Latest reviews from Monroe
| 86 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Visited November 2018. Very cool place! Sort of a little dive bar, seemed we were the only people there that weren't locals on the Sunday evening we popped in. We didn't get food, but wished we hadn't just eaten dinner elsewhere. All the sandwiches looked and sounded amazing! Great taplist, lots of locals and a few crappy/light brews like PBR, Hamm's, etc. We will definitely be back and look forward to getting food!“ |
| 82 /100 1208 14TH AVE “This is a great place, has a beer museum that i didn't go to, but for 12 buck you have unlimited samples (about 40 selections draft and bottle/can, and yes they let you pound) for 20 minutes to tick and a free (albeit horrible 6 pack of beers to take home). Really friendly and accommodating staff. tons of cool merchandise and lots of malt lqiuors for purchase. The restaurant across the street has decent curds. They have a distillery and winery as well. Overall this is a proper destination brewery much like a new glarus or leines, just the beer is not always what people are looking for. The jaguar ice was cold and delicious. You can also get a free beer if you are with someone doing the 12 dollar tasting. Again the only real drawback here is the beer quality but with their giant selection there are always 2 or 3 that are inoffensive and tolerable.“ |
| 76 /100 Bartel’s & Co. Tap (Bar) 1012 17TH AVE “Supero bar a l’ambiance Midwest. Le pop-corn et les cacahuètes sont à volonté :)“ |
| 84 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “(October 2016) - time to update after a decade and half a dozen visits in the last 3 years. The tap selection has increased to 24 and includes a bunch of Wisconsin micros (New Glarus and O’So most prominently on my last visit) and at least a couple of German choices; the food is basic but even in Wisconsin limburger sandwiches aren’t that easy to come by, and their homemade soups and desserts have been pretty terrific. Among my absolute favorite eating & drinking spots in the Midwest.
(2006) This is an awesome old (1931) bar/restaurant/cheese shop/tap room (for Huber beer with which it is affiliated) that must be visited by all Wisconsonites or those who wish to be. Taps are mostly Huber products, including Berghoff, but bottle selections include a reasonably wide range of WI micros, including New Glarus Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart, Capital, Lakefront, etc. Most if not all of the tap/bottled beers are available for offsite sale as well. Atmosphere is quintessential old Wisconsin tavern, and how can you pass up a liverwurst/limburger/onion on rye sandwich? Barroom gets smoky; front shop is smoke free. Check out the price on the 12(!)-year-old cheddar. Original score 74“ |
| 70 /100 Bartel’s & Co. Tap (Bar) 1012 17TH AVE “First visit, October 2016. Classic old Midwestern tavern that looks like it was last remodeled (or created) in the 60s or 70s - wood paneling everywhere, a fake-leather-topped bar, really worn bar stools (that were about 3 inches too short for comfort - and I’m over 6 feet tall). Friendly servers, prices were right - and the beer selection is the best I’ve seen in this town with several from Bells & New Glarus, some Lena, Three Floyds, etc. Baumgartner’s (right across the square, a 3-5 minute walk) has better atmosphere and has food, but if it’s just selection you’re after this might be your pick. Or both!“ |
| 74 /100 Monroe Beverage Mart (Beer Store) 3101 13TH ST “First visit, October 2016. Like the previous user I would not expect much from this old stand-alone block building on the east side of town, but inside there’s a pretty solid selection, with prices that are only a little higher than in the larger cities that I mostly buy from. And the (empty) bottle collection above the (for sale) bottles is pretty darn cool. Really solid Wisconsin-Illinois selection with more O’so beers in one spot than I usually see, virtually all of Ale Asylum’s line, a bunch of stuff from Bos Meadery that I haven’t seen elsewhere, etc. I’d be surprised if there’s a better overall choice for beer in town, though there is a Brennan’s Market on the west side with an interesting selection of uncommon western micros. Certainly worth a stop if you’re in town.“ |
| 72 /100 1208 14TH AVE “I never took the tour but I stopped in to check out their selection and purchase some beer while in Monroe. The service was fantastic and many items were very cheap. I would rate the brewery higher but the quality of their beer is for the most part subpar.“ |
| 92 /100 1208 14TH AVE “This place rocks! It’s a huge brewery next door to a middle school. Very Wisconsin of them. I was expecting a small brew pub, instead this place lid a massive Laverne & Shirley era looking behemoth of a brewery and distillery. Service is unbelievable. Stopped in to take a piss and my two friends and I each got offered a free 20 oz draft of our choice. Then she brought out e Crunk Juice samples. Fuckin’-A...tall cans of that malt likka were only $0.99. I left with more than a case of Crunk, a promo pack that included three 22 oz beer bombers and a glass for $5.99 and some cheese curds. Also got some sodas and schwag. They have a micro distillery, too. $6 gets you plenty of enjoyment in the tasting room and $4 more gets you a bottle of vodka to take home. Fuck yeah! The barley vodka and apple moonshine are actually very good. My friends liked the creme liquor, too. I. Will. Be. Back.“ |
| 86 /100 Bartel’s & Co. Tap (Bar) 1012 17TH AVE “For a tap-only beer bar tucked away in Monroe, wi, this place has an amazing selection of (mostly local) micros. Don’t let that statement fool you though, they do have liquor for your friends that don’t drink beer.
