Another Saturday in Wisconsin and that means another Saturday at another Wisco brewery!! I like this place. You get a tour packed full of fun facts and well darn right informative. Our guide was fantastic and chuck full of knowledge. This is the second oldest brewery in the US. You get to drink before and after the tour. They have a wide selection of beers and sodas. Cute gift shop, great brewery museum and on your way out the door you get a five pack to go! Its certainly a tour I would go and do again. Its a great road trip destination. read more

So I had a full day planned - stop in Monroe for the 11am Monday tour at Minhas, and move up north to New Glarus. Well...time did NOT permit us to make the 11am tour, but we decided to check it out anyway because I'm pretty psyched to return for the tour plus some! So as other reviews have mentioned - the tour/tasting is $10 and you get some goodies to take with you. If you just show up there like I did yesterday - there is a pretty large gift shop and their beer is there to purchase cold or non-refrigerated. The people working asked if we needed help when we walked in...I told her we just wanted to check things out because we knew we missed the tour. She said to let her know if we wanted to sample anything. We browsed the museum section and were ready to leave and decided to do some sampling... the root beer and I asked for the lightest beer they have on hand. She said "Uptown Girl" so she gave us samples of both, and told us to help ourselves to popcorn. My sister and I chilled out, tried our samples and decided to bring some beer home with us. The Uptown Girl is your typical "girl" light beer...little bottles, low calorie, literally what I like in a beer. It's not all watery tasting either for a beer consisting of 57 calories. The minimum credit card purchase is $10 so I opted to get an entire case of it (not a bad deal at all). The distillery is across the street so if you plan your day right - you can hit up both for a tour/tasting so that is my exact plan next time and just a day in Monroe. I've never heard of this place before but I'm glad I found it because I will be back... real soon!!! read more

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Fun tour to do if you are in the area, and you certainly get your money's worth. The tour starts out with a short video and a beer or soda from the tap, and then you get a surprisingly thorough tour of their facilities. At the end, you get a sampler case of beer to take home. Their beer isn't my absolute favorite, I did enjoy their hard root beer and cider offerings. read more

This place is a hidden gem. Friendly tour guides. Delicious brews. Amazing how much history is in this brewery. I've been on the tour 3 times and every time it gets better. After the tour you are given 4 bottles, a can, and a pint glass for you to take home. You also get to sample a wide variety of their beers for 30 minutes. I always look forward to coming back. Well worth the trip! read more

Minhas Craft Brewery - 30 minutes of delicious samples at the end of the tour - Breweries Near Me - Monroe, Wisconsin

While in Wisconsin visiting one of my favorite breweries (New Glarus), I saw a billboard for a craft brewery just 15 miles away - how convenient (and smart advertising by Minhas, for sure). I had heard of Minhas, but never tried their beers, so the boyfriend and I strapped in and drove the short ways to the next brewery of our winter getaway. We showed up an hour earlier than the scheduled tour was going to start, but they let us wander around on our own, which was pretty neat. There is a huge collection of all different brewery memorabilia downstairs, as well as vintage signage and all sorts of quirky things in the other two rooms they have. It would have been cool to go on the tour and actually hear the history of Minhas, because from the looks of it, they have a lot of history (and actually brew under many different names, which I found sort of weird). We got to sample all the beer we wanted for only $5/person - which would have been a lot more fun if we weren't driving back to Milwaukee later in the afternoon. One of the head brewmasters served us at sat with us at the bar, which I thought was pretty cool - always cool to chat with someone so close to the process. The beer itself, however, was pretty bland. All of the beers were just too weak - they definitely seemed to have skimped on the ingredients - the beers just weren't bold enough. I'm also unsure if they didn't know what kind of beers they were making - their IPA, for example, was a pitiful excuse for an IPA - I mean, the flavor just wasn't there. It was definitely a bit of a disappointment from a "craft" brewery. Overall, though, we plan to visit again when "up north", and probably will stay overnight in Monroe, so we can fully take advantage of that "all you can drink" thing! Tip: We were offered coupons good for a free beer at area restaurants/bars - definitely ask for one! read more

