Your guide to 2023 Black Friday beer releases in Milwaukee, from Lakefront to Eagle Park

It's that time of the year when Milwaukee breweries gear up to sell some of their best beer on Black Friday, this year Nov. 24.

Many create special brews that have been aging in barrels for months, now ready to be released to the public. A few also throw parties for the beer releases with food vendors and live music. And two free shuttle services are returning to cart beer-drinkers from one brewery to the next.

Here's your guide to Black Friday beer releases in the Milwaukee area.

3 Sheeps Brewing

1837 North Ave., Sheboygan

This Sheboygan brewery is creating two variants of its imperial stout beer The Wolf, one aged in 1792 Bourbon barrels and the other other brewed with pecans, vanilla and cocoa nibs and aged in Willett Barrels.

Both will be available on draft at the taproom and in 12-ounce cans at select retailers. The taproom opens at 11 a.m. on Black Friday.

Amorphic Beer

3700 N. Fratney St.

This Riverwest brewery is releasing two brews on Black Friday. One is Toasted Coconut Major Particles, building on last year's Black Friday release, Major Particles, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. This year's release is a 12.2% ABV imperial stout with toasted coconut bits aged in Heaven Hill barrels for two years.

The other brew is Bermuda Storms, a dark and stormy cocktail-inspired beer coming in at 11.5% ABV. It was made with barleywine beer that sat in Caribbean rum barrels for about a year and aged on top of candied ginger and lime before packaging.

Both will be available in 16-ounce cans, sold in two packs and a combo four pack with two of each. The brewery will have an online presale two weeks before Black Friday and will open the taproom at 9 a.m. Nov. 24.

Black Husky Brewing

909 E. Locust St.

Riverwest's Black Husky Brewing likes to release its beer "ahead of the pack" on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This year on Nov. 22 the brewery will release Timotheus, a Belgian-style quadrupel (18% ABV).

Central Waters Brewing Co.

1037 W. Juneau Ave.

This Amherst-based brewery will have four Black Friday beers in its Milwaukee taproom: a stout aged in 15-year Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels, a honey barleywine aged in peach brandy barrels, a honey barleywine aged in BliS maple syrup barrels, and a blend of the two barleywines.

The stout will be available in 22-ounce bombers and the barleywines will be in four packs of 12-ounce cans.

Company Brewing

735 E. Center St.

Company Brewing will be releasing four Black Friday brews: Holiday Party 2023, a rum barrel-aged Belgian quad; Holiday Party 2023 Whack and Unwrap, a rum barrel-aged Belgian quad with chocolate and orange peel; a blend of Holiday Party 2023 and Thousandfold 2023, which is a barrel-aged imperial stout; and Thunder Thiols, a dry hopped thiolized lager.

Component Brewing

2018 S. First St., #169

This Bay View brewery has three Black Friday releases this year. The first is Barrel-Aged Ho Ho Hold My Beer Christmas Ale, aged in a blend of Driftless Glen and Heaven Hill barrels for 11 months; the 9.1% ABV beer will be available on draft and in 16-ounce cans. The second is Barrel-Aged Swirled Stout, aged in Driftless Glen barrels for more than a year, then conditioned on Ugandan vanilla beans; the 11% ABV beer will be available in 500-milliliter bottles. Component's final offering is a Haze The Lord variant that will make the brew a double IPA. It will be available on draft and in 16-ounce cans.

Component will open at 1 p.m. Nov. 24. Hot Dish Pantry will offer a special menu at the brewery from 1 to 7 p.m. or until they sell out.

Dead Bird Brewing

1726 N. Fifth St.

Dead Bird Brewing will release two beers on Black Friday: Beanut Putter, a 10% ABV peanut butter stout; and Bean Water, a 9.5% ABV stout with cold brew coffee from Pilcrow coffee, vanilla and dark Dutch cocoa. Both beers will be available on tap and in a limited number of cans.

The brewery will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Black Friday, with no kitchen service that day.

