Madison, Wisconsin
I talked a little bit about this in the past few Alaska reviews and I wanted to dive a little farther into this topic as I think it’s something that is - well, perhaps not unique to Alaska - but definitely a little unique in its varied implementation as compared to Wisconsin. I believe there can be some inspiration that Wisconsin breweries could take from Alaska that Hannah and I are going to be more mindful of going forward. We focus on Wisconsin and we definitely love Wisconsin - but there’s room to consider what other states are doing that we really enjoy. For this article, I want to compare some of the outdoor spaces, beer patios, “biergartens”, etc.
Now, I hesitate to use the term “biergarten” as I think this has definitely been misused and diluted down by so many imbiberies to merely mean “outdoor drinking space.” To me, a biergarten is a public spot that has beer and you can bring your own food in - much like the biergartens in Bavaria - they are usually under trees, feature pretzels, and, of course beer. The focus is on a communal drinking space - an excellent example can be found in Madison at Olbrich Park and in Milwaukee at the South Shore Terrace. A lot of places merely use biergarten to refer to their outdoor space and I think there’s a little more nuance than that. So for our purposes here, let’s just use the catch-all term outdoor space.
By now, if you’ve been following along, you know that Hannah and I have been to at least a dozen breweries in Alaska and have been to at least six times that in Wisconsin, along with healthy dose of other imbiberies in other states.
What we noticed - every single spot in Alaska makes use of some type of outdoor space. Sometimes in a simple way, and sometimes extravagantly so and in different methods, but always outdoor space.
First up, and most noticeably absent from spots around Wisconsin - rooftops. I’m not talking about second story decks, but full-on rooftop beer drinking. We saw it all over in Alaska, but especially in Anchorage. Several breweries, including last week’s review of 49th State Brewing - had more than one story to their rooftop space. Multiple stories on outdoor space is something that was new to us and definitely awesome. Those spaces are making the most of the building by adding spectacular views, even from industrial areas within the city.
Now, sure, there are going to be great view of mountains or the ocean when you get up that high on a brewery in Alaska. You might easily say “well sure, there aren’t those views here in Wisconsin”. But really, are rolling hills, farm fields, thousands of lakes, driftless rock formations - are any of those not worthy of a view? Think of a brewery you’ve been to - is there one that you can think of that wouldn’t be cool to sit at a picnic table on the rooftop? I can’t think of many, maybe an obstructed view here and there in Milwaukee - but really, that’s stretching.
I can’t really see an argument against it due to weather, either. No one can sit here and tell me we have worse weather than Alaska, right? We have a longer, warmer Summer, milder Spring, and beautiful Fall. Which really just got us to think. Why aren’t we maximizing outdoor space here in Wisconsin?
Now it is true that Alaska really relies on tourism dollars during a very short tourist season (not unlike Door County) so they need to make the most of the space available and want to enjoy the outdoors as much as they can, when possible. Maybe it’s that I need to do the most in a short amount of time that’s led to this sort of next level in making use of outdoor space.
All I know is, it seems like a win-win for something that should come to Wisconsin. More outdoor space means more space or varied space for customers. More time outside would do a lot of us a lot of good, especially with winter around the corner, and more customers at imbiberies means more money made.
What do you think: should Wisconsin imbiberies add more outdoor space or invest in better outdoor space? Let's get the conversation going, comment here or on social media to tell us your thoughts.
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