The owners take pride in their bar and treat all of their patrons like friends. When I moved to town they had me hooked right in to their "bar family" on my first visit.
See their beer selection here: http://www.beermenus.com/places/8929-bartels-co-tap
There are other bars in town, but not one with a tap-beer selection like Bartels.“ |
| 68 /100 1208 14TH AVE “Went on a Tour here in June of 2013. Very fun. Very friendly staff. All the beer you can drink before and after the tour. I’d recommend this tour to almost anyone. The only thing is, the beer is aweful. So bad it’s almost funny. Still though, I had a blast here. Beer snobs should stay away, since they will be highly disappointed in their beer.“ |
| 80 /100 Monroe Beverage Mart (Beer Store) 3101 13TH ST “Drove up not expecting much based on the aging exterior, but found a respectable craft beer selection inside, and an extensive bottle collection spanning 50 years since the store opened, according to the friendly clerk. So many cool old labels from decades past, and a few more recent ones like the original Edel-Pils.
The beer selection is in the back coolers and adjacent shelves, the coolers are helpfully organized by style, something you don’t see too often. Lots of variety, mostly an american craft focus. New Glarus Thumbprint beers, Berliner Weisse was here, and Winter Warmer still too, not a hot seller I guess. Ale Asylum and Capital seasonals, Bells, Lagunitas, FFF, NB La Folie, Alaskan, Founders, and more. Hopothesis beers were featured, I guess they contract at Minhas. The unique find for me was locally brewed Pecatonica Nightfall Lager (on sale too). It’s currently contract brewed at Minhas by the owners/brewers of Pecatonica, who are opening a taproom in Warren, IL soon.
Overall an unlikely find in this small town, not too far from New Glarus.“ |
| 76 /100 1208 14TH AVE “Visited on a Wednesday afternoon in July. The tour was packed! For such an historic place that is still among the country’s biggest brewers, I was a little amazed at the condition of the brewing facilities. The tour was pretty fun and Midwestern-kitsch, complete with an overly animated Wisconsin lady that’s been at the Huber/Minhas Brewery for way too long. And if you don’t know anything about brewing, it might be somewhat interesting. But instead, you leave a little aghast that this place is still going in this condition. That said, the tour is a GREAT deal -- for $10 you score almost unlimited samples of their not-very-good, but not-disgusting-either beers, plus a 45-60 minute wander around this interesting rundown-but-historic campus, plus a little gift pack of a few beers, a soda and a souvenir glass. You can’t beat that deal, hence the high rating, and it’s worth the stop if you’re in the neighborhood, for sure. (Brewery #608)“ |
| 100 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Awesome place. Wandered in here with the lady after getting blasted at the Minhas brewery down the road (woot for my DD). Were greeted right away and given a seat, even though it was a pretty busy Saturday night. Asked the server about a beer list and he just pointed to his head and said "right up here". He then listed off about 30 beers. Had a couple pretty good suggestions for me NG Apple ale and Ale Asylum Hopalicious. Food was absolutely awesome. I got the Ruben (the benchmark to judge all bar food against). Pretty kicking. Not toasted bread and no salad dressing...and probably one of the best I’ve had. Not sure how much stuff cost. Luckily, my lady paid. It must have been a good deal because she didn’t say anything about it. I remember seeing around $3 for most of the cheese sandwiches and $5 for most meat sandwiches. I also grabbed a NG mix 6pack for about 8 bucks I think. This place is great. I can’t wait to go back, but more soberly this time.“ |
| 100 /100 1208 14TH AVE “By far the best brewery tour I’ve been on. For $10 you get unlimited "sampling" (full pints) before and after the tour, a pint glass to take home and a 6pk of beer. I sampled Minhas Chocolate Bunny, Imperial Jack, Oktoberfest, Mystical Jack, Swiss Amber, Lazy Mutt, Huber Premium, Huber Bock, Rhinelander Beer, Boxer and Boxer Light. The place looks cool too. Kinda like a TGIFridays with a bunch of wacky shit all over the walls and ceiling, but all beer related. Plus, there is a huge museum that is included in the tour. You really can’t beat this one.“ |
