Milwaukee, Madison, and surrounding area suggestions

The best of the best (IMO):

Milwaukee:
- Third Space
- Good City Brewing
- Lakefront Brewery (decent beer but more for the fun tour and the food - their fried cheese curds are great)

Between MKE and Madison:
- Raised Grain Brewing - In Waukesha on the way from Milwaukee to Madison - try their Single Hop IPAs if they have one on tap, their Paradocs is pretty good too
- Tyranena - In Lake Mills, try their BA stuff

Madison
- Karben 4
- New Glarus
- Funk Factory Geuzeria

If you have time to head north of MKE, Fermentorium in Cedarburg and Three Sheeps in Sheboygan are both worth a visit.

 

New Glarus is a longer drive from Madison than Cedarburg is from Milwaukee, just FYI. Worth it, but farther away than folks tend to reflexively think.

I'd rec Ale Asylum in Madison too, not just because the beers are solid but because the bacon cheeseburger I just had there last night was top notch. The food menu has really rounded into shape.

 

Personally, I'd eat at Vintage Brewing when in Madison.

 

I'll second this when it comes to the Milwaukee area. If you have leisure time, Lakefront is worth it for the atmosphere and experience, which I think is a great representation of Wisconsin beer, culture, and beer culture and Three Sheeps has been doing some awesome things lately. As far as Madison goes, I'd say Funk Factory is the only must-do for the sake of getting to tick some of the best sours in the state. I slightly prefer Ale Asylum's beers to Karben4, but can't speak to the brewery experience.

 

When in Milwaukee, you might want to check out Eagle Park. It's on the second floor of an old warehouse. As a bonus, there is a brewery located on the first floor of the same building (Enlightened).

http://www.eagleparkbrewing.com/

http://enlightenedbeer.com/

 

Third Space,Good City for MKE. Discount Liquor on Oklahoma ave...best beer store in the state?
If you make the trip out to Fermentorium, also hit up Silver Creek, and probably Bavarian Brewhaus..all very easy to get to.
When headed from MKE to Madison, Sweet Mullets in Oconomowoc is worth a stop for sure. Avoid Delafield or Hops and Leisure.
Tyranena...yes!
in Madison..
Vintage, Funk Factory, Next Door for breweries. Old Fashioned on the square for lots of Sconnie ticks ( 60 WI taps). Brasserie V if you wanna max out and drink some premium international/national stuff.

 

No love for Black Husky in Milwaukee?

I would recommend Parched Eagle in Madison.

 

Huh, I've never heard of Eagle Park. Milwaukee breweries are opening faster than I can keep up.

 

Wondering if I can jump on here and get some input for the better bottle shops or even grocers in the immediate Madison, WI area? Gonna have some family staying the weekend there and want to have them make a few grabs for me. Also wondering if anyone knows of places who would do an online or over the phone order so that I could just have them pop in and pick it up since they're not beer nerds like me? Thanks!!

 

East side: City View, Jenifer Street Market, Trixie's, Harley's.
Downtownish: Riley's, Star.
West side: Steve's Junction/University/McKee (listed in order of personal preference).

Woodman's and Hy-Vee locations all over town are fine for casual stuff, unpredictable for high-value targets. Whole Foods is all right too.

 

Thank you, most helpful!!!