How can tourists find Milwaukee's beer culture? A map seems like a good start.
Kathy Flanigan
What does it take to bring tourists to town? Well, a map couldn't hurt.
The Milwaukee Craft Brewery League, a union of craft brewery owners and staff, and VISIT Milwaukee teamed up to create a map of the city's breweries, beer gardens, touring companies and beer history sites. There's a launch party at 5 p.m. Thursday at Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St. The night is also part of the Milwaukee Craft Brewery League's regular Drink Brew City Tap Takeover.
More than 500,000 maps will be distributed at breweries, attractions, bars, liquor stores, rest stops, Amtrak stations, hotels, the Milwaukee County Zoo, Mitchell International Airport and other popular tourist locations.
"It's something we've been talking about for a long time in the Milwaukee Craft Brewery League," said Andy Gehl, co-founder of Third Space Brewing.
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Three years in the making, the map will highlight Milwaukee's image as a beer city, but "it shouldn't just be about craft beer," Gehl said.
The idea is to embrace the brewing history that tourists are looking for and might be found at MillerCoors, Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery or Forest Home Cemetery, where four titans of brewing are buried. And then send them to a local craft brewery to see where the future of beer is headed in the city.
RELATED:Beer Near — Journal Sentinel's guide to breweries in Milwaukee and Wisconsin
The free map includes the city of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, Franklin, Oak Creek, West Allis, Waukesha and beyond. A digital version of the map is available at theoriginalbrewcity.com.
Visit Milwaukee used research from Longwoods International to determine that breweries were in the top five activities engaged in by travelers on overnight trips to Milwaukee and that among day trips and overnights combined, breweries ranked as a top reason to visit the region.
The Original Brew City Beer Map received sponsorship help from Lakefront Brewery, Malteurop, Milwaukee Craft Brewery League and Pabst Brewery.
For a complete guide to breweries in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, check out Beer Near, the Journal Sentinel's interactive breweries guide: projects.jsonline.com/apps/BeerNear.