The boyfriend and I bought a Groupon for a tour. The tour guide was really nice and very friendly, albiet slightly boring. Perhaps a tour of any manufacturing facility is a bit tedious when you're concerned about barley dripping on your freshly straightened hair. Not that I blame them for it. The tour was about 45 minutes long, with a majority of the time spent between the two facilities that are across the street from one another. The first building (adjacent to the start of the tour) is where the beer is manufactured, and the other is where the beer is packaged (beware, this area is loud). No personal protective gear is required to enter either of the facilities (unless its winter! ha.. haaa!!.. anyway...) The brewery is a little over an hour from Madison, which makes it attractive to UDub Madison folks. The history of the brewery is interesting... the multiple owners, how it survived through prohibition, how it is apparently the originator of the Miller Light recipe (I know, I was like what the whhaaattt!!) The tour is not accessible to wheelchairs because it requires climbing up some stairs that are not accessible. No food is offered or available for sale (that I could find) during the tour or during the tasting after. The prohibition on pictures in the store and "museum" is slightly unnecessary. There's a super cool coaster ceiling in the bathroom which would make for a good instagram shot with a sepia or other filter, for instance. As some of the other comments mentioned, the pours are full, and they give you as many as you'd like. I bet it would be super fun with a group (ours was kind of small). The sodas are great, and the gift pack is 4 beers, a soda and a cup. We ended up buying the chocolate beer to take home (only available in 40s), and a ton of the soda! The grand total (including the groupon) was $40 for a tour for two, 8 beers, 2 40s, 24 bottles of delicious soda. Soo good! All in all, a great experience. Would recommend it, with or without the Groupon. read more

We took family who were visiting to tour yesterday. We have been there at least 8 times in the past three years and it has been a regular place to take friends and family. I would have given a 5 star the first two years, but now its a three. The tour guide however, was a solid 5, and we learned things yesterday we never heard in the past 8, so she was fun and thorough. We went on a week days because we always missed the bottling process during weekend tours, they were not bottling when we went this time either. You get one small beer now 5 minutes before the video and tour, then thirty minutes after the tour to sample small partial glasses of beer, it used to be an hour and full glasses. It is still one of the better brewery tours, the beers are good but not stellar. It seems many of the staff are not as friendly as they used to be, that was an evident change by a few of us in the group yesterday who frequented the tour. We spent quite a bit between the distillery and craft brewery store, but it will be our last tour for a while. Maybe it will get like it was in the future. We miss the quality tours we had in the past, and we can compare fairly as we have mentioned we have been at 8 prior to this one and 4 distillery tours too. read more

Make sure you make a reservation. The website needs to say that. We drove over an hour to be told everything is booked.

To throw out term "craft" these days is very in vogue. I have a hard time believing that the Minhas Brewery is a genuine "craft" brewery. That being said, this was a good tour. The actual tour part was pretty well informative. I had no idea that they were such a large producer of beer in the US/Canada. We had to leave early because my friend was under the weather. But we'll be back. read more

Did the tour last weekend, here were the highlights: -Going on a relatively boring tour. -Trying a buncha beers that ALL tasted like toxic sludge. Everything they put out is so friggin' sweet that I couldn't get any of it down. It all tastes pretty much like the same beer with a different name, and they're all gross. Do yerself a favor and just run, run like heck to New Glarus just down the road. I'd hate to see any of you waste your money on this vomit. Whoever their brewmaster is doesn't know what they're doing, or the owners won't let em make real beer. read more

Had a great time at the Minhas Brewery with my family (which includes Carolyn B). The tour is really informative and discusses the history of the area, brewing, and the company, which used to be Huber Brewing Company. The tour guide is an older lady who clearly enjoys her job. She's chock full of facts and happy to take questions. The brewery itself isn't all that impressive, other than the fact that it's old, old, old. At $10 it's a little steep, but as Carolyn B said, you get unlimited tastings plus a variety pack of 5 beers + your tasting glass. All in all, a great way to spend a couple hours in Monroe. Perhaps the best way to spend a couple hours, since I'm not entirely sure what else there is to do there. read more

ALL VEGAN BREWERY This place was amazing. Went there with tickets from Livingsocial. Got a great deal. The tour was lovely, the beers and soda was tasty. The package was a great value and the shop sells everything at great values. Soda 4 pack is 2.50 and growlers are 7.99. What a deal!!! read more

