Not so long ago, Milwaukee—a city known as “Brew City” to much of the world—had only two craft breweries to its name. However, the early 2000s brought a few more into the fold, which led to a crescendo in the 2010s and the early 2020s.
Today, Milwaukee has more breweries than ever before and, as a direct result of that rapid influx, the city’s craft brewing scene has never been better or more interesting than it is now. On Saturday, May 20, two of those excellent Milwaukee microbreweries will host anniversary block parties on the same day. If that’s not an indication of just how far local brewing has come, we don’t know what is.
One such party will happen at Enlightened Brewing Company, which will be celebrating 10 years of beer-making in Bay View. The “10 Year Anniversary Block Party” will take place at Enlightened’s spacious taproom (2020 S. Allis St.), as well as a portion of S. Allis Street right outside of the brewery itself. From noon to 10 p.m., they’ll be marking a decade in business with a live broadcast by WMSE’s “The Boogie Bang” starting at noon, which will give way to live music by Deadelijk and Sleepy Gaucho from 5-10 p.m. In addition to the beer and live entertainment on hand, the block party will feature food from Sweet Smoke BBQ, Creme de Liqueur, and Awe-Sauce Hot Sauce. The family-friendly event is free to attend.
Meanwhile, Company Brewing (735 E. Center St.) will host an “8th Year Anniversary Block Party” at its Riverwest brewery/restaurant/taproom/venue. This particular block party will also kick off at noon and go “til late” on May 20. Over the course of the day, Company Brewing—both inside and out on the brewery’s spacious side patio—will host a family-friendly celebration that features specialty beer releases, approximately 40 goats on-site to hang out with, an interactive and challenging inflatable game called Toxic Meltdown, live tattooing by Yasmeen Dee, free Liquid Death water, local vendors, and live music/DJs to be announced in the coming weeks.
Celebrate two of the city’s best breweries, enjoy some outdoor spring fun, and take a moment to appreciate just how far Milwaukee beer has come in recent years at either (or both!) of these block parties on Saturday, May 20. Cheers, Enlightened and Company! Here’s to many, many more years.