Madison’s best beer bar is...
This week, Niko wraps up his list of the 10 best craft-beer bars in Madison.
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This week, Niko wraps up his list of the 10 best craft-beer bars in Madison.
This is the third installment in Niko’s series of the best beer bars in Madison.
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.
I have been waiting, “researching” and reflecting about this column for a long time: a carefully crafted, undeniably subjective and inevitably controversial list of the best beer bars in Madison. Before I even get started, I want to warn you this is really just one beer geek’s opinion and that every single bar on this list is a must-try for any admirers of the almighty ale.
One of the best—and admittedly most confusing—elements of craft beer is the seemingly endless list of styles that brewers toss around. For the adventurous, such limitless variety creates an optimism in tasting new brews, as even the most experienced beer drinkers are bound to stumble upon something new eventually. But for everyone else, the giant range of flavors can be intimidating, too often forcing you to take a shot in the dark when ordering something new. Though I can’t touch upon nearly every beer style out there, I’ll do my best to help.
Capital Brewery has been a Wisconsin institution for craft beer ever since the movement began gathering momentum a couple decades ago. Founded on the idea of bringing quality German-style lagers and ales to an audience who had become far too accustomed to drinking boring macrobrews, Capital found success by bridging the gap between bad beer and introductory craft brews. However, in the midst of an all-out craft-beer revolution, the brewery has to ask itself if this mentality is beginning to hold it back.
With giant marketing campaigns bombarding consumers with complete nonsense keywords such as “triple hopped” and “finest country barley,” it’s not a surprise that the majority of Americans out there actually believe that the watered down macrobrews they are drinking constitute good beer.
The warm, hop-heavy days of summer-session drinking on rooftop patios and Capitol Square beer gardens have long gone, forcing us beer geeks to stay home and find comfort in a fridge full of boozy, dark and rich ales. Thankfully, the craft-beer industry feels our pain, consistently saving many of its best and most ambitious beers for the cold winter months. Today’s column is devoted to highlighting the best of the winter seasonal beers to be released in the following months.
Randomly wandering through Union South a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a flyer, posted somewhat unnoticeably under The Sett food menu, highlighting four specialty craft beer offerings. Considering the relatively limited selection at the Memorial Union, I wasn’t expecting much, but as my eyes fell upon the last beer on the list, my jaw dropped.
Madison’s new One Barrel Brewery opts for quality over quantity: it crafts its unique brews one by one. And though proprietor and brewer Peter Gentry may not have expected such a business model to result in kegs that sell out in a single night, challenging him to match supply with each week’s rising demand, he certainly isn’t complaining.
While the macrobrew industry has been churning out nearly identical products for the past few decades, investing their innovative efforts in new advertising campaigns and branding gimmicks, the craft beer community has thrived in pursuing the untested and unknown.
We actually sell five to six kegs of this a week, which is second most of any bar in the country,” mentioned Matt Van Nest, owner and founder of Brasserie V, as I sipped contently on their house beer.
Today’s column brings the conclusion to the Wisconsin Battle of the Breweries, an ambitious taste test battle of seven of the Badger state’s greatest beer crafters. If you missed my last column, here is a quick summary of what the beer battle was all about:
From Miller-Coors to Pabst Blue Ribbon to the impressive list of craft brewers that call it home, and hell even our baseball team, Wisconsin is in many ways the beer state. We also consume more beer per capita than 44 of the 50 states, and UW-Madison will forever hold the honor of being the first public university with a student union that serves beer.
Though Brickhouse BBQ may not highlight any of our Friday night drunken pregame debates about where to go get wasted, the spot is undeniably great in the right context. I probably won’t make too many friends over at Alcoholics Anonymous for this suggestion, but the restaurant is arguably the perfect day-drinking spot.
This article marks my first post in a series of columns about Madison craft beer. An avid beer enthusiast for a while now, I’ve founded and operated a beer blog with a few friends for over a year and couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity to write exclusively about Madison’s best beer, bars and brewpubs. However, before I jump into the heart of the craft beer scene surrounding UW-Madison, I want to take the time to tell you why I love writing about beer in the first place.