Kathy Flanigan

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Watching people enjoy a cold brew in a park setting inspired Patrick Endters to open the first beer garden in Hartland. The beer garden in Nixon Park opens June 8.

Endters visited beer gardens at Estabrook Park and The Landing at Hoyt Park, where he recognized that successful beer gardens were in a park setting, usually with a water feature nearby and always with something for kids to do.

But mostly, they had beer.

"People just like to drink in parks," Endters said.

True enough. During an unusually warm weekend in February, the Traveling Beer Garden, a collaboration between Sprecher Brewing and Milwaukee County Parks, stopped at Whitnall Park. The final tally was more than 1,000 steins, 2,500 pints and 700 pretzels sold.

The barons of beer had the same thought when they opened the original Milwaukee beer gardens in the 19th century. Watch as history repeats itself with a growing number of beer gardens from Croatian Park Beer Garden in Franklin, which opened last summer, to a new permanent beer garden at Whitnall Park.

Beer gardens in Milwaukee County Parks

South Shore Terrace Kitchen + Beer Garden — Home of Miller 1855 Bar

2900 S. Shore Drive

Open: Now

Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

New to the beer garden this year is a commercial kitchen and expanded menu with items such as Miller High Life-battered Clock Shadow Creamery cheese curds, Milwaukee Pretzel Co. pretzels and Usinger’s sausages. A traditional Milwaukee fish fry will be served Friday nights.

Estabrook Beer Garden

4600 N. Estabrook Drive

Opens: May 4 for Maifest (officially)

Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Last call is at 9 p.m.

The Maifest opening ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. with a wooden keg-tapping and free beer until 6:30 p.m. Live music and German dance performances are on tap through the weekend. Maifest wraps up at 6 p.m. May 6.

Estabrook serves beers imported from the Munich Hofbräuhaus. Foods include bratwurst, hot dogs, giant pretzels and a regular Friday fish fry. The beer garden is set in the middle of the park, which boasts trails, playgrounds, disc golf course, a dog park, soccer fields and a river walk.

Whitnall Park

8831 N. Root River Parkway, Greendale

Opens: May 5

Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

The newest Milwaukee County Parks beer garden opens with live music and free beer during a ceremonial beer tapping at 4 p.m. May 5. The beer garden will have 24 craft beer taps — 12 with Sprecher brews. A new patio area, tables and lighting were funded by Sprecher Brewing.

A second beer trailer will serve a rotating selection of beers from local and regional breweries.

The beer garden will serve food such as hot dogs, pizza, pretzels and ice cream. Plans include a monthly Sunday pig roast party with live music.

Humboldt Park Beer Garden

3000 S. Howell Ave.

Opens: May 9. A grand opening is planned for May 11.

Hours: While the roof is being replaced the beer garden is open 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. After the roof is fixed, the beer garden will be open from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

The beer garden, a partnership between Milwaukee County Parks and St. Francis Brewery, made its reputation with craft beer tap takeover events. This year's plans remain much the same, but look for tap takeovers to partner breweries from the city and the region. For example, there's talk of grouping new breweries Gathering Place (which is expected to open in June), Westallion and Broken Bat Brewing for an event.

The beer garden is outside in Humboldt Park but includes an indoor room with seating for 60 people.

The Landing at Hoyt Park

1800 N. Swan Blvd., Wauwatosa

Open: May 17

Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays

Flanked by a picturesque stone bridge on one side and a municipal pool on the other, The Landing at Hoyt Park begins buzzing at the first sign of tolerable weather. It serves a changing menu of local craft and imported beer from New Glarus and Spaten on tap to beers in cans and bottles. It also serves wine, champagne, pizza, hot dogs, pretzels and popcorn. Hoyt often books live music.

Traveling beer gardens

Sprecher Brewing repurposed emergency vehicles from fire trucks to ambulances to serve the beer garden crowd. The trucks tap Sprecher beer, hard ciders and sodas, Milwaukee County Parks sells wine, other refreshments and food items.

Open: May 17

Hours: Open at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

Beer garden opening days begin with a ceremonial keg tapping at 4 p.m. and free beer and root beer while supplies last. The dueling beer gardens will visit 13 parks over 16 weeks. The dueling beer tours are called Pass Me a Pint Tour and Roll Out the Barrel.

Pass Me a Pint Tours:

May 17-29: Juneau Park, 900 N. Prospect Ave.

May 31-June 11: Kletzsch Park, 6560 N. Milwaukee River Parkway, Glendale

June 14-25: Froemming Park, 8801 S. 51st St., Franklin

June 28-July 9: McCarty Park, 8214 W. Cleveland Ave., West Allis

July 12-23: Zablocki Park, 3717 W. Howard Ave, Greenfield

July 26-Aug. 6: Lake Park, 3233 E. Kenwood Blvd.

Aug. 4-6: Brown Deer Park, 7835 N Green Bay Ave. A pop-up beer garden sets up on the golf course during the PHC Classic.

