2nd Annual Ultimate Pub Crawl: Wisconsin

[Bruno_78]

Last years trip around New England was so much fun, that I decided to do it again this year. But there's a change of venue. This years trip is going to focus on Wisconsin! (Yea Cheese Curds and Bratwurst!)

The trip will be on my motorcycle, so any other bikers in the area feel free to join me for whatever part of the trip you like. It will all happen during the second week in August.

Here's a preliminary list of breweries and pubs that I've found. If there are any missing breweries or ones on here you think aren't worth the while, Please let me know. I'll be refining this list over the next couple weeks.

BREWERIES
Capital
Lakefront
New Glarus
Sprecher
Tyranena
Gray’s in Janesville
Denmark Brewing

BREWPUBS
Angelic - Madison
Appleton - Appleton
Delafield Brewhaus – Delafield
Great Dane - Fitchburg and Madison
Grumpy Troll - Mount Horub
Hinterland - Green Bay
JT Whitneys - Madison
Moosejaw - Wis. Dells
Old Hayward – Hayward
Rowlands Calumet - Chilton
Silver Creek - Cedarsburg
Titletown - Green Bay
Water Street – Milwaukee
Angry Minnow – Hayward
Hereford and Hops - Wausau
Hops Heaven - Sheboygan (I've always wanted to go to sheboygan)
Milwaukee Ale House - Milwaukee
Onopa – Milwaukee
Railhouse – Marinette
South Shore - Ashland
Lake Louie - Arena
Randy’s Fun Hunters - Whitewater

Not bad for one state, eh? And this is probably only half th e breweries in Wisconsin. I need to narrow this list to approximatley 14. That leaves me with 2 per day. I could do 3 per day if they are close. Like the ones in Milwukee.

Your help is appreciated. Bluesharp, Janna, any other Wisconsiners, Speak up!

[steveh]

14? Hmmm.

One thing I forgot to mention to you off-line, the New Glarus tour is self-guided. Unless you can make some plans before you get there (like shmoozing Dan & Deb Carey by saying you're planning to open a brew-pub and you're looking for pointers), it's a quick spin around the facilities. You'd be better off sampling the NG brews over at the Glarner Stube in town. And yeees, they have brats. ;)

S.

[TOBP_Steve]

Now you're talking, this is something I can relate to. I live outside of Atlanta but I spend my summer vacation every year with the in-laws north of Wausau (so I make a summer trip to Hereford & Hops, including Saturday July 2).

You will want to buy this book:

Wisconsin's Best Breweries and Brewpubs by Robin Shepard

http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/books/2008.htm

You can probably find it cheaper on Amazon or something like that. I own it, and I use it to plan my beer tours each summer. It has addresses, phone#s, websites if applicable, etc.

Actually, you only have about 25% of the breweries, but about 2/3 of the brewpubs. Nice!

If you're going to Wausau, Tomahawk is just up US 51 on the way to Minocqua, and has the Logjam brewery. Kind of mediocre beers though. Keep going up 51 to Minocqua and hit the Minocqua Brewing Co. Decent beer, good food, and very scenic bar, overlooking the lake. From Minocqua, you're shooting distance from Ashland if you keep going up 51 and then head over to US 2 going to Duluth.

Personally, I'd also hit Leinenkugels in Chippewa Falls. Borderline mega brewery, but they have the free samples at the end of the tour, VERY picturesque town, and thus great for a bike ride. And the brewery staff is VERY friendy, I think they give a nice tour. Helps to have a reservation, it's a big tourist stop.

Point Brewery in Stevens Point is also a good tour, not far from 39/51, I did their tour last summer. Again, friendly people, free samples. The tour does cost a couple of bucks, but they give you a chotchkie at the end (a Point blue bullet piggy bank). Instead of ivy growing on the outside wall, they have hop vines. Very cool. Again, borderline mega brewery, but a nice time. Point, H&H, Tomahawk (which you can miss) and Minocqua are in a straight line, 2 to 2-1/2 hours of driving, so you could hit them in one day. But don't miss out on that H&H steak. After I have dinner there in 2 weeks, I'll post a response as to what they have on tap and what's good (although the selection in August may be different).

