Breweries in Madison, WI: taprooms and brewpubs around the city

Downtown and the near east side

• The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co. (123 E. Doty St.): the original Great Dane, opened in 1994 in the historic Fess Hotel building, with a full pub menu, a patio and a big pool hall. Year-round beers include Crop Circle Wheat and Stone of Scone Scotch ale. There are also Great Danes on the east side (876 Jupiter Dr., dogs welcome on the patio) and in Fitchburg (2980 Cahill Main).
• Young Blood Beer Co. (112 King St.): the original, a block off the Capitol Square, now home to its wild-fermented beers, with a food menu. Young Blood opened a second taproom in DeForest in 2026, with patios overlooking an outdoor rink.
• Working Draft Beer Company (1129 E. Wilson St.): European lagers and hoppy ales by the Yahara River, with food trucks and pop-ups and events like Astronomy on Tap.
• Giant Jones Brewing (931 E. Main St.): a woman-owned, certified-organic brewery that specializes in big beers (7% and up), like its Scotch ale; carry-in food is welcome.
• Vintage Brewing Co. Capitol East (803 E. Washington Ave.): a brewpub with house beer and an "elevated Americana" kitchen.
• The Lone Girl Taproom (1817 E. Washington Ave.): the Waunakee brewery's Madison taproom, serving Roman-style pizza on a 72-hour dough.

Around Madison

• Karben4 Brewing (3698 Kinsman Blvd., north side): flagships Fantasy Factory IPA and Midwesty pilsner. Karben4 now owns the Ale Asylum brand, and its taproom pours Ale Asylum beers too.
• ALT Brew (1808 Wright St.): a dedicated gluten-free brewery and taproom.
• Lucky's 1313 Brew Pub (1313 Regent St.): a game-day spot near Camp Randall with a full kitchen and a free shuttle to Kohl Center events.
• Vintage Brewing Co. (674 S. Whitney Way, west side): family-owned, with Sunday brunch, a kids menu and award-winning beers like Scaredy Cat.

Middleton, Fitchburg and Verona

• Capital Brewery (7734 Terrace Ave., Middleton): founded in 1984 to brew German-style lagers, with Capital Amber as its biggest seller. The outdoor Bier Garten runs May through October with live music; in winter, it moves inside to the Bier Stube. Leashed dogs are allowed outside, except during live music.
• Hop Haus Brewing Co. (2975 Sub-Zero Pkwy., Fitchburg): a kid-friendly brewpub with IPAs and fruited sours, a full kitchen and a rooftop patio. Its Verona taproom (231 S. Main St.) is right off the Military Ridge bike trail.
• Wisconsin Brewing Company (1079 American Way, Verona): home of Lake Louie beers like Warped Speed, plus Badger Club. There's no kitchen, but you can have food delivered; kids and leashed dogs are welcome in the taproom and backyard patio.

Farther out

• The Lone Girl Brewing Company (114 E. Main St., Waunakee): a family-friendly brewpub with a rooftop patio and fire pit, a Friday fish fry and beers like SpeaKEEasy Ale.
• Octopi Taproom (1131 Uniek Dr., Waunakee): pilsners, IPAs and fruited sours with a full restaurant, yard space for kids and patio music in summer. Dogs on the patio only.
• Full Mile Beer Co. & Kitchen (132 Market St., Sun Prairie): restaurant, tavern and brewery, with Settle Down Lager.
• Grumpy Troll Brew Pub (105 S. 2nd St., Mount Horeb): about a dozen house beers like Maggie Imperial IPA, with scratch-made pub food and a Friday fish fry.
• Viking Brew Pub (211 E. Main St., Stoughton): house-brewed beer in an 1800s bank building, with Scandinavian touches on the menu like Norwegian meatballs.

The Great Taste of the Midwest

Every August, the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild puts on the Great Taste of the Midwest at Olin Park on Lake Monona, with about 200 breweries pouring roughly 1,400 beers. It's run entirely by volunteers and calls itself the second-longest-running craft beer festival in North America. The next one is Saturday, August 14, 2027; tickets are famously hard to get, so watch greattaste.org.

More local food and drink: where to eat in Madison, Friday fish fry and every brewery, winery and distillery in the directory.