Franksville Craft Beer Garden Taps Keg on Third Annual Oktoberfest

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As Lakefront Brewery owner Jim Klisch pointed out on Thursday evening, Oktoberfest may be cancelled in Munich, but the spirit is very much alive and well in Franksville. The Franksville Craft Beer Garden kicked off their third annual Oktoberfest celebration, which will run throughout this weekend in Franksville Park. On the opening night, the community came together to celebrate the cultural festivities, as German drinking music emanated from the beer garden’s stage, and games of hammerschlagen commenced shortly after the ceremonial keg tapping.

The celebration of the German tradition has been a staple of the beer garden’s programming since their opening season in 2018. While this year has meant for some unorthodox challenges to beer gardens all over southeastern Wisconsin, co-owners Ken and Molly Michel have been adapting to the change, making sure that all of the necessary precautions were in place.

“We already had a large premises to begin with, but we weren’t really using all of it before” said Molly Michel. “This year we’ve expanded to use all 100,000 square feet, and we added 30 tables to our grounds to help accommodate for social distancing. All of our staff have been wearing PPE materials since the beginning of the season, and our patrons as well.”

This year’s festivities include live music in a variety of genres, a pig roast, stein hoisting competitions and much more for the whole family. Keg tapping ceremonies for Lakefront Brewery’s Black Friday and Imperial Pumpkin brews will happen on Friday and Saturday respectively, and a host of food trucks will also be on-site, in addition to the variety of drinks available from the beer garden’s selection throughout the weekend.

“We’ve always had a great community at FCBG, but this year, there’s been a feeling of appreciation” said Michel. “When we first opened, we didn’t know what to expect. People would come to the window and say ‘thank you so much for having this. I needed this,’ and that feels like a huge plus for everybody. This year’s response has been absolutely tremendous.”

For a full list of activities for the Franksville Craft Beer Garden Oktoberfest celebration, you can visit their website, as well as the event on their Facebook page.