Ope! Brewing: A Hub for Beers, Dogs and Silly Midwest Humor

Ope! has established itself as a community hub in West Allis, featuring a massive indoor taproom and spacious outdoor area that give plenty of room for activities.

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Leaning into quirky Midwest humor with a beer selection that has something for everyone, Ope! Brewing (6751 W. National Ave.) has established itself as a community hub in West Allis, featuring a massive indoor taproom and spacious outdoor area that give plenty of room for activities. Ope! hosts weekly live music, trivia and bingo, open Monday through Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m., Thursday 4 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Built out of a former manufacturing facility, Ope! is equipped with 24 draft lines that boast quite the variety of beers, seltzers, cocktails and non-alcoholic options—some of which are collaborations with fellow local businesses. Hence its name, Ope! likes to title brews after silly Midwest-coded phrases like “Didn’t See Ya There” and “Let Me Sneak Past Ya.” In total, Ope! offers nearly 60 different beers and seltzers. “We have fun with it, and craft breweries really should be a fun space,” co-owner Kyle Ciske affirms. “We come up with all kinds of goofy names for the beers and merchandise.”

Ope’s fruited sours, which are rotated throughout the year, are particularly popular. Seasonal varieties like the “Opetoberfest" and Cranberry Cherry Sour are also big hits. Ope’s current tap selection features four IPAs as well as the “Ermahgerd!” pastry stout - which contains peanuts - and two hard seltzers, German Apple Streusel and Peach Passionfruit. For NAs, Ope! carries several CBD beverages and mocktails, including offerings from Untitled Art.

Neighborhood Gathering Place

Inside the taproom are plentiful seating arrangements including couches and banquet tables. Activities like cribbage, darts and arcade games help give the place a neighborhood gathering place feel, plus folks are welcome to bring in their own board games. Over the summer, Ope! hosts volleyball and cornhole leagues, and patrons may hang out around gas-powered fire pits. A roster of food trucks sets up outside, with Chucho’s Red Tacos on-site daily. Both the indoor and outdoor bars have TVs for catching games.

In terms of music, Ope’s enormous stage has welcomed some 300 local and regional acts since its start. Fuzzy Logic is the brewery’s resident DJ, spinning tunes every Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. Ope! is regularly host to events like vendor markets, yoga and pet fests as well.

“This space allows us to do everything we want to do,” Ciske says, whose beer career began as a young adult when he tried homebrewing in the garage with a friend. As he got better at it, Ciske decided to pursue beer as a profession. Before Ope!, Ciske worked for several local breweries including Cedarburg’s Silver Creek Brewery and Explorium Brewpub.

Dog-Friendly Environment

Eventually, Ciske teamed up with fellow beer fanatic John Onopa in 2021 to develop the concept for Ope!, which they officially opened a year later. Head brewer Cameron Patterson joined the team in 2024 and has more than a decade of experience, having previously worked for City Lights Brewing as well as several companies in his native Vermont.

Ope! is locally celebrated for its dog-friendly environment. “Partnering with the food trucks and not having an in-house kitchen allows us to be dog-friendly both inside and out,” Ciske explains. “Pets are part of the family and they bring good vibes to the space.”

Ciske and company recently purchased a property in Appleton that will become their second Ope! taproom in 2026. They are also installing a third volleyball court at the original spot. For bookings, contact info@opebrewingco.com.