As a beer lover-I would be wrong to not like this place. The pricey extensive beer selection is well worth it. I hear there is a club to join, tell me more! We stopped here before a Bucks game and it was very busy. We received great service! And maybe this is because we lucked out in getting two seats at the bar. None the less I enjoyed the atmosphere and it was a great pre-game stop! Parking is less the desired but them it is downtown.
Review Source:Update
There was me, that is DG, and my trusty sidekick, that is BK, and we sat in the OGBH trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. Â When out of nowhere the barkeep rings a bell and starts pouring beers and handing them to the quickly forming line of thirsty patrons. Â "What's this?" Â I say to the cute blonde beer Frau. Â It's a Friday happy hour tradition I'm told. Â At 6pm free beers are drawn off a keg and the patron receiving the cup that kicks the keg drinks for free that night. Â
Danke. Â I knew we were in the right place.
Nothing to scream about here. Prices are pretty good though for good German beer. Servers need to learn how to pour beer though, It's almost as if they're instructed to give you a frothy head to save the owner money.
Servers seem only care about the local bro-ettes that come in to take shot-skis. Seriously Old German Beer Hall, cut that shit out. It's as though I went to an upscale restaurant and the waitresses starting doing a jig  and singing. I'm embarrassed for you. No one else in the bar cares but it takes away from the "German character" this place has. Ha. Catch my sarcasm?
Anyhoot, come in and enjoy a good beer. The beer gets this place 3 stars alone. It really has nothing else to offer. It's the kind of place where you ask the bartender what a hefeweizen is and he has no idea. Pretty much sums it up.
What a fun place! My friends suggested this for a quick bite before a concert at the Bradley center. I love the vibe of the place. Everyone is having a good time and there was great German music playing. I had a hot dog which was fabulous and my husband had a brat, which he loved. We also had a couple bites of their pretzel w/ cheese sauce and it was delish! We'll be back!
Review Source:Sausage and beer and pretzels, oh my!
When you just need to get your German on, this is a good place to go. The beer is great - my husband is an infamous dark beer guy, and I am the ultimate girl (light, please!). However, we both have no issue finding something we both really enjoy. And THANK GOD the beer menu isn't it's own book and is concise (ahemsomerestaurantsahem).
Get the pretzel and absolutely opt for the cheese sauce. Out. Standing. And you certainly can't leave without a sausage of some sort.
Om nom nom!
The Beer is good, and I am mostly German, so I should love this place. But honestly, it is usually much too busy for my liking and way too loud. I do enjoy the nail game, and the shotski is pretty awesome. Just don't expect to have a conversation while your there without loosing your voice.
Review Source:Got a shotski and brats and came out under $25. Â A Shotski is a must do, it's 5 shots of whatever you want mounted to an actual ski. Â Just like you I think those novelties are just gimmicks to get you into the bar, but the Shotski is awesome! Â The whole bar cheers you on as you tackle this beast with 4 of your friends. Â And on the day we went they had a brat special, I believe it was $2 a brat. Â While the brats cannot be compared to any legit brat joint, when you're drunk and want cheap food, this will definitely do the trick. Â 3 stars only because the food is mediocre, but it's a cool place to chill with your buds. Â We also occupied ourselves by taking part in the Log game. Â You take turns pounding a nail with a hammer and whoever takes the most number of hits the get the nail flush with the log has to buy a round of drinks!
Review Source:OGBH- that's where it's at! Â This past weekend was only my 2nd time hitting the beer hall but I for sure have become an instant fan. Â Giant liters of good beer, great live music and a huge pretzel platter that made me want to punch everyone else who was eating off of it. Â What more could a girl ask for?
I plan to put the OGBH on my list of regular bars to spend time in. Â It's a super sausage party and for a single girl looking for love, it seems like a more than a smart decision to put in some time here.
While no one can replace my first love Estabrook Beer Garden, OGBH is a great substitute during these bastard cold winter months.
Cool place with a party atmosphere, but kinda chaotic as you'd expect. Â I got the half-liter of some beer or other when I was here last and the pour was awful....I mean, would they pour like that in Germany? Â I somehow doubt it. Â The beers are kinda spendy so a bad pour is a shame. Â I like the communal tables and festive atmosphere. Â The excessive branding is a bit annoying but oh well. Â A really narrow joint and you'll probably have to fight for a spot to sit. Â This place is fun, though, even if only to stop in for a beer and move on.
