Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison

[cactusgarrett]

Ale Asylum had an amber called Ambergeddon.

Their Ambergeddon, as well as their Hopalicious have quickly become Madison-area mainstays. Very solid brews.

 

[Rottnme]

Their Ambergeddon, as well as their Hopalicious have quickly become Madison-area mainstays. Very solid brews.

All hail Ambergeddon :rockin: The hop is good but it has lost its luster with me. I'm not overly impressed with their new hop concoction though.

 

[jacksonbrown]

Their Belgian ales are fantastic. Tripplenova should be out on the shelves pretty soon. Yumm yumm yum.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I absolutely love going to Ale Asylum and just sitting there with their sampler.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Living in Rockford, you'd think I would be in Madison more often. Not so. I hadn't ever had the opportunity to try Ale Asylum or Great Dane. After the Great Taste, me and a buddy headed down to the local bar scene to try and find some good beers.

He used to live in Madison, so knew his way around pretty well. He took me to Great Dane which I thought was a fantastic brewery. Not so much for their beers, but the place was just cool to sit in. The beer garden was great. I was drunk at this point, but I believe I tried a Belgian that was served in a monster goblet. I also got to experience the Essenhaus, which was a treat.

 

[Rottnme]

Living in Rockford, you'd think I would be in Madison more often. Not so. I hadn't ever had the opportunity to try Ale Asylum or Great Dane. After the Great Taste, me and a buddy headed down to the local bar scene to try and find some good beers.

He used to live in Madison, so knew his way around pretty well. He took me to Great Dane which I thought was a fantastic brewery. Not so much for their beers, but the place was just cool to sit in. The beer garden was great. I was drunk at this point, but I believe I tried a Belgian that was served in a monster goblet. I also got to experience the Essenhaus, which was a treat.

Mad town can be pretty cool.

Great Dane's beers have gotten much better over the last 5 years or so but they are not the best in town they can be very hit or miss, two weeks ago they were a miss. I typically go for the cask ales.

Essen....well, it has to be experienced but their lines are never cleaned, the place stinks like the stale beer the UW kids spill on the weekends and they never seem to rotate thier stock. Proof of this is that they ALWAYS have Spaten Octoberfest. Maybe I'm missing something but as far as I know it's only made once a year and it is gone as quickly as it can go out the door, not at Essen. My final straw thier was the April/May day I was sitting at the bar next door (both are owned and run by the same people) waiting for some friends at shift change time and I listened to the new bartender coming in ask what the "Spring Ale" was that the manager just put on the board. He explained that it was the S.N. Celebration Ale and that he was changing the name so that they could finish the keg. Needless to say, I don't go there much anymore...

 

[Grinder12000]

I like all Ale Asylum brews - funny - a friend said "I've tried beer from all over the world and I find out the best is 500 yards from my house" LOL

I can not think of an Ale Asylum brew I have not liked - all hail home brewers (which they were)!!!

 

[MeatyPortion]

There's a brew pub on Madison's west side that opened in 2007 I think. Granite City. it's ok. I'm a mug club member there. I usually meet a buddy for a beer or two there for lunch.

I'm not really a huge fan of most of their beers but their IPA I like, likewise with their Stout. Their Oktoberfest beer was pretty bad in my opinion. Still, it's a nice place to sit and have a quiet lunch if I'm on that side of town.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Mad town can be pretty cool.

Great Dane's beers have gotten much better over the last 5 years or so but they are not the best in town they can be very hit or miss, two weeks ago they were a miss. I typically go for the cask ales.

Essen....well, it has to be experienced but their lines are never cleaned, the place stinks like the stale beer the UW kids spill on the weekends and they never seem to rotate thier stock. Proof of this is that they ALWAYS have Spaten Octoberfest. Maybe I'm missing something but as far as I know it's only made once a year and it is gone as quickly as it can go out the door, not at Essen. My final straw thier was the April/May day I was sitting at the bar next door (both are owned and run by the same people) waiting for some friends at shift change time and I listened to the new bartender coming in ask what the "Spring Ale" was that the manager just put on the board. He explained that it was the S.N. Celebration Ale and that he was changing the name so that they could finish the keg. Needless to say, I don't go there much anymore...

QFT on Essen Haus smelling like a piss tube. My wife ordered nachos there and the sour cream was half frozen, with a piece of plastic in it which my wife almost ate. We got her dinner for free and have never gone back.

 

[cactusgarrett]

There's a brew pub on Madison's west side that opened in 2007 I think. Granite City. it's ok. I'm a mug club member there. I usually meet a buddy for a beer or two there for lunch.

I'm not really a huge fan of most of their beers but their IPA I like, likewise with their Stout. Their Oktoberfest beer was pretty bad in my opinion. Still, it's a nice place to sit and have a quiet lunch if I'm on that side of town.

Granite City is actually a chain. I wouldn't consider them a microbrew or brewpub. I've heard they ship their wort in and only ferment on site.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Granite City is actually a chain. I wouldn't consider them a microbrew or brewpub. I've heard they ship their wort in and only ferment on site.

This is correct. We got a Granite City in Rockford a few years ago. The place was packed until people found out they didn't really brew the beer there. I went there for my birthday last year and wasn't impressed with the beer. I guess you lose quality when you brew for a chain. I couldn't even choke down the stout. The IPA is the only thing I could stand to drink. The food, on the other hand, is excellent. Try the Cuban if you get a chance. Great sandwich.

I didn't notice the smell of essenhaus, but I was already drunk and probably wreaked of beer myself. I thought it was a fun place...but if the stories are true, I won't be back.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Well, they do have a set up for brewing at the one in Madison so I'm pretty sure they brew their own there, and I'm aware that it's a chain but so is the Great Dane brew pub.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Do they actually produce wort there yet? Last time i was (about a year ago) they didn't.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I'm pretty sure most of the Granite City restaurants only ferment the beer. As for Great Dane...I knew something felt a little different when I walked in there. It didn't feel like a brewery to me. Maybe it was the beer... It sort of reminded me of Granite City.

 

[cactusgarrett]

I don't think the Dane is a chain, per se, is it? True, there are 3 locations, but it's owned by the same people and centralized to Madison.

 

[jacksonbrown]

Four now, they just opened one in Wausau a couple months back. They're all owned and operated by the same folks, so I don't know if that's a chain. But they are growing. Because of them wanting to open more locations all the brew pub laws in WI were changed about two years back. And now if you're a new face and want to open brewery or pub, it SUCKS! Also, I am not a huge fan of their beers. I think they try too hard.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Do they actually produce wort there yet? Last time i was (about a year ago) they didn't.

I guess that could be, I never asked and just assumed they would I guess. I basically just go there for food and a huge mug of beer for cheap with friends. Why did I get a mug club membership? Peer pressure.

 

[jacksonbrown]

Yeah they food is way better than the beer.

 

[Mattbastard]

I am not a huge fan of their beers. I think they try too hard.

Word! Nothing special to me about their brews.