I want great beer but also a great on site experience. What breweries do you recommend in IL, WI, IN?
Every brewery visit is an experience, but some are better than others. Only you can decide which ones you enjoy the most. However, there are probably a handful of breweries in each of the states that you mention that will give everyone a top-level experience. If you do a search on the Places page, use the state name as your filter, and then look at the scores of the various breweries, those handful of breweries will emerge. But remember, the anticipation of your visit to any brewery is part of the experience, and if you know you're going to a 'Top 5' brewery ahead of time, you'll miss out on part of the total enjoyment.
I'd suggest Bier Brewery in Indianapolis. Every time I've been there they have been superb with tours/info/sampling....really great people!
id suggest New Glarus for sure. they dont have your typical taproom but more of a tasting room like a winery. the brewery is beautiful, the area is beautiful , the town is very cool, and the beer is great. there are a couple other goodies in Madison as well while you are in the area.
Floyd's is an "interesting" experience. The food is great. But be prepared to wait. The Revolution taproom is nice. The brewpub is really good.
If you are going to be more in Northern Indiana / MI / IL then here are just a few of the many: Greenbush (MI) - great beer and awesome food. 18th St. (IN) - Drew and company has been kicking out some fantastic beers. They have food as well, have not eaten there yet but pictures of what they have look fantastic. FFF (IN)- great experience, good food. Yes it gets crowded but I suggest getting there around early afternoon if you want to miss the lunch crowd and beat the dinner crowd. If you are looking to get Zombie Dust I would personally recommend doing and IP with a local ahead of time to insure that you get some. Crown Brewing (IN) - Great beers. Steve has done wonders to this place. New Barrel Aging program has allowed them to keep quality and rotating barrel aging things on tap. New pilot system also allows them to make interesting experiments. They are also connected to a restaurant that has great pizza. Pipeworks (IL) - Only able to get their stuff in bottles at Chicagoland liquor stores but, definitely worth trying. Haymarket (IL) - Great bar, food, and excellent been in downtown. Call ahead for Mathias but other offerings are awesome. Karben4 (WI) - Definitely a great upcoming brewery. Visited them last year for the first time and met the brewer Ryan, great guy and tons of potential. Beers that I have had were all excellent. Just my .02 so take it for what it's worth. All depends on what you are looking for and to do.
