Lakefront Brewery Expanding Gluten-Free Festival

Maifest. Photo courtesy of Lakefront Brewery.

Just over two decades ago, gluten-free beer was nearly impossible to find, even in brewery-focused Milwaukee. Now, the city hosts a festival dedicated to it.

Maifest, Lakefront Brewery‘s take on the annual German celebration, is set to return for its fifth — and largest — installment. The May 17 event will feature a wide variety of gluten-free drinks, more than 40 celiac-safe food vendors and entertainment ranging from live music to a dachshund parade.

The family-friendly festival, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1872 N. Commerce St., will also have a wider footprint than in previous years, spilling beyond the beer hall parking area onto N. Commerce Street and a grass-covered auxiliary lot.

The event will mark the launch of two new Lakefront releases. Gluten-Free Cherry & Sakura Sparkling Mead, aged in Wollersheim brandy barrels, will be available for on-site pours and in 12-ounce cans to go. New Grist Radler, a beer-and-grapefruit juice cocktail from Lakefront’s gluten-free line, will be sold in six packs throughout the grounds.

Attendees can also expect Bloody Marys and limited gluten-free cask beers in flavors such as orange marmalade, strawberry lemonade and jala-piña colada.

In addition to its signature beers, the brewery will serve gluten-free food, including burgers, sausages, soft pretzels, barbecue-flavored cheese curds, Cheez-It-crusted chicken tenders and fried Brussels sprouts at the festival. Chillwaukee, Bunny’s Bite, MOR Bakehouse MKE, Olympia Granola, Pedro’s South American Food and dozens more vendors will also be on-site with allergy-friendly options.

Live music will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring sets from Long Line Riders, Social Cig, Known Moons and Wisconsin Space Program, interspersed with a German dance performance at noon and the March of Doxies — a dachshund parade — at 2 p.m. Brewery tours will begin at the top of each hour, with activities such as henna tattoos, photo ops and a rummage sale offered throughout the day.

Lakefront introduced its pioneering New Grist beer — brewed with rice and sorghum — in 2005, and continues to advocate for what it describes as an underserved regional gluten-free community. “We organized this fest for you to peruse, drink, and eat quality hard-to-find food with confidence,” the brewery shared in an online post.

Today, the brewery remains a leading producer of gluten-free beer and continues to expand its allergy-friendly options; its recently released THC beverage, High Jinx, is also gluten-free.

From May 10-17, Lakefront will host a donation drive for the Bonnie Lynn Mechanic Celiac Disease Clinic at Children’s Wisconsin, inviting customers to round up their purchase and donate the difference. The hospital will also have an informational booth at Maifest.

View the full vendor list, live music lineup and activity schedule online.

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