Sorry for the long response. But get that book, it has a Wisconsin map that shows where the breweries are, and will help you make more efficient use of your time by nailing the clusters.

[davesarman]

I'd also recommend Central Waters brewing in Junction City. I've actually never been there, but I've had their beer many times and it's very good. My brother who lives in WI is near there and says it's pretty cool...small, friendly, samples...

[steveh]

Originally posted by Bruno_78
Silver Creek - Cedarsburg

This one comes highly recommended by some home-brew club friends.

http://www.SilverCreekBrewing.com/

S.

[Bruno_78]

Cool, keep it coming, guys. That's exactly the type of input I'm looking for.

[YamahaXS]

for the madison sites:

Angelic and Great Dane are within a mile of each other... I would be tempted to suggest you start at the Angelic. However, there is also a Great Dane on the south side of town that has more square footage. You'll probably see more hot college girls at the downtown location.

On the other side of town, we have JT Whitneys and Capital Brewing. I believe Capital Brewing closes their beer garden fairly early (around 9 or 10) so start there. Tours have to be arranged ahead of time I think.

Let me know when you'll be in town and I'll join you if I can.

Be careful on that bike!

If you get up to the far north woods then you should cruise along 13 to see Lake Superior.


satelite image (http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=46.764851,-91.476460&spn=0.062914,0.063858&t=k&hl=en)

[steveh]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
On the other side of town, we have JT Whitneys and Capital Brewing. I believe Capital Brewing closes their beer garden fairly early (around 9 or 10) so start there. Tours have to be arranged ahead of time I think.

Tours are 3:30 on Fridays, 1:30 and 3:30 on Saturdays.

http://www.capital-brewery.com/thebrewery/tours.html

S.

[steveh]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
If you get up to the far north woods then you should cruise along 13 to see Lake Superior.

Uh...when do those damn blackflies come out around Superior? They would be ugly on a cycle.

S.

[TOBP_Steve]

Originally posted by steveh
Uh...when do those damn blackflies come out around Superior? They would be ugly on a cycle.

S.

When we enter Wisconsin on I-39 at Beloit (always in early July), we usually have a clean windshield. By the time we hit the Pioneer restaurant and truck stop in Westfield (a good halfway point to gas up, use bathrooms, etc), I have to spend 10 minutes cleaning the windshield. I'd hate to make that trip on a cycle.

[Seymour]

"...Nah, I swallowed a big Junebug up in the pass, so I'm not really hungry..."

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by steveh
Uh...when do those damn blackflies come out around Superior? They would be ugly on a cycle.

S.

just think of it as a protien enhancement program

[steveh]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
just think of it as a protien enhancement program

That's not the point - them suckers bite! HARD! That'd be ugly on your gullet!

S.

[Bruno_78]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I'll be taking my video camera along, trying to talk to brewers and owners and such, gonna try to put together a little amateur documentary on Wisconsin breweries.

[barleypopmaker]

As far as brewpubs go, if you would like to make a little pit stop just off I-43 between Milwaukee and Green Bay there is a nice brewpub here in Manitowoc. I know I have mentioned them in the past, but they really do make pretty good beer, and the food is top notch. The name of the place is the Courthouse pub. I don't think they have tours though, I think the operation is pretty small. But they always have 3 beers on tap (like I said, they are a very small brewpub). I am not sure what they have right now, but I do like the Dopplebock, so if they have it, that would be a good choice.

I have not been to many brewerys or brewpubs in the state, but in my general area I have hit them all at one time.
The only negative comment I have was with Tittletown brewery, all the rest have been good. Tittletown has great food, and the beer was good (the "johnny Blood" was my favorite that day) but the tour was a turn off for me. First we walked in and told the guy at the door we were interested in a tour, so he pointed out we had to ask some lady that was by the bar. So we asked her and she called out to one guy who just didn't want to give us a tour, so they made some other guy give us the tour and the first words out of his mouth when we walked into the brewery room was. "I don't really have anything to do with brewing the beer." and turned out he was a waiter and I knew more about their brewing operation than he did. Then no samples at the end either. But from talking with other people it seemed I hit them on a bad day because others have told me my story was no where near the experience they had. But I have not had any interest in going back because of it. I hope you have better luck than I did.

