Madison, Wi Recommendations

Funk Factory and Working Draft are the best breweries in town.

 

Best beer restaurants include Brasserie V (casual to slightly upscale Belgian/American bistro), Tipsy Cow (American pub), Dexter's (American pub), Longtable (continental European/American pub), Lucille (Detroit- and wood fired-style pizza), Mint Mark (eclectic small plates and a small but well-curated tap list), and The Old Fashioned (an apeshit Wisconsin-centric honey-trap for tourists, suburban parents, and returning grads that nonetheless has an extensive tap list of Wisconsin beers, but please don't judge all cheese curds on the merits of the Old Fashioned curds alone).

Also I strongly recommend searching in this forum because this is probably the fourth Madison thread active this year.

 

Just north of Madison is Octopi Brewing, where all Untitled Art is also brewed (half owned by Octopi and Funk Factory Geuzeria. They have a new cooler with LOTS of great stuff like a nice pils in cans, to some great barrel aged bombers that are $15 compared to overpricing at stores.
Mr. Brews on the East side had some Bourbon County on draft 2 weeks ago.

 

Octopi also has a new restaurant space with a full menu that probably merits some attention.

 

I like Next Door Brewing. Good food and beer and usually not super crowded.

 

Just to echo the BigRedOne if you like sours, funk factory. For everything else, but especially some nice ipas, Working Draft is a great place to visit.

 

Are there any recommendations for liquor stores that have a good selection of Wisconsin beers or general good selection? I'm driving through Madison Wednesday and was wondering if there was anything worthwhile to stop by.

 

For liquor stores, Woodmans is hands down the best in town for selection and price. They have stores on the east and west side of town as well as in Sun Prairie.

 

West side: #1 for me is Total Wine for best craft, with Woodman's close behind, and Steve's Liquor is out there too
Central: Steve's on University
East side: Woodman's...there is also one northeast of Madison in Sun Prairie

 

Plenty. If I might self-promote a little:

https://isthmus.com/food-drink/beer/madison-favorite-bottle-shops-beer/

 

I did a search of the forums for places in Sun Prairie. Longtable looks like the best place, but not sure we will have time to make it that far and back (there for a hockey tournament). Longtable has an excellent tap list and prices are reasonable, at least in terms of how beer is priced in Chicago.

Right Bauer Brewing has minimal reviews here (beer and place), place reviews were favorable. Full Mile Brewery is the other listed in Sun Prairie, one review (didn't state anything about beer, only food - Food Advocate?).

I found two good articles discussing both places. Any first hand replies would be appreciated. I will reply later with my experiences upon my return next week (will likely try both if I can, unless feedback states I should focus on one or the other).

Thanks!

 

BarleyPop is a good one, not big, but a high quality selection with a taproom also. For a one-stop shop, i'd recommend Steve's for specialty stuff, and Woodman's for New Glarus cases and more common seasonals.

 

Just to clarify, Longtable is not in Sun Prairie. Like, the total opposite side of the metro. Longtable has a small but well-curated taplist, and a solid to-go retail case, plus food. But there are more diverse options for both.

 

I wasn't able to report back on Longtable, due to the weather and fact we didn't make it to Madison, but I was able to hit the two breweries in Sun Prairie.

Right Bauer Brewing had several drafts on tap, and I had three in a flight of four (Dosvidanya by DESTIHL being the fourth). Dozvidanya (4.5) was an excellent pour. Double or Nothing, Right Bauer's 7.1% ABV Belgian Dubbel, was the best pour from the brewery (rated 4.0). Their Peanut Butter Porter was the one recommended by the bartender, it was good (3.5) but basically a one note pour (all peanut butter (taste, aroma). Their imperial stout was OK (3.0), thin, light taste, wouldn't have ordered it again. My brother also tried three of four RB pours, the Double or Nothing also his favorite.

The space was very nice, lots of room and games. Food looked good (others ordered, we ate before arriving). The prices were very good ($10 for 4 5 oz flight pours, individual servings ranged from $5-$7). I would return if back in the area, but wouldn't make a special trip out of the way to visit.

Full Mile Beer Company was the other brewery we visited. This was a much bigger space (large restaurant and separate sit down bar area. Only had time for a single pour here. With that in mind, I selected Collusion V 2.0, their imperial BA stout. This pour (4.25) was a very good imperial stout, nice varied aroma and taste (smooth bourbon, toffee and coconut) with a medium creamy body. They had a dozen offerings ad a full whiskey / other hard liquor bar. The place was crowded and if I return to Sun Prairie, I would return here for a meal and a few more pours, priced $1-$2 higher than Right Bauer's (there were no flight options here).

Also hit the Woodman's and picked up New Glarus Raspberry Tart and was pleased to find. I rated this beer slightly higher (4.25 vs. 4.0) to the other four packed picked up, Founder's KBS Espresso. We also hit a bar/restaurant Nitty Gritty, which had good bar food / burgers and an OK tap list of local and regional pours, and had a local Madison pour (purchased at Woodman's Karben4), a fresh NEIPA pour which was OK (3.5) for the style.

Watched some of the Packers getting smoked, and also Kane's 1,000th NHL Point, before returning today from another successful Wisconsin beer run.

Cheers.

 

I'm guessing that @Adventure44 has long come and gone, and my advice is out-of-season, but there are few better places I've ever encountered to enjoy a craft beer than Memorial Union Terrace on a nice spring, summer, or fall day or night. It's part of the University of Wisconsin campus but open to and widely used by the general public. The craft beer selection is decent -- nothing special -- and has a local emphasis (Capital, New Glarus, Karben4, etc.), but the setting is hard to beat. Food is available from several Memorial Union vendors. It's a big part of what makes Madison and the UW campus special and a must-stop in town, weather permitting.

 

As a tourist from San Diego visiting Madison, I enjoyed Brasserie V (liked the food and tap list, has a sophisticated vibe). Also liked Dexter's Pub (neighborhood-family friendly-ish, with food)and The Malt House (has a working-class feel and outdoor patio, no food). If you're looking for a dive bar type spot (think Friday night fish-fry) Slices is my son's go-to place. He's a student at UW.

 

Not to be one to sit aside and let the opportunity to stoke class warfare pass me by, I’ll say I’m amused by the “working-class” comment, and I anticipate a faithful UW accusation of being a “coastie” to follow.

I jest, I jest! @joloje - it’s not beer-related, but if you like sushi and haven’t been, head to Kokoro in Serra Mesa.

 

Headed south to Madison tonight, for work tomorrow. I'm thinking ramen for dinner and a few beers, before calling it an early night. Is Umami and Working Draft a good combo? I'm staying out by the airport and really don't want to go downtown, even though there are more ramen options there.

 

Hard to beat Williamson St. for a casually awesome Madison experience. You should be in good shape with those two stops.