Captain Pabst Pilot House to Reopen Friday

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (May 21, 2020) – After being fully closed for two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly-rebranded Captain Pabst Pilot House (formerly the Pabst Milwaukee Brewery and Taproom) will reopen to the public for “Beer to Go” only on Friday, May 22 at Noon.

The Captain Pabst Pilot House is in a historic 148-year old building on the original Pabst complex – the former First German Methodist Church located on the corner of Juneau Avenue and 11th Street.

This has been a challenging time for everyone, including the team here at the Captain Pabst Pilot House,” said General Manager Adam Powers. “We are excited to get back to business and provide patrons access to fresh, locally-brewed beers to go. Eventually, we will welcome people back with a great new menu of delicious food, live music and camaraderie to accompany those great brews.

Captain Pabst Pilot House “Beer to Go” hours will be Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m.

Naturally, the first phase of the re-opening will focus on the iconic Pabst beers brewed on site at the Pilot House. “We will have a variety of micro-brew available for carry-out starting on May 22 at Noon, including: Seabird IPA and Pabst Andeker; as well as six new beers on tap: Pabst Maibock, Schlitz Erlanger, Sailor’s Delight (Irish Red), Peaches & Cream (Cream Ale), Double IPA (version 2), and also French Toast Dark Ale, brewed in collaboration with Indeed Brewery,” said Powers.

In addition to beer, Pabst breweriana / merchandise will be available, including the new Captain Pabst Seabird IPA collection and a limited-edition T-Shirt, designed in collaboration with local artist Zac Jacobson, that includes a four pack of Seabird IPA (with purchase and pickup only). “All proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition T-shirt will be donated to support the workers effected in the service industry, who have not been able to work due to local regulations in place impacting bar/restaurant staff,” said Powers. (More information on that program here.)

He added, “Milwaukee is a special city for breweries and Pabst wants to do its part. Starting with the collaboration tee with Zac Jacobson, we plan to support and partner with small businesses by doing more collaborations throughout the year and making that merchandise available online and in our gift shop. It is not about us right now, it’s about the city and community as a whole.”

The second phase of the reopening will focus on making the Pilot House safe for patrons to return, starting with the outside patio, at 25% of capacity.

“We will be taking many precautions to keep our customers safe, including: limited seating with six-foot spacing between tables, supplying staff with masks and hand sanitizer, offering single-use paper menus, putting all beer and food in plastic and to go containers, thoroughly cleaning tables between guests and sanitizing the rooms every evening,” said Powers.

The inside space will open at a 25% capacity when safe to do so and the capacity outside and inside will slowly increase as it becomes safe to do so.

“Our popular tours of the micro-brewery and live music performances will return as soon as it’s possible to ensure the safety of our patrons in traditionally crowded environments,” said Powers. “It is difficult to have solid dates in place, but we are targeting sometime in July to be back to some extent with tours and live music indoors.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.