[Vienna Lager]

It's on the south side of Hwy 10 about 75 yds west of the railroad tracks that go through town(Junction City). Part of the building is old brick dark red in color then there is some beige siding on the east end of it. Look for a yellow with light blue center sign that says Central Waters on it. There is also a Crane or Stork on the sign. I do some home brewing with one of the past owners of the place and the consensus is they have a pretty good product.

[chazwicke]

Welcome to the board Vienna Lager.

Good luck on the trip Bruno. I've been on a small beer trip up in the Green Bay area. (My Green Bay relatives are visiting us right now). And I have been to a few breweries around Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. My mom's home town area.

[fantome]

If you get up in the northwest corner, Twin Ports Brewpub is um... unique. Not the most fashinable place in the world, but pretty good beer. And Superior isn't far from Duluth, MN - home of Fitger's Brewpub and Lake Superior Brewing.

[Ill hophead]

Hey Bruno, Just wanted to say hi. This is Billy, I met you at The Firkin in Libertyville on Sunday sampling the Reissdorf kolsch. Thanks for sending me over here to the forum, lots of good info and cool people. I live just south of the Wisconsin border so maybe I can head up and meet you somewhere in Milwaukee. Have a safe trip!

[chazwicke]

Welcome to the board!

[steveh]

Welcome Hophead, I was on the opposite side of Bruno, giving meager lessons in German and sharing my copy of Ultimate Beer. Good to have some more Chicagoland members on board. You were talking about a beer-tasting in Edgewater, correct?

S.

BTW - I think Bruno is off-line until he gets back home on Weds.

[Ill hophead]

Hey Steve, Sorry I didn't get your name yesterday during our short meeting. I actually have you to thank for directing me here. You looked really familiar to my girlfriend and I, maybe we've just seen you around Firkin.

Anyway, it wasn't a beer tasting I was talking about, I was saying that the Edgewater Pub carries all of the limited availability Rogue Ales. Last year they put out a special Anniversary Ale each month. Right now they have the John's Locker Stock series with a different specialty brew coming out each month or so. You can read about it here http://www.rogue.com/brews.html#JLS. The Edgewater is one of only a handful of pubs across the country to carry these beers. (Muchas gracias to whoever at Rogue sent me the heads up on this!) The address is 5600 n. Ashland at Bryn Mawr if anyone's interested.

Steve, I heard you mention you're a member of a brew club. Which one? I'm thinking about meeting up with a local club for some homebrew tips and resources. Thanks again, see ya around.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Ill hophead
maybe we've just seen you around Firkin.

Me? Naah! ;)

The Edgewater is one of only a handful of pubs across the country to carry these beers.

Nice.

Steve, I heard you mention you're a member of a brew club. Which one? I'm thinking about meeting up with a local club for some homebrew tips and resources. Thanks again, see ya around.

I'm affiliated with the Kenosha Bidal Society, but Brewers on the Bluff - out of Lake Bluff - are a pretty good group too. Check in with Rich at Firkin/Tavern, he's a long-time member - I know they have a web-site too...http://www.clubbob.org/

S.

[hops99]

If you're going to Wausau, Tomahawk is just up US 51 on the way to Minocqua, and has the Logjam brewery. Kind of mediocre beers though.

I take the wife and kids up to Wisconsin every Summer, and we spend a few days at a friend's cottage just a few minutes North of Tomahawk. I've spent a few evenings at Logjam - it's just a tasting room - and the beers are basic. Still, it's a relaxing place to while away a few hours.

There also used to be a place about 15 minutes down the road in Rhinelander called Bugsy's - a little sports bar with a very small brewing system. When I was last there a few years ago, they had 3 or 4 of their beers on tap - nothing memorable for sure, but it was the only "brewpub" I've been to with an indoor basketball court that customers could use. A great way to pass the time on a rainy Northwoods weekday, as I recall.

