Two weeks ago, I kicked off the list with the delicious dive bar brews of the Malt House at No. 10, following Cooper’s Tavern’s rustic atmosphere and conservative tap list, which filled the No. 9 spot. The next bar on the list offers a similar modern exposed-brick and wood interior design, with two full bars and plenty of American craft beers to choose from.
8. Brickhouse BBQ
With its older crowd, gastropub décor and menu and extensive drink list, Brickhouse feels like it belongs on the Capitol Square. Then again, considering it’s still snowing in mid March, I’m certainly not complaining about the shorter walk. The food is good, and the whiskey menu is long, but I’m coming here for the craft beer: nearly 40 on tap at all times.
The line-up tends to sample from midwestern breweries and has on occasion featured beers like Bell’s Hopslam, Central Waters Barrel Aged Barleywine and New Holland’s Dragon Milk Imperial Stout, along with the more commonly found Founders, Bell’s, Goose Island and New Belgium Seasonals. You also get a decent selection of Wisconsin breweries, though less so than bars like the Old Fashioned. If we are lucky, we might even see the almighty Founders KBS make an appearance at Brickhouse shortly after the brew’s release in April.
7. Maduro
Madison, as a city, would not be the same without the leather air chair, dim lighting and cigar-smoke-filled hipster oasis that is Maduro. Careful not to let itself fall into the stereotypical old-man cigar bar (think 1960s jazz music, lung cancer and waiters dressed like the Rat Pack), Maduro manages to draw in the young and the hipster with alt/electronic music and great drinks.
The beer list is not that long, with close to 20 taps, but there are no fillers here. Seek out rare seasonals from Bell’s and Dark Horse, with some decent Belgians thrown in the mix as well. The staff is also usually pretty beer savvy, so don’t hesitate to tell them what you feel like and ask for a suggestion. Then again, if there’s a time or a place to skip beer all together, order a nice whiskey or scotch and a cigar and embrace the pretentiousness you are far too young to indulge otherwise, well, Maduro is not a bad choice.
Niko will continue his series about Madison bars throughout the semester. His beer column runs every other Thursday. Send comments to ivanovic@wisc.edu.
