Eric Thames and Beer City a match made in heaven, well actually Korea

“I figured my days in MLB were over,” Thames says. “When the season ended, I thought, ‘OK, MLB teams don’t want me, let me go to Japan. Then, my agent (Adam Karon) called me and told me that Milwaukee was interested. I’m like, ‘On a major league contract?’ I think everybody in the world was surprised they were willing to give me that kind of money. I’m still shocked myself.

“I came to Milwaukee before I signed, checked it out, and after an hour I knew it was where I wanted to be. I love the Midwest. I love the hospitality of people. And Milwaukee has great beer.
“I love beer.”

full article at JS

Thames is matching Brewer records over the beginning of the year hitting six home runs in his last five games.

I won't be asking him about Zen anytime soon but the guy is the best story in baseball thus far and I can certainly appreciate a renaissance man who's journeyed the road less traveled.  We've got a little something to be excited about Brewer fans!

@EricThames 40-40congratulation!! My family very like you. Please twit. pic.twitter.com/ij4QGXaJyJ

— ㅂㅏㄱㅈㅣㄴㅇㅜㅓㄴ (@pjw7531) October 2, 2015

I would totally get a Thames jersey if his name was in Korean on the back.

JS: Look inside Pabst's new Milwaukee brewery - a former church building

Three gleaming copper serving vessels hold a spot just below the former choir loft of the church turned brewery.

The altar wasn't there in the building originally, but for the new Pabst Milwaukee Brewery, this will do for symbolism. The brewery, at 1037 W. Juneau Ave., will open April 14 but offered a sneak peek on Monday.

John Kimes, who heads the Pabst Milwaukee brewing staff, took time out from making a Belgian Tripel to act as tour guide in the brewhouse. It's a return to Milwaukee for the brewery, which has a rich and complex history here that dates back to 1844.

continue at JS

Also: Before - Milwaukee Biz Journal
And it's the coolest thing going on in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee downtown renewal boom.  The only people upset with all those jobs is the NAACP and the ACLU.

HT CCC

Wherein Philosophy + Beer = Sustained Thought

The red-bearded Tommy Vandervort, an Oak Creek boy and graduate in philosophy from UWM, founded the place. It was he who sprinkled the tiny menu with references to the history of ideas: a beer called “The Human Condition” (a rich French saison) or “Sustained Thought” — infused with excellent Valentine coffee (a Vliet Street shoutout) and named after a snippet from that brilliant coffee-addicted pervert, Voltaire.

full post at Cream City Catholic

Fanatic Friday: Beer Edition

It's been a heavy week... so I thought we could wrap up the week with some lighter fare.

Image: Via The Catholic Jester's Instagram.

From Brewer magazine:

Nearly 100 years before Laverne and Shirley sang their way to work at the fictional Shotz Brewery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin was already a beer city.

Today, more than a half dozen new breweries are looking to re-ignite the notion, but this time as a craft beer city.

In a complete bit of happenstance, multiple breweries are either opening as start-ups, moving into the city from other places in Wisconsin or expanding with a taproom all this summer.

Those that are opening just this year include Good City, City Lights, Third Space and Urban Harvest. Moving into the area from other parts of the state are Black Husky (from Pembine) and MobCraft (from Madison). Those join recent openers from the last year or so in the area like Brenner, Company, District 14 and Enlightened. 

Read the article here. I'm particularly excited to try Good City Brewing , as it is only a couple blocks from my apartment. First day open is today! Photos of the space here.

Ten new breweries are expected to open in the Milwaukee area by the end of the year. 

Some in depth political analysis on the Wisconsin primary

Saw this randomly on the interwebs. Hillary at Pearl Street Brew
Posted by 1410 WIZM - La Crosse's News Station on Friday, April 8, 2016

BTW, it is a crime to pour Pearl Street like that.  If it's Java Lava I think charges should be brought.... but we all know how that ends.

Also, runner up:

#tehlulz
Posted by 95.7 The Rock on Friday, April 8, 2016

"Holy Brewers" share craft at St. Eugene's parish in Fox Point

Catechists, lectors, cantors, ushers. Like most parishes, St. Eugene, Fox Point, has them all.

A group that sets the suburban Milwaukee congregation apart from others, though, is a small one known as the Holy Brewers. Once a year – as beer and bratwurst or beer and pretzels do much more regularly – beer and St. Eugene form a tandem. This year, that will happen Saturday, April 9.

“We thought this would be a fun service project (to benefit) the parish,” Holy Brewers co-founder Pete Weingarten said in a telephone interview with the Catholic Herald. “But, as my wife said, ‘It’s not so much a fundraiser as a fun raiser.’”

The fundraising and fun raising began around 2010, said Weingarten, who in retirement works part-time at a home brew supply store, when he and fellow beer brewing parishioner Bryon Baker each donated a batch of beer for a St. Eugene auction. Such a donation made perfect sense, self-described professional “computer geek” Baker suggested during a separate phone conversation.

“If you (make beer) regularly,” Holy Brewers co-founder Baker said with a chuckle, “there’s no way you can drink everything you make. If you do, you’ve got a problem.”

continue at MkeCH 

Important! Today is National Beer Day!

I recommend celebrating by drinking some.  Preferably ours.

It's #NationalBeerDay! Why try just one on a day like today?Join us tonight to celebrate Thirsty Thursday and 2 for 1 pints from 8pm - 10pm.
Posted by The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company on Thursday, April 7, 2016

PS. National Beer Day anthem

JS: Central Wisconsin craft breweries thrive off roots in home brewing

When it comes to the prevalence of craft brewers, one stretch of central Wisconsin is like a small-town version of Seattle or Denver.

Including brewpubs, there are seven craft brewers operating in Portage County, home to Stevens Point, and neighboring Marathon County, where Wausau is the largest city. An eighth craft brewer is under construction, with plans to open in August.

Those two counties have a combined population of nearly 206,000, according to state estimates. That comes out to one craft brewer for each batch of 25,700 residents — compared with a national ratio of about 1 to 114,900 and a Wisconsin ratio of 1 to 63,500 residents.

Portage and Marathon counties even beat Wisconsin craft beer hot-spot Dane County, where the ratio is about one brewery for every 45,200 residents.

"Everyone is pushing each other, making good beer," said Marc Buttera, co-owner of O'so Brewing Co. in Plover. "Then, you look up, and you have four brewers in your county. It's crazy."

Along with O'so, Portage County is home to Stevens Point Brewery in the city of the same name, which was ranked as Wisconsin's second-largest craft brewer in 2012 by the Brewers Association, a trade group based in Boulder, Colo.

continue at MkeJS

HT Cream City