Milwaukee Brewfest July 27 | 200 Breweries Means Lots Of Beer

One of Milwaukee's youngest summer festivals is fast becoming one of its most popular. The annual Milwaukee Brewfest will hold its their fourth annual event on July 27, at Old Coast Guard Pavilion Park, announcing in recent weeks that the festival will be the largest to-date. VIP tickets that provided buyers with early admission and exclusive access to limited beer runs have already sold-out and organizers expect door tickets to go quickly the day of the festival.

Over 200 breweries from around the world will be on-hand for the 4^th annual Milwaukee Brewfest. Well known purveyors such as Hofbräuhaus and Mike's Hard Lemonade will be in attendance, as will smaller craft breweries like New Belgium.

Wisconsin represents an ample number of participants in this year's event. Brewers from Milwaukee to Madison to Rhinelander will have offerings available. Fans who want to delve deeper into the world of beer can visit the vendors section at the festival. The Museum of Beer and Brewing will have displays showing the history and evolution of the drink, while Brew & Grow can offer tips and supplies to beginner and advanced home-brewers.

Food Options At Milwaukee Brewfest

The vendors’ area will also host a variety of food-stands. The usual fare of nachos, brats, hot dogs, and soda will be available from the Inferno Marketing Group tent, the main sponsor of Milwaukee Brewfest. Attendees feeling a bit more adventurous with their palettes can patron four local restaurants bringing limited menus to the event; Jackson's Blue Ribbon Pub, Leff's Lucky Town, Snack Patrol, and Maxie's Southern Comfort.

In addition to all the fun already planned for the 2013 Milwaukee Brewfest, a special performance by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Band is also scheduled. Complimenting the performance will be acts by Milwaukee-based acts Michael Drake and The 5 Card Studs. 

General admission tickets to the 4^th annual Milwaukee Beerfest cost $45 on the day of the event. Advanced tickets may be purchased online for $40. Tickets admit holders to the event, and allow unlimited beer-tastings, access to the music stage, and all other exhibits and shows taking place.

A pair of free shuttle-buses will run back-and-forth between the Milwaukee Brewfest and five other locations throughout the city from 1PM to 8PM on the 27^th. The downtown route will make stops at Brewfest, German Fest, the Old German Beer Hall, and A.J. Bombers. The east side route will stop at Brewfest, German Fest, Stubby's, and BBC.

Segura and Gomez Head To Baseball All Star Game | Two Brewers Tagged As Reserves

The lowly Brewers received a chance to brighten up an otherwise dismal season over the weekend, as it was announced that rookie shortstop Jean Segura and center fielder Carlos Gomez were appointed to the 2013 National League All-Star team. The pair will play as reserves at their respective positions at the July 16^th game at Citi Field in New York. They are the first multi-Brewer nominations since Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Rickie Weeks took the field for the NL in 2011. That season was Braun's fourth consecutive trip to the All-Star game, a streak he continued through 2012. Injuries this season kept the Brewers poster-boy from his sixth nomination is as many years.

Segura and Gomez represent a number of historic franchise accomplishments in the All-Star game. The 23 year old Segura is tied with Fielder, Paul Molitor, and Ben Sheets as the third youngest Brewer to play in the All-Star game, and is just the fourth shortstop in franchise history to be named to the team. Highlighting the record books though is Segura's title as just the second Brewer to become an All-Star in his inaugural season in the majors. Sheets was the first to accomplish the feat, in 2001.

Segura Playing Great Baseball At The Right Time

The Dominican's appointment was viewed as well deserved by fans and critics. He is the leading half of a duo that includes himself and Gomez as the second best combined teammate hitters in the NL.  Continuing his dominance over pitchers through the Winter League into the regular season, Segura leads NL in hits and is the only player in the entire league to have at least 25 stolen bases and more than 10 home runs. He has hit 11 over the wall so far this year, and has brought in 35 runners while maintaining an above .300 average.

The 27 year old Gomez, also born in the Dominican Republic, nearly matches the stats of his younger teammate and countryman. Since coming to the Brewers in 2009, he has become the team's dominant outfielder alongside Braun, and this year has improved dramatically at the plate. He is in the top-10 in every offensive category in the NL, earning his highest marks currently as 5^th in both stolen bases and slugging percentage.

Badgers Football Players In The NFL

The Wisconsin Badgers have never been known as a college football program that puts lots of players in the NFL, but there are some. It seems that they tend to fill the ranks of the defensive or offensive line.  Still, there are a few Badgers wideouts in the NFL right now. As for who is making it in the pro ranks at this time, look no further than the list below. 

Lance Kendricks- Kendricks, a tight end, was selected by the Rams in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft. He has been sort of slow in his development, but he did show some promise last season, playing in all 16 games and starting 14 of them. Kendricks finished the season with 42 catches for 519 yards and four touchdowns. Since the upcoming season will be his third in the NFL the rams do expect some bigger things from him, and if Sam Bradford is going to continue to take steps as a starting quarterback, Lance Kendricks is going to be a big part of it.

Peter Kontz- A former Badgers center, Kontz was taken in round two of the 2012 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Kontz has taken nice steps in his first season, and there is no reason to think he won’t continue to improve heading into his second season. Very soon Kontz will be considered to be one of the best centers in the league.

Joe Thomas- A former first round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 2007, the career of Joe Thomas has gone exactly as planned, minus the zero playoff appearances. Thomas is probably the best left tackle in the game, and would be the answer to the Packers problems if he left Cleveland in the near future. Expect nothing less than another stellar pro-bowl season out of Thomas in 2013.

J.J. Watt- J.J. Swatt, as he is called, is a monster who has very quickly become the best defensive player in the entire league. Don’t expect him to repeat his 2012 performance this season, as history is not in his favor, but he still will have a great season and will probably make another pro bowl, as he has also become one of the game’s most recognizable names on the defensive side of the ball.

Russell Wilson- The rest of the NFL is probably thinking to themselves right now, “where did he come from’? Wilson, who wasn’t even on many scout’s radars as a starter, is now the unquestioned starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. However, I am not sold, as I do not think he will repeat his 2012 performance and I am still not sold on him as a long term starter in the NFL. What happens a lot with the young quarterbacks, especially rookies, is the league has very little tape on them. This is not the case anymore with Wilson, as teams now have an entire season of tape on him, and I believe they will adjust properly.