Minocqua Brewing Company

kdoc8

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

The Minocqua Brew Co is a good place to stop on your way from Notre Dame to it's field station (UNDERC). You still have about an hour or so to get to the property, but it's mostly country back roads, so you should get a good meal and some growlers for the other field-folk to welcome you.

I liked the atmosphere of this large place. They had lots of seating, both on an outside enclosed deck area as well as inside. We were seated at a raised table on stools near the bar. They had a sampler of their beer and a pretty extensive menu. They had maybe 10 beers on tap. We all enjoyed our dishes, which also were hefty portion sizes. It's conveniently located right by the lake and beach area, so it probably gets pretty crowded in the middle of the tourist season.

03-14-2007 01:17:02 | More by kdoc8

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

3.66/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

Stopped here after the Minocqua Summer Beer Festival. Surpised the atmosphere was very tame after the festival (it was literally next door). I had always wanted to visit this place because I had tasted their Wild Rice Ale at a tasting and thought if was one of the better I've had for the style. I got a flight and none of the rest of the line up didn't extinguish themselves, although maybe they were hurt by how much I like the Wild Rice beer (probably should contract brew it). I also think it would be neat to make a few bold beers, but understand that may not be the demographic in the north woods. If I'm in the area I probably would stop again for the Wild Rice and the lack of alternatives. Good brewery, but not great.

01-13-2011 00:58:49 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

This little gem in the middle of the Northwoods was a place my best friend and I had to hit during our annual Guys Only Road Trip.

Very charming little place, that you could drive by a few times until you realized it's a brewpub, silly. The view of the lake is just breathtaking and nice to sit down with some pubfare, a few pints and just breath in the great outdoors.

The staff were very friendly with good service, the place was less than 1/2 full, probably because we were there the 3rd week of May, right before the super busy Summer season.

The food selection was standard pub fare, nothing too terrible or too exciting. Fish + Chips was my choice, I enjoyed it.

The beer selection was not bad, about 7 beers. I sampled the Porter and the Brown Ale, both were pretty good.

I would recommend this place if you are in the area, but you don't need to travel to the ends of the Earth for this brewpub.

12-14-2010 14:25:53 | More by BeerLover99

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.98/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Minocqua was on the way back from my Aunt and Uncle's house in St. Germain so we swung by for a beer and appetizer. Right on the lake, it was a prime location. From what I saw, the inside was pretty awesome. Good design with natural colors and warm decor. The fire place with couches was great and downstairs on the way to the patio was nice.

Outside was basic. Tables and chairs fenced in. Nothing special but necessary, especially for the beautiful location it's at. I especially liked the hops growing on the fence too. A few varieties were on there I believe. It seemed like there were both male and female which seemed odd to me since the female shouldn't be in the presence of male hops to produce cones for brewing, but I could be wrong.

We had a plate of spinach artichoke dip which was fantastic as well as the "must have" deep-fried cheese curds. Delicious and melted with a great sharp cheddar flavor.

I had a paddle of beer that offered a great variety of styles, almost all of which were very fresh tasting. I think only one seemed just a tad off from what I remember. Regardless, it was better than average. The service, however, seemed just above average. Not bad, but they certainly weren't memorable.

I'm not familiar with all the northern woods has to offer, but it seemed like a place that would be a repeat for me in future visits north.

09-06-2010 21:48:14 | More by BeerFMAndy

uwmgdman

Wisconsin

3.68/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Was at the Minocqua Brewing Company on a Friday evening in early August.

Atmosphere: It was a nice place on the inside with typical area decor. Overlooking the lake from some tables is a nice plus, as is the patio area. A wide mix of vacationers filled the place just before 6pm.

Quality: The quality was good. Well executed beers, good food, clean bathrooms and tables.

Service: Nothing to complain about here. We were seated promptly at a table we wanted overlooking the lake. The waitress was pleasant and very knowledgeable about beer and food they served.

Selection: I've got to knock the selection. The place is small so I'm guessing their beer capacity is simply too small to keep up with summer demand. Still 3 of their more interesting selections were unavailable, at least they were filled with decent guest taps. The food selection is also somewhat limited, but there were still many things on the menu I would have been happy with.

Food: I especially liked the food, even if it was a bit pricey. Beef and brie sandwich was fantastic and my wife's perch was some of the best I've ever had.

Overall we enjoyed our experience. We tried returning for lunch on Saturday with a group of 8, but the wait would have been too long. It is a rather small place, so don't bring a large group or break up the group. If you're up North it is a place definitely checking out!

