Best brews: The top 20 rated beers from Madison-area craft breweries
Here are the top-rated beers, meads and ciders for breweries and brew pubs in the Madison area, according to ratebeer.com.
Note: We used the "weighted average" to determine which one was the highest-rated brewed beverage at each location. The "weighted" score is the average of site users' ratings for each brewed beverage out of 5 possible points. The "style score" represents the beer's performance relative to other beers in the same style. Click here to learn more about ratebeer.com's ratings methodology.
Other terms: "ABV" indicates the alcohol by volume for the beer. IBU stands for "International Bittering Unit" and is a standard scale used to measure hop bitterness on a scale from 0 to 100.
No. 20: Sconnie Ale
Beer name: Sconnie Ale
Brewery: Sconnie Beverage Company
- Weighted average: 2.85/5
- Style score: 44
- Rating: 2.6/5
- ABV: 5.2%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: A smooth golden ale brewed by Wisconsin Dells Brewing Co. It’s a microbrew, but it’s very easy drinking.
No. 19: Hidden Cave Lemongrass Lavender
Beer name: Lemongrass Lavender
Brewery: Hidden Cave Cidery
- Weighted average: 2.98/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.2/5
- ABV: 6.8%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: An off-dry cider inspired by the Lavender Lemonade at Madison Sourdough. The lemongrass enhances the natural flavor of the cider by adding a bright citrus character, while the lavender provides a beautiful aroma. Sweetened with local Wisconsin honey.
No. 18: Colony Nectar Linden Mead
Beer name: Linden Mead
Brewery: Colony Nectar
- Weighted average: 3.02/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.4/5
- ABV: 6%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Sparking session mead fermented with linden (basswood) honey. Semi-dry, refreshing and very aromatic.
No. 17: Lucky's 1313 Raspberry Porter
Beer name: Raspberry Porter
Brewery: Lucky's 1313 Brew Pub
- Weighted average: 3.09/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.7/5
- ABV: 6.3%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Deeply satisfying, and just a bit decadent.
No. 16: Union Corners Stalzy Kvass - UCB
Beer name: Stalzy Kvass - UCB
Brewery: Union Corners Brewery
- Weighted average: 3.16/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.47/5
- ABV: 4.6%
- IBU: 8
Commercial description: Sour with Stalzy's Rye
No. 15: Delta Beer Lab Coffee Infused Brown Ale (BRN.01)
Beer name: Coffee Infused Brown Ale (BRN.01)
Brewery: Delta Beer Lab
- Weighted average: 3.12/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.5/5
- ABV: 5.2%
- IBU: 20
Commercial description: Creamy Brown Ale infused with coffee roasted at Kin Kin Coffee just 100 feet from the brewery.
No. 14: Alt Brew Ravenswood Imperial Brown
Beer name: Ravenswood Imperial Brown
Brewery: Alt Brew
- Weighted average: 3.25
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.85/5
- ABV: 8.7%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Silky smooth with notes of toasted caramel.
No. 13: Rockhound Outcrop Pale Ale
Beer name: Rockhound Outcrop Pale Ale
Brewery: Rockhound Brewing Company
- Weighted average: 3.26/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.57/5
- ABV: 5.5%
- IBU: 44
Commercial description: This American pale ale slowly reveals layers of flavor with the soft feel of oats and malt intermixed with four varieties of hops.
No. 12: Dead Bird Strumpet Imperial Cherry Stout
Beer name: Dead Bird Strumpet Imperial Cherry Stout
Brewery: Dead Bird Brewing Co.
- Weighted average: 3.29/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.7/5
- ABV: 10%
- IBU: 18
Commercial description: Strumpet is a deep imperial stout featuring chocolate malt, midnight wheat, and 200 pounds of tart Door County Montmorency cherries. Strumpet. It's a little tart.
No. 11: Restoration Badger Mill Cherry Cider
Beer name: Restoration Badger Mill Cherry Cider
Brewery: Restoration Cider Co.
- Weighted average: 3.34/5
- Style score: 4
- Rating: 3.68/5
- ABV: 6.5%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: A semi-dry cider comprised of Starkweather as its base, lightly sweetened with tart Door County cherry juice. Lightly effervescent, the cherry notes are subtle and refreshing. Named for the Badger Mill Creek that meanders through the countryside just south of Verona.
No. 10: Giant Jones Double IPA
Beer name: Giant Jones Double IPA
Brewery: Giant Jones Brewing Company
- Weighted average: 3.34/5
- Style score: 25
- Rating: 3.51/5
- ABV: 8.3%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Double IPA – Double International Pale Ale dry-hopped with New Zealand Taiheke – juicy mango, papaya and passion fruit aromas, lean crackery malt and dry finish.