Skipped the tour today since we've been here a number of times. The staff here are fantastic, friendly and helpful. There are a large variety of beers to try, so there's something for everyone. They have two tap-only brews that must be sampled, Octoberfest and the Apple ale. We miss the Gnarly Oak and hope they'll brew more! read more

Wow. Basically a full tour followed by an all you can drink happy hour. This is the only brewery tour that features a wide selection of the companies beer with FULL POURS!!! They also brew soda here too, so if you have a driver with ya, they won't go thirsty. The beer is just OK, but for the 10 dollar admission, you'll get your monies worth. You also get a six pack of samples included for the road. Minhas rocks!!!!!! read more

Went to the brewery tour on a Sunday. The plant wasn't operating, but they took us through the brewing, packaging, and warehouse areas. The brewing area stunk of sour beer, so if you have a weak stomach, watch out! They have a brilliant beer museum and the tasting room was fun. The lady who ran the tour and tasting room was super nice. However their beer is mediocre, so I have to downgrade it to 3. Note to owners: fix your beer!! read more

FUN!! In town with the relatives and stopped here after lunch. Totally worth the $10!! Drinks, tour and a bottle to take home. A TOTAL MUST STOP if you're in Monroe. Wish I had time to hit the brewery too. Grabbed a bottle of Moonshine to take home, can't wait. read more

Our tour guide was amazing! It was an unGodly hot temperature out so walking around the brewery was a little uncomfortable. It was a big group of us and the tasting room was so nice to just sit in air conditioning and relax with unlimited samples of beer on tap! The brewery was pretty dirty all over, which I'm not sure is normal, but not unlike a mechanic shop but with gross cobwebs everywhere. But overall I had a great time and the free beer or root beer five pack at the end was fantastic (one hole was left open to put the free glass in, super smart idea!) read more

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This is a fun tour because it's historic with an interesting story. The tour guides are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. However the beer is terrible, actually undrinkable which makes it a bad value. The tap room was also very crowded. On the plus side, Monroe is an adorable town, absolutely worth a drive. read more

What a fun surprise! My sister, brother-in-law, and I were driving to Madison last summer and deiced to take a detour. My brother knew that the Breghoff brewery used to be there but we had absolutely no idea what to expect of Minhas. Initially, we thought the $10 for the tour was a little steep.. until they gave us each a glass and told us we got unlimited refills. And then, the tour itself ended up being really informative. After the tour... more refills! OK, the beers itself isn't exactly great, but it was still a fun time. After we left, we grabbed our take-home pack and went to a local bar to use the beer coupon we got. Good thing my brother is responsible, because my sister and I were a little sloshed. Definitely worth the $10. I only didn't give it 5 stars because, well, the beers aren't that god, so if you are looking for good craft beers, this might not be the place to go. However, if you are looking for fun and value for your money, give Minhas a shot! read more

Good tour. Cute town. Plan on doing the distillery next along with the winery. All close together.

A very rude employee ruined our experience and we won't be back. We arrived about 3:55 pm on a Saturday and the close at 5 pm. we wanted to do a beer flight and went to the bar to order flights of beer and were told by the bartender that we needed to order at the front door and give him a ticket (Bartender was very friendly and accommodating). We looked around the shop for a few minutes and made our way to the front counter to order our flights. The young cashier was very friendly and was about to enter our order when an older woman sitting in a chair behind her piped in and rudely stated that there are no beer flights served after 4. My wife and I stated that it was only 4:01 and that we would finish our flights before 5 pm. The cashier agreed that we should be served, but the troll sitting in the chair said no it is too late. We walked away and came back to order a single beer, While ordering the cashier wrote a note letting us know that the bartender would serve us samples and wrote a note on our tickets asking the bartender to let us sample as many as we wanted, which he did. Both the cashier and bartender were wonderful and accommodating, but the damage done by the troll sitting behind the counter had already ruined our experience. We were shocked that even though we arrived before 4 pm the one employee had to try to show us (the customers) how much power and authority she had to deny us a flight of beer. Way to scare off customers, great job troll! read more

