By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Apr 07, 2017 at 3:06 PM Photography: Carolynn Buser

In Wisconsin, any day is a great day for a beer – today even more so, however, because it's National Beer Day. Is this yet another one of those weird random "holidays" that seem to have been created out of nowhere for no reason or logic? Yes. Is it just an excuse to drink more beer? Yes. Will we take it? Duh.

In that spirit, here are nine of the best ways to celebrate the most satisfying, suds-filled National Beer Day possible in Milwaukee. Because today, the time is always beer o'clock. 

1. In the best new bar

While everyone has their favorite go-to watering hole, there's no lack of great new bars seemingly always opening around the city – and you voted for some of the best of the bunch during last month's Best of Bars Bar Month survey, naming Drink Wisconsinbly Pub number one. Maybe instead of the usual standby, try out that newcomer, which just celebrated its one-year birthday last month. After all, the only thing better than that cold brew taste is that new bar smell. 

2. On a brewery tour

What could be better than getting to drink a lot of beer while pretending you're learning something? That's the beauty of a brewery tour: It's alcoholism wrapped in an educational experience! And with all the breweries peppered across the city, there's also no lack of brewery tours that are more than happy to tell you of their hoppy beverages – and serve them up, as well. Lakefront Brewery's tour is a regular Best of Bars survey winner, but there's plenty of other tasty trips through Brew City's best, such as the classic and great Miller Brewery Tour. Excite your buds and your brain (but mostly your buds). 

3. At a local craft brewer

Turn your head to the left. Yep, there's a probably a new craft brewery moving in there. Even for a city nicknamed Brew City, with a baseball team named after beer-making, Milwaukee's craft brewery scene is overwhelmingly exploding of late. What a glorious time to be alive – and what a glorious made-up holiday, on a weekend, at that – to celebrate it. From old favorites (Lakefront BreweryMilwaukee Brewing) to new rising stars (Good CityEnlightened), there's plenty of places to celebrate the small brewers helping the Brew City name stick. 

4. In a shower

What's more relaxing than grabbing a beer at the bar? Grabbing a beer in your shower, obviously. Our own Molly Snyder sampled this sensation using a Miller Lite just last year – and, like millions of you out there, got hooked by the cozy combination of warm atmosphere and a frosty brew. So grab yourself a beer – or, for those not prudish about pruning, a whole cooler – and hit the showers. 

5. With a Tullamore D.E.W.

Sometimes, work doesn't suck. Take, for instance, last month when we got to wash down a day of exhausting writing and reporting with a hefty sample of beers and Tullamore D.E.W. whiskeys – both at the same time with its "D.E.W. and a brew" campaign. Indeed, beer with a shot of whiskey isn't exactly an alien concept that needs much promotion, but the idea is actually drinking the two together, at the same pace, so they delectably bring out the flavors of one another. What better way to celebrate National Beer Day than booze on brews?

6. With the city's best beer lists

Any watering hole can serve up beer; it takes a special bar to offer up a healthy menu of uniquely delicious beer options from across the state – and maybe even the globe. For OnMilwaukee readers, at the top of the list of best beer lists is Bay View's Sugar Maple, voted the best in our annual poll for the past seven years. 

7. While playing and/or watching games

I know this is devastating information, but beer – good beer; none of that Michelob Ultra diet hops water – has a lot of carbs, and carbs can make you fat. So why not work off some of those pounds by bowling a few racks or playing a particularly vigorous pinball game at our best bar games venue, Landmark Lanes. Or by watching actual athletes – say, for instance, during the Brewers-Cubs game this weekend – at Steny's, voted best sports bar by our readers. That counts as exercise, right?

8. On a patio

The weather's finally starting to look like spring, so why not enjoy this special suds-specific day out on one of Milwaukee's fine patios. OnMilwaukee readers can't stop singing the praises of Barnacle Bud's, as they've given the nautically themed bar the title of Best Patio every year since 2010. There are plenty of other scenic spots sure to satisfy, as well, so dip into last month's survey results, pick a place and soak up a view to go with your brew.

9. In the city's best bar district

Milwaukee's full of great places to grab a beer, but when it comes to particular Milwaukee neighborhoods, apparently Bay View is best. At least that's according to our OnMilwaukee readers in last month's Best of Bars poll. On some level, how could it not be, considering how much there is of Bay View to enjoy, from the hot spots spread all the way down KK to all the little venues scattered throughout the rest of the village. You can't go five feet without walking into a new place for a beer, so turn Bay View into Bay Brew tonight.

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.