Eagle Park Brewing Company

823 E. Hamilton St.; S64 W16540 Commerce Center Parkway, Muskego

Eagle Park Brewing Company is releasing four beers this Black Friday, two of which are collaboration brews. One is Bourbon Barrel Aged Koko Kleiber 2023, brewed in collaboration with California-based Horus Aged Ales. The imperial stout is made with maple syrup and aged on "heaping" amounts of toasted coconut, then aged in bourbon barrels for 24 months. The other, made in collaboration with Chicagoland-based Mikerphone Brewing, is The Raspberry Vanilla Cheesecake Incident, made with a sour beer base and raspberry, vanilla, graham cracker and cheesecake flavoring.

The brewery also will release Fly By Night 2023, an blend of imperial stouts that have aged from two to three years in a mix of bourbon and whiskey barrels, conditioned on Papua New Guinea vanilla beans; and Milkshake IPA, brewed with more than 60% oats, dry hopped with Mosaic and Cashmere and finished off with Papua New Guinea vanilla beans.

Both taprooms open at 8 a.m. Nov. 24.

Enlightened Brewing Company

2020 S. Allis St.

This Bay View brewery is releasing Cosmic Nihilism on Black Friday. It's a Czech dark lager, 5.2% ABV, with flavors of dark fruit and caramel malt. Cosmic Nihilism will be sold in six packs for $11 each.

Enlightened will open at 3 p.m. Nov. 24, and Sweet Smoke BBQ will be serving food.

Faklandia Brewing

3807 S. Packard Ave., St. Francis

Faklandia is again releasing its Mantaycore, an imperial stout made with hazelnut, cinnamon and coconut. It will be available in cans this year, and last year's vintage of the same beer will be available in bottles. Both are about 15% ABV.

Fermentorium

7481 Highway 60, Cedarburg; 6933 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa

This brewery with taprooms in Cedarburg and Wauwatosa will release its annual Sweater Weather series of imperial stouts made with Mexican vanilla the day before Thanksgiving. This year's three additional variants include English Toffee, Cookies & Cream, and Double Vanilla.

Both taprooms open at noon Nov. 22.

Hacienda Beer Co.

2018 E. North Ave.

This Door County-based brewery will have two new releases for Black Friday this year. One is the Obnoxious Heckler, a 12% ABV barleywine aged in three different brands of bourbon and one Irish whiskey barrel, all from Hatch Distilling Co. in Door County. The beers are blended together for a strong brew with notes of stone fruit and coffee. The brewery also is releasing the 2023 Velvet Bulldozer, an imperial stout aged with vanilla and cacao, aged in bourbon barrels, 16% ABV.

The two releases will be sold in two packs. Hacienda also will have cans of its 2022 Velvet Bulldozer, a 12% ABV beer made with Madagascar and Ugandan vanilla beans, Ecuadorian cacao nibs and espresso from Isley Coffee in Door County.

Hacienda will open at 11 a.m. on Black Friday.

Indeed Brewing Co.

530 S. 2nd St.

This Minneapolis-based brewery with a Milwaukee location is releasing its Spumoni Imperial Cream Ale on Black Friday. The 8.5% ABV beer is layered with pistachio, cherry and chocolate flavors.

The beer is available for presale, and the brewery will open at 11 a.m. Black Friday. Visit Indeed Brewing's Facebook event page for more information.

Inventors Brewpub

435 N. Lake St., Port Washington

This Port Washington brewery is releasing a 2019 vintage of Bucky Fuller's Barleywine beer and a 2021 vintage of 50 Quad Buck Belgian quad.

The brewpub will open an hour early at 10 a.m. with breakfast burritos ahead of the kitchen opening at 11 a.m.

Lakefront Brewery

1872 N. Commerce St.

The pioneer of Black Friday beer releases in Milwaukee is back to throwing its release party on the day after Thanksgiving for the first time since 2019, with the brewery opening at 8 a.m. and the CurdWagon slinging breakfast burritos, coffee and more beginning at 4:30 a.m.

