"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Good City Brewing, the urban brewery and taproom which opened last June at 2108 N. Farwell Ave., is full of good news this week.
First, it has been crowned champion of the "Brewing News" National Imperial IPA Competition with its Reward IPA. The beer, which surpassed over 90 other beers from some of the most respected breweries in the nation, including past winners Melvin and Tamarack Brewing. No small feat.
The news is accompanied by even more excitement as the brewery plans an expansion which could roll out as early as this summer.
Co-owner David Dupee says Good City is currently in the midst of securing MEDC financing to expand its taproom and add a rooftop patio, both hopeful and necessary additions as the brewery has become a popular hot spot for both beer and food lovers, particularly on weekends.
The expanded taproom area, which would be located in the space just to the south of the current space, would accommodate over 100 additional guests. It would also include a second bar.
"The goal would be to accommodate overflow for the taproom as well as give us space for private events, including weddings and the like," notes Dupee. "We also hope to have a stage to accommodate concerts and other events."
Good City also is considering a rooftop patio, which would offer additional outdoors seating during clement months. Dupee says plans are still being drawn up for the spaces, but he anticipates the rooftop will accommodate about 75 guests.
The proposed expansion also coincides with the arrival of a canning line that will allow Good City to expand their canning production (currently, they mobile canning one brew, Motto). Plans are to launch three more beers in cans, including Risk IPA, Reward Double IPA and the Pils pilsner in cans around Milwaukee and Madison beginning this May.
"It's really humbling to be experiencing all this growth after just nine months," says Dupee. "We're really excited."
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
%20copy.jpg)