[Osh]

Originally posted by Ill hophead
" maybe we've just seen you around Firkin.



Me? Naah!"

I'm sure that all the bartenders at the Firken will swear that they've never seen Steve before.

Good to meet you Steve and Bruno. Sorry I got there so late. We'll have to hook up on your bike trip Bruno. Hope you found a decent pizza.

Hophead, that must have been you and your girl, I'm the old fart that came in late with the wife.

Osh

[steveh]

Originally posted by Osh
I'm sure that all the bartenders at the Firken will swear that they've never seen Steve before.

The right palm, and when to grease it. ;)

Hope you found a decent pizza.

Oh, the pizza was superb! Bruno has discovered good Chicago-style thin-crust and DMS - all in the same day! :-)

I'm the old fart that came in late with the wife.

Osh - it dawned on me later who you remind me of - if you haven't watched the HBO series Band of Brothers, rent a copy and watch for the interviews with the actual vets of Easy Co. There's a very distinguished, silver-haired and gouteed vet who could be your brother (can't recall his name - have to check the DVD myself).

S.

[chazwicke]

That was an excellent series. With the possible exception of David Schwimmer.

HBO has churned out some other good ones as well:

Deadwood, Sopranos

and Curb Your Enthusiasm

[Ill hophead]

Osh - it dawned on me later who you remind me of

When I turned and saw Osh behind me I thought he was my supervisor from the Lake County Forest Preserves. He's got a gray goutee and he rides a Harley too. Maybe he's your brother? Probably not. Anyway, it was good to meet you. Maybe we'll see you around the Firkin again sometime.

[steveh]

Originally posted by chazwicke
That was an excellent series. With the possible exception of David Schwimmer.

Schwimmer actually did a pretty good job of portraying Sobel - if you've read Ambrose's book you'll see. But yeah, there were a couple points where he turned into Ross. :rolleyes:

Hophead - you work for the LCFP? My mom and dad are retired from the Countty of Lake - Dad from Central Services, Mom from the Lake County Board (secretary to the liquor commissioner - no, no fringe benefits).

You work all over the county or one specific park?

S.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by steveh
Osh - it dawned on me later who you remind me of - if you haven't watched the HBO series Band of Brothers, rent a copy and watch for the interviews with the actual vets of Easy Co. There's a very distinguished, silver-haired and gouteed vet who could be your brother


I think you're referring to Cpt Winters. That was a great series. I've been wanting to read the book as I hear it's great.

[steveh]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I think you're referring to Cpt Winters. That was a great series. I've been wanting to read the book as I hear it's great.

No, Winters was the good officer, took easy and the 506th through D-day to the war's end, and has just published an autobiography. Sobel was Easy's first commander up to just before Normandy - and the book I mentioned is Stephen E. Ambrose's history of Easy that the series was based on...

And the silver-haired vet (with goutee) was one of the post D-Day replacements. You start seeing his interviews after the first couple episodes - he says something about the vets being heroes to them.

and now we're waaay of topic... :P

S.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by steveh
And the silver-haired vet (with goutee) was one of the post D-Day replacements.

I missed the goatee reference - I haven't watched them in a while - might have to soon.

[steveh]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I've been wanting to read the book as I hear it's great.

And definitely pick up the book - you'll be surprised just how much the series followed it to a T.

...and now back to our regularly scheduled Ultimate Pub Crawl feature...

S.

[TOBP_Steve]

Originally posted by hops99
There also used to be a place about 15 minutes down the road in Rhinelander called Bugsy's - a little sports bar with a very small brewing system. When I was last there a few years ago, they had 3 or 4 of their beers on tap - nothing memorable for sure, but it was the only "brewpub" I've been to with an indoor basketball court that customers could use. A great way to pass the time on a rainy Northwoods weekday, as I recall.

Bugsy's is in my Wisconsin guide to breweries and brewpubs that I mentioned further up in this thread, I'll have to check it out next week. Apparently the one in Ashland is also decent, my MIL and FIL have eaten there. They're not craft brew fans, so if they said it was good it's because the food was good.

