Best WI destination breweries

This is a great suggestion.
Marc and the crew at Oso will treat you right, maybe even show you the brewery. Very least you can see all the bourbon and wine barrels aging in the back room.
Central Waters tap room is awesome IMO, the beers are fantastic, and Amherst has true north country personality.

I'd add Blue Heron Marshfield to this list as well.

Even cruise over to Green Bay and get down on some Title town and Hinterland.

 

The 'hard hat' tour at New Glarus sold out until one Friday in OCTOBER, and even that date has only one slot available. Frickafrackafjlaksdjklsal

 

Lakefront is a great time despite the fact their beer does not compare to NG. Will be going to Central Waters this weekend. I can't wait!!

 

Give them a call. They squeezed a group of three of us in earlier this year even though we only called a month out. We were coming from further out of of town and may have gotten lucky, so YMMV, but it's definitely worth calling.

 

"forty"?

did they not have them all full? were some taps removed?

 

*IF* you do Sprecher in Milwaukee, they do have a pricier 'Reserve Tour'. It's $15 (instead of $5 for the regular tour), but you get 10 samples (rather than just 4) and you get cheese pairings.
I'm surprised at some of the suggestions, as the initial post specifically said "looking for a great taproom experience, opportunity to get a brewery tour, sample beers and talk beer with others at the brewery." The mentions of Public Craft and Rustic Road (both in Kenosha, just blocks apart) don't come close to fitting this bill. They are craft brewers in very small (think neighborhood bar) facilities, so there is nothing to 'tour' and no 'taproom' -- you sit at the bar (or a small scattering of tables) -- though it is entirely likely you will (or can) talk to the brewmaster at each. Neither has any food, though RR does occasionally feature music on weekends.
RE: Lakefront - as mentioned, they have a Friday fishfry, which is 'family style' -- if you don't have a group of 6-8, you will be seated at a table with random other patrons. There is a two-piece 'band' (accordian & percussion) doing mostly polkas. At least the one time I was there, there was quite a surprising number of 20-or-30-something couples with young kids who delighted in the music and filled the dance floor (I.E., do not expect to really be able to dance without having to watch for tripping over the munchkins). Lakefront does NOT have food any other day of the week. A nice 'plus' on their tours (the times I've done it) they give you a sample before you start the tour, and at relatively convenient intervals get to spots for you to refill. (You get four wooden 'chips' to redeem for your samples.) At the end of the tour you take your plastic cup up to the souvenir store to turn it in for a (logo) pint glass. (All other tours I've done you have to do the whole tour before you get to sample -- Lakefront knows what is really on people's minds!)

As long as others have tossed in non-tour breweries/pubs, I'll toss a couple other non-tour brewhouses in the mix (all more-or-less in the Greater Milwaukee area):
Stonefly - Just 1.3 miles from Lakefront Brewing (which is 2.6 miles from Milwaukee Brewing). Very much at home in the very interesting eclectic "Riverwest" neighborhood, and featuring food menu which (besides decent burgers and a friday fish fry) includes numerous tofu/vegetarian/vegan options. Personally, I have always preferred most of their beers over anything brewed by Lakefront or Milwaukee Brewing, but obviously to each their own.
St.Francis Brewpub - This is a modern building yuppie pub. Personally, I can't say I've been much impressed by any of their beer, but they do have some very good food on the menu.
Delafield Brewhaus - Another modern building yuppie pub. Beer is respectable, food is very good. (I always wish I had more reasons to get out that way.)
Silver Creek Brewing (Cedarburg) - Housed in the basement level (around the backside) of a four-story stone feed mill, with a patio on the banks of Cedar Creek. No food, but they have menus and you can order a pizza from in town and have it delivered to eat it at the pub with your craft beers. Besides their own selection, they rotate guest beers on tap. They also have a very interesting Blonde Root Beer.
Horny Goat - "Every Weekday from 5PM-6PM, stop in for free samples of 2 select beers." Also, "Every Sunday, Horny Goat features a different charity or community group to receive 5%+ of local brewpub sales generated between 11:00am – 5:00pm" (I've had some of their beers, but never been to their brewery/pub, so can't address the experience there.)

 

Very good advice, I agree with this man on all accounts....and don't bother with Horny Goat, their beer flat out sucks and their food is marginal at best. The atmosphere is top notch, good luck finding a beer lover there though!

 

Yes, when we arrived it was 39

I was VERY disappointed that I had missed out on BA Night Train, which was tapped out about 15 minutes before we got there.

My disappointment didn't last long. Marc Buttera more than made up for it. Called the Bottle Stop and had a bottle set aside for us, and got a personal tour of the facility.

 

Where the most logical microbrewery to go to immediately before or after New Glarus Brewery? It looks like Capital Brewery is, however I wanted to check with BA.

 

Capital and/or Ale Asylum. I've heard good things about Karben4, but know little about it. All are in Madison.

 

Karben4 is well worth the trip...Dudes are super personable and willing to show you around, and chat you up about beer. They redid the old Ale Asylum space and it looks awesome.

 

If the question was about tours, taprooms & talking beer with the guys there. Lakefront has all of that even if their beer won't be the absolute best you'll have on your tour of breweries. Sprecher is a fun tour just outside Milwaukee. Tyranena is good and not too far from New Glarus. Keep going west till you're almost out of west to go and you'll find Potosi, I only like their Snake Hollow IPA but their brewery is built for tours and also houses a beer museum

 

I love me some Tyranena, but with three options in Madison (Captal, Ale Asylum, and Karben4), it might not make the cut. Which place has the best food?

And I apologize to the OP on the thread jack. I thought it would be better to ask in here than start a new thread with very similar questions.

 

I only at Ale Asylum once and it was mediocre. I can't speak for Karben4 but I can't wait to visit that place. Don't forget the Great Dane Pub - great food and they make some decent beer. I believe there are 3 Great Dane locations in Madison (check out their website). I liked their Black Earth Porter and they have a nice size menu - a lot to pick from.

 

Wisconsin Brewing Company just opened up, in between Madison and New Glarus. Brilliant location. Haven't tried it yet. Next weekend.

 

I was at Wisconsin Brewing Company last night...probably the closest to New Glarus...about 10 miles away. Basic tasting room, state of the art brewery...they just started brewing, so they only have 4 basic beers. From there, Capital is another 10 miles north. Ale Asylum on the east side of Madison is somewhat interesting as well.

 

I disagree...Riverwest Stein is far superior to any NG beer with the exception to the fruit beers.

 

I've never toured either (been to two others and found them boring)...NG has the reputation of being the coolest...I like Lakefront's beers, but not enough to drive 75 miles to see them in a bunch of kettles.

 

I'd go with Capital, they have a pretty good menu and they're right in the heart of downtown. Karben4 didn't really have a menu aside from Underground charcuterie when I went last but I believe they're doing sandwiches and brunch now? The space at K4 is dreadful IMO, not very welcoming just sort of grey-black modern. The beers there aren't as good or diverse as Ale Asylum but the Fantasy Factory is decent.

 

The brewery is located in suburban Middleton, about 15 miles west of downtown...however, their tied house is downtown, the Capital Tap Haus Tavern: http://www.capitaltaphaus.com/