Aug. 9-20: Greene Park, 4235 S. Lipton Ave., St. Francis

Aug. 23-Sept. 4: Bender Park, 4503 E. Ryan Road, Oak Creek

Roll out the Barrel Tours:

May 17-June 11: Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124th St., West Allis.

June 14-July 9: Grant Park, 100 Hawthorne Ave., South Milwaukee

July 12-Aug. 6: Scout Lake Park, 5902 W. Loomis Road, Greendale

Aug. 9-Sept. 4: Doctors Park, 1870 E. Fox Lane, Fox Point

For a music schedule or changes, see county.milwaukee.gov/Parks/BeerGardens.

At Whitnall, South Shore Terrace and all the Traveling Beer Garden stops, visitors can purchase and keep glassware. For instance, at South Shore, a stein can be purchased full for $7 and refilled at reduced rates after that. At beer gardens that partner with Milwaukee County Parks — Estabrook, Humboldt and The Landing at Hoyt Park — visitors pay a $5 deposit and must return glassware before they leave the beer garden and get back the deposit.

All beer gardens will fill pint glasses or steins that people bring in, but beer has to be consumed on site.

Beer gardens beyond county parks

Hubbard Park Beer Garden

3565 N. Morris Blvd., Shorewood

Opens: April 29

Hours: 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting.

The Hubbard Park Beer Garden will open Saturday with a beer festival from 2 to 7 p.m. with beers on tap from Dogfish Head,Rogue,Sierra Nevada,New Belgium,New Glarus,Oskar Blues,Green Flash,Summit,Surly and Bells. Beers will be paired with 10 appetizers. Tickets are $25 per person and the number is limited to 75 sold each hour.

New this year are outdoor games such as ping-pong, mini-bowling, outdoor chess, bag toss and ring toss. Also new to the beer garden is a bike repair station with an air compressor, bike stand and basic repair tools.

Menu items include Usinger's brats, hot dogs, chicken apple sausage, pretzels and a cheese platter.

Bavarian Bierhaus

700 W. Lexington Blvd., Glendale

Opens: May 12 with Mayfest, a traditional Old World celebration of spring. Bavarian Bierhaus celebrates with fresh beer, carnival rides, a pig roast and live music.

Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The beer garden is among the largest in the state with taps for 12 beers, typically guest taps. A small building called the Pretzel Hut serves sodas, pulled pork sandwiches, bratwurst and other snack items. Customers are welcome to place to-go orders with the Pretzel Hut bartender for restaurant items. The kitchen will text when the order is ready.

This year, carnival rides that are included in the Mayfest celebration will operate at Bavarian Bierhouse weekends through Oktoberfest. Bring the bike, it's a stop on the Oak Leaf Trail.

Von Rothenburg Bier Stube

N116-W15863 Main St., Germantown

Open: May 12

Hours: 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Biergarden season includes 22 beers on tap and a full food menu from the restaurant.

Croatian Park Beer Garden

9100 S. 76th St., Franklin

Open: May 25

Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Thursdays through Sept. 23.

The Croatian Park Beer Garden opens for the second year.

Bellying up to the bar means a choice between Croatian Park Ale, Karlovačko Pivo (Croatian Beer) and a selection of Wisconsin beers including Leinenkugel and MillerCoors brews. The beer garden also serves Croatian cordials, a selection of mixed drinks, wine, soda and water along with grilled items such as Croatian čevapčići or homemade sausages.

Twenty-three groups in Milwaukee's Croatian community in 1934 created an umbrella organization, Hrvatska Središnjica. Croatian Park is a 30-acre park used for Croatian Eagle soccer games, special events and Croatian Fest, which this summer is July 22-23.

Lake Country Beer Garden

Nixon Park, 175 E. Park Ave., Hartland

Open: June 8 through Aug. 20

Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Can stay open 30 minutes later after special events.

Patrick Endters owns Endters Sports Grill. He can see Nixon Park from the back door of the restaurant and noticed that it had "all those elements that we looked at when we visited Estabrook and Hoyt."

There is a water feature by way of a splash pad for young kids and a playground next to the concession stand that will serve as the beer counter. The park is a stop on the Ice Age Trail. The Bark River isn't too far away, and there's a Nixon Park pond.

Endters plans to serve beer from the park concession stand, and has partnered with Sweet Mullets Brewing in Oconomowoc and Beer Capitol for brews. He also will serve wine, soda, water, hot dogs, bratwurst and giant pretzels.

Tables will be arranged in and around a tree-shaded area, and Endters has games such as bags and giant Jenga. He hopes to make Sundays a fundraiser day, when local organizations help with the concession stand and get a share of the proceeds.

Jackson Beer Garden, N165 W20330 Hickory Lane, Shelter 1

Hours: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Sprecher Brewery repurposed emergency vehicles — they have more than a few on hand — set up in Jackson Park beginning Wednesday with entertainment and bands performing from 6 to 9 p.m. Craft beers, sodas and snacks are on the menu. For a list of bands, see the Jackson Park Parks and Recreation Department website.