Review Source:The Old German Beer Hall is a fun place for a night out with friends. The front of the bar is generally filled with the college crowd, but once you get to the back there is real promise. Unfortunately, the music always seems way too loud. Otherwise, the back section is really great - long group tables and the famous hammer game.
I always enjoy the Original brew and the prices are not too bad. It is a unique spot in Milwaukee. If they could get the volume under control, this would get five stars.
We always bring "outta towners" here when they visit us - I mean, what could be better than making new random friends while sitting at a communal table, drinking a liter of beer, and dancing along to "oompah" music?!? Â We've always have a great time here - and we were pretty excited to learn about 1/2 priced liters on Thursday! Â This just might become our new happy hour location. Â :)
Review Source:No bar should be complete without a tree stump to pound nails into while drinking large steins of delicious dunkel weiss. The long tables get a bit cramped in the narrow space, but that just adds to the fun. The live bespectacled polka band was awesome! So many accordians. Drinks could be a little cheaper, but good service from friendly bartenders!
Review Source:They have a fine selection of German beers at the Old German Beer Hall. In addition, they have beers like Sprecher. My friends and I split a pretzel and it was amazing. It was served with cheese sauce and mustard. It's also huge so you're going to need to split this between at least two, if not three people (we had three).
Review Source:I've been there twice for their lunch special. You buy a beer or soda & get a free brat (or other sausage) along with two small sides. I had sour kraut and spaetzles. Food was good or average, nothing special but that price is 5 stars. It's a long narrow bar but never too busy while I was there.
Review Source:The Old German Beer Hall is basically a Hofbrauhaus, and if you've been to Munich that probably conjures up all sorts of pleasant memories. Â Giant glasses of beer. Â Pretty girls in dirndls. Â Raucous beer hall music played by regulars who have matching shirts and who keep their instruments at the bar. Â Pretty girls....giant beers...oompah music...beer...girls...yes, please!
So when we drove past this place earlier in the day we decided to save a spot for it in our bar crawl and later that evening dropped in for some, well, giant beer, pretty girls, and oompah music. Â The girls were indeed pretty but the dirndls looked sort of costumy. Â Which is no big deal, really. Â As far as the beer goes, it was fine. Â They sell the same beer here as in Germany apparently and you can get it in liter and half-liter glasses. I had a dunkel; it was good but unremarkable, which was fine because by this point in the evening I wasn't all that picky. Â I was however glad that I only got a half-liter because about half way through it the music started.
Let me tell you, the Hofbrauhaus in Munich is HUGE. Â HUGE. Â It is large enough that multiple music groups roam around playing different things, gathering crowds, singing, cheering, and sloshing beer around. Â And it was nowhere near as loud as this narrow slice of bar in Milwaukee, the middle of which was mostly taken up by a stage way too big for the room. Â The band started and it was so loud I thought my ears had stopped working. Â Oompah music? Â Nope. Â An extremely bad rendition of a Beatles song. Â To their credit, after that they did play the Chicken Dance but still...way too loud for such a small place. Â It was really unpleasant.
I guess this is supposed to be a little bit of Munich in Milwaukee but it didn't work for us. Â We left after one beer and a round of shots of something that wasn't Jagermeister but tasted like it.
I've been to the Hofbrau in Newport, KY (Cincinnati) and compares well. They import the beer from Munich here (vs. microbrew in Newport). Also, the Newport operation is much larger.
Menu not nearly as extensive, but still good. I had the sampler which included an excellent (local) sausage, smoked ham and pork rib along with a good German potato salad, red cabbage and sauerkraut.
I was a little sad that I wasn't around on a Saturday ... that's the only day they serve Schnitzel.
FYI, great deal for lunch. Buy a beer and get a free sandwich (who said there's no free lunch?).
When I was around on a Monday night, very quiet. I visited just before Oktoberfest, too (September 18 evidently). They don't even have the Oktoberfest beer yet!
I don't go to OGBH often, but when I do, I generally have a good time. Â I was reminded of how enjoyable an experience it can be on a recent Friday night. Â Between good German beer, feisty live German music (okay, and a few not-so-German tunes), and NOT feeling like I was surrounded by the underage teens and 20 year olds who frequent some downtown spots (most of the crowd around 11 pm was actually 35+), 'twas a good night indeed. Â This is almost always a place for good conversation, good people-watching, and friendly locals.
