Black Friday beer brings out hundreds
A Milwaukee Black Friday tradition continued this year. People lined up overnight to get a taste of Lakefront Brewery’s highly coveted Black Friday beer.
At 8 a.m., Dave Armstrong was first through the door.
"I’ve been first in line every year," Armstrong said.
Armstrong was in line at 9 p.m. Thursday. He goes every year to get Lakefront’s Black Friday Imperial Stout.
“It’s a great beer. I love Lakefront Brewery, and I love beer, so it’s just a fun night,” he said.
The line overnight seemed to go on forever with hundreds of people all bundled up, some getting an early start on the partying by sipping on their favorite brews. They’re all hoping to get their hands on the exclusive beer aged in bourbon barrels.
"I love the beer. I’d rather be here buying beer on Black Friday than fighting the crowds at Target, personally," Greg Teeters said.
Teeters got in line at 5:30 a.m. Friday.
"This crowd is awesome. I mean, everyone is bottle sharing, passing beer around. Everyone is drinking at 6 a.m.,” Teeters said. “So why not? And it’s a great crowd, great atmosphere."
"We put everything possible in it to make it the biggest, tastiest beer we possibly can," said Russ Klisch, with Lakefront Brewery. He said this is the fifth year of the Black Friday event. This year, they’re selling 4,000 bottles. One person can buy up to three bottles, max.
“It’s grown to be a big event,” Klisch said. "I think we have the largest crowd out there today. The weather has been nice that’s a good thing."
Three, 22-ounce bomber bottles costs $45. That will also get you a Lakefront Brewery Black Friday pint glass. Armstrong said the event is much more than just good beer.
“We just meet new people and they are our best friends," Armstrong said.
And you can bet he’ll be right back here, same time next year.
The bottled beer sold out later in the morning, but don’t worry, if anyone is looking for a taste, they also have it on tap all day Friday.