Book your Series trip with me. I live right downtown, and I know exactly where to go. I'll even meet you for coffee if you want to.
Welcome to my hometown. Milwaukee has waited a long time for this, and the whole city is going to feel it.
I'm not selling you tickets. I'm telling you where to sleep, how to get to the ballpark without losing your mind, and where to eat when it's over and you're still buzzing.
Sunday, in your briefs. Field Briefs from the Furnace land every Sunday at 11:11, something to read with your coffee and chase the Sunday scaries awaythe one thing that shows up at the witching hour and chases the Sunday scaries away: what's new in the Furnace, and what's new in the Typeset, the people I know doing great things. Email only, never texts.
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Not just cheese and beer
LGBTQ-friendly Milwaukee
Milwaukee is more than cheese and beer. If you're coming for the Series and want to know where a queer visitor can land, eat, drink and be loud, I'll tell you where to go, because I live here.
I've lived here long enough to know which rooms feel like home. Queer Milwaukee is warmer than its reputation.
Woody'sIn Walker's Point, and the best LGBTQ-friendly sports bar in town.
Book a trip with me and I'll flag the ones that fit you, and I'll still meet you for coffee. Want the longer story? Start with the Brady Street guide.
A tip from AaronA tip from AaronTap if you dare.
Milwaukee is the one town where the whole bar might be rooting for the same bullpen.
Start times weren't announced when I wrote this. Check MLB's postseason schedule before you book anything you can't change.
Lock in your rate early. When I checked on Oct 16, Expedia showed no downtown rooms available for Oct 23 and 24, and Oct 30 and 31 were still open, some at low rates. Check the cancellation terms before you book. If a game doesn't happen, you still get a great weekend in Milwaukee. See my three picks per city.
Where I'd sleep
The PfisterDowntown's historic grand hotel, near the lakefront and the theatre district. My top pick, and it books through Fora with Preferred Platinum perks. It's also said to be haunted. Dodgers stars Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández have steered clear of it, and now the Brewers have beaten the Dodgers. Grab a drink in the lobby bar and watch the players check in.
Kimpton JourneymanHistoric Third Ward, walkable, with a rooftop bar. The only downtown Milwaukee hotel on Fora Reserve: food-and-beverage credit, wine hour, flexible check-in and out.
The Plaza HotelThe East Side pick. I live around the corner and will meet you for breakfast.
Stay in Chicago and take the train upMy best tip for the Series. Milwaukee doesn't have many hotel rooms and they'll sell out fast, so Chicago is probably the easiest place to find one. Fly into O'Hare, ride the CTA Blue Line straight into downtown, and stay near the Loop, where you can walk or hop the L to your hotel. Then take the Amtrak Hiawatha up to Milwaukee for the game, about 90 minutes each way. No rental car, and the train drops you downtown. I expect Amtrak may add Hiawatha trips during the Series, but that's my guess, so check Amtrak's schedule before you plan around it.
Series weekends fill up. Let me book the room.
Game day
Plan the ballpark before the ballpark plans you.
Step 01
Read the ballpark's getting-there page.
The Brewers keep the current parking and transit options in one place. Start there, and do it the night before.
Step 02
Drink at a shuttle bar.
Drink at any corner bar with a shuttle, near the park or near downtown. It's the only way to get to the game with a beer in your hand. Shuttles are run by the bars, so confirm days, hours and any purchase rule first. Two to start with: Saz's and Oak Barrel. More on Visit Milwaukee.
Step 03
Dress for October.
It's Lake Michigan in late October. Bring a real jacket and a warm layer, whatever the forecast said at breakfast.
The park galleryThe park galleryNine photos: the ballpark, the behind-the-scenes tour, and one Boiling Point card.
I've been to these games in good years and bad ones. Here's the ballpark, in three rows.
The ballpark · Miller Park daysUpper deck · Game nightThe sausages · Seventh inning
The next row is from a behind-the-scenes tour of the Brewers clubhouse and grounds, during a Workplace Alliance meeting for the Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. Not many people get to stand that close to that field.
On the grass · Behind-the-scenes tourThe clubhouse hallwayThe home dugout
I was in the park in June 2018 for the first Pride Night the Brewers ever held. Thank you to Aurora Health Care for putting up the sign and to the Brewers for saying the whole city was welcome. And the last card is the one that got away from the clubhouse wall, for Boiling Point.
First-ever Pride Night · Thanks, @aurorahealthcareMe and a sausage · Thanks, BrewersBoiling Point Press · The Glory [Hole] Days of Baseball
Eat, shop, then late night
Ballpark foodSkip dinner. Save your appetite for the ballpark, where local vendors fill the concourses: K&L BBQ, plus tacos, arepas and a food-truck park. See the postseason menu.