08-14-2010 13:14:29 | More by uwmgdman

beerwolf77

Wisconsin

3.65/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$

I spent a weekend in the area and made this a must stop for my group.

Upon entering you have a choice of going upstairs or down. The bar is up so that's where I headed first. Beautiful dark wood and rich colors accented with paintings and leather furniture. Immaculate with nothing out of place. Huge picture windows line one wall giving you a breath taking view of the water.

We settled at the bar and ordered a round. I of course got the sample paddle which included seven beers. Most of which were average. The porter was my favorite of the lot. The bartender was very friendly and informitive. I found out through conversation he was the owners son and brewmasters brother.

The owner was actually at the bar and chatted openly with my friends while I was engrossed in the beer. I flashed my beer geek credentials and as usual the brewmaster was more than happy to sit down next to me at the bar and chat over a beer.

We headed downstairs for dinner and were rather impressed with our food and service.

I will head back next time I'm up north for sure.

07-29-2010 21:37:57 | More by beerwolf77

hu5om

Wisconsin

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

went there today. atmosphere is a bit up northy a bit brewery. right on the water. dining room downstairs and upstairs is a bar/longue that's 21+ with no food. they had 7 of their beers available. You can get a sampler paddle with 5oz pours of all 7 for $10. The wheat sucks. it's for macro drinkers. most of the other stuff is decent. i had fish and chips, very good. the burgers looked pretty good too. growlers are $18 with $10 refils. in northern wisconsin, there aren't a lot of great drinking experiences, so this one does the job pretty well.

07-27-2010 23:33:57 | More by hu5om

Soneast

Wisconsin

3.34/5  rDev -8.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Visited over Thanksgiving weekend. Located in a brick building, pretty much right in downtown Minocqua, overlooking Lake Minocqua.

We only stopped for a few beers didn't try any food. The bar area is located down a few steps to the right of the entrance. Looked like a banquet hall or something upstairs. Once downstairs the bar was located to the left, with tables and seating to the right along the wall and a dining area in the back. A fairly large chalkboard near the back of the bar listing all the beers currently on tap.

We started with the Wild Rice Lager, which was an estery nightmare. It really wasn't bad, per say, while there were off flavors, they weren't undesirable, at least, not if they were in an ale. I guess if it were called a Wild Rice "ALE" I wouldn't be so hard on it. I then sampled the brown ale, porter and a cranberry wheat. I only found the porter to be worth buying, and it actually wasn't too bad if you like slightly smoky porters, which I do. It had a nice creamy body, with some good chocolate flavors and mild smokiness.

I only had two beers, but overall the bartender was pretty nice, he seemed quite happy to retrieve sample for us and was attentive, although he didn't have much to say regarding any of the beer and/or available styles. Cost for the beer was $4 per pint, so pretty average there.

11-30-2009 23:29:29 | More by Soneast

ronhocker

Wisconsin

2.38/5  rDev -34.8%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3 | food: 1.5 | $$$

Ok considering where it is, but wouldn't survive in any city with a real brewpubs. Reminds me of applebees with higher prices.

Food is overpriced and not very good. A bad sign is when I was the only person out of 100 in the place I saw having a beer.

Beer is plain, some obvious flaws in the brewing process for some of the ones I tried. The wild rice lager was a good idea but seemed to be fermented a bit warm and had some off flavors.

I probably would skip this one in the future and leave it for the rest of the patrons who aren't there for the beer.

07-30-2009 19:17:41 | More by ronhocker

Chugmonkey

Wisconsin

4.05/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Pretty much your standard brew pub. More of a restaurant than a bar. Clean, new looking, killer location on the Chain of Lakes downtown (parking limited during busy summer weekends). Great view of the lake.

I only had appetizers, I come for the beer. The wild rice beer sounded good, but was beyond boring. Overall every beer I've tried I was underwhelmed with. They all seem a bit undercarbed for some reason also. That is a beer pet peeve of mine. I can't stand flat tasting beer.

The food I saw and know others who had was good. Service is good. Nice place. The beers just have not been great enough to lure me back more than a couple times. Also the atmosphere is just too touristy to me and not rustic enough. Just lacks that geniune "brewery feel" to it. Guess I prefer brew pubs with great beer and good food is just a bonus.

edit: Ate dinner here on 8/15/08. The fish & chips were great for $9.99 and the sweet potato fries were killer. The Pudgy Possum Porter and the Brewmasters special Scotch Ale were both fantastic.

06-25-2008 16:47:58 | More by Chugmonkey