Friday, Sept. 25
Waukesha Oktoberfest opens at Frame Park (1240 Frame Park Dr.) with a firkin tapping at 5 p.m. Hours for the two-day event are 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday. It’s two days of German food, music, feats of strength and beer. Check out the Laser-hosen Light Show each night at 9 p.m.
New Barons Brewing Co-op (2018 S. First St.) celebrates six years in the Harbor District with a party.
Torzala Brewing is pouring its beer at the Klode Park Beer Garden (5960 N. Lake Dr., Whitefish Bay) from 4 to 8 p.m.
Raised Grain Brewing (1725 Dolphin Dr., Waukesha) gets a jump on its anniversary celebration with a pre-party that includes the release of Haze Before the Storm Triple IPA.
Third Space Brewing (1505 W. St. Paul Ave.) hosts its final brewer’s toast of the month to celebrate its 10th anniversary at 5:45 p.m. Beers from the toast keg are $1.
Taptoberfest is happening at The Brass Tap (7808 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield) over the weekend. The venerable beer bar will tap more than 20 Oktoberfest beers.
Try samples from Alaskan Brewing Company from 2 to 5 p.m. at Discount Liquor Milwaukee (5031 W. Oklahoma Ave.).
Saturday, Sept. 26
Germantown Oktoberfest takes place at Dheinsville Historical Park (N128 W18780 Holy Hill Rd.) on Saturday (noon to 11 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 7 p.m.). The Germantown Historical Society has been doing this for more than 30 years, so they know what they’re doing. Be sure to be there at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the Dachshund Dash. Register your dachshund ahead of time if your wiener dog is a competitor.
Three Cellars (N72 W13400 Lund Ln., Menomonee Falls) is turning its parking lot into an Oktoberfest block party from noon to 7 p.m. Its team will hand out free bratwursts (while supplies last) and they’ll have plenty of games. Live German music runs from noon to 4 p.m.
Amorphic Beer (3700 N. Fratney St.) offers a slight variation on the Oktoberfest thing, themed to Bavaria’s neighbor to the east. Czechtoberfest happens from 2 to 7 p.m. It includes plenty of Czech food and three Czech lagers to wash it down. Amorphic is also a site for Doors Open Milwaukee on Saturday.
For two weekends, St. Francis Brewery (3825 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) is turning its parking lot into a German beer garden. There will be food and beer, of course, but also a makers market. The celebration happens Sept. 26-27 and on Oct. 3-4. Hours are noon to 8 p.m.
Third Space wraps up its birthday month with a huge 10th anniversary party at its original taproom (1505 W. St. Paul Ave.) Between noon and 2 p.m., current My Third Space members, past and current employees, and anyone wearing Third Space gear get a free beer. There will be live music, food trucks and a couple of special beer releases, including the return of the award-winning Scottish ale Unite the Clans.
Cafe Hollander (2608 N. Downer Ave.) celebrates 20 years of business with a block party from 2 to 8 p.m. There will be live music and plenty of good Belgian beers to keep you busy.
Raised Grain Brewing’s big 11th anniversary party includes the release of a barrel-aged anniversary stout and bottles of a very limited Black Jack Brewmaster Select barrel-aged stout. The party starts at 11 a.m.
Dead Bird Brewing (1718 N. Fifth St.) is also celebrating an anniversary (its seventh) with its annual Flock Party. They’ll be tapping a firkin of an anniversary beer.
Indeed Brewing (530 S. Second St.) is hosting a block party. The Low Down starts at noon and includes live music, beer brûlée, food and a silent disco.
Fall Fest is taking place at Ellsworth Park (600 E. Ellsworth Ln., Bayside) from 2 to 9 p.m. Torzala will be providing libations at the family-friendly event.
Sunday, Sept. 27
St. Augustine of Hippo’s Oktoberfest (2530 S. Howell Ave.) begins with a beer blessing at 12:15 p.m. and wraps up at 8 p.m. The traditional German food menu includes a rouladen dinner, brats, pretzels and more. There’s a kids root beer stein hoisting competition at 3:30 p.m. The adults compete at 4 p.m.
Sahale Ale Works (1505 Wisconsin Ave., Grafton) is celebrating Oktoberfest for a second weekend. They’ll be releasing a barrel-aged Oktoberfest lager to pair with polka music and food.
Coming Soon
Thursday, Oct. 8: Zoo Brew returns to the Milwaukee County Zoo (10005 W. Bluemound Rd.). Plenty of area breweries and food vendors will be there. Tickets start at $60.
Thursday, Oct. 8: Grab a spot at the Saz’s/Eagle Park Brewing beer dinner at South Second (838 S. Second St.). The decadent five-course dinner starts at 6 p.m. and includes six Eagle Park beers. Tickets are $105.
Saturday, Oct. 10: The annual Limb Shaker Day is coming to both Gathering Place Brewing locations (811 E. Vienna Ave. and 7208 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa) from noon to 10 p.m. The guest of honor is Limb Shaker, a Belgian-style tripel made with Door County cherries. Previous vintages will also be on tap.
Saturday, Oct. 17: Havenwoods Taproom & Beer Garden hosts the Third Annual Beer Trail Invitational from 1 to 6 p.m. More than 30 breweries will be pouring nearly 100 beers for you to sample. Tickets start at $50.