Recently I visited Monroe, WI to hang with the family. One thing the fam can agree on is that we enjoy a fermented beverage or two on a summer Saturday and this establishment did not disappoint. We did the tour, which was $10/person. Kind of pricey, for a bunch of ancient buildings that smell like your freshmen dorm room, BUT you get UNLIMITED tastings following the tour as well as a variety pack of 5 beverages (and a tasting glass). The pre-tour video is hilarious. (debate amongst yourselves whether the Minhas are husband/wife or brother/sister, bask in the glory of the iEnergy commercial). We had the sweetest tour guide that you can imagine -- a former local school teacher. Not so much sarcastic, but definitely full of information of about other local establishments to visit and Monroe-related historical facts. The beer... well... it tastes like beer. I will not be smuggling it over the border obsessively like some other Wisconsin beer, but I will be gladly enjoying it. If you're doing a tour of Wisconsin breweries, don't miss this one. read more

To be honest, I will review higher of the tour and the tasting room, than the taste of their beers! I like to go to tours where you get to experience the life of the brewer, get to learn what goes on, and maybe learn a little history along the way. Minhas provided all of that... the tour took about 35 minutes, we learned everything from the beer making process, to where things are stored, to how the packing line works, to how the green-beer boil off was used by Al Capone and the boys to keep the place open... boom, that is some awesome learnings. The beer tasting room itself was awesome, we could drink literally as much as we wanted pre and post tour. If I would have been able to shake my craving from some cheese curds and sunshine, I would have sat in this little Bavarian looking room all day! No joke... but most of the beers were in fact quite light and leaving me wanting a little more hop. Finally... I had no clue this place was so big. Sure it may be craft because of batch sizes, but top 10 production numbers is nuts! They make all of TJ's beer, crazy. read more

I agree with the other comments..a brew tour that give full pours! Perfect! Go on the tour, get smashed and have the wife drive home. They also have craft sodas you can try, which are really good. Though some of the beer was not great, they have a few brews that were good. Try it an you shall not be disappointed! read more

I drank many a Hueber beers back in college. Rheinlander, I believe, was our drink of choice. That and Berghoff, which is brewed by contract, by Minhas. We went there for a tour and got there a bit late. They were nice enough to wait for us. Then the tour started with some obligatory talk of hops and the brewing process. Then it was off to the bar where we got to sample a few beers. And they were in no way stingy with the brews. Then we toured the rest of the factory and it is pretty similar to other breweries I've visited, and I've visited quite a few. After the tour, it was back to the bar and they were not stingy the second time either. I probably had all the beers on tap, two or three times. Their generosity paid off, because I walked out with a case of beer for the road. They also give you your tasting glass, 4 beers, and a root beer to take home, as part of your tour. For 10 dollars, you can't get any better. I didn't find that the stuff we drank in college--Rheinlander and Hueber--tasted any different since the Minhas family took it over. The Hueber Bock was so good that now I'm on a quest to find more in our area. Lazy Mutt and the Swiss Amber were both good. The other ones were a bit to light for my taste. Best of all you can get your beer in, then take a coupon they give you for a free beer at a participating restaurant. For my money, I'd say that Baumgartner's is the place to get some good eats and more beer. read more

The beer is alright, but the price is what keeps me coming back. $5 growler fill ups is amazing. I also like their $5 case of beer. I do not care if I have never heard of the beer, the price is great. read more

I have done the brewery and distillery and always have a good time. The prices are great and the drinks at the distillery are really good. I can't wait to try the winery and maybe even do lunch next time. read more

It was amazing! Terry, the tour great was great! She was very knowledgeable. The tour was nice and all of the sampling was fantastic! The prices are cheap for everything you get/see. Definitely a must read more

I cannot add too much to the other reviews, except to say that the place is a good value when it comes to craft beers. The $10 tasting at the bar lets you sample quite a few beers and you go home with a six pack on top of that. The beer selection is "yuge," so there should be something here for everyone. Nice, friendly and informed staff, too. I sampled a variety of ales, IPAs and lagers and was satisfied with all of them. Liked the Swiss Ale, the Pilsener and the Mystical Jack best. Great location in town right off the square, so it can easily be part of your walking tour of downtown Monroe. read more

