11 breweries & bars in Milwaukee that are perfect for reading alone

Reading isn’t just for coffee shops. With cozy seating, homey interiors, and limited noise, some bars in Milwaukee make for the best place to read alone.

There are plenty of great places to read in Milwaukee: along the lakefront, any number of coffee shops, the Milwaukee Public Library, and several bars. Even though bars have a reputation for being dark and noisy, which makes for less-than-ideal reading conditions, there are enough that buck that trend and offer a warm, cozy place to crack open a book and imbibe in your favorite alcoholic beverage.

From cozy pubs with hidden alcoves to expansive bars with good lighting and minimal noise and homey breweries with comfortable seating—there are plenty of breweries and bars in Milwaukee that are perfect for reading solo.

1. Sugar Maple

441 East Lincoln Ave.

Spacious and relatively quiet, Sugar Maple in the city’s Bay View neighborhood is a great spot to catch up on some reading. It’s also an ideal location to sample some of the best beverages Milwaukee has to offer. The bar specializes in supporting local brewers and distillers, so looking through Sugar Maple’s lengthy drink menu is like taking a tour throughout the city.

If you don’t want to imbibe in any alcohol while you’re finishing up a book, Sugar Maple has a non-alcoholic beverage menu as well. Even the non-alcoholic menu stays true to the bar’s goal of providing its patrons with locally-sourced beverages, with cold brew from Broken Bat Brewery, and root beer from Sprecher Brewing Company. They also have a selection of non-alcoholic beers, wine, spirits, and mocktails.

Sugar Maple has spacious seating and no TVs to distract readers. (Sugar Maple)

2. Voyager

422 East Lincoln Ave.

Readers are typically curious people. They’re constantly reading about different people, places, and ideas and learning new things every day. For readers who enjoy learning, there are few better bars in Milwaukee to grab a drink and finish a book in than Voyager.

The Bay View retail shop and wine bar isn’t just a place to sip wine. Voyager regularly hosts regional wine-tasting events, where attendees are taught not only about the wine they’re drinking but also where it has come from and the culture of that place. The wine bar and shop also serve snacks like grab-and-go cheeses, cured meats, and seafood.

3. Vennture Brew Co

5519 West North Ave.

Coffee shops are great places to catch up on reading, but it’s sometimes a toss-up when it comes to bars. That’s why Vennture Brew Co is a great option for when you want to breeze through some pages but also grab an alcoholic drink. The hybrid coffee and beer brewery first opened in the city’s Uptown neighborhood in 2018.

The brewery is open every weekday from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. and weekends from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Vennture also has a location in Brookfield that’s open Wednesday through Sunday.

4. Paddy’s Pub

2339 North Murray Ave.

Ireland has given the world a lot of incredible things, including Guinness and great literature. Enjoy both at Paddy’s Pub, a cozy Irish pub in Milwaukee’s Murray Hill neighborhood.

The spacious bar has plenty of space to tuck away and get invested in a novel, with several rooms scattered across the pub’s two floors. Each room in Paddy’s Pub is adorned with antique decorations, adding to the cozy feel of the Irish bar. Paddy’s Pub opens every day at 5 p.m. and stays open until 2 a.m., except Saturdays when the bar opens at 6 p.m.

5. Black Husky Brewing

909 East Locust St.

Is there any place more cozy and suitable for curling up with a book than a log cabin? Before making the move to Wisconsin’s largest city, Black Husky Brewing, a brewery in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, first started in a log cabin in Pembine, Wisc., in 2010. The brewery relocated to Milwaukee in 2016 but still retains its cozy atmosphere (despite its urban setting) with wooden structural interiors and large, comfortable seating options.

Black Husky Brewing has more than 14 beers on tap, as well as a lengthy menu of seltzers, gluten-free beers, and non-alcoholic beers. The craft brewery also sells spirits and cocktails, like mimosas ($8) and Four Roses bourbon ($7), as well as wine.

