November 28, 2009
This is a huge space, and obviously popular with the college kids. Depending on where you are in building it can be very loud and crowded, or secluded and quaint. They have a good selection of beers. Unfortunately, none of them really stand out except for the Texas Speedbump IPA. I don’t think they have their casks tapped right, as the cask beer certainly didn’t have the feel of cask ale. The only food we tried was the bacon mac ’n cheese pizza, which was mind-blowingly good. Going to attempt recreating it at home, as I have better beer here.

November 26, 2009
Great place for lunch and the Sunday Brunch is outstanding. Good beers and friendly service. The Peanut Stew is delicious.

August 30, 2009
This is Madison’s classic old school brewpub. The place is ginormous and even has a rathskeller downstairs. We were served by a very knowledgeable bartender who seemed to really like beer. Sad, but that’s starting to be a rarity in brewpubs these days as cheapskate owners simply hire whomever are willing to work the cheapest. Sixteen beers were being served the day I was here. Most importantly, they serve one Real Ale (Black Watch Scotch Ale) out of firkins. The beer over all is good, but not great. Definitely worth checking out, although I felt the beer was better at Ale Asylum.

August 24, 2009 [ Updated August 25, 2009 ]
the outdoor seating is nice. Ivy covered walls, old buildings, etc. the one downside was a faint trash smell coming from somewhere. maybe a dumpster on the other side of the wall, who knows. the waitress was really nice and kind of cute. didn’t seem to know anything about beer, but oh well. They had 16 of their beers on tap, but nothing i was really excited about. the menu was nice but the food seemed somewhat rushed. fries were good. worth a visit.

August 15, 2009
Visited the Doty Street location downtown the night before GTMW. This is a great brewpub and a very cool location. The service was outstanding considering this place was so busy (it also helped that our waitress, Erin, was smoking hot). There are several beers to choose from and several seasonal/specialty beers available. The menu had several tempting choices but I chose to go with the burger (recently named by Food Network Magazine as the best burger in Wisconsin). The prices were similar to other brewpubs I’ve visited so there are no complaints from me. This is a must visit place for any beer enthusiaist visiting Madison.

July 29, 2009
Met up at the brewpub to have a few pitchers with some friends. We tried the IPA and the stout. Both were very impressive, I enjoyed the stout especially. The bar has a good atmosphere. Plenty of people but not too crowded. Music was good, and not too loud. This is a great place to hang out with friends. I’m looking forward to try more of their beers.

June 30, 2009
Have visited the Downtown Great Dane Pub several times in the last few years, but giving it’s first rating after visiting last weekend in June 2009 during weekend trip to Madison. Nice cozy (but not smalll) pub that was busy after the Farmers Market ended on Saturday. Still, getting a seat was quick and service was good. Menu does contain the usual pub food but also contains a good selection of eclectic and veggie items (falafels/hummes) that my wife and daughter ordered. I had a cup the West African Chicken Peanut Stew and the Blackened Catfish PoBoy sandwich whick was excellent. Also had a beer sampler (Texas Road Kill IPA was very good; will review in the beer section). I have always enjoyed going to the Great Dane and will return again (hopefully) soon.

March 10, 2009
I was here on a Monday night while UW was on spring break, so it was a pretty quiet night. Still, there were a few people there enjoying some beers in a pubby, comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Pretty good sized bar itself with 16 wide-ranging beers on tap. I didn’t venture outside due to the freezing temperature, but there were a bunch of tables in the bar area, windowed walls to the brewing area, and a separate room for the more dining table-minded patrons. The food was pretty good, and very quick service. Menu was a lot of sandwiches/burgers, and the dinner entrees were better than the average pub fare, though mostly glorified versions of the lunch menu. Friendly bartenders, I’d go back, especially to see the scene on a weekend.

September 13, 2008
Stopped here for dinner after the Great Taste of the Midwest. Beers were pretty good and it had a very lively college town atmosphere. A large place with a very nice beer garden where we ate dinner. Service was ok. Food was very good bar type food with very large portions. This place pretty much put the hammer down on my evening with the good beer and food and I had to go to bed afterwards - which was fine.

September 2, 2008 [ Updated July 8, 2009 ]
The location on the capital loop is nice. It has the early 20th century feel when you walk in, a view of the beer vats and an wide selection of great beer and food. I recommend visiting it, the beer is great. But having been there at least a dozen times, I will say that the service at the downstairs bar is sub-par. Bartenders have little to no personality, and I made my final visit two days ago when it took close to ten minutes to get service at the bar. There were maybe 5 other people there. When they finally did show up, they wouldn’t let my wife, who forgot her I.D. but has visited the Great Dane with me many times in the past several weeks- have a beer. I hate to knock a place, because of just a few bozos, but customer service means alot.