Small Brewery Sunday 2021: Where To Grab A Pint Around Oak Creek

OAK CREEK, WI — Need a suggestion for how to unwind after a Thanksgiving weekend filled with hours of cooking, mountains of dirty dishes, endless lines at retail stores, long drives home and a thousand "are we there yets"?

Head to the bar, of course — or, more specifically, a craft brewery or two in Oak Creek.
Capping off this Thanksgiving weekend is the third annual Small Brewery Sunday on Nov. 28. Organized by the Brewers Association, a nonprofit group that works with small and independent American craft brewers, the goal of the unofficial holiday is to encourage Americans to patronize and support local breweries.

Here's a look at the breweries and taprooms closest to Oak Creek that are participating in Small Brewery Sunday.

• Water Street Brewery, 140 W Town Square Way.
• Explorium Brew Pub, 5300 South 76th Sreet, Unit 1450A.
• The Brass Tap, 7808 West Layton Avenue.

Looking for more spots to grab a pint and willing to venture a little further? Here are four more craft breweries in Milwaukee to check out:

• City Lights Brewing Co., 2200 W. Mount Vernon Ave.
• Urban Harvest Brewing, 1024 S. 5th St.
• Lakefront Brewery Milwaukee, 1872 N. Commerce St.
• Black Husky Brewing, 909 E. Locust St.

Interestingly, more than two-thirds of Americans who are of legal drinking age live within 10 miles of a craft brewery, according to the Brewers Association. This fact lends well to the importance of Small Brewery Sunday.

The coronavirus pandemic hit small breweries hard in 2020. Overall, U.S. craft beer sales by volume declined 9 percent in 2020. The volume of beer produced also dropped by more than 9 percent, according to statistics compiled by the Brewers Association.

Meanwhile, most brewery owners were also forced to accommodate local health restrictions, supply chain issues, and shifts in how customers sought out their products.

While craft beer sales by volume are returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Brewers Association, support of independent breweries is still crucial.

"Small and independent brewers have proven to be incredibly resilient, and they've approached recent hardships as opportunities for innovation. When faced with new challenges, they created ways to pivot their business models to continue serving their local communities and loyal customers," Bob Pease, president and CEO of the Brewers Association, said, in a news release.

"With the return of on-premise visits and new breweries continuing to open, we're confident in the recovery and future growth of the craft brewing industry."

The full list of breweries participating in Small Brewery Sunday is available online.