An ode to Milwaukee Ale House (and a trip down memory lane)

Monday night introduced sobering information a few lengthy beloved staple in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Milwaukee Ale Home, 233 N. Water St.,  introduced on Fb that – after 25 years of service – they are going to be closing their doorways after service on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. And whereas that is not excellent news, there’s a modicum of hope that the Ale Home will return, albeit in one other location.

Within the meantime, there’s nonetheless time to bid adieu to a brewpub that, in no unsure phrases, has left a mark on Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward. 

Remaining open for over twenty years is an accomplishment for any bar or restaurant. However Milwaukee Ale Home additionally deserves kudos for taking part in a key function within the transformation of the Historic Third Ward.

When homebrewers Mike Bieser and Jim McCabe opened  Milwaukee Ale Home on October 17, 1997, the brewpub scene was exploding throughout the U.S. However – at that time – Brew Metropolis had simply two: Rock Backside Brewery and Water Road Brewery.

The Third Ward was additionally a really completely different place. It was a  neighborhood in transition. In actual fact, its evolution from a previous as an industrial hub crammed with warehouses and factories was simply starting.

In 1997, the preferred restaurant within the space was Broadway Bar and Grill, 223 N. Broadway, a bit of greasy spoon the place native staff (principally those that labored on Fee Row) stopped off for breakfast and lunch. La Boulangerie (aka “La Bou”), a longtime fixture at 241 N. Broadway, additionally served the breakfast and lunch crowd. A smattering of different spots attracted diners for lunch and dinner. However, typically talking, in case you have been in search of a spot to seize a meal after 5 p.m., there is a pretty good probability you were not heading for the Third Ward.

However Milwaukee Ale Home helped to vary all of that. The brand new brewpub additionally simply marked the start of a revival of the restoration of buildings on the Third Ward riverfront. 

Inside, the brewpub was vacuous. The afternoon and early night solar from the west streamed via the constructing, casting a glow in opposition to the cream metropolis brick partitions and blonde maple flooring. The tables, arrange like these in a bier stube, have been constructed from ends of bowling alleys repurposed from the previous Glendale Lanes off of Silver Spring Dr.

The opening forged of brews –which might be expanded through the years – included Downtown Lights (a lightweight ale with honey, wheat and malted barley); Solomon Juneau’s Ale (a pilsner made with ale yeast); Pull Chain Pail Ale (a hoppy ale honoring the custom of beer being introduced into Milwaukee factories in pails for workers to share throughout breaks); Sheepshead Stout (a darkish roasty brew with a hoppy end); and Louie’s Demise, the flagship amber ale named for Bieser’s great-great-grandfather whose demise in 1886 was the results of a blow to the top with a beer glass in a Sheboygan tavern (sure, that is a real story).

The meals menu was rooted in Cajun-inspired entrees together with Cajun-grilled rooster salad, blackened ahi tuna steak, char-grilled Cajun prime rib and (in fact) a barbecue that includes session ale battered cod, dill coleslaw, memorably sq. potato pancakes and half-rye bread. I additionally keep in mind a pot pie of some kind, in addition to the desserts like their wealthy “suicide chocolate cake”.

By 1998, the Ale Home had rapidly turn into a well-liked Water Road pit cease, attracting common crowds with dwell music from a variety of singer songwriters, together with bands like The Yell Leaders, Frogwater, the Swingin’ Kools and the blues combo Jay Stulo and The Mighty Aces. Most exhibits have been free, although some warranted a minimal cowl of simply $3.

That very same 12 months, the Ale Home was honored with the Mayor’s Design Award for its inviting facade and giant storefront-style home windows. By summer time, they’d additionally added a double decker beer backyard overlooking the Milwaukee River.

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In the meantime the Third Ward continued to construct up across the brewpub. By 1999, Sandy D’Amato had opened  Coquette Cafe on Milwaukee Road. In 2001, Nanakusa introduced stellar Japanese fare and sushi to Chicago Road. Quick ahead to 2004 and Depraved Hop (additionally a longtime fixture) introduced new life and large brunch tradition to the sting of Broadway and St. Paul Streets. By the point the Milwaukee Public Market opened in 2005, the Ward was nicely on its method to turning into the vacation spot it’s right now.

As you’d count on, over the course of 25 years, Milwaukee Ale Home has modified. The menu switched from spendier Cajun to extra inexpensive choices together with beer-friendly burgers, sandwiches and some entrees. The beer menu expanded to incorporate different craft brews, together with an evolving choice of MKE Brewing choices. And leisure was expanded to incorporate trivia and karaoke in addition to music. Since they opened, a wide range of extra brewpubs (and breweries) have additionally cropped up throughout town.

But one factor has remained the identical: Milwaukee Ale Home has remained a beloved fixture, a gathering place and beer vacation spot which not solely made its mark throughout good occasions, but in addition survived the challenges of a significant recession and (extra not too long ago) a world pandemic.

So, as closing time approaches for the longtime Third Ward landmark,  let’s be sure that this Milwaukee staple will get the farewell that it deserves. Make it some extent to move out, seize a pint and lift your glass to every part they’ve completed. 

And let’s hope that – transferring ahead – they’ll discover a new location that is simply as nice (and even higher).