‘Keg Killer’ T

Benno Weigl holds up a 2023 Keg Killer t-shirt at the Micro, the original craft beer outlet at ... [+] Wisconsin State Fair.

When the Wisconsin State Fair opens on Thursday, craft beer drinkers will start lining up to see if they can win a coveted “Keg Killer” t-shirt.

The Keg Killer t-shirts are a prized possession for anyone who gets the last tap out of a keg, and they’ve been a tradition at the fair ever since Benno Weigl opened the Micro some 24 years ago as a small, lean-to stand with only six taps of beer. It was the very first place at the fair to sell beers crafted by smaller breweries.

“Back then, craft beers were called microbrews,” says Weigl, who has operated different bars and beer tents at the fair for 38 years. “That’s why it’s named The Micro.”

The first taps featured beers from Sprecher, Lakefront and Milwaukee Brewing Co., three of the original craft brewers in Milwaukee. The idea for giving patrons a free t-shirt if they got the last glass of beer from a keg came from Mike Bieser, a co-founder of Milwaukee Brewing Co., Weigl says.

“He came up with the name ‘Keg Killer,’” says Weigl.

The name worked for Weigl, who then printed up a few t-shirts to give out when each keg of microbrewed beer tapped out.

“If you get the last beer from a keg, you get a keg killer t-shirt,” says Pam Jesse, who has worked for Weigl at the state fair for 36 of the 38 years he’s had bars at the fair. “They’re really coveted, and they’re really a big deal.”

Customers don’t just get a free t-shirt that says ‘Keg Killer’ when a keg taps out. Bartenders make an announcement, as bright strobe lights flash and an airhorn goes off, and then, after getting the t-shirt, customers can take a selfie in front of the Keg Killer stand.

“It’s become this badge of honor,” says Ariana Klein, social media manager. “People love them.”

This year, Weigl expects his staff to give away more than 500 t-shirts, the first of which, he expects to give away within hours of the fair opening.

Each year, the t-shirt’s design changes slightly, and every year, there is a new t-shirt. Though Weigl and his team gave away dozens of t-shirts that first year, they now give away around 500 or more t-shirts every state fair, except for 2020, when there wasn’t a state fair. That year, only a few Keg Killer t-shirts were produced, and they were given away at charities.

Just as the Keg Killer t-shirts have evolved, so, too, has The Micro itself. The Micro sells more than 60 craft beers from around the state of Wisconsin, and the little lean-to has grown into a permanent structure with two oversized bars. “We have a waiting list of breweries who want to get in at The Micro,” Jesse says.

Two of the most popular beers are some of the longest-running beers, and they’re both from Milwaukee Brewing Co.: Louie’s Demise, an amber, and Cream Puff Ale, a cream ale. “They remain very popular,” Jesse says.

The Micro, she says, has lived though all the craft beer trends of the past quarter century. “When we started, everyone was all about ambers, lagers and pilsners,” Jesse says. “Then it was all about IPAs, and now, hazy IPAs, fruit beers and bourbon barrel aged beers. It’s always changing, and it’s always diverse. It’s a lot of fun.”

Next year, when The Micro celebrates its 25th anniversary, the crew might hold a Keg Killer celebration, inviting past winners to wear their t-shirts. “We’re coming up on a Keg Killer reunion,” Weigl says.