Lakefront will have four limited-release varieties of its Black Friday beer. That includes the Imperial Stout, aged in bourbon and brandy barrels combining caramel, vanilla, oak and roasted malts ($20); Triple Black IPA, a bold and hoppy brew with aromas of chocolate, orange zest and rose water ($20); Double Barrel-Aged Christmas Cookie Barleywine, brewed with honey, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon, aged in rum barrels for a year and transferred to bourbon barrels for another year ($30); and 5-Year-Old, a stout that has been in bourbon barrels since 2018, creating a flavor of vanilla, pecan praline, marzipan and a touch of pipe tobacco ($30).

All brews come in a 19.2-ounce can. The beers will also be available on tap.

A minimum purchase of four Black Friday cans gets the buyer a collectible Black Friday glass, while supplies last.

Lakefront also will be hosting a community coat drive. Anyone who donates a new or gently used coat will get a 2022 Black Friday bottle, with a maximum of two bottles. The 2022 Black Friday beer will also be for sale ($20).

Lion's Tail Brewing Co.

8520 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa

This Neenah-based brewery is releasing two Black Friday beers at its Milwaukee-area location in Wauwatosa. Lion's Tail will have its second release in its Bourbon Trail series, each an imperial stout aged for a year in six different bourbon barrels. The Black Friday release will be the Bourbon Trail aged in Makers Mark, 10.8 % ABV and sold in two-pack 12-ounce cans. Lion's Tail second Black Friday beer is Cream, No Sugar, a dark coffee cream ale, 4.9% ABV available on draft and in four-packs.

Lion's Tail opens at noon on Black Friday.

New Barons Brewing Cooperative

2018 S. 1st St.

New Barons is releasing two beers on Black Friday. One is BA-BR, a barrel-aged imperial stout fermented with a blend of Belgian and American yeasts, aged in a mix of bourbon and rye barrels from Twisted Path distillery. The brewery also will offer Q Belgian Quad exclusively to member-owners. The rum barrel-aged Belgian quad has caramel and fruit flavors with hints of vanilla and plum.

The brewery will be hosting a party on Black Friday. It will open at 9 a.m. with breakfast from Roll-N-Waffles food truck and coffee from Jamaican Fair Trade coffee. Live music performances take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit the brewery's Facebook event page.

Ope! Brewing Co.

6751 W. National Ave., West Allis

This West Allis brewery will be selling two new Black Friday beers: Full Send Blend 2, a double-oaked bourbon barrel-aged barleywine blend; and Oh My Quad, a cherry brandy barrel-aged Belgian-style quad. Non-members can get up to two cans total in the taproom on Black Friday. Each costs $15.

Members can pre-order a three-pack that includes the two new beers, plus last year's Full Send Blend 1 for $45. The brewery will open at 9 a.m. Nov. 24.

Raised Grain Brewing Co.

1725 Dolphin Dr., Waukesha

In addition to their annual Santa's Sack Christmas ale, this Waukesha brewery will have three other beer releases on Black Friday. That includes #1,000, an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with extra sweet cinnamon and roasted coffee beans added; and two variants of Doc's Old-Fashioned, an imperial red ale with spices, orange peel and cherries aged in either a brandy barrel or bourbon barrel. The Doc's Old-Fashioned brews will be sold as a mixed pack with two of each variant.

Raised Grain will also be releasing its Christmas Ale on Black Friday, brewed with nutmeg, cinnamon, fresh ginger and star anise.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, in what Raised Grain is calling "Drinksgiving" the brewery will release one of its Bulleit collaborations, the Birds Rye Bulleit Rye Barrel-Aged Belgian Tripel.

Sahale Ale Works

1505 Wisconsin Ave. Suite 170, Grafton

This Grafton brewery is releasing two imperial sour ales brewed with merlot grapes and fermented with different cultures. One beer is Tearin' Up My Tart When I'm With You a drier tart at 13.4% ABV, and the other is Quit Playing Games With My Tart, a "complex and funky" brew with flavors from the wine barrel it was aged in at 13.6% ABV. They will be available on draft and in a limited number of 500-millileter bottles.

