"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
If you're a beer-lover looking for a spring getaway, you just might find it at the annual Kohler Festival of Beer, which takes place April 28-29 at Kohler.
"The Kohler Festival of Beer continues to celebrate the thrilling beer industry with brew masters and beer fans from the Midwest and around the nation," said Jenna Check, associate director of special events, in a press release. "The resort is enlivened with an inspired mix of food, lively music and flowing taps."
The 2017 Kohler Festival of Beer includes a roster of returning Wisconsin favorites, such as 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. (Sheboygan), New Glarus Brewing (New Glarus), Leinenkugel’s (Chippewa Falls), Ahnapee Brewery (Algoma), Badger State (Green Bay), Fermentorium (Cederburg) and Karben4 (Madison). New featured breweries also include Surly (Minneapolis), Revolution and Half Acre (Chicago), Saugatuck (Douglas, Michigan) and William Tell Cider (Lodi, California).
One of the features this year will be Kohler’s own Jigger Ale. Brewed for The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St. Andrews, Scotland, Jigger Ale was named after the hotel’s famous Jigger Inn Pub. The ale is brewed in St. Andrews and then shipped overseas to be exclusively sold at the Horse & Plow in Kohler.
Featured events
Signature events during the beer-filled weekend include the 5k Beer Fun Run, the Shorts & Chefs grilling event and the Homebrew People’s Choice Contest, during which the winning recipe will be brewed by 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. and served at Horse & Plow in Kohler. The evening favorite, Cheers to Beers tasting gala, will be hosted at the Kohler Design Center.
New offerings will include the Salute to Swine, a late-night beer and food tasting with the chefs of Kohler and Ney's Big Sky Meats on Friday, April 29 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets, which are $54.20, include a traditional pig roast and pork-inspired foods served up alongside craft brews. Live music will be provided by The Cash Box Kings blues band.
Some Like it Hot: A Guide to Wing Sauce, a cooking demonstration paying homage to one of the greatest bar foods ever created, will take place on Saturday, April 30 from 2 to 3:30 p.m., and will feature beer from Ale Asylum. Tickets are $44.70
Check out the entire line-up of events online. Tickets and hotel packages are available online or by phone at (800) 344-2838.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.