Take Me Out to the Ballgame at Miller Park #Visitmke

Greetings Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the fourth entry in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now No Fibs Allowed Beer Tour 2018: A True Beer City Experience, which took place in the great city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Open up your favorite Midwestern- brewed beer and follow along as I explore Wisconsin’s largest city in search of the best in local suds. Cheers!  

 

Sports and beer are natural companions. No matter what professional sport you might be attending, beer is almost always available and the preponderance of craft beer has served to make the occasion even more enjoyable than before. And one sports facility that makes sure the craft beer/sports fan maintains satisfaction from start to finish is Miller Park, home to Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers.

Let’s Play Ball!

Miller Park is an architecturally appealing facility. Rising from the surrounding grounds, west of downtown Milwaukee, this ballpark and adjacent parking lots occupies a large space and is situated adjacent to where Milwaukee County Stadium- the facility Miller Park replaced- once stood. The ballpark has a retractable roof, too, so no matter what Mother Nature decides to do, you can be assured of watching the game safe and dry.

Miller Park was opened in 2001 and the naming rights were quickly snatched up by Miller Brewing Company. The stadium has a seating capacity of about 41,900, but it has hosted larger, standing room only crowds over the years.

I Need a Beer

As you walk around the main concourse at Miller Park, one thing is obvious: Milwaukee residents love their beer! Some of the breweries, craft and otherwise, selling draft and/or canned beer at Miller Park include:

• Lakefront Brewery
• Milwaukee Brewing
• New Glarus Brewing
• Leinenkugel
• City Lights Brewing
• Miller Brewing
• Terrapin Brewing
• New Belgium
• Samuel Adams/Boston Beer
• Sierra Nevada

This is only a sampling of what is available. There are undoubtedly more craft beer and non- craft options, but these are the ones I noticed with the greatest frequency. Among the craft beer choices, it appears that Milwaukee Brewing and Lakefront Brewery score the most hits with fans. I saw beer from these two breweries more frequently than any other craft option.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Miller Park is a cool place to take in a game of baseball and drink some local brew. I’ve visited several different ballparks over the years but Miller Park marks the first time that professional sports attendance has been included in a Great Beer Now beer tour. I don’t know why it took me this long to add sports venues to my travels, given the compatible nature of beer and organized sports. My focus is almost always on breweries and beer bars and I never really gave much thought to discussing the beer scene in some of America’s many sports facilities.

If I had to pick a stadium to start a new tradition, I couldn’t have chosen a better place than Miller Park. Here we have a team, the Milwaukee Brewers, that was named after people who make beer and a stadium named after one of the largest brewing operations in the world. The city, the culture, the history, and most everything else about Milwaukee speak beer. And the same can be said for Miller Park, a stadium that overflows with suds at every turn.

Miller Park features a large, walk- around design and a triangular shape. After I entered the ballpark for the first time, I first located my seat, but then proceeded to walk the entire stadium to check out the beer and other features. The first thing that struck me about the ballpark was the large number of fans present. The stadium holds about 42,000 but it seems larger than that. And based on official stats for the game I attended, about 37,000 of those seats were filled. I did some quick research and found that attendance is up this year compared to the past few years, with an average exceeding 35,000 fans per game. That translates into just over 83 percent of capacity, a true testament of both Miller Park’s appeal and the Milwaukee Brewer’s loyal fan base.

With the beer, I found that the supply was more than adequate and I liked that craft beer was available in so many places throughout the park. One could get a quick taste of the local Milwaukee beer scene just by sampling the beer available right here at Miller Park. Equally impressive was the food and not surprisingly, there was a good deal of the food available that, along with the beer, has helped make Milwaukee famous, and that would include such staples as pretzels, bratwurst, etc. Sure, you can go for the usual burger, pizza, and popcorn, but I recommend enjoying a true taste of Milwaukee by going for a bratwurst and a local craft brew.

Tailgating is a popular pastime at Miller Park and many people who attend a game rank the tailgate experience almost as highly as watching the actual game. Parking at Miller Park can be an issue, however, as there are so many fans packing their way into limited space. You could Uber here, but a better option is to find a local bar or other business that offers shuttle service to the game. Many area businesses offer this service and by taking advantage, you can bypass the parking issues and leave the driving to someone else. Not only that, you have the added bonus of a delicious pre- game beer or two at the bar before getting shuttled safely to the ballpark.

Miller Park is an excellent facility for taking in a Major League Baseball game. The views are good from most any seat. The craft beer selection is commendable and the food options are many. Add to that the cleanliness of the bathrooms and friendliness of the staff and you have a first- rate venue for enjoying our national pastime. So make sure you add a visit to Miller Park and attendance at a Brewers game to your Milwaukee travel plans. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.