Photo courtesy of Captain Pabst Pilot House
After being fully closed for two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly rebranded Captain Pabst Pilot House (1037 W. Juneau Ave.) reopens for "Beer To Go" only starting on Friday, May 22.
You may remember the Pilot House by its former name, Pabst Milwaukee Brewery and Taproom, located up the hill from Fiserv Forum on W. Juneau Ave., past Milwaukee Brewing Co. and the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery.
The grand reopening of the Pilot House, along with a grand old party, was scheduled for Captain Frederick Pabst’s 184th birthday—March 28. For obvious reasons, that in-person event was canceled.
The Pilot House's “Beer to Go” hours will be Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m.
This has been a challenging time for everyone, including the team here at the Captain Pabst Pilot House,” said General Manager Adam Powers. “We are excited to get back to business and provide patrons access to fresh, locally-brewed beers to go. Eventually, we will welcome people back with a great new menu of delicious food, live music and camaraderie to accompany those great brews.
The first phase of reopening will focus on beers brewed on-site at the Pilot House, including Seabird IPA and Pabst Andeker; as well as these six new beers: Pabst Maibock, Schlitz Erlanger, Sailor’s Delight (Irish Red), Peaches & Cream (Cream Ale), Double IPA (version 2) and French Toast Dark Ale, brewed in collaboration with Indeed Brewery.
In addition to beer, Pabst merchandise will be available, including a limited-edition t-shirt designed in collaboration with local artist Zac Jacobson, that includes a four pack of Seabird IPA (with purchase and pickup only). “All proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition t-shirt will be donated to support the workers effected in the service industry, who have not been able to work due to local regulations in place impacting bar/restaurant staff,” said Powers.
He added, “Milwaukee is a special city for breweries and Pabst wants to do its part. Starting with the collaboration tee with Zac Jacobson, we plan to support and partner with small businesses by doing more collaborations throughout the year and making that merchandise available online and in our gift shop. It is not about us right now, it’s about the city and community as a whole.”
The second phase of the reopening will focus on making the Pilot House safe for patrons to return, starting with the outside patio, at 25% of capacity.
“We will be taking many precautions to keep our customers safe, including: limited seating with six-foot spacing between tables, supplying staff with masks and hand sanitizer, offering single-use paper menus, putting all beer and food in plastic and to go containers, thoroughly cleaning tables between guests and sanitizing the rooms every evening,” said Powers.
The inside space will open at a 25% capacity when safe to do so and the capacity outside and inside will slowly increase as it becomes safe to do so.
“Our popular tours of the micro-brewery and live music performances will return as soon as it’s possible to ensure the safety of our patrons in traditionally crowded environments,” said Powers. “It is difficult to have solid dates in place, but we are targeting sometime in July to be back to some extent with tours and live music indoors.”
