Scouring the Internet for daily drinks specials at your favorite bars is one way to ensure you're getting more bang for your beer buck. But in Bay View, it now takes little more than getting dressed.
The end of 2009 marked the kick off of The Bay View Cheap Beer Club. And yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. The only catch is, you have to wear the club's T-shirt to prove you're a member and reap the bountiful beer benefits.
Burnhearts co-owner BJ Seidel says the idea came to him while he was a bar in Philadelphia.
"(The bar) had a Wall Of Shame for the 'cheap beer of the week' and I thought it was a really cool idea so I came up with my own slogan -- 'Hops Hath No Shame!' -- and decided it would be more fun to make it a community bar thing than just a Burnhearts thing," he says.
The concept is simple. Members pay $20 and in return get the Hops Hath No Shame T-shirt, one free "featured beer" and a lifetime of discounted beer at three Bay View Bars: Burnhearts, 2599 S. Logan Ave., Blackbird, 3007 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., and Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave. The offer is available for purchase at all three locations.
OK, so it might involve a bit more laundry than before, but chances are, it's worth it. And don't let the name of the club fool you into thinking it's the bars' way of unloading all its "economically-priced" beer for pennies. The member bars are known for their impressive craft beer selections and Seidel says they are all fair game in the Bay View Cheap Beer Club.
"Cheap doesn't imply terrible, undrinkable beer -- in fact it's quite the opposite. The focus of the club is getting a product at a great price and bringing those prices to the customer," he says.
The three bars plans to constantly rotate their own beer club menus, so each bar will have its own specials depending on what's available at the time. Seidel says the best way to stay up to date with the beer offerings is to join the Bay View Cheap Beer Club members page on Facebook or just ask the bartender.
The official club kick off is planned for Tuesday, Jan. 12 beginning at 8 p.m. at all three bars, each of which has its own kick-off specials. The idea is to start at one bar and make your way to the rest before the night is over.
"If there's one thing that can unite all of Milwaukee it's beer ... so basically it's just a fun way to gauge who is interested in the club and have a free-form pub crawl around Bay View."
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
