Reviews on PubCrawler from rick bie PubCrawler.com - International Travel Search Engine Find Bars, Brewpubs and Microbreweries, Restaurants, Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and Historic Landmarks
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Reviews on PubCrawler from rick bie
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Been here a bunch of times, most recently in Jan 06. As in the past, there were 30 beers on tap this last time, including at least 3 pale ales - including 3 Floyds Alpha King - a couple of Belgians, a German dunkel weiss to satisfy my wife, and New Glarus Belgian Red to keep me happy. I don't understand how the last 2 reviews can objectively rate the beer selection as merely "good." If Benno's beer selection is only "good," maybe these people can give us a list of 10-15 places where the beer selection is better. We didn't eat, and the bar was too smoky, but our bartender was remarkably efficient. Benno's is one of the ten best beer bars in Wisconsin.
They had an ESB and a chocolate mint stout on tap, and their seasonal brew, the "Birkie Beer," tasted like a classic German helles. They serve a pasta dish with kalamata olives and artichokes, a smoked duck breast salad, and a Cuban pulled pork sndwich, all of which rock. On the downside, the barroom is too smoky and our server forgot about us one night. This isn't just a great place because it's in distant Ashland; it would be a great place if it was in Milwaukee or the Twin Cities.
This is a comfortable place, but in comparison to other Badger State brewpubs, the quality and selection of beers here is at best average. The food menu, on the other hand, is creative and what we tasted was really well prepared. Service at the bar was terrific; in the dining room it was slow and inattentive. All in all, the new ownership seems to have improved things considerably.
Birkebeiner day had this handsome old building mobbed with friendly XC skiers; nonetheless, bartenders were affable and prompt. We only ate soup - shrimp bisque was great, chili was alright. Beers, though, rocked. American Pale Ale had a huge floral hoppiness, and the Stout is as good a dry stout as I've ever tasted in a US brewpub. Fun day, fun place.
Good+. The quality of Central Waters beers is legendary, and it's great to finally find 10 of them on tap at their new pub. I was disappointed that 2 of my favorite non-seasonals, the IPA and the pale ale, were absent. A new beer, the Loch Ness Scotch Ale, is a phenomenal, huge beer and was the star of the show. Other new brews were good representations of their style, but didn't knock me dead. The building is a really sharp, contemporary restoration of an old dairy - well done. Our bartender poured our beers, served us an appetizer, and was mostly somewhere other than behind the bar.
Augsburger Gold and Dark have been brewed for the last year or so by our local Stevens Point Brewing Co. I think that Point nailed the old Augsburger recipes perfectly, as far as I can remember them (do you ever forget a terrific taste?). But Huber does a nice job with the Berghoff line, and Huber Bock is still the best bargain in the beer universe.
Best bar in Wisconsin. Guinness on tap, with the obligatory shamrock in the foam. All of the Central Waters beers in bottles, including most of the seasonals. Friendly, witty, mostly BS-free clientle here; these are the type of characters that "Northern Exposure" wished they could have written. And Clancey is as good an Irish bartender as you'll find on this side of the Atlantic. To top it off, you'll never find this country bar without GPS. So you're just going to have to trust me on this one. Or get GPS.
Best bar in Wisconsin. Guinness on tap, with the obligatory shamrock in the foam. All of the Central Waters beers in bottles, including most of the seasonals. Friendly, witty, mostly BS-free clientle here; these are the type of characters that "Northern Exposure" wished they could have written. And Clancey is as good an Irish bartender as you'll find on this side of the Atlantic. To top it off, you'll never find this country bar without GPS. So you're just going to have to trust me on this one. Or get GPS.
Nobody puked on us, no fruit flies in our beers, and we didn't get sick from the food, despite what the last 2 posts would have you believe. Instead, we had a fabulous time celebrating Wisconsin's German heritage over a couple of Optimators and Franziskaner Dunkel Weisses, and some solid German food - not haute cuisine, but serious comfort food for a wistful Badger who sees this type of cooking disappearing more and more every year. Throw in a fine oom-pah band and an attentive, friendly waiter and it made for an evening we won't soon forget.
Back in December 2004 I learned from their friendly and efficient bartender that they have changed management and are no longer brewing. They've now changed the name to "Johnny T's Club Tropicana" and are advertising Ladies' Night specials twice a week. I don't know that you'd call this a "beer bar" anymore unless you like your beer cheap and plentiful.
