Gluten-Free Festival Returns to Lakefront Brewery
Gluten-free cheese curds, beers and more on tap for third annual Maifest.
Lakefront Brewery 1872 N. Commerce St. Photo courtesy of Lakefront Brewery.
The third annual Maifest is set to return to Lakefront Brewery later this month, offering a full day of gluten-free programming while celebrating the arrival of warmer weather.
The spring-themed festival is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 19 inside the beer hall, 1872 N. Commerce St., offering food, beverages, flower crowns and myriad other wheat-free festivities.
Kristin Hueneke, executive chef for Lakefront Brewery, said the festival’s popularity has cemented its status as an annual event — at least for now.
“If the people keep on coming, we’ll continue to make space for them,” she said in a statement. “We’re just happy to be able to provide a safe, gluten-free event for the community.”
This year’s festival will showcase more than 40 vendors and 10 food trucks, along with gluten-free beers and new releases from Lakefront. The brewery now offers three different gluten-free beers: New Grist Pilsner, New Grist Gosa Rita and New Grist IPA — all of which will be available at Maifest.
“We couldn’t be more excited to showcase what Milwaukee has to offer,” Hueneke said.
In addition to the gluten-free brews, Lakefront will serve bloody marys, specialty coffee drinks and three gluten-free cask beers during Maifest. Regular beer will also be available.
Lakefront’s The CurdWagon will be in attendance at the festival, where it plans to debut an all-new menu item: gluten-free cookies-and-cream-flavored cheese curds.
Russ Klisch, owner and president of Lakefront Brewery, said the new offering could become a staple this summer. Beyond Maifest, The CurdWagon plans to offer a fully gluten-free menu for the 2024 season.
“After we’ve innovated the craft beer space with Certified Gluten-Free options, we wanted to continue doing positive things for the gluten-free community,” he said in a statement. “Hosting Maifest and turning our CurdWagon into an exclusively gluten-free food truck for the summer months both feel like natural progressions to me. Lakefront Brewery is happy to lead and continue to be that provider.”
Additional vendors include Tots on the Street, Troublemakers’ Cocina, Greek Street Eats, Old Country Style Nuts, EZ Tiki, Fork N Fry Mobile Poutine, Pedro’s South American Food and Clean Cruisine. All food trucks will serve a fully gluten-free menu.
The family-friendly festival will also include an outdoor marketplace featuring vendors like Chillwaukee, Olympia Granola, Milwaukee Candle Company, Bunny’s Bite, Tabal Chocolate and dozens more. Lakefront Brewery will run its own vendor booth with both retro and current merchandise at a discounted price.
Guests of all ages are welcome to enjoy flower crowns, live music, glitter tattoos and twisted balloons.
Well-behaved dogs are permitted in outdoor areas of the festival; however, Lakefront stressed that Maifest is not a pet-centric event.
Maifest will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free to attend. More information is available to view online.
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