Humboldt Park Beer Garden

We popped in both walking to, and from, Indiafest the other day and it was a welcome surprise. I was expecting a little truck like the traveling Sprecher beer garden. Instead you will find a little building with bathrooms, a food counter and a decent sized indoor seating area. Thinking that this was it when walking through, we decided to skip it and walked out the back to continue on to the festival. Well, there it was! The beer is sold out back!
There are tons of picnic tables with many shade trees with which to take refuge from the sun. Horseshoe pits and some sort of bag toss games are set up as well. If we didn’t have someplace to be I would have lingered around longer. It was a very nice area to just sit, relax, and enjoy the wafting smells of spit-​roasted pork.
I would say the one downside is parking. If anything is happening it will take forever to find a spot in the park grounds. But this place can be enjoyed rain or shine, so that is a huge positive.

I really really really like this current MKE trend of offering beer in every park. It tells me that I’m living in the right city. Instead of making it sortof illegal to drink in public parks, just make it legal and charge us money for it! We’re idiots! We’ll do it just so we don’t have to put our beer in to go coffee cups like we’re being sneaky!
Humbodlt…you’re not my favorite beer garden, but you’re the closest one to me on a semi-​permanent basis. I like you, but I don’t LIKE like you.
So the beer is sold out of a beer trailer courtesy of St. Francis brewing. There is often at least one St. Francis beer on tap, but the majority I’ve seen have always been other Milwaukee brews. Which is cool, but not expected. They could just sell only their beer and take all the money for themselves. Is this a silly business plan? If you want food, they sell that inside.
Speaking of inside… it’s a little like a campground bathroom in there, but without the smell and with some wooden beams added for aesthetic purposes. I don’t really go to a beer garden to sit inside… but I could see the benefit to the indoor space if you stayed out longer than your weatherman recommended. There is also a TV inside — which I feel will come in handy once the season of watching football begins.
I will certainly drink more beer here before the summer is up.

It was our first foray into the beer garden experience in Milwaukee, and it was a success! We had bought a Groupon that got us 2 liters of beer and a pizza– and we got to keep the liter steins for our next visit. This was an awesome deal!
The beer was plentiful and refreshing, the atmosphere was great (props for having it positioned right near the playground, so the kids could do their thing while the adults drank and chatted), and the food options were ok.
I highly recommend packing and bringing your own snacks; the menu is limited and a little on the pricy side for what it is. But all and all– it’s an awesome way to spend the afternoon.

Descriptive phrase: park drinking.
Humboldt Park’s Beer Garden is a wonderful and welcome addition to the near south side. It’s run by St Francis Brewery (from right down the street), and the beer is very reasonably priced (in half or full liters only). The setting is nice, near the amphitheater and the pond and the playground. I do wish they had more tables, as there were only a handful of picnic tables scattered about. I also think the bathroom area needs a major update. But, beer-​beggars can’t be choosers, and overall Humboldt is a worthwhile stop throughout the summer.

Yay to getting people out in Milwaukee Parks!
This particular beer garden has more of an open concept feel compared to Estabrook. There’s not as many tables and they’re scattered out a bit. There also was no music being played which would’ve been a great touch.
It was a pretty chilly night we went — and with a baby in tow we were grateful for the bunch of tables located inside by the food vendor. They had a TV in the room as well which now that I think of it is a bit odd.
St. Francis does a decent job with the beer/​food selections. Maybe a tad bit pricey for the food, but not bad. Pizza, hot dogs, brats, pretzels… etc. The beer offerings are mostly St. Francis brews with a couple local options. Be prepared with cash — as they only have an ATM, and I’m not sure on it’s reliability.
Humboldt isn’t quite at the same caliber of Estabrook — but I think with a few updates it certainly has a ton of potential!

I was pretty excited seeing the free beer signs around Humbokt park. My husband and I had a date night tonight and we got at the beer garden about 515 it was packed. We planned ahead and brought our own glasses otherwise there’s a five dollar per glass deposit. It was free beer until 6:30pm from St. Francis brewery. We were one of the first in line for the keg pour. It was a great event! The beer was wonderful! I hope to stop again!

Just a short walk here and you find the biergarten to the south of the Bandshell where they have Chill on the Hill and just west of the pavilion.
You will see a horse-​trailer that has 4 – 6 beers on tap with a bar to place your order. You do need to pay $ 6 for a glass deposit and then it is $ 5 for a half liter or $ 10 for a liter. This is their first season and as they expand they will (hopefully) be able to bring in your own mugs yet for now, you have to use their mugs. All of the beer is St. Francis brewery beers.
You can walk into the pavilion to order food — they have pretzels with cheese (so good) and other light fair that pairs well with beer. They have picnic tables long the side of the pavilion and then extending out west too. We’ve been here a few times and they have 2 sets of bags and the horseshoe pit that is next to them.
The park is dog and kid friendly yet you can’t bring your glasses outside of the area. In fact you can’t smoke within 30 feet (I believe) of the seating.
Great addition to the park and look forward to many more years of this expanding.

