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(UPDATE: As of late March, museum organizers said they hope to be open sometime in May.)
The Museum of Beer & Brewing plans to open a physical location at the Lincoln Warehouse, 2018 S. 1st St., in January 2024, according to an article in its newsletter.
The museum – founded in 2001 by Gary Luther, Roger Briess and Karl Strauss – has long been in search of a permanent physical home and, according to the museum’s newsletter, it “has selected the Lincoln Warehouse location for the first phase of the museum.”
A lease agreement has been reached with the building owner, the newsletter article written by Luther notes, and the museum is expected to open at the start of the new year, “with significant assistance from membership.”
Part of the museum will be a Brewing Hall of Fame that will, Luther writes, “recognize great technologists, artists and scientists who have contributed to the art and science of brewing through the years.”
There will also be a permanent exhibit on the history of brewing, beginning in ancient Assyria and continuing through today.
“As brewing is one of the oldest food processing sciences,” Luther notes, “the displays will stress not only the art and culture of fermented beverages but also the STEM components that go into this food process. ... The museum is to be not only an exhibit space but also a learning site.
“Examples of water treatment, agriculture, microbiology, chemistry, steam generation, refrigeration and laboratory methods, to mention a few. The STEM items will be presented on easy-to-understand principles so as to be a benefit to young and old visitors to the museum site.”
The Lincoln Warehouse has long had a connection with craft brewing and was the earliest location for a number of breweries, including Eagle Park and Enlightened, which have since moved on.
It is currently home to New Barons Brewing Cooperative, Component Brewing and Torzala Brewing, as well as to Twisted Path Distillery.
The museum’s stated mission is, “to inform and teach all ages the art, culture, technology and science of malted beverages and related industries.”
The museum became affiliated with the Wisconsin State Historical Society in 2001.
Milwaukee – aka Brew City – has long needed a permanent beer and brewing museum, making this Lincoln Warehouse location exciting news for beer, brewing and history enthusiasts.
The Milwaukee County Historical Society opened one in 2017 in the former Shops at Grand Avenue mall, drawing on its vast collection and an exhibit that had been on view at the center’s home. That, however, closed in 2019.
Other brewing museums in the area include the ABA National Brewery Museum in Potosi, and the Beer Culture Center, which originally opened in 2019 as the Brewseum, in Chicago. Old World Wisconsin doesn't have a traditional-style museum, but it does have a living museum in its historic brewing facility and programming.
A request for further information has not yet received a response, but stay tuned for more information, as the article notes that a press release containing all the details is expected to be distributed to media soon.
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.