My husband and I took a weeklong tour of Wisconsin craft brewers, from breweries, to pubs, to taprooms. At 320,000 barrels/year, Minhas was definitely the largest - in fact, calling itself a craft brewery is a bit of a stretch. But it was still a super fun tour and well worth the $10 cost. To start, there is a large gift shop and tasting area, also accessible to guests without going on the tour. They have the Haydock World of Beer Memorabilia Museum, which is 3-4 rooms filled with historical beer advertisements, and memorabilia from labels throughout the world. As a graphic designer, I was enthralled by the industry's art. The tour was excellent. We sampled a beer while viewing a video. Then our very knowledgable guide took us throughout the brewery, which includes several buildings. She knew the brewing process completely and was an interesting historian for the brewery. Afterward we were given a 5-pack of beer/soda and a glass, and enjoyed 30 minutes of sampling a great variety of their beers. To complete the trip, Monroe is a quaint town with interesting shops. The Minhas Distillery is across the street from the brewery. Outside of town is the Roth Kase Cheese factory and store. read more

For $12 they will let you sample many different drinks. You get to keep your glass, and take home a sampler pack. That's a deal! I wish the website was easier to use, we wanted to take the tour, but did not see tour times online. I guess its okay, we drank our beer and looked at the museum rooms, which worked fine. read more

My boyfriend and I headed up here with some friends of his. It was my first brewery tour and it was awesome! For $10 we got an awesome historical tour (complete with DVD presentation, including old commercials), a tour of the brewing areas and the stock, lots of free beer (not just tasting, but lots of full glasses), and were pretty much there for 2-3 full hours until the next tour began. We also walked away with a 6 pack of 4 beers + 1 root beer and our tasting glass, PLUS a "coupon" for a free Minhas brewery beer. Of course, we went right across the street where the converted jail is. Good times were had by all! read more

Fantastic value for the price! Plan a whole day for Monroe--great shops, a quaint town square, and friendly locals!

We went last minute on a day that we didnt have any plans. We Had a fun time. 10.00 for full unlimited beer sample and take home pack is not bad. The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We would recommend the tour to our friends. read more

We had fun. Might as well say this is the best brewery tour. Gift pack is 4 beers, a soda, and a beer glass. Beers are tasty and tour guide (Donna) had an inexhaustible supply of beer stories. We recommend this to everyone! read more

Great tour/great story. Have been to Monroe several times, but finally got to take the tour. America's second oldest brewery is going strong. Highly recommend the tour. Beers are very good as well. Also love the story of owners who took over the brewery as youngest owners ever. Watch their video story on the minhas website. 10 value worth it in tasting alone. Staff very friendly and knowledgeable, and rightly proud of what they are doing at the brewery. read more

Awesome experience.....the tour was amazing. However best part, you get more in giveaways in regards to the 10.00 entrance fee. 1. An assorted 6 pack of craft beer and a mongramed glass. 2. 30+ minutes of a tasting, of over 30+ different craft beers. As a lover of the lighter beer with great taste this place is awesome. The taste of the different beers was near perfect in my eyes. Visting from San Diego the brew capital of the US, the trend is dark and IPA's, not my favorite. Its refreshing to see a craft brewer have a great selection of light beer. Highly recommended and will visit again. Customer service second to none..... read more

The brewery tours would be far nicer if the groups were smaller. The large crowd made it hard to hear. Missed part of the tour because we couldn't get in the room. Could be a much nicer experience. read more

I would never drink beer from this place. Filthy facilities and really bad beer. The "5 pack" we got at the end wasn't worth it. The free beer was pretty much good only for getting drunk off of - not enjoyable. read more

On a recent girlfriend getaway to Wisconsin my friends and I happened upon the tour at Minhas Brewery. The. best. $10. I. ever. spent. We opted to take the tour (which was very informative) and after the tour we were able to taste all (yes, all) of their beer. I would give the beer a three star rating but the atmosphere and vibe was a blast (we ended up 'bar hopping' with some other Chicago peeps we met on the tour). The $10 gets you a tour, awesome beer samples (more like glasses) and even four beers, a soda and a tasting glass to go home with! Seriously, the best deal I've experienced in a long time. read more