wisconsin beer

I'm a big fan of Surly beers.

 

Central Waters Brewery in Amhurst, Wisc. They specialize in bourbon barrel stouts and ales, and the are damed good at it. If they have Brewer's Reserve BBS, you gotta try this! I'm a huge fan of stouts and this truly is among the absolute BEST!

 

Haha. Is this a subliminal diss to Wisconsin beers?

 

You rated Spotted Cow lower than the average already?

Anyway..

Central waters BB scotch ale if you can find it.

They get Toppling Goliath beers too so if you haven't tried Psuedosue or Golden Nugget, or.....try the TG brews.

 

I feel it's almost too obvious to say but: New Glarus Brewing Co. That place is beyond beautiful.

 

We started getting CW distro in NY some time last year or so and their barrel aged stuff is wildly underrated! Seek as much of it out as possible.

 

No, but as long as your up that way.... I do like NG brews.

 

If you like Berliners, or sour beer in general, keep an eye open for Schell's Noble Star Collection. Cypress Blanc, Dawn of Aurora, and Starkeller Peach. The peach may be tough to find but the other two are around and they're legit.

Anything from Central Waters is good. That place can brew. The four packs and/or bombers will be your best bet if taking freshness into consideration.

Scream IIPA from New Glarus is excellent and I would think a new seasonal and/or Thumbprint will be out any day now, but I'm probably wrong.

Tyranena's Brewers Gone Wild series is usually really good. Give those a try, there are a few different styles on the shelves right now.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Where in Wisconsin are you going?

 

You've got to have some NG Raspberry Tart or Wisconsin Belgian Red.

 

Fair enough. It's not bad for a session beer if there are not a lot of other options. I've drank it many times all night...definitely better than BMC.

 

New Glarus Raspberry Tart/Belgian Red/Serendipity, and Berliner Weisse if you can find it. Scream is a must if you can find it relatively fresh. Moon Man is a fantastic pale ale, and Staghorn is a very good American Oktoberfest.

Anything barrel-aged from Central Waters is awesome.

Tyranena's Brewers Gone Wild series has lots of nice beers.

Lazy Monk does an incredible Bohemian Pilsner, and all their other beers are very good American-brewed German-styles.

Karben4 does a lot of really nice things, especially along the hoppy lines.

If you see Black Husky stuff, definitely pick it up, too.

Pick up any Toppling Goliath you see. They're not WI of course, but they are very much worth the hype. Bombers take precedence over four-packs since the four-packs were contract-brewed and are not of the same quality as the bombers brewed in Decorah.

 

I assume you'll be driving through Madison on your way up? Stop by Steve's on Mineral Point if you have time. Steve's is your best option. Zinke's Market in the Dells has a nice little selection, well thought out. If you don't have time to stop at those places, they're not much of a detour off 90/94, almost all gas stations will have the New Glarus basics. Two Women, Moon Man, Spotted Cow, and the seasonals (Pumpkin Pie Lust). Some will even have the Thumbprints.

If you like pilseners give Two Women a try. It's delicious.

 

Yes, buy Black Husky stuff if you see it.

 

This is a pretty solid list. Some aren't readily available though as they were brewery only.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/state/wi/

 

Any 4 packs from Tyranena or Central Waters, although the best Tyranena stuff is only at the tap room right now. If you're not traveling between Madison and Milwaukee, Lake Mills is probably out of your way.
One brewery no one has mentioned is 3 Sheeps; any variation on their black wheat ale is worth a try, there are several available right now, and they're all pretty unique.

 

If you will still be up that way on Saturday central waters is having their black gold release at noon. If you like barrel aged stouts its the best in WI and better than anything else ive had the chance to try. They're just east of Stevens point. The bottles are pre sold and tickets are sold out but the leftovers will be sold at 4 and it will be on tap along with a ton of other good beer from them and other WI breweries.

 

You'll be passing close by Tyranena's brewery, Trixie's Liquor in Madison, Liquor Central and Showboat Saloon in Wisconsin Dells. All of those stops are possible without getting too far off track.

My personal favorites are Alpine Liquor in Cottage Grove (just SE of Madison, about 15 minutes out of the way), Discount & Ray's in Milwaukee (if you're passing through the city- Discount probably has the best all around selection in the state), and Coffee Grounds and Firehouse in Eau Claire. Eau Claire Brewing Projekt and Lazy Monk are worth checking out if you make it up there.

I always recommend Black Husky as something to pick up that you won't find anywhere else.