Review Source:Their German beer (Munich's Hofbrauhaus) and pretzels are excellent; really the best you can find outside of Munich, which makes sense because that's where they are both imported from. While not everything is local, the Usinger sausage they serve is. Â Their knackwurst is very good; so is their spaetzle, which might be a little too greasy for some.
What keeps this place from getting 5/5 is the sometimes shoddy, albeit friendly, service. Â I've come here several times and at least a couple of my visits included pretty bad, loudly played music. Â
On a couple other occasions, service was excellent and the music, although not on any of my playlists, was played at a decent volume; probably because it was a lot less busy. Â Off-peak hours I guess.
What really makes this place unique is their game of Hammerschlagen (the "Striking Hammer" or "Hammer-Striking") near the back of their dinning hall. Â It's a fun and competitive game. Â To whoever is intimidated by the concept: it's not dangerous. Â The game's hammer is attached to its log and the nails used are somewhat dull but sturdy enough to withstand a poorly aimed swing or two.
So this is exclusively a Hofbrau beer hall. Â I prefer a few other German brands but they had a bunch of Hofbrau beer types, many which shouldn't still be on tap because they are out of season... Â Not very professional.
The bartender was very nice, but a couple of drunken regulars kept bugging my wife (who felt threatened). Â It's simply not worth going unless you are a drunken 20 nothing.
My best friend and I headed to Milwaukee for the weekend following breakups with our boyfriends. We were looking to down a lot of alcohol, enough to forget our names...or the names of our ex's.
We made our way to this bar first, since it was within a block of our hotel. It was love at first sight; a German beer hall with enough room to sit down inside, but the added plus of outdoor seating.
I moseyed on up to the bar and the adorable bartender recommended a great beer based on my "likes" of beers like Blue Moon, 312, and PBR. He then suggested a raspberry topper, some sort of syrup that he dripped into my beer, that came out to look like a heart. I was in heaven; was this lovely bartender flirting with me, or looking for a good tip? Either way, SOLD!
We made our way to an open table outside and began a great night of drinking. One we finished at the Old German Beer Hall, we made our way down the street to a strip of bars that all bordered on either "eh" or outright awful. There was one bar that we went to that we waited for nearly 15 mins. to be served at and we just walked right out.
So it was no surprise that we made our way back to this German gem. The bartender had me hooked, the beer kept me interested.
Once we made our way back, we decided to sit inside. We order a round of the same, this time the cute bartender gave me a beer with a sloppy raspberry top, that looked like a floppy "o" instead of - what I was hoping - was a heart.
Needles to say, we were nearing drunk enough to swear off our ex's...and then our drinks ran dry. Our cute bartender, although actively serving other customers, never ONCE came back to serve us. In fact, several other bartenders asked us if we were "fine" (meaning, do you want more beer?) and it wasn't until I got totally fed up that I flagged down our original bartender to close out.
See, I like a good bartender that makes you feel like you're the "fun" customer, the one they're happy to serve; a little flirting goes a long way. For any girl, we can all admit that a cute bartender with a great attitude will get you a great tip every time. But take away the charm and a "good" bartender turns to a really crummy one when they let your glass go empty...ever. I never should have had to flag him down, I never should have to wait to take the last sip before a refill.
If we're being honest: I come from Chicago where good bars are a dime a dozen and coming to Milwaukee where the city shuts down after 7pm, I was expecting more by way of service. I'd absolutely party in Milwaukee again (everything deserves a second chance), but would I return to this bar? Probably not.
And one more note: Although this bar worked hard to get that authentic German feel, the music is horrific. It ranged from polka-ish to death metal to...everything in between. If you're going to go that far to build and solicit the German theme, don't half-ass the music.
+ 1 star for ambiance (I've been to Munich, Germany and loved the vibe of this place, total homerun).
+1 star for good beer
+ 1 star for being in walking distance of our hotel!
I love the idea of the Old German Beer Hall and maybe it's good for lunch or during the week when the kids aren't there, but on a weekend this is a place I will do my best to avoid.
First, the music in the back is loud and anything but German, think bad, bad top 40. A group of us stopped in for a few beers and a snack after roller derby a couple weeks ago. We walked to the back, heard a horrible cover band finishing to be replaced by the crazy loud top 40 and bee lined it for the front. It took FOREVER to get served and the bartender messed up our beer order.
