As 2025 begins, major changes are coming to Milwaukee’s craft brewing scene.
Milwaukee-based Good City Brewing, founded in 2016, announced today that it is being sold to The Explorium Brewpub, which has locations at Southridge Mall in Greendale and just outside the Historic Third Ward in Milwaukee.
Explorium is taking over operations at all of Good City’s locations, which are located on the East Side of Milwaukee, in the downtown Deer District, Mequon and Wauwatosa.
The news comes one day after Milwaukee-based City Lights Brewing Company, located in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, announced that it will close operations on Jan. 4.
“This decision was gut-wrenchingly difficult and comes after numerous challenges have made it unsustainable to continue,” City Lights Brewing said in a Facebook post.
Good City and City Lights join a growing list of craft brewery brands in Milwaukee that are disappearing from the marketplace. MobCraft, located in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, closed in November. Company Brewing in the city’s Riverwest neighborhood closed in May. Enlightened Brewing in the city’s Bay View neighborhood will close on Jan. 5.
“The craft beer industry has experienced seismic shifts and its future will require strategic alliances,” Good City Brewing said today in a Facebook post.
