Downtown Milwaukee's getting its very own outdoor beer festival -- Firkin Fest.
Slated for Sat., June 12 at Cathedral Square Park in Downtown Milwaukee, the one day fest will exclusively showcase the craft brews and breweries that continue to make Milwaukee famous.
According to the East Town Association, the Milwaukee Firkin Craft Beer Festival will serve samples of more 50 Milwaukee craft beers, including many special brews not regularly offered by the breweries.
A firkin, in case you don't know, is an English unit of volume that's a quarter of a full barrel. Firkin Fest sounds a bit classier than Quarter Barrel Blowout.
Participating breweries and brands include: Sprecher Brewing Co., Lakefront Brewery, Chameleon Brewing, Milwaukee Brewing Co. (Milwaukee Alehouse), Water Street Brewing Co., Stonefly Brewing Co., Rock Bottom Brewery, St. Francis, Horny Goat Brewing Co. and Buffalo Water Beer Co.
Each attendee at the festival that runs from 3-7 p.m. will receive a ballot and be asked to vote for a favorite beer at the fest and the first ever "Big Firkin" award will be given to the brew that receives the most votes.
Southbound, The Alex Wilson Band and Chicago's Ben Ripani Music Co. are all scheduled to perform. Local restaurants will have a variety of food available for purchase.
Tickets are $39 and include unlimited samples and a souvenir Pilsner. Designated driver tickets are available for $15 and include a fest T-shirt, unlimited soda, bottled water and pretzels.
There are only 2500 tickets available and all tickets can be purchased online at milwaukeefirkin.com.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