Bandit on BradyThe best place to buy Brewers gear. Some of the best vintage clothes in town, so you'll wear something at the park no one else has. Find them on Brady Street, and the rest of the street is in Field Guide No. 01.
Kohl's downtownForgot your gear? There's a Kohl's downtown, right by the hotels on Grand Avenue. Handy for a budget Brewers shirt.
3rd Street Market HallA great stop for a bite on Grand Avenue. Grab a drink at the bar in the middle and watch the game on the giant screens.
Legacy Creative SolutionsIf you're in town when they're around, have them bespoke your new Brew Crew duds with a custom design.
Pizza Shuttle1827 N Farwell, on the East Side. One of the only places still open late where you can feel like a college kid again. Perfect for a win. Also perfect for a loss.
Halloween weekendIf the Series goes the distance, Oct 31 is Halloween, and Milwaukee on Halloween is a good time. Brady Street is where everybody hangs out in costume all day.
Where to stay and hangThe Third Ward, Brady Street and River West are my picks. Water Street leans younger and more college, so go there if that's your night. Brady Street and River West are my favorites for watching a game.
Woody'sIn Walker's Point, and the best LGBTQ-friendly sports bar in town.
KRUZ354 E. National Ave. If you want somewhere a little darker to watch the game, this is where the leather crowd hangs out.
Downtown MilwaukeeDining, bars and events, from the people who keep downtown running.
Me at Bandit on BradyBandit · Brady Street
Know before you go
Milwaukee is a party town. Be ready for it.
The mood
We celebrate our wins.
Forty-four years is a long time to wait. Expect excitement and crowds in every bar and on every sidewalk, and it lands on Halloween weekend. It's going to be busy. Be prepared, be safe, be aware.
The park
Tailgate early.
Tailgating is a huge part of Milwaukee. Plan to get to the game three hours early and make a day of it.
The ride
Don't drink and drive.
Always use the shuttles. Always use Lyft. Downtown is compact and mostly walkable, and the stadium is an easy ride out.
The city
It's safer than its rap.
Milwaukee gets a bad reputation. Use basic safety and awareness and you'll be okay. I've walked this city alone after dark for twenty years. One incident, in my twenties, when I got drunk and got mugged on the way home from work. That was on me. It's city living.
Solo
Come alone. It's even better.
Milwaukee is one of the best places to sidle up to a bar alone and leave with eight new friends, especially a local bar: the corner ones, the hiding ones, the ones you walk past. There are so many. OnMilwaukee has a whole run of dive bar write-ups to start with, and solo trips is how I plan them.
The plan
Want it handled?
Tell me your dates and I'll sort the room, the shuttle and the dinner. Book my Journey, $333.
No ticket? Come for the fall.No ticket? Come for the fall.Hiking, river trails and makers markets, with or without the Series.
Fall getaway
Even if you don't make it for the World Series, this is a great time to get away for fall. Southern Wisconsin's color usually runs into late October, and there are still lots of great places to hike. Travel Wisconsin's fall color report has the current read.
Lapham Peak
One of my favorite places to hike in the fall, and gorgeous out there. It's the closest access point to the Ice Age Trail from Milwaukee. See the Wisconsin DNR page for Lapham Peak for hours and fees, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance for the trail.
In the city
Walking the Milwaukee River Greenway trails and the Rotary Centennial Arboretum along the river is a wonderful way to take in nature right in the heart of the city. The Urban Ecology Center is a good place to start. Trails can be muddy, so wear shoes you don't love.
On the water
I don't know if anywhere is still renting kayaks this late, but if you can get out on the water, it's a great way to see the leaves.
Markets and events
There are always makers markets going on, and we're wrapping up the holiday season, so there's always something happening. The best sources for current events are OnMilwaukee and Visit Milwaukee. I'm always here to answer questions.
The underdog
Forty-four years in, I'm going through a big transition of my own, and I think this Brewers run could be a huge inspiration for the city. Everybody loves an underdog, and a lot of people feel like one right now. This is a great way to get out and explore.
Need to knowNeed to knowTickets, timing and the honest caveats.
Need to know
Tickets
Buy through the Brewers or MLB only. I don't sell or resell them.
Timing
Game dates are set. Start times and the opponent weren't announced when I wrote this, so double-check.
Rooms
Series weekends sell out early. If you see a room you like, grab one, and read the cancellation terms first.
![Boiling Point Identity Press card: The Glory [Hole] Days of Baseball. Can I polish your bat? A chalk-scarred hole in the Brewers clubhouse wall.](/images/guides/brewers/glory-hole-card.webp)
