Interior view of a long-vanished Schlitz tied house, ca. 1912. Courtesy of Oshkosh Public Museum, P2006.1.34.
Like many good ideas, this book project started somewhat accidentally. It began with a casual conversation between one of the authors and the editors of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press about what a good book on Wisconsin bars could look like. In an exquisite moment of clarity and good judgment, the editors asked us if we were interested in writing such a book. To say that we jumped at the chance would be an understatement; leapt, vaulted, or even rocketed might be more apt descriptions. Few topics so vividly define Wisconsin’s culture—while being so much fun to research—and we were honored to work on this book.
This could have just been a book on bars, but it seemed logical to us that any book on Wisconsin bars should also explore the symbiotic relationship between bars and breweries, since their histories have been so deeply intertwined throughout our history. We also chose to represent, as fully as the space allowed, the full range of brewery and bar types, from the earliest extant properties, like the Wade House taproom in Greenbush, to those more recently completed, such as Brocach’s downtown Madison location. We purposefully chose the most intact and unchanged buildings so that readers might travel the state and see firsthand these places where time seems suspended, and appreciate, as we do, the power of a historic space to evoke a deep understanding of the time and events that created it.
This graphic compares the ratio of bars to grocery stores. The concentration of red within the outline of Wisconsin is emblematic of the state’s strong tavern culture. Courtesy of FloatingSheep.org
To put this book together, we relied on many years of personal travel throughout Wisconsin and the many unique bars encountered along the way. We supplemented that information with dozens of tips from friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers as we began our research and talked with people about our project. We organized these memorable bars and suggested locations on a spreadsheet and hit the road over many weekends, driving as much as a thousand miles in a weekend and visiting as many as twenty-five bars in a day. Our photographer, Mark Fay, logged more than eight thousand miles driving to photograph the final selections. The owners of the hundreds of bars we visited, with only one exception (who shall remain nameless), were uniformly gracious and welcoming, and we regret that we could not find room to include many more deserving taverns within these pages. Their customers were helpful, enthusiastic, and more than willing to share tips of their own favorites, some of which have made their way into this book.
The best bars and breweries are one of a kind and truly irreplaceable. We cringe at the loss of some of Wisconsin’s oldest and most distinctive bars: the Mint Bar in Eagle River, the Corral Bar in Spooner, the Great Northern (the train-car bar) in Milwaukee, and the Yacht Club in Stevens Point, to name just a few. Bars are fragile places that live or die at the whims of owners, politics, demographics, social behaviors, and economic cycles. Fountain Inn in Beaver Dam made our early cut, only to succumb to a battle with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources involving floodplain regulation. Likewise, Wisconsin once was home to hundreds of breweries. By the 1970s, that number had dwindled to eight operational breweries, and the future seemed bleak for our brewing heritage. A renaissance has since occurred, but many of the more than one hundred breweries and brewpubs in Wisconsin today struggle daily to stay in the black. Our intent in writing this book is to help bring well-earned fame to a few of the most deserving bars and breweries, and, in doing so, encourage their preservation and continued use.
Built as a tied house by Beaver Dam’s Binzel Brewing Co., the Fountain Inn survived a century before being demolished in 2011. The fine Brunswick front and back bar fixtures were rescued and reinstalled in a new Madison bar on State Street called, appropriately, The Fountain. Courtesy of Dodge County Historical Society
We hope each of the owners recognizes the extraordinary character of his or her historic bar or brewery and takes steps to safeguard and protect the qualities that caused each establishment to be chosen for inclusion here. Cherish the features that have helped them to survive while so many other properties have disappeared or been disfigured by well-meaning but misguided remodeling efforts. As patrons, be sure to share your love of the character of each of these places to encourage the owners to treasure them.
This is foremost a history book on bars and breweries—their architecture and the stories they contain—not a definitive tour guide. We have necessarily excluded some already famous taverns like Baumgartner’s Cheese Store and Tavern in Monroe, Mickey’s Tavern in Madison, and Art’s Concertina Bar in Milwaukee, but it is not that we intended to slight any of them. Similarly, we had to leave some of our favorite breweries, such as Lake Louie in Arena, Central Waters in Iola, and Minhas in Monroe, on the cutting room floor. A book like this is a delicate balance of geography, tavern typology, and limitations of space that forced us to make tough choices. That said, we encourage readers to stash this book in their cars and visit these unique, interesting, fascinating, beautiful, and strange bars and breweries. When you get to your destination, order a beer, or perhaps an Old-Fashioned, and tell ’em we sent you.
