I know that Beerfly can partially answer this, but it drives me crazy that you can't sort by ranking on those pages. I'm heading to Madison in a month, and I'm already planning to drive out to New Glarus. Where else should I go? I'm most interested in visiting bars that specialize in Wisconsin beer, particularly Central Waters. If they happen to have a good selection of Bell's, Founders, Dark Horse, and Goose Island, that's a nice bonus, too. Any help is much appreciated, Wisconsinites, and I'd be happy to return the favor if you come to Northern California.
If you want a bar that specializes in WI beer, I'd say the Old Fashioned (http://theoldfashioned.com/). As far as other bars are concerned that typically have good tap lists, I'd recommend the Tipsy Cow (http://www.tipsycowmadison.com/), Dexter's (http://www.dexterspubmadison.com/), Alchemy Cafe (http://www.alchemycafe.net/), the Malt House (http://malthousetavern.com/) and Brickyard BBQ (http://www.thebrickhousebbq.com/). All of these places have tap lists that change pretty regularly but are always made up of quality midwest brews. One last recommendation to throw out there is Brasserie V (http://www.brasseriev.com/). This place has a GREAT bottle list of belgian beers (and a pretty good tap list as well typically). Hope this helps.
This is extremely helpful. Thanks very much. Edited to add: All of them look great, and the Old Fashioned is exactly what I was looking for -- and I'll be staying in Capitol Square, so it's even better.
Service and food at the Tipsy Cow are mediocre at best, I'd skip it and go two doors down to Maduro. Sit outside if the cigar smoke bothers you. Brickhouse has a nice tap list but don't waste your money on the food, it's been disappointing every time I've been there. I would second all the rest though, and if you go to Brasserie V be patient as it's tiny, and get the frites w/truffle oil and parmesan. Finally, I would add the Mason Lounge, super low-key with a great tap list that changes a lot (find them on facebook).
I'm going to go ahead and second and third the recommendations about Brasserie V. Awesome place. Great bottle list (Belgian heavy, but some good American Micro's...) and some awesome food. Really nice, quaint place, personalable staff.
I disagree. I've had nothing but good service there, and I think their burgers are some of the best in Madison. It also seems like there's always a gem or two on tap. I really like it there.
Not to add more chaos to your list, but Merchant is upping their beer game as of late. Love the Alchemy too - well-thought-out tap lines every time. Finally, Jac's on Monroe is a pretty great spot too.
You can sort by ranking for all beerfly listings... here are Madison bars. Just search Madison, click the "bar" check box, then click the "Rating" column tab in the results to sort. For local Wisco beers, Old Fashioned can't be beat for selection. They bring in kegs from regional brewpubs you can't find elsewhere. That said, +1 to Malt House, Brasserie V, Mason Lounge.
