My friends are putting together a 4 day beer tasting of as much breweries and brewpubs as we can possibly go to in January before i move. So far we are obviously hitting the big players, but I know there are some 90ish places that brew their own beer. Any smaller places that the average person might miss that you suggest visiting? I get to plan the trip as i am the beer snob in the group. So any suggestions would be great! We are hitting the entire state, from Milwaukee to Superior to Point to near Platteville. We have a DD and we want to keep driving to a 1 hour limit (unless superior - La Crosse area do not allow it) So far the list consist of, New Glarus Ale Asylum Central Waters Capital Lakefront O'so Tyranena Sprecher Sand Creek Grays Big Bay and a few other from each of Milwaukee and Madison.
Hit the Thirsty Pagan in Superior if you're going up that way...Also South Shore is up at the tippy top. Central Waters is only open Friday and Saturday evenings, take note of that. Titletown and Hinterland are right next to each other in Green Bay so that would be an easy trip. Also if you're going to hit O'so and Central Waters, might as well hit Point.
Lucette in Menominee And lazy monk in eau Claire are both worthy of a spot on your itinerary. I'll slap a fool who says otherwise.
I enjoyed Grumpy Troll in Mount Horeb quite a bit when I was there a couple years back. It is near Madison/New Glarus.
I would say if your group takes the time to go all the way to Superior, you might as well go to Duluth and hit Fitgers.
Big Bay is brewed by Milwaukee Brewing Co (MKE). Big Bay has a tasting room in Shorewood, but I'm not so sure I would waste time going there. Disclosure: I've never been there, but why visit a tasting room of a contract brewed beer? I don't think their (Big Bay's) beers are anything special, but a tour of Milwaukee Brewing Co. is a must when you are in Milwaukee. Some really good beers. And pretty much unlimited sampling before/during the tour. Just my 2 cents.
All have been added to my list. so far we have 70 some breweries on a map and still have to add Milwaukee. once we plan out our route i will let you all know where we are headed. Cu, thanks for the tip on Big Bay. MKE was already on our list
When you are in the Milwaukee area, you might want to consider heading up to Cedarburg for the Silver Creek Brewing Co. Their beers can be pretty good, plus they usually have a decent guest tap lineup. I mention them because they have one of the most unique entrances to a brewery that you might ever encounter. You'll have to check their webby for their hours. But if you are heading north from Milwaukee on your Epic Tour (say to Green Bay or whatever) they would be a nice easy stop off of I-43. As it is, they are only 20 mins north from Downtown Milwaukee. http://www.silvercreekbrewing.com/Silver_Creek/Home.html Cheers!
Potosi. http://www.potosibrewery.com/ If nothing other than they have the beer museum, but their beer/ food is good also, and not far from NG.
Point does contract brew for their bottled beers, but I think most, if not all, of the beers available at the brewery are brewed on site, including several that aren't bottled.
i cant add to the lists above, you have all the brewers around (be sure to get the furthermore line at sand creek) but if you want to get beer geeky and are going near Green Bay then see if you can get a tour at Breiss Malt http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/ A big and old malter that can tell you alot about history as well as current trends in beer as they supply many craft breweries (Bells grows barley and sends it to Breiss to malt for them) Of course if you can hit up Central Waters party at the end of january on the trip-- JACKPOT!!
I have read on this site and heard from others that Grumpy Troll used to be good. Alas, when we got the sampler tray there this summer, we only finished about half of the beers. And in the half we finished, there were none that I even considered good. At best their beers were marginal. Perhaps this has to do with their brewmaster leaving to start Sweet Mullets in Oconomowoc? So I guess check out Sweet Mullets. It would be on your way between Milwaukee and Madison.
Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horeb, City Brewery in La Crosse (don't know if they do tours anymore or not. If not the Bodega bar downtown usually has a decent beer selection), Lazy Monk brewing in Eau Claire (haven't made it there yet, but their beer was decent last time I got some when I was up that way), Leinie's in Chippewa Falls (they give you free samples even without a tour and its only about 5 min. off Hwy 53.
