MobCraft Beer is Back in Business
Less than a year after closure, brewery has reopened under new ownership.
MobCraft Beer, 505 S. 5th St. Photo taken Sept. 18, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.
Less than a year after closing its doors in Walker’s Point, MobCraft Beer has returned under new ownership. The brewery, 505 S. 5th St. reopened Sept. 12 with a list of guest taps and snacks—including MobCraft’s signature pizzas.
Sarah Halstead, a former employee, now runs the business with her husband, Michael. The Sept. 15 reopening was met with enthusiasm from fans.
“We’ve had just a really fantastic response from the community and from customers—both previous and new ones who have stopped in,” said Halstead, who served as MobCraft’s director of finance and HR from 2019 through 2023. “Everyone has been incredibly supportive.”
The mural-covered taproom remains largely unchanged, with communal seating and high-top tables indoors and a sunny outdoor patio overlooking the 6th Street Roundabout.
Missing, however, is MobCraft’s beer wall, normally covered with signs for taps like Fish Fry, Mobtoberfest and Crush. But only temporarily. Licensing hold ups slowed the brewery’s production capabilities, but its first batch, a West Coast IPA, is set to hit taplines in the near future. The brewery currently offers a stout carried over from previous owners and plans to continue ramping up production in the coming months.
For now, guest taps highlight local breweries like Amorphic Beer, Supermoon Beer Company and Torzala Brewing Co., though specific offerings change almost daily. The taproom also offers a gluten-free brew from Madison-based ALT Brew, along with kombucha, draft cocktails, ciders and snacks including giant soft pretzels, spinach dip, cheesy garlic bread and pizzas.
Under new ownership, MobCraft plans to reintroduce theme nights including trivia Tuesdays, music bingo on Wednesdays and a cribbage league. The brewery will also partner with the arts community to display a rotating gallery.
“We’re just really excited to be back,” Halstead said.
MobCraft’s return comes nearly 10 months after former owner Henry Schwartz shuttered the Milwaukee taproom with plans to sell the business. Schwartz and former co-owner Andrew Gierczak originally launched the location in 2016 after relocating from Madison.
The brewery expanded to Denver, Colorado, in September 2022 and to Illinois in November 2023. Gierczak left the company in the summer of 2023, according to Schwartz. The Denver taproom closed in April 2023, and a proposed Waterford location never materialized. Another Illinois location in Woodstock has also closed, with the city taking ownership of brewery equipment, tables, chairs and other property.
MobCraft’s Milwaukee taproom is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The kitchen shuts down one hour before close.
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