I love Hofbrau beer and German decor, but the "ambiance" of this place makes it feel anything but what pubs are like in Germany and is definitely not a place I'll return to anytime soon.
As German beer enthusiast and Non-Milwaukee native's the boyfriend and I decided to give this place one Friday to awaited a meeting with our more employed, local friends. We came in at 3:00pm and left at 10:45 happy with the service food and the linger locals. We sat at the bar and, as often happens, the bartender forget to put in our complete order. Ten minutes after our main course is served , I not-so-subtly reminded him about our wayward fries and he promptly apologized and dumps our artery clogging treat into the grease. While this forgetful bartender later disappeared, he did gives us our long awaited (delicious) fires for free. Beyond that the service was prompt and free of errors.
Now living in Chicago, good service is rare, but what happened next is an unheard of blessing. 6:00pm came a bell tolled somewhere. This bell must have been chimed by the angles themselves because it symbolized the "free keg" had been tapped and would remain free until finished by the thirsty and frugal. Without reservation we were handed drink after drink of free frothy goodness. The people watching then got interesting as older adults who have forgotten their not young, but don't want to acknowledge they have children or their children don't want to acknowledge them, poured in. Â The crowd shifted to a late 30s and up group who seemed to becoming there for years by the way their pulled their designated cups from the wall and called out to the bartenders with an intimacy I typically reserve for blood relatives.
Overall if you want to bask in great special friendly service and German-inspired give the restaurant a visit. Just be prepared to wait in a bathroom line and be accosted  by a man with A Ricola  horn(labrophone).
You just KNOW that you're from Milwaukee when you say aloud "There is absolutely nothing more attractive than a girl in a dirndl."
Somehow, some way and despite my noted desire to drink large amounts of beer and eat way more than I should, my first visit to the Old German Beer Hall occurred this past Saturday. As I walk in, I'm greeted by the door man who happens to be my buddy Big Mike. I cannot imagine a trip to a new bar starting off better. The group I was with immediately followed the dulcet sounds of the accordion to the back room, where we find Art Kumbalek playing with the Brewhaus Polka Kings. Â There was also this awesome older gentleman singing with the band by the name of Bob Baker. My friend kept referring to him as Roaring Dan, but I thought he looked more like my Grandpa K's friend Otter. Â Can this night get any better? It can. Liters of Hofbrau Dunkel and brats, all delivered by a lovely dirndl-clad young lady. We sang our asses off and decided that we were coming back every Saturday....forever. Great crowd, great service, awesome beer and brats. The fact that I hadn't hung out here before is just criminal.
LOVE THIS PLACE. Â Â I know it is a chain, but I love Hofbrau beer and this is the best place to get it in the city. Â The food is serviceable German food. Â Pretty heavy, but done OK. Â Not fine dining in any way at all. Â More like German junk food or German bar food. Â Â
One note on this place... on weekends you can walk in and either get 100% German polka music or you can get the 100% black turtleneck/skinny jeans Dieter Dance Party music (ala "do you want to touch my monkey.)
I do not want to come off as loving or hating one or the other type of music, but if you are taking a few older German ladies out for some biers and traditional German music, Â I am guessing Kraftwerk is not what they had in mind.
I think this is a great place to go with a bunch of friends for a fun night on the town and some great biers. Â
If you are really ready to rip the ass end out of your weekend, make sure to ask about the Shot-ski. Â It can kick a party into overdrive in a hurry.
Let me start by stating that OGBH is not really a bar that caters to the ladies. Big, heavy meat dishes, massive liters of beer, hard communal seating, bright lighting and "feats of strength" bar games make this a man's paradise. My husband LOVES it - he's one of the OG's of the OGBH.
If you've been to the franchised Hofbraus Haus bars or perhaps the original in Munich, this place is a pale imitation. It's not that big, it seems to veer between "dead" and "completely freakin' packed" and of course parking is a pain.
On the plus side, the beer is good, the big pretzels are great and the servers have generally been nice. I've certainly have good times here, but it was much more a reflection on the people we were with versus anything the OGBH is doing.
Girls, if you go, know this: there are a lot of dudes here. Most of them are really, really drunk. Many of them are bros and have just eaten a big plate of sausage and kraut. If you can deal with this, you'll most certainly find "Mr. Right Now".
