Tours of Miller Brewing Company Offer Glimpse At History of Iconic Milwaukee Industry

Milwaukee is a city that was built on brewing. One of Milwaukee’s most iconic franchises, the Miller Brewing Company, offers tours of the historic facility located in Miller Valley, where guests can get a behind-the-scenes look at how beer is made, where it is stored, and the way the company has developed over the last 160 years.

Offered every day of the week, the hour-long tour gives guests a thorough look at the company’s history, starting with the arrival of Miller Brewing founder Frederick Miller in Milwaukee in 1855, and the original places where he began his beer production and storage. Miller offers tickets starting at $10, but offers a 50% discount to anyone with a valid Wisconsin drivers license.

On the tour, guests are given an in-depth look at the history of the company’s development in Miller Valley while also being shown the incredible technology that is used by the brewery today. On top of that, they are welcomed with a free sample of Miller Lite and a brief historical video before the tour even starts.  

“Anybody can come on the tour,” Miller Brewing tour guide Nate Greenwald said. “We are 100% family friendly, and we do get a mix of people; both families and college students coming in are pretty regular,” he added. “And while you do have to be 21 or older to get a sample, we certainly welcome everybody.”

Visitors begin their tour by stepping inside of caves that were dug in the late 1800’s by Frederick Miller and his team, of course which are no longer in use, but were originally used to store beer in the hot Milwaukee summers, before refrigeration. Guests are then given the opportunity to hang out and enjoy yet another free sample in a historic Bavarian-style Inn that has been hosting travelers and workers for over a century.

While the history is certainly well preserved in Miller Valley, things have changed a bit since the early 20^th century.Miller is now juggernaut of a corporation, and their facility in Miller Valley is producing over 1,000 cans of beer per minute. During the later part of the tour, guests get a close up view of the impressive technology used in the topnotch equipment, and are given the opportunity to look behind the scenes at how the beer today is bottled, labeled, packaged and prepared for shipping.

Seeing the Milwaukee facility today is popular among local residents, but it certainly has appeal to people coming in from out of town as well. Michigan resident Peter Andrews decided to take the tour while visiting his brother, hoping to see how a few of their favorite beers are made while enjoying some free samples.

“Seeing the full operation up close is almost intimidating,” said Andrews. “Just the size of it, I mean. Obviously, you know that you’re going to see a massive amount of beer being produced, but to actually see the process happen in person is pretty cool,” he said. “The free beer is nice, too.”

Andrews is not alone as an out of town guest stopping in for a tour of the historic brewery. The tour attracts people from all over, and often hosts people who are on vacation or just visiting the city. 

“There are a lot of sports fans who come, and in the summer we get a lot of people who are baseball fans who come here for Brewer games,”Greenwald said. “We get pretty big crowds of people who come from out of town that are in Wisconsin for Packer games as well. We’ve had a lot of people come in from Atlanta and Miami recently when their teams were playing in Green Bay.”

The tour is a uniquely in-depth look at the history and prevalence of such a prominent Milwaukee company. Miller is welcoming of all guests, and is certainly accommodating. The gift shop is open for guests to purchase Miller gear after the tour, while enjoying even more free samples along with complimentary pretzels and soda.