Lakefront Brewery, Inc.

Bowers-Brew

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Lakefront is a pretty tough place to get on a tour.... took me 3 tries (2.5hour + drive)

Packed house every time I stopped by. Crowd is electric.

Drink beer before the tour - nice concept.

Tour is fun, but we had construction going on when I visited so I think we missed out on some things.

Good beer, dirty brewery, nice people. A good way to spend a few beer hours.

05-10-2013 22:20:29 | More by Bowers-Brew

Driver8rws

Ohio

4.59/5  rDev +12.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $

Not as awesomely amazing as the tours USED to be in the 2000's (i.e. no free roaming about the brewery, no photo ops in Bernie Brewer's Chalet) but there are a LOT more people interested now, so I understand...

Still totally awesome place to go. Their beers are GREAT.
Tour is so worth it, you will drink SO MUCH beer (if you want).
Tours are PACKED on the weekends. GET A RESERVATION !

FYI, they do NOT give out yeast to homebrewers... :-(

04-23-2013 18:44:18 | More by Driver8rws

Rand_ale_Thor

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

Not flashy at all, but the people that give the tour (we had a prior owner) are awesome. You get your beer basically immediately and you have a blast during the tour. Do it, you will enjoy. I will be going back at some point this year, now that they are making their 25th anniversary beers.

01-31-2013 17:22:36 | More by Rand_ale_Thor

1Nrwyscotch

Wisconsin

4.16/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $

My wife and I went to the Black Friday Sale of their Imperial India Style Black Ale and stayed for a tour after getting our six bottles.

This is the second time we went on a tour of the brewery which was pretty lively. We got in line to buy our beer at about 8:15 A.M. and got the beer at around 9:00 A.M. The bar area was filled with people either going on tours or enjoying a beer before they went back out into the cold. A DJ was playing as well during this time. A worker was also handing out sweet and spicy peacan samples as we waited in line for our beer.

The tour gives you tokens(4) in which you trade for 6oz samples of beer. I sampled the Fixed Gear Red Ale, the organic ESB Bitter, and the Snakew Chaser Stout. The tour was funny as well as educational with a beer stop in the middle for a refill.

I highly recomment a stop at the Brewery and the tour.

11-25-2012 23:48:44 | More by 1Nrwyscotch

midworken

Nebraska

4.04/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Atmosphere - Outside tent to enjoy their beer, the brewery itself was in an old building on the riverfront.

Service - these guys are lots of fun. The tour itself isn't anything ground breaking, but they get the group involved and have a good time. They also have some interesting facts about the history of the brewery and Milwaukee.

Selection - $7 gets you a tour, five 6oz tastings and a pint glass. There were 4 beers to try that were on tap. The tour guides also hand out wood nickels that are your ticket to more tastings if you answer a question or participate in the tour.

05-31-2012 00:57:43 | More by midworken

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

3.71/5  rDev -9.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I stopped here on a Saturday evening on a day where a whole bunch of tours were done, mine being one of the last. The guide seemed a little tipsy, and while Bernie Brewer's shack and the Laverne and Shirley bottling line has a certain amount of charm, how things were packaged had unfortunately a sort of juvenile feel to them. Information about the brewing process was presented, although not as extensively as other brewery tours. Still the people are very nice there and for the most part their beers are solid. Even though they are not my favorite brewery, I would go back to see if the vibe has changed, as I've heard their fish frys on Friday nights are outstanding.

12-03-2011 06:57:58 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

ForWhatAlesYou

Minnesota

4.14/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $

This place is truly a gem in Milwaukee. Tucked in amongst the old giants (Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller) Lakefront does it's part to further the beer world.

The tour ($7) is fun though not as educational as one might hope. Humorous, though. All of the emphasis on being green is a little much but still good to see how the brewing world, big and small, is working to be better global and local citizens.

The beers are excellent. The whole line is very good. I recommend taking some home to try them all.

The beer hall is cavernous and sparsley decorated but it is a very communal setting and overlooks the beautiful Milwaukee River.

One of the benefits of this tour is the pint glass you get and the coupon for a free beer at a local watering hole. Excellent benefit.

11-27-2011 17:04:30 | More by ForWhatAlesYou

JohnWaynes44

Wisconsin

3.13/5  rDev -23.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$

Went on the tour for the first time with friends coming in to visit Milwaukee. The place had a strange lay out. Bathrooms were hard to find a tucked away through the tiny, crowded gift shop. The bar and bar area was huge, with plenty of space to sit before the tour. I like the fact you can use any of your 4 beer tokens before the tour. Lots of brewery tour wait till after tour to give you beer. Here you bring your beer with you on the tour and they even give you a re-fill in the middle of the tour. I did like the tour. It was a little crowded, but the owner/tour guide shared good knowledge and was pretty good. The building is an old powerhouse right on the river with lots of character. The tour was only $7 per, which is good compared to others. I just found the bartenders kind of unfriendly and the the flow of the customer areas awkward. They had no food or snacks which I thought was pretty lame. Finally, they had about 5 beers to choose from at the bar, none of the beers I wanted to try from this brewer. I was satisfied with the tour, but wanted more from the beer and the staff. So So!

11-13-2011 03:45:57 | More by JohnWaynes44

mobius387

Wisconsin

2.25/5  rDev -44.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 1 | selection: 2 | food: 5 | $$

i use to like this place a few years ago. ive gone on the tour plenty of times, and even tho i practically had the thing memorized i still enjoyed it most of the time.

however, my last two experiences with this place is enough to turn me off from lakefront forever. i dont know what happened to them, but their employees and their service have gone way down hill. they tours are now over crowded as they try to jam too many people into one tour. on my last visit to lakefront, the tour guide was terrible, tried too hard to be funny (and wasnt at all), was condescending as he "educated" some of the touree's (the information he gave them was incorrect too), and just did not do a good job being a tour guide.

the beer is good, but its not great. not the best in the city, and no where near the best in the state. its not worth it to me to support this brewery anymore given the service they are offering now. theres plenty of other local and wisconsin breweries that i can support that still care about their customers.

i will still go to the fish fry tho, as its one of, if not the best, in the city.

10-21-2011 19:53:52 | More by mobius387

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

Went specifically for the once-a-week environmental tour with the President. Jam packed tour, lots of people doing the Riverwalk brewery thing. Very large place, and lots of staff helped ease the crush, as well as the slightly laid back nature of the locals. Corny tour, but hey we like corny jokes. very generous with pouring lots of beers on tap to taste. Very nice area with tables in back to complete the tour. A good deal, lots of tours available. One bartender really knew his stuff and that's the one I stayed near for recommendations and knowledge.

09-05-2011 13:27:51 | More by northyorksammy