How Irish is it? Brocach
Decider's week-long survey of Milwaukee Irish bars continues with this newish East side pub
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Ah, the Irish pub. It’s a standby in any bar scene, but is an Irish pub really any different from a regular bar? Or is it just the usual watering hole with some Guinness posters on the walls and a four-leaf clover on the door? With St. Patrick’s Day coming up next week, Decider hit five Milwaukee Irish bars in search of bartenders who speak in sweet brogues and drunks who quote Keats. Were we successful, or were we stuck sucking down plastic cups topped with green-colored Miller Lite? This week we share what we found. Yesterday we visited County Clare. Today, we stumble into Brocach.
Quick take: The first thing you need to know about Brocach is that’s pronounced “Brokaw,” like the venerable newsman. Fortunately, this pub and restaurant follows through on the authentically Gaelic moniker, which feels more like a cozy, small-town country tavern than its somewhat generic, theme-bar exterior might suggest. The taps feature a fierce brew called Kilt Lifter Ale—the kilt is technically Scottish, but we’re Americans, so we’re allowed to confuse Scottish with Irish culture.
How Irish is it? Brocach is the kind of bar where people could spontaneously engage in a group sing-along and it wouldn’t seem weird. Also, Brocach means “badger den” in Gaelic, which is a nice way to reference both Ireland and Wisconsin while also seeming slightly dirty.