I like that the beers are so HUGE and they have student discounts... but then again they aren't very delicious beers, in my opinion.
And WHY do they sell you a liter of beer 15 minutes before they plan to close (early)? Why not say they are going to kick you out soon and maybe you ought not to order so much beer, hey?
Milwaukee has a multitude of German-American pubs, hideaways that are frozen in time. But the Old German Beer Hall is a different beast: it's a small Munich pub that has been shipped here by magic and squeezed into a narrow storefront on 3rd Street.
When I say that it's been transported from the Alps, I mean it. A team of Hollywood set decorators couldn't do a better job of recreating Bavaria in the Midwest. It's only group seating here: long long beer tables. So expect to rub elbows with some strangers! The walls have German scrollwork slogans painted on them, and the photos feature the bar-sponsored soccer team. The barmaidens wear dirndls and barkeeps even sport serious old leather lederhosen. Corny, yes, but it goes miles toward maintaining the Teutonic illusion. And most of the staff look like they are not distantly removed from Germany. I half expect them to break into Deutsch and bark orders or chant drinking songs!
In the back room they have a setup for the bar game hammerschlagen: last one to drive their easily-bent square nail into the stump buys the next round. The early rounds are not as interesting/dangerous as latter ones. When the alarmist in me asks, "Do giant all-steel mallets and liquor mix?" Â the Darwinist in me answers back with a hearty "Hell yes."
As for the menu, they stay in theme all the way. Your beer will likely be an affordable liter of Hoffbrau, served in a giant stoneware tankard. The featured eats are from Usingers (the famous sausage maker across the street) along with other meat-heavy fare.
So if  you want to get your hands on real European imports and live polka (several times a week!), this is your mecca for all things Alpine. Most of this city has some distant German heritage, but this place strives for the authentic touch of Bavaria, albeit in a slightly Disney sort of way.
I was pretty funnied up by the time we got here. But there were two very unique aspects that were impossible to forget about this place.
First, as soon as we walk in, one of the dudes we're with asks the bartender for a "shotski". I kind of rolled my eyes at his terminology, until the bartender put an entire wooden ski on the bar, pouring liquor into each of the five shot glasses which had been glued to the top. We proceeded to stand side by side and knock it back together. Great idea.
Then in the back room, there was a thick stump of wood in the corner with a mallet chained to it. The idea was to use the mallet to hammer a nail into the stump using the fewest swings. Nails were available at the bar for a quarter each, and thank god nobody else was around because I sent one flying across the room in fantastically dangerous fashion.
Great time, this place. But watch out for errant nails.
This Old World Third bar is an incredible asset to Milwaukee! Â It's got a lot of great Bavarian Beer Hall menu items, I particularly LOVE the Currywurst (I know what you're thinking, just TRY it!) and the Beer Radish. Â All of their beers are from Hofbrauhaus in Munich. Â Saturdays usually have a live band.
Now for some fun- The big wooden stump in the back? Â You know, the one that everyone is pounding on? Â Here's the deal- it's a drinking game! Â You get a bunch of friends, each friend buys a nail from the servers- (.25 cents a pop) Â You get ONE hit before you pass it to the person next to you. Â The LAST person who sinks his/her nail flush with the wood buys the next round!!
Litre glasses clash, fists pound picnic tables, German beer gurgles and splashes like the high seas of our debaucherous souls. Out sings something from another era, "I'd rather be a sailor on Admiral Granlund's ship." The $5 liters continue to clock in the air like a metronome. Born out of a night at this de facto Hofbrau Haus (which really appeals to me more because of it's smaller size), are drinking songs that will last a lifetime.
Deep fried reuben rolls stuffed with pastrami, sauce & kraut bob on palates like buoys. I'll go ahead and mention that again. deep fried reuben rolls. Â
Something from another era is the crazy mallet hammering nails into a tree stump. Gettin' old world up in here.
In the heart of the Old district in Milwaukee on the river, downtown, this is a walkable, singable, drinkable, danceable wonder of a bar that makes sure you have a good opinion of Germans.
Most of the time, you want to go to tasteful places with good food and drink.
But sometimes, you just want to drink a litre of beer for $5.25 because it's half off with a student ID and then you have cash left over for a five person shot of knock-off jager off a ski (shotski!).
Is it that time?
Yes? = go here.
No? = go elsewhere. Actually, get straight off 3rd street immediately.
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