For the new biergarten kid on the Milwaukee block I would say they’re pulling their weight. Humboldt Park itself is lovely and sipping a beer just enhances it. I was disappointed by the fact that you can’t bring in your own stein, as a couple who keeps steins in their car for just this occasion, it’s a little bit of a bummer. I will admit that I prefer a more «Germanesque» experience, so the beer selection doesn’t knock my socks off. I do love their IPA, but not in my stein. Giant pretzels are mandatory, I’m glad they are offering a small menu. It’s a great addition to the neighborhood, but if you’re familiar with other Milwaukee beer gardens, it definitely has a different feel. Not bad, just different!

I like drinking outside. that is a plus… and you can take your kids and let them play in the park near by… another plus. The beer offerings were okay and the food was decent. I look forward to seeing how this place evolves.

$ 5 dollar beer good $ 6 mug deposit no good and Inconvient and no plastic cups
Not too happy with the procedure

I’m not sure that I want to take the title of That Biergarten guy. I’ve been to every permanent BG so far. With exception to The first Sprecher mobile BG. This is a mobile beer vender trailer with a choice of Four of St. Francis brewery beers with food service in the building.
They have Plenty of picnic tables and mugs of two sizes. Liter and Half liter deposit is $ 6. Cash only. They do have an ATM inside the building. At this time they want to use their own mugs. So save your stein for Estabrook, Landings, or any of the mobile Sprecher locations. I believe it is an internal limitation so they have and a dual control to cross check total head counts. And keep the pours standardized. And considering that they only have one porta potty and a men’s room that serves two at a time. Tables are new so look out for splinters or use a tablecloth. Bring snacks and enjoy your local parks.
Food: 3 on your own or warm brats dog and pretzels. 3
Amb.: 4 live music.
Serv.: 4
Loc.: 5
Val.: 4 prices are similar to Estabrook and Hoyt park.
⁶³⁄₂₀₁₄

This place was such a blast when I went last Saturday. I love the idea of a beer garden bringing a community together. It makes a stroll through the park that much more fun.
Let’s face it, it’s hard to beat the brew reputation of Haufbrau, but St. Francis is doing a good job competing! I really liked all the beer I tried, but I went with the Dunkleweiss (which unfortunately ran out, friends). I think the new seasonal for 2014 is a saison, which also sounds amazing.
I like the food selection at Humboldt beer garden much more than Estabrook. It even includes a veggie frankfurter! Way to go, St. Francis! Thinking about your clientele!
We had a great time playing bags and drinking our liters. You can’t beat the beauty of humboldt park. This is really such a great addition to the community. I hope it becomes a permanent staple.
Oh, one thing. Play some polka music, please!!!

Residents of this neighborhood, myself included, have waited a long, long time for a Biergarten in our fine park.
I hear friends talk about, and see the cool photos at Estabrook, Hoyt and Hubbard and now Humboldt Park can be one of the cool kids!
There are some subtle differences that experienced garden-​goers should note. Most noticeable is that you cannot bring your own glass, or stein to Humboldt. You must pay the $ 6 deposit to use the house steins.
Noteworthy is that this is the only garden in Milwaukee that’s operated by an outside Brewery, that being St. Francis Brewery. They offer four of their house brews (Lust Weissbier, Envy IPA, Wrath Amber Ale and Gluttony Seasonal). Liters are $ 10 and half-​liters are $ 5. Other beverages are wines ($ 7 – 8) and Maple Root Beer ($ 5).
Also available is a selection of food items that include a Bavarian Cheese Soup, served in a bread bowl, a Bavarian Pretzel with mustard, a Veggie Dog and a Bratwurst. Or you may choose to bring your own takeout or snacks.
The new Biergarten is located just south of the bandshell, and just behind the Pavillion. It’s cash only but there is an ATM inside the Pavillion. Also interesting is that while there will be service during Chill on the Hill events, beer cannot be taken from the garden to the Hill.
Management has indicated that improvements could be coming in the future, but for now my neighbors and I are just happy to have our own little slice of the Milwaukee Biergarten pie!

Another opportunity to drink craft beer in a park setting with friends, or strangers if that’s your thing.
Small food menu is available but you can bring anything you want to eat or just go and drink.
There are a few tables, but lots of grassy park area for your lawn chairs and picnic blankets.
I thought they did a nice job for the first night, but some improvements I would recommend are: add more picnic tables, add bike racks, and have music playing, does not have to be live.
Otherwise, I like.

It’s about damn time the south side gets their very own permanent biergarten! No more being jealous of the folks north of 94 because we now can drink good beer in a park!
The beer selection is small but great. I’m really starting to enjoy the St. Francis line of beers, including the Gluttony seasonal saison that I had on this occasion. There’s also maple root beer for kids/​designated drivers that my young daughter really enjoyed.
There’s also a small menu of food, but I’m sorry, I’d let Tim Masthay punt me in the balls before I pay $ 9 for a giant pretzel.
If you have trouble finding this place, it’s almost directly in the center of the park right behind the pavilion.
This is one of the best parks in the city, please do your part and keep it beautiful. There’s plenty of garbage cans all around.
Can we please get to the point where we can bring our own steins instead of paying $ 6 to rent? If I bring the family out, before I have my brew and my wife and girl gets their root beers, $ 18 disappears from my pocket for a short time. I have no problem paying $ 5 for a beer, but I rather not carry a bankroll just to have a good time.
Otherwise, great job. I’m looking forward to many good times here!