It will be open 3 to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.

The Brewery

1101 N. Water St.

This downtown brewery, and the former Water Street Brewery, will have a keg of Robust Rosemary Whiskey Stout at 7.2% made with rosemary infused Irish whisky blended with an Irish stout. It will also release a Sour Cherry Mead, blended with Door County cherries.

Third Space Brewing

1505 W. St. Paul Ave.

Third Space is releasing its annual deconstructed dessert beer, this year a Linzer Torte deconstructed desert pack that includes one of each of the following:

• A seven-month bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, which is the base for each variant
• Lemon & Vanilla
• Honey & Cinnamon
• Pecan
• Red Currant
• The Linzer Torte, blending all the above flavors

The brewery also will release Cellar Stash, a two-year bourbon barrel-aged stout.

Third Space is also selling a 2024 "Beer for a Year" package, where customers can pick up two six-packs of their choice each month of 2024 for $199.99.

Third Space's Black Friday party starts at noon with pizza from Ian's Pizza available for purchase from noon to 6 p.m. Everyone who visits on Black Friday also will be entered in a drawing for a free "Beer for a Year" certificate.

The deconstructed dessert pack costs $45. Cellar Stash costs $15 per single can. Each is available for preorder to pick up Nov. 24. For more information, see shopthirdspace.com/inthespirit.

Torzala Brewing Co.

2018 S. First St. #207

This south side brewery has two Black Friday beer releases. Available on tap will The Squash Blossom, a spiced harvest hefeweizen made with locally sourced pumpkins and inspired by artist Georgia O'Keeffe's Squash Blossom painting. Torzala is also bringing back Cream City Calling, a fruited cream ale it released for Black Friday last year. It will be available in four-packs.

Torzala will open at 11 a.m. on Black Friday.

Urban Harvest Brewing Co.

1024 S. Fifth St.

Urban Harvest has seven barrel-aged beers slated for release on Black Friday. All cost $10 for a single 16-ounce can, or $60 for all seven flavors. Here are the choices:

• 2020 Brown Mumbler, a bourbon brown ale
• 2020 Big Ring Bourbon Red
• 2021 WhiScotchsin, a whiskey scotch ale
• 2021 Whiskey Porter
• 2021 Imperial Chocolate Whiskey Stout
• 2021 Two Naught Naught, a chocolate bourbon espresso amber
• 2021 Deux Stappen, a French cognac Belgian dark strong

Pre-order is available on the brewery's website starting at noon Nov. 22. Visit the Facebook event page for more information.

Vennture Brew Co.

5519 W. North Ave.

This Washington Heights brewery is releasing three beers the day before Thanksgiving. They are Mumble Biscuits, a barleywine aged in bourbon barrels, 13% ABV; Grandma's Boyfriend, a double West Coast IPA; and Thanksgiving Sangria Bruv, a Berliner-style ale with pomegranate, cranberry, orange and Zinfandel grape juice.

The brewery, which is also a coffee shop, will open at 5 a.m. Nov. 22 with the specialty brews being released at noon. It will be open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thanksgiving and 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Black Friday.

Free Black Friday brewery shuttles

City Tours MKE will run free shuttles between a dozen breweries from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 24. The shuttles will go to Eagle Park (Hamilton), Dead Bird, Pilot Project, Explorium (Third Ward),1840, Component, Torzala, Indeed, Broken Bat and Wizard Works. See the Facebook event for more information.

The Five Three Brew One Two shuttle, which offers free rides between Riverwest breweries on Saturdays, will offer those rides on Black Friday as well. The shuttle will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Lakefront, Company, Black Husky, Amorphic and Gathering Place.

This story will be updated as Black Friday beer releases are announced. Email jordyn.noennig@jrn.com to have your Black Friday beer included.