6. County Clare Irish Inn and Pub

1234 North Astor St.

With plenty of seating and cozy wooden interiors, County Clare Irish Inn and Pub makes for a great place to get absorbed in a novel. The Irish pub doesn’t just serve pints of Guinness and shots of Irish whiskey. In addition to its Irish beers, there’s a lengthy spirits menu and several hot cocktails, like the Nutty Irishman ($9), made with fresh coffee, hazelnut liqueur, and Irish cream.

If you can’t get enough of the pub after visiting it and grabbing a drink, consider staying overnight. The inn offers 25 rooms and four exclusive king suites and comes with free breakfast in the pub.

County Clare Irish Inn and Pub has Irish beverages and a cozy atmosphere. (County Clare Irish Inn and Pub)

7. Draft & Vessel

400 North Water St.

“The Lord of the Rings” is arguably one of the most epic and beloved book series ever written. So why not journey into the book’s setting, Middle Earth, by visiting Draft & Vessel, a bar that looks as if it belongs in The Shire. With its cozy furnishings and Hobbit-esque circular doorways, Draft & Vessel is a perfect spot to delve into a fantasy novel, or any genre, really.

Order something off of the bar’s lengthy draft beer menu, or if you’re reading a confusing fantasy text, try one of Draft & Vessel’s non-alcoholic beer offerings, with several local options coming from Untitled Art, a brewery based in Waunakee. Draft & Vessel has three locations around the Milwaukee area: one in the Milwaukee Public Market, as well as locations in Wauwatosa and Shorewood.

8. Camp Bar

525 East Menomonee St.

There is something so cozy about being nestled up in or near a cabin that almost demands that you get invested in a book while there. Camp Bar, a Milwaukee-based bar, isn’t an actual cabin, but it’s about as close as you can get while remaining within the Milwaukee city limits. The bar has a lengthy list of signature drinks, including a root beer float made with Captain Morgan spiced rum and Rumchata, and The Camp Bar Classic, made with Korbel brandy.

But, if you do want the real cabin experience, the owners of Camp Bar offer cabin rentals at three separate cabins along Star Lake in northern Wisconsin. The cabins are equipped with fire pits, boat slip access, and a private dock. Reservations can be made on the bar’s website. Camp Bar has four locations throughout the Milwaukee area and an additional one at the Wisconsin State Fair.

9. The Tin Widow

703 South 2nd St.

With walls adorned with tchotchkes, seasonal decorations, and fairy lights, it’s hard not to feel at home at The Tin Widow, a cocktail bar in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. That homey feeling helps The Tin Widow to be one of the best bars in the city to read a book alone.

It’s also a great place to grab a cocktail. The Tin Widow, which has been open since 2014, specializes in gins and whiskeys, with hundreds of different kinds of both spirits in stock behind the bar.

The Tin Widow has plenty of comfortable seating and a substantial gin menu. (The Tin Widow/Instagram)

10. Black Sheep

216 South 2nd St.

Many wine bars can feel upscale and haughty, but that’s not the case at Black Sheep. While it is a refined space, it still has a comfortable feel and is an ideal locale to crack open a book. The wine at Black Sheep isn’t served by the bottle—instead, it’s on tap at the bar.

While Black Sheep is a wine bar, it also has a large selection of bottles and cans of beer, plus several beers on tap. If you’re hungry, sample something from the bar’s brunch, lunch, or dinner menus, which feature menu items like a Nutella waffle, vegan ratatouille, and a Friday fish special.

11. Boone & Crockett

818 South Water St.

Everything at Boone & Crockett is made to feel vintage—from the bar’s wooden finishings to its candelabra lighting. While a vintage setting can sometimes be pretentious, at Boone & Crockett, it’s comforting, homey, and makes for a relaxing spot to read, whether you’re in a well-worn wooden barstool or a cushioned booth.

Another perk of the bar for readers? There are no TVs throughout the bar, making it a peaceful reading locale. Boone & Crockett is open from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 3 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Boone and Crockett has been in its Walker’s Point location since 2018. (Boone and Crockett/Instagram)

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.