By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Aug 26, 2019 at 1:01 PM

There’s a new series of brews coming from Lowlands Group, thanks to an expansion of the Lowlands Brewing Collaborative, which has included collaborative brews with Brouwerij Van Steenberge and Brouwerij The Musketeers in Belgium and Central Waters in Amherst.

The expansion includes a new seasonal beer series entitled "Now Playing," which will showcase an ongoing, rotating collaboration with Good City Brewing. The new project was named in honor of a third collaborator, Milwaukee Film, with the intention of drawing additional attention  not only to the annual film festival – but also their year-round programming.

"Between our love for beer, film and supporting organizations doing great work in Milwaukee, we realized that our two organizations have a fair amount of shared DNA," noted Dan Herwig, brand and marketing director at Lowlands Group. "Good City approached us about collaborating on a bier for the Milwaukee Film Festival specifically, and the idea snow-balled into an episodic bier series with new releases throughout the year, just like the movies."

The first beer in the collaborative series will be "Now Playing: Milwaukee Film Oktoberfest," a Wiesn-style festbier that is more similar to the traditional biers that are served in Munich during Oktoberfest.

The beer, which is twist on traditional Marzen-style beers, is lighter in color and its flavor is described as "light and crushable, yet balanced." It bears both heady yeast and caramel notes and ends on a dry hoppy note.

And beer drinkers can relish the thought of supporting Milwaukee Film with every draft. After all, one dollar of every Oktoberfest bier sold from now through the end of the Milwaukee Film Festival will be donated to Milwaukee Film.

"We’re really excited to be collaborating with the Lowlands Group on this new series," says Dan Katt, co-founder of Good City Brewing. "We think the city needs more things like this that bring together different parts of the community to craft a stronger narrative for Milwaukee than any of us could write alone."

The Now Playing Series is now pouring and is available exclusively at the Lowlands Group’s area Grand Cafés, as well as Good City’s East Side and Downtown taprooms. "Now Playing: Milwaukee Film Oktoberfest" will also be served at the Oriental Theatre during the 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival. A complete listing of the Collaborative's biers is available at lowlandsbrewing.com.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

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 each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, 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.