[Ill hophead]

Originally posted by steveh
Hophead - you work for the LCFP?
You work all over the county or one specific park?

I'm not working for them anymore but for a couple years I was a seasonal maintenance worker. I was usually stationed at one park at a time but I've worked at every park in the county. I would work 6 months then they'd make me take a month off before coming back for another 6 months. It's their way of screwing me out of benefits.

[Bruno_78]

Ok, I've been gone for a few days. And you all have managed to derail my thread long enough! Back on topic!

[Bruno_78]

Originally posted by steveh



Oh, the pizza was superb! Bruno has discovered good Chicago-style thin-crust and DMS - all in the same day! :-)

S.

Words can't describe my excitment! It was really quite amusing!

Yeah it was good meeting you all. Hophead and Osh, I'll keep you guys posted on where I will be on my trip.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Bruno_78
Words can't describe my excitment! It was really quite amusing!

A beer drinker's epiphany, "I got it! I got it now!" :D

S.

[Bruno_78]

Ok, so I guess words CAN describe it!

[chazwicke]

I'm thinking He STILL doesn't get it.;)

[steveh]

Osh - it dawned on me later who you remind me of - if you haven't watched the HBO series Band of Brothers, rent a copy and watch for the interviews with the actual vets of Easy Co. There's a very distinguished, silver-haired and gouteed vet who could be your brother (can't recall his name - have to check the DVD myself).


Thread subject detour... (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7630)

[BluesHarp]

Hey Bruno...how ya doin' ??

Another good place to check out is The Fox River Brewery in Fratellos's Restaurant in Oshkosh. It is right on the Fox river and has a nice outside patio; lots of people dock their boats there and go in for dinner.
They have good beer as well as decent food ( I have relatives in Oshkosh, I've been there many times).

Second week in August?? I may have to saddle up for part of the journey...:cool:

[Bruno_78]

Where've you been? I've been waiting for your response to all this!

[BluesHarp]

I've been remodeling my upstairs (my house's upstairs, that is ;) )...everything from the subfloor to wiring to insulation and drywall; haven't been online in weeks. Finally finished rocking today...treated myself to some Gumball Head!
It sounds like you have pretty much everything covered, brew-wise.

[chazwicke]

I thought that was what contractors were for!:eek:

[BluesHarp]

Well, that, $50/hr., and a 300% markup on materials!! :mad:

Besides, I get the satisfaction of doing it myself, I lost ten pounds carrying sheets of drywall up to my top floor, and got to buy some cool new tools!

[Bruno_78]

Well It looks like I'll be attending the Great Taste of the Midwest as an ending to my Wisconsin tour. I got signed up on a bus trip, leaving out of Illinois and going up for the day. Should be a nice finale to a potentially awsome trip!

[TOBP_Steve]

Bruno-

I'm back from Wisconsin, I wasn't able to hit any breweries as I hoped, I was a bit busier then expected (fireworks don't blow themselves up, you know....they're illegal here in GA, so I had to get my fix in up there, and I learned two things: my six year old daughter is a pyro, and soybean plants are especially resilient to fireworks).

Anyway, I did get a chance to hit Hereford & Hops in Wausau, and as always they didn't disappoint. They were out of the Whitetail, and as such the Razzberri (which is just flavored Whitetail), but had their exceptional Schwarzbier on tap, as well as a very good German Weisse. Their IPA is available and quite good, as is their black chocolate stout, along with their usual fair...Kulmbacher, Cleary Red, brown ale, etc. I really need to go there in the winter sometime so that I can try the Bock and other seasonals, I've had all their summer beers.

Unfortunately, that means going to N. Wisconsin in the middle of Winter. Not good times. Bad times. ;)

[TOBP_Steve]

Oh, and in other news, I found Capital's Oktoberfest in stock at Carl's in Merrill. I was right, they would have some horribly out of season beer. I lifted it off the shelf, and noticed a black rectangular shape where the sixer was, and then I noticed it was because the entire shelf was dusty. Woah. However, Steveh was right, it holds up well, it tasted gooooood.