No. 9: Bos Pomegranate Pyment
Beer name: Bos Pomegranate Pyment
Brewery: Bos Meadery
- Weighted average: 3.4/5
- Style score: 68
- Rating: 3.52/5
- ABV: 13%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Our flagship, International Mazer Cup gold-medal winning, “gateway” mead. A blend of Wisconsin clover honey, Riesling grape juice and pomegranate juice. Dry, sparkling and refreshing.
No. 8: Next Door Hammerhead Belgian Style Imperial IPA
Beer name: Hammerhead Belgian Style Imperial IPA
Brewery: Next Door Brewing Company
- Weighted average: 3.41/5
- Style score: 60
- Rating: 3.56/5
- ABV: 7.8%
- IBU: 85
Commercial description: Aggressively hopped, quite spicy, fierce. Named for an employee’s brother’s Army Aviation unit. The malt in this beer (German and Belgian) is secondary to the Belgian yeast character and the aggressive American hop varietals.
No. 7: One Barrel Banjo Cat - India Black Ale
Beer name: Banjo Cat - India Black Ale
Brewery: One Barrel Brewing Company
- Weighted average: 3.47/5
- Style score: 53
- Rating: 3.47/5
- ABV: 6.2%
- IBU: 69
Commercial description: This beer is black in color but very smooth and does not have a bitter malt flavor found in many stouts and porters. It is aggressively hopped, including a dry hop addition that gives Banjo Cat a strong citrus aroma and vibrant flavor resulting in a well-balanced black ale.
No. 6: Working Draft Pulp Culture Hazy IPA
Beer name: Pulp Culture Hazy IPA
Brewery: Working Draft Beer Company
- Weighted average: 3.51/5
- Style score: N/A
- Rating: 3.84/5
- ABV: 6.9%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Loaded with grapefruit & pineapple character, this chapter of Pulp uses all the same malts & hops as previous versions but showcases a different yeast strain (London Ale III) that helps boost the body, fruitiness, & haze. Hops: Denali, Mosaic, Amarillo, Enigma.
No. 5: Great Dane Black Earth Porter
Beer name: Black Earth Porter
Brewery: Great Dane Pub and Brewing, Madison
- Weighted average: 3.6/5
- Style score: 95/100
- Rating: 3.63/5
- ABV: 6.3%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Dark and full-bodied, this is our interpretation of the classic English Porter style. Made with nine varieties of malt and assertively hopped, our porter is packed with flavor. Strong coffee and chocolate tones create a special brew for those advancing on the path of fine beer appreciation.
No. 4: Vintage Scaredy Cat
Beer name: Vintage Scaredy Cat Stout
Brewery: Vintage Brewing Company, Madison
- Weighted average: 3.66/5
- Style score: 95/100
- Rating: 3.76/5
- ABV: 6.3%
- IBU: 30
Commercial description: Dark beer lovers rejoice! Packed with rich malt flavors of chocolate, roast, caramel, molasses, espresso and with a large portion rolled oats for an exceptional smoothness, Scaredy Cat is a huge robust stout meant to scare away the winter chills. Brewed to a "foreign double" stout strength, this is no scrawny little kitty.
No. 3: Karben4 Fantasy Factory
Beer name: Fantasy Factory
Brewery: Karben4 Brewing, Madison
- Weighted average: 3.74/5
- Style score: 98/100
- Rating: 3.86/5
- ABV: 6.3%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Hopheads crusade on a heroic quest for the holy grail of India Pale Ales. The subconscious composes paradisiacal scenes of malty waves crashing on a ripe lupulin landscape cascading hop flavors and aromas in profuse abundance. With humble confidence we offer this brew as fantasy made reality. Balanced in every detail and gushing resinous, exceptional citrus flavors and aromas that collaborate with soft bready notes surrendered from premium English golden malted barley, this beer is a tropical dreamscape. Epic.
No. 2: Ale Asylum Bedlam
Beer name: Bedlam!
Brewery: Ale Asylum, Madison
- Weighted average: 3.77/5
- Style score: 99/100
- Rating: 3.87/5
- ABV: 7.4%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: A chaotic blend of Citra hops and Belgian-style yeast give this IPA aromas of passion fruit, a bright hop flavor and a plush finish.
No. 1: Funk Factory Frampaars
Beer name: Frampaars
Brewery: Funk Factory Geuzeria, Madison
- Weighted average: 4.02/5
- Style score: 95/100
- Rating: 4.2/5
- ABV: 6%
- IBU: 0
Commercial description: Frampaars is a blend of lambic style beer that was aged in used French oak wine barrels for 18 to 24 months. It was then re-fermented with two pounds per gallon of purple raspberries for three months.
Elizabeth Beyer | Wisconsin State Journal
Elizabeth Beyer is a digital producer for the Wisconsin State Journal. She joined the team in 2019 and was formerly a data, video and audio reporter at the La Crosse Tribune.
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