| 86 /100 Monroe Beverage Mart (Beer Store) 3101 13TH ST “Cool little place. Stopped in here on the way home after hitting up Minhas and Baumgardners in Monroe. Decent little selection scattered around the store. 2012 BCS just sitting around on the warm shelf with a bunch more in the reach-in kinda surprised me. Grabbed one of those, a New Glarus Serendipity and Raspberry Tart 750ml and a mix-a-6 with some Sprecher, O’so, Upland, and Tyranena beers. Worth a stop if youre going through town to see what goodies they got.“ |
| 76 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Had a blast there during the Cheese Festival. Freindly abundant people and a festive atmosphere. A must go back to place to observe it with a lot less people.“ |
| 52 /100 1208 14TH AVE “Kinda dirty, kinda scary and kinda cool. Got there late and figured what the hell and they were super nice and showed us around (even though we were the only ones there and close to closing) The beer rankings are pretty accurate but it’s a nice place to see how the old breweries did it.“ |
| 66 /100 1208 14TH AVE “Very cool spot. Old brewery (claims to be the oldest in the midwest). Tours available and a gift shop with glassware, to-go beer, a small pub with tap beer, etc. Also has a great beer museum - they say about $500k in beer memorabilia, ranging from matchbox-car like beer trucks (hundreds of these) to signage, serving trays, coasters, cans, advertising, tap handles, etc.“ |
| 76 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Just happened onto this after touring Minhaus down the street. A simple menu with laid back atmosphere. Very delicious sandwiches and cheese. Wait staff was very friendly and somewhat humorous. A great value as the great tasting sandwiches were dirt cheap. Overall, a great local experience and my wife and I recommend it if you’re in downtown Monroe.“ |
| 72 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “This place is a time machine with a feel more my parent’s age, than my own. They also have 7 regional taps with a larger bottle selection. Sauasage, cheese and sandwiches menu as well as chili and soups. Cheap friendly old school place. Worth a stop to soak up the atmosphere and chili, if nothing else.“ |
| 70 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Delicious sandwiches. Fast service. The bar was packed when we were there, so we sat in front at a table. Great look and feel to this time capsule.“ |
| 76 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “Awesome decor. Very warm, old world feel. The murals of the beer vs. wine battle was great. Cheese platter was great to go down with the brews. Draft selection was mainly from Minhas / Huber, which are ok. Bartenders and servers were very friendly. Worth the stop and will do so every time I am in the area. What a gem!“ |
| 80 /100 1023 16TH AVENUE “This place is epic. I was all set to add it to the site but it’s already here. Huzzah! This is the famous limburger sandwich shop, and we did go in head-first and get a limburger sandwich because there’s no way it’s as bad as everyone says. Right? Wrong. Limburger cheese contains the same bacteria found on human skin that cause BO. And yes, it tastes and smells like a stinky old bachelor. But we were brave foodies and each ate half of our sandwich that morning, only to pay for it later. See, I got food poisoning later that night in Madison, and as I’m trying to control my nausea I found it impossible to get the thought of the smell and taste of the limburger out of my head, so up comes a day of drinking and eating in a 2am yakkfest. Wonderful. Back on topic, this place is a gem. They have New Glarus Belgian Red on draft (!!) as well as a few from the crappy Huber’s/Berghoff brewery down the road, but overall it’s a good place to grab a beer with a good cheese sandwich (the brick cheese, not the limburger). Also their chili was damn good. I love this place, and I’ll have pics up shortly on flickr from our visit. It was worth the small detour on the way from Iowa to New Glarus and Madison.“ |