I also managed to pick up some New Glarus Black Wheat, Sour Brown Ale and Apple Ale at Triggs in Wausau, they had a very good selection of Wisconsin beers. They also had several varieties of Bells which I've been unable to get in Atlanta, so I grabbed Two Hearted and Oberon Wheat.

[brewcrew76]

Bruno - What is the deal on the bus trip? I already have tickets and am driving since I am visiting friends in Madison that weekend but I am curious about the bus trip for future years.

[Bruno_78]

It's put on through the Firkin, in Libertyville, Il, Just north of chicago. $75, bus trip there and back, admission to the fest, beer on the bus. Should be a good time.

[brewcrew76]

Originally posted by Bruno_78
It's put on through the Firkin, in Libertyville, Il, Just north of chicago. $75, bus trip there and back, admission to the fest, beer on the bus. Should be a good time.

Thanks for the info. I will have to keep that in mind for future years. Looks like it is going to be a long day for you with a 2.5-3 bus ride both ways. Sounds like fun though. Maybe we will bump into each other at the Taste.

[chazwicke]

I hope the bus has a bathroom for the ride home..;)

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I hope the bus has a bathroom for the ride home.

bring an extra growler:)

[fretlessman71]

Just don't drink out of the wrong one... :eek:

[Bruno_78]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I hope the bus has a bathroom for the ride home..;)

Yes, is does. As well as promises of the U.S. bikini team. But I think that was just a joke.

[pango]

cool. I will be at the Railhouse brewery in Marinette the evening of the 11th. There's a group of motorcyclists that I ride with every summer- this year we're riding around Lake Michigan-and will stop in N. Wis. Anybody got an opinion about this place?

[chazwicke]

Welcome to the board.

[TOBP_Steve]

Originally posted by pango
cool. I will be at the Railhouse brewery in Marinette the evening of the 11th. There's a group of motorcyclists that I ride with every summer- this year we're riding around Lake Michigan-and will stop in N. Wis. Anybody got an opinion about this place?

Heard of it, know nothing about it. What I would recommend, however, is if you're coming from the UP, stop an hour short of Marinette in Escanaba MI, and dine at their Hereford & Hops location (they also have locations in Bay City MI and Wausau WI, about 2-1/2 hours west of Marinette). If the Escanaba location is half as good as Wausau's, you'll love it. Grill your own steaks and relax with one of 10 or 12 on-tap beers brewed under their roof.

And if you're coming up from the Green Bay area, drive the extra hour and stay in Escanaba. Or do a loop over to Wausau and hit their location, it's right near where WI 29 crosses I-39.

[steveh]

Originally posted by pango
Anybody got an opinion about this place?

Yeah, but you may not want to hear it...

They had great bluegill sandwiches though!

S.

(to be fair, it's been a few years since I've been there, they may have improved).

[pango]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I really can't deviate from he ride plan. The other stops are Kalamazoo, MI and Petosky, MI. Eccentric Cafe and Bear River Brewing Co. Any thoughts?

[steveh]

Originally posted by pango
Eccentric Cafe...Any thoughts?

Eccentric.
Bell's.
Good.
Go now!

S.

[Bruno_78]

I had a peculiar visit to the Eccentric cafe last year. It was my first visit, and I await the opportunity to go back and give it another go.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by Bruno_78
I had a peculiar visit to the Eccentric cafe last year.

are you sure it wasn't an eccentric visit?

yeah - i know it's pretty bad, but now that I typed it I'm compelled to post it.

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by pango
cool. I will be at the Railhouse brewery in Marinette the evening of the 11th. There's a group of motorcyclists that I ride with every summer- this year we're riding around Lake Michigan-and will stop in N. Wis. Anybody got an opinion about this place?

I've never been there, but did have their beer at a fest...it tasted like it was very green, not good at all... but that was only one experience.

