After a full two-month closure, the newly rebranded Captain Pabst Pilot House (formerly the Pabst Milwaukee Brewery and Taproom) at 1037 W. Juneau Ave. has announced that it will be re-opening to offer beer for carry-out just in time for Memorial Day weekend. 

"This has been a challenging time for everyone, including the team here at the Captain Pabst Pilot House," noted General Manager Adam Powers in a release. "We are excited to get back to business and provide patrons access to fresh, locally-brewed beers to go."

Beginning Friday, May 22 at noon, the Pilot House will offer a selection of beer to-go, including Seabird IPA and Pabst Andeker; as well as six new beers on tap including Pabst Maibock, Schlitz Erlanger, Sailor’s Delight (Irish Red), Peaches & Cream (Cream Ale), Double IPA (version 2), and French Toast Dark Ale, a beer brewed in collaboration with Indeed Brewery.

The menu and online ordering system will be up and running by the morning of May 22. All orders must be placed online (no cash sales). Pick-up will be conducted drive-thru style with pick-up available in front of the brewery (see map below).  Make sure to be patient, kind and tip well!

In addition to beer, Pabst breweriana and merchandise will be available, including the new Captain Pabst Seabird IPA collection and a limited-edition tshirt designed in collaboration with local artist Zac Jacobson which includes a four pack of Seabird IPA. All proceeds from the sale of the limited edition tee will be donated to support workers in the service industry.

"Milwaukee is a special city for breweries," says Powers. "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," he adds.

Phased reopening plans

Although the brewery will offer only beer for now, moving forward plans include the roll-out of a new menu of food as well as live music when it is safe to do so.

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," says Powers, "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,"

Indoor seating will roll out at a 25% capacity when it has been determined that it is safe; and the capacity will slowly increase as best practice warrants. Tours and live music performances will also return as soon as it is possible to ensure the safety of guests.

"It is difficult to have solid dates in place," admits Powers. "But we are targeting sometime in July to be back to some extent with tours and live music indoors."

Hours for the "Beer To Go" program will be Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.