When I heard that WhirlyBall at Brookfield Square hosts a “Beat the Brewer” night, I thought, “cool.”
And then, “what the heck is WhirlyBall?”
According to them, it’s, “the most fun you can have going 4 miles an hour! WhirlyBall combines lacrosse, hockey, basketball, and bumper cars in a game of skill coupled with a touch of chance. It’s the endorphin-inducing answer to your typical outing! And for those who like variety, select locations offer bowling, multi-level LaserTag, video games and pool tables.”
Because WhirlyBall, 185 S. Moorland Rd., is also a craft beer bar with 24 rotating tap lines, the idea for “Beat the Brewer” nights seemed like a natural.
Each month, a local brewer is invited to come talk about their beers and guests get a chance to take on that brewer in free games of whirlyball for prizes. So, a brewer had better bring not only their a-game in terms of brews but also in terms of 4-mph fun.
"We are thrilled to continue to bring the exclusive ‘Beat the Brewer’ event to the Brookfield community, pairing the most coveted craft beer selections,” WhirlyBall’s Vice President Adam Elias said. “See you on the courts soon; may the best team win. Game on!"
Previous participating breweries have included Lakefront, Tyranena, MKE Brewing Co. and Bell’s.
This month’s guest is from City Lights Brewing in the Menomonee Valley.
A 6:30 p.m. meet and greet will be followed by free whirlyball from 7 to 9 p.m.
Admission is free.
City Lights brewery team members Jimmy Gohsman, Mark Lewis, Billy Chojnacki, Mark Scholbrock and Sebastian Balbontin will bring, and talk about, favorites like its hazy IPA and Coconut Porter, but also Dragon Fruit Hard Seltzer, Oktoberfest ($5 pours of this one!) and the limited edition Mad Flow.
Mad Flow is a WhirlyBall exclusive and City Lights brewed just 16 kegs of this beer made with liquid hops.
There will also be giveaways and a raffle prize including a $100 WhirlyBall gift card.
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.
