The Milwaukee craft beer scene is a changin’.
Success in the brewing industry hasn’t been easy lately; slightly more craft breweries closed than opened in 2024, according to the Brewers Association. And it seemed like several years’ worth of changes came all at once for Milwaukee’s brewery scene, with a dizzying set of closures and sales in the past few months.
- Enlightened Brewing and City Lights Brewing served their last beers last weekend.
- Sahale Brewing was acquired by Gathering Place Brewing in December.
- Explorium Brewpub rang in the new year by acquiring Good City Brewing and creating the Explorium Hospitality Group.
- On Sunday, new owners announced plans to reopen St. Francis Brewery in the spring.
- MobCraft Beer closed in late November.
- Company Brewing shuttered suddenly in May.
The changes for Good City were arguably the biggest of the bunch. Explorium acquired Good City locations in Mequon, Wauwatosa, the East Side and Deer District, adding to its existing Greendale (5300 S. 76th St.) and Milwaukee (143 W. St. Paul Ave.) spots. While the Good City name will eventually disappear, don’t expect to see six Explorium Brewpubs pop up in the new, expansive footprint.
Among the 2024 trends cited by the Brewers Association was the fact that breweries have found new ways to improve the overall customer experience. These include more than just beer, such as dining options, cocktails and family-friendly approaches – things The Explorium has done since owner Mike Doble opened the first location, at Southridge Mall, in 2016.
“The market now is looking for something a little more refined than a brewery taproom,” Doble said. “The future of craft beer is rooted in hospitality. I’ve always said the same thing: You have to provide a wide range of offerings. For the normal person, who isn’t into craft beer, it has to look like a normal restaurant. If you can do that but still be a craft beer brand, you can have success.”
Good City co-founder Dan Katt, who opened in 2016 with a focus on packaged beer sales and distribution (but also a great taproom at its original Farwell Avenue location), acknowledged the new environment in a statement: “We worked diligently to right-size and streamline our taproom business by shrinking the Deer District and East Side footprints to spaces that more appropriately service customers in the new normal. 2024 was really our first year in our right-sized footprint, and we felt it was the time to either reinvest or find a new operating partner who could take things forward.”
Good City’s Wauwatosa space, located in The Mayfair Collection (11200 W. Burleigh St.) offers the hallmarks of Explorium Brewpubs and will soon be branded as such, Doble said. “Both Southridge and Third Ward, and now Wauwatosa, will be branded Explorium Brewpub because they have the elements of our brand, like large bars with a pub feel, a cozier atmosphere, big patios with full service, etc.,” he explained. “But the Deer District, East Side and Mequon locations are not sized or positioned with elements of our brand.”
The three other Good City locations are works in progress, but there are initial ideas on how to move forward, according to Doble.
- Deer District. “There are events at Fiserv Forum every other day this time of year, so it’s hard to get in there and do programming changes. The taco menu is doing well and we may just pare the menu down and bring in beers, cocktails and tequila to support it.”
- East Side. “It needs a reset and for some reason has lost favor in the neighborhood. We plan to go in and do something entirely different. My wife and I love the higher-end small-plates concept, so maybe something like that. One of the big things is that the Farwell brewery is pretty great and set up for efficient production. We’ll be able to do more packaging and produce a little more.”
- Mequon. “The Mequon Public Market just doesn’t have a lot of traction. One of the positives is the spot is adjacent to a big outdoor patio. Over the next year we’ll do some reprogramming. It’s up in the air how we’re going to update that site.”
The craft beer scene is constantly changing, but Doble plans to keep up with consumer trends.
“It’s hard. Jumping into these four locations is not a slam dunk,” he said. “The market is looking for cool places to go for people who don’t necessarily drink beer. Craft beer will always be at the heart of what we do. But we’re going to try some other concepts, refine a bit, maybe rebrand. We’re not sure yet. We don’t want the confusion caused by too many Explorium Brewpubs in the market. Over time as we get more experience with these new neighborhoods, we’ll get a feel and shape these locations to fit where they are.”
