When eight, 16 and 24 taps won’t do, head down to Lake Geneva, where the new Geneva Tap House, 252 Broad St. – in the Geneva Theater building – has a whopping 50 beers on tap from which to choose.
Plus, the taps are self-serve.
The large space offers the biggest self-pour tap wall in the state. It opened in early May and a grand opening celebration is expected to come soon, along with added entertainment like live music and game nights.
As you might expect with 50 lines, the Geneva Tap House has craft brews from all over – as local as Elkhorn’s Duesterbeck’s and Burlington’s Low Daily and as far-flung as Dogfish Head and War Pigs and others.
There also some macros like Guinness and Bud Light, along with nitro pours, hard seltzers, hard ciders and five wines.
The list is constantly changing.
All of it is dispensed using iPourIt technology that tracks the ounces poured using a radio-frequency identification wristband.
Heidi and Paul McGraw, who are among the taproom’s owners, encountered the technology on a visit to Pour Taproom in Knoxville. They immediately thought it would be a hit in Lake Geneva.
“The tap wall has been a big hit with our customers. It’s fun and new and people are really enjoying the freedom to pick what they want and exactly how much they want,” says Heidi.
“The system is very easy to use and provides tons of data that makes it easy for us to manage everything on the backend.”
There are other bars in the state using the iPourIt system, including Double Barrel Bar in Tomah, Dirty Dog Taphaus in New Glarus and the Tap on Tower in Superior.
“We’ve seen major growth in Wisconsin with over 140 taps operating in different cities,” says iPourIt VP of Sales Darren Nicholson. “We’re excited to continue to expand the self-pour market in a state that produces so much quality craft beer.”
The Geneva Tap House also serves a menu of bar plates, like fresh pretzels, grilled panini and charcuterie boards.
The big open space has a mezzanine with seating too. Soon, an outdoor beer garden with fire pits will open.
For more more info, visit genevataphouse.com.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