[dcunited81]

just to let you know, if you are planning on stopping at both Hinterland and Titletown here in Green Bay, I would eat at Titletown, Hinterland is so expensive, you can drop 100$ for dinner for two without even blinking, but stop there for the beer, it is excellent. Also just so you know, Hinterland and Titletown are right across the street from each other. Let me know when you are up this way and I'll have to stop and join you for a tour and sampling. I was just at Titletown a few weeks ago and they don't have the beer on tap that won the bronze medal at the world beer cup.

Also, I would recommend stopping at both the Point Brewery and Leinenkugels. Those tours are great, Leine's being my favorite. You can get really close and really good information for the tour guides. The day I was there I got to meet and talk with the brewmaster and see him hard at work, so that was very interesting. Have fun and let me know when you are up this way!! Good luck on your trip.

[dancinwillie]

Hey man,

It's not a brewpub, but it is a righteous place to drink. It's called the Essen Haus.

http://www.essen-haus.com/

It's a german bar/restaurant, and it's an awesome place to drink. I went there a couple of years ago on St. Patrick's Day, and it was the most fun I've ever had.

If you've got the time, it's definately worth checking into.

Oh, b.t.w., make sure you know the rules of the boot game before you play, otherwise you'll spend a lot of money buying the next round!!

Cheers!!!

[steveh]

Originally posted by dancinwillie
I went there a couple of years ago on St. Patrick's Day, and it was the most fun I've ever had.

St. Patrick's Day at a German restaurant, there's something twisted about that - but I'll bet it wasn't terribly crowded! ;)

...otherwise you'll spend a lot of money buying the next round!!

Which is the only reason that vessel was invented...

S.

[YamahaXS]

the Essen house has some great german beers on tap.

[Bruno_78]

Well, the trip that I was supposed to be taking this week has been postponed until later due to a death in a close family. Wisconsin will always be there, I felt I needed to be there for the family.

[steveh]

Originally posted by YamahaXS
the Essen house has some great german beers on tap.

And we'll just about be able to seeee it acorss Lake Monona from the Great Taste park! ;)

S.

[chazwicke]

Gloating does not become you. ;)

[steveh]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Gloating does not become you.

I'd be gloating if I was able to go to both - that was sort of a longing. :(

S.

[Sladek]

Speaking of WI brewpubs, I don't think anyone has mentioned this brewpub in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, Onopa:
http://www.onopabrewery.com

It started in about 2001 and I haven't been there since then, so I haven't actually tried their beers. They are a popular live music venue. I still think Water Street Brewery is probably the best brewpub in Milwaukee.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Sladek
Speaking of WI brewpubs, I don't think anyone has mentioned this brewpub in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, Onopa

Finally got to try their stuff at the Great Taste yesterday, some very nice Belgian styles.

I still think Water Street Brewery is probably the best brewpub in Milwaukee.

Have you been to the Milwaukee Ale House? It has Water Street beat hands down - and I got to meet the brewmaster from the Milw. Rock Bottom at the GT - he's making some great brews.

S.

[Sladek]

Originally posted by steveh
Finally got to try their stuff at the Great Taste yesterday, some very nice Belgian styles.

Have you been to the Milwaukee Ale House? It has Water Street beat hands down - and I got to meet the brewmaster from the Milw. Rock Bottom at the GT - he's making some great brews.

S.

I'm glad to hear good things about Onopa. I hope they stick around. Milwaukee Ale House...drawing a blank. I've been to Water St, Stout Bros. (crap--I think they're closed), and I think the Ale House. Is it the new pub in the 3rd Ward? Yeah, I do remember some good brews at that Rock Bottom. You all will have to fill me in on this Great Taste--do you mean Midwest? I'll be moving back, so...

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by Sladek
Speaking of WI brewpubs, I don't think anyone has mentioned this brewpub in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, Onopa:
http://www.onopabrewery.com

It started in about 2001 and I haven't been there since then, so I haven't actually tried their beers. They are a popular live music venue. I still think Water Street Brewery is probably the best brewpub in Milwaukee.

The WSB in Milwaukee is OK...the newer one in Delafield (across the Interstate from Delafield Brewhaus) is pretty bad; I find their beers very bland and nondescript.
Delafield beats them hands down....at least IMHO. :)