Taking a cue from Willie Wonka, Captain Pabst’s Pilot House, 1037 W. Juneau Ave., has launched The Golden Tap in its 148-year-old brewery and taproom building on the site of the former Pabst Brewery.
But rather than giving the brewery and taproom to one lucky winner, The Golden Tap will spread the love to a new charitable organization each month.
The Golden Tap is, physically speaking, a dedicated tap handle at the bar in the Captain Pabst Pilot House in the Brewery District. One hundred percent of proceeds from beer sold through that tap will go to that month’s designated organization, program or advocate.
The first organization, in September, is Wisconsin Voices in support of the Fair Maps Coalition initiative.
"We want to take a proactive stance in our community, with the goal of giving back to the people and organizations that are working every day to improve Milwaukee," said Captain Pabst Pilot House General Manager Adam Powers in a statement.
"We are so lucky to have called Milwaukee home since 1844 and we want to carry on the legacy that Captain Pabst started generations ago, namely giving back to the community that has given us so much."
In addition to the financial donation, Captain Pabst Pilot House will post promotional signage for the participating organizations in the Pilot House and collaborate on a related social media campaign.
The Pilot House will also make its space available to organizations for events like panel discussions, fundraisers and voter registration drives.
"We are actively working to educate our staff and guests to be better advocates, allies, and community supporters," said Aly Mitchell, the event coordinator for Captain Pabst Pilot House, in the statement.
"We have such a unique space here that we think it is only right to offer it up to organizations who are working to make Milwaukee and Wisconsin a better and more inclusive place."
Organizations interested in becoming a Golden Tap project partner should contact Mitchell via email at event@pabst.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.
