Step aside, imposters: Estabrook makes list of country’s best beer gardens
A patio does not a beer garden make.
But that doesn’t stop bars and restaurants around the country from calling their outdoor spaces beer gardens, and Thrillist has rounded them up in a list of the best beer gardens in America.
Among them: Milwaukee’s Estabrook Beer Garden, one of the few true beer gardens on the list.
“We don’t want to get too caught up in haggling over exactly what defines a beer garden (or biergarten, even),” the article states, “because as long as the critical elements of beer and fresh air are in the mix, you’re much better off pursuing another round than haggling over semantics.”
Oh, we’ll haggle. If the Germans can “haggle” over the purity of beer and its four ingredients, then Milwaukee Germans can haggle over what constitutes a beer garden.
Beer gardens originated in Munich, Germany, in the early 1800s. To keep their lagers cool during aging, brewers dug cellars next to their breweries. The cellars were 7 or 8 feet deep, and extended about as far above ground. The brewers covered the cellars with mounds of earth for insulation and planted chestnut trees on top to keep the ground shaded and cool.
Chairs and tables followed, and brewers began selling beer straight from the cellars. Beer gardens were born.
“Beer gardens are a fixture of life in Bavaria,” said Horst Dornbusch, a consultant in the international brewing industry and author whose books include “Prost! The Story of German Beer.”
Dornbusch, who was born in Germany, explained that as beer gardens became more popular and started serving food, other restaurants and innkeepers weren’t too happy with the competition. They took their complaints to the king, who appeased both sides by allowing brewers to continue serving beer from their cellars, but not food. Beer garden patrons adapted by bringing in their own food.
“That rule has remained enforced to this day,” Dornbusch said, so people should “follow the local custom and take along your picnic basket.”
Beer gardens in Bavaria grew, with some today able to hold as many as 8,000 people at a time, he said. And as they became more popular, people started beer gardens that were not on top of brewery cellars.
Still, there are some defining characteristics of a beer garden, according to Dornbusch.
“First of all, you need a lot of trees to provide shade,” he said. Size matters, too. “I think the beer garden implies scale. You wouldn’t have a beer garden with five tables,” he said.
So if a beer garden is true to its roots, it should be a large, tree-filled space where beer is served in steins and people bring their own food.
Check, check and check for Estabrook.
It makes sense Milwaukee knows how to properly beer garden.
The city’s German immigrants gave birth to brewery giants like Schlitz, Pabst and Miller in the 19th century, and each had their own beer gardens.
That tradition was revived in 2012 when Estabrook opened, and more beer gardens in parks throughout the city followed.
Estabrook is the only beer garden in a park on Thrillist’s list, but another establishment also comes close to the true spirit of beer gardens as not just a place to drink beer, but also a social gathering spot.
Mecklenburg Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio, dates back to 1865 and served as a place for German immigrants to learn about America in the late 19th century. The beer garden still plays host to meetings for German heritage groups.
Ultimately, beer gardens are about spending time with friends and family outside, especially in places like Wisconsin where, like Bavaria, summers are short and precious.
The atmosphere is “one of pure gemütlichkeit,” Dornbush said, referencing the German word that conveys a sense of friendliness and sociability.
Cheers to that, and even the beer-gardenwannabes.