"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

Lakefront Brewery

Craft breweries are one of the newest trends in Milwaukee – heck, one claimed victory in this year's best new bar poll – and this category is one of the newest in our annual best of bars voting battle, added just last year. But even surrounded by a full keg's worth of fresh new contenders, it's one of Brew City's older and more established craft breweries that's yet again come away the champion: Lakefront Brewery. And with beloved options like its Riverwest Stein and Fixed Gear, it's hard to argue with the voters.

As you'd expect with all the new competition that's literally brewing up in town, however, the competition is getting tighter. Last year's 500-vote clobbering by Lakefront Brewing shrunk in 2018 to a 100-vote victory, with several local craft breweries starting to rack up the results. 1840 Brewing Co., already a winner this year for best new bar, finished closely in second, while Third Space Brewing fittingly landed in third. Explorium Brew Pub and Gathering Place Brewing Company wrapped up the top five in this growingly competitive category. 

Meanwhile, the OnMilwaukee editors went with Black Husky Brewing in Riverwest – and because we love the tasty brews, not just because we really love dogs. Though the dogs help. 

OnMilwaukee editors' pick: Black Husky Brewing

Runners up:
2. 1840 Brewing Co.
3. Third Space Brewing
4. Explorium Brew Pub
5. Gathering Place Brewing Company