‘A craft beer guy:’ New Berlin man on quest to create largest Lakefront Brewery glass collection

 

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) — It’s no secret that Wisconsin loves its beer.

You’ve probably heard the age-old question — which is best? Can, bottle, or glass?

For Michael Smith, a self-proclaimed “craft beer guy,” the answer can be found in the basement of his New Berlin home.

Hundreds of drinking glasses from pints to snifters to tasters are strategically placed on shelves lining the walls by Smith’s personal bar.

235, to be exact.

“I have an unhealthy obsession,” Smith laughingly told CBS 58’s Ellie Nakamoto-White.

And they’re all from Lakefront Brewery — a Milwaukee staple where he’s gone for decades.

“There’s some Lakefront beer here on hand, always,” Smith said, noting his favorite is a Riverwest stein. “I've seen glassware collections before where people have thousands and thousands but they’re all from one place, all over the country or wherever state they live in, The fact it’s from one local brewery, [people] are like wow, it’s neat!”

The collection started about 12 years ago when Smith picked up a Black Friday pint glass from 2012.

“It just started kind of going from there,” Smith said, adding he spends time searching at rummage sales or thrift stores. “When you amass a collection as big as this, you don’t find very many anymore.”

Of the 235 — plus the countless others currently packed away in storage boxes — there isn’t a single duplicate on display.

“It really gives me an appreciation for how big it got over the years and some of the uniqueness when it comes to some of the glassware,” Smith said. “I’d like to think it’s the biggest [Lakefront] glassware collection out there. I don’t know of anyone else who has one bigger.”

In his basement brewery, Smith also has other kinds of Lakefront memorabilia, from neon LED signs to limited edition items to branded hand sanitizer.

“I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad experience [at Lakefront], that’s for sure,” Smith said. “It’s Milwaukee, hands down.”