hollander on Downer Avenue.”

“We’ve been working on these collaborations with the brewers for months,” says Ileana Rivera, beverage director at Lowlands Group. “It’s been a lot of fun working with each brewer to craft something unique from what everyone else has done. The lineup for launch is super diverse and perfect for summer.”

The group plans to feature new collaborations from local brewers throughout the year that will change with the seasons. The beers, listed here, will be served on draught and available to-go in growlers:

Milwaukee Collaborations (Available at Café Benelux, Café Centraal and all Southeast Wisconsin Café Hollander locations)
Good City Brewing – Sehr Gut Helles
Third Space Brewing – Happy Place Citra
Raised Grain Brewing Co. – Oranje Juicy IIPA
The Fermentorium – Blushing Aura English Mild Ale
Black Husky Brewing – Tripel Dog Elite (Aged in Cabernet barrels starting in July!)

Madison Collaborations (Available at Café Hollander – Hilldale only)
Karben4 Brewing – Second Block Party IPA
Untitled Art – Berried Weiss
Funk Factory Geuzeria – Soured Wheatly
Octopi Brewing – 1Barreled Cucumber Kolsch
Next Door Brewing Co. – Luminous Hazy IPA

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Co-Founder and Editor

Matt Wild weighs between 140 and 145 pounds. He lives on Milwaukee's east side.