I only come here when they are hosting fun events because I like purchasing food with my beer while listening to fun bands. Bockfest is always great and I've never been disappointed in the crowd or the music. The staff are always so friendly and it's nice to see a good community of people. The biggest issue they have is parking, especially on event days. If you are just looking for beer you can visit any time and probably won't have the parking issue, but it's not really much to see unless they are hosting an event. read more

We had the best time at Capital Brewery. Our bartender was awesome, so that made the visit even more fun! A huge selection of beer and cider paired with popcorn is a great way to spend a chilly fall day. They have delicious pretzels available for purchase too, so we sampled some of those, too! In addition, they have great merch, too, so we brought some home! I'd love to come back and enjoy the outdoor bier garten! read more

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The bier garten is a delightful summer hangout spot with plenty of shaded seating and a large bar area. The bartenders were friendly and helpful in recommending a beverage for the afternoon. I'm looking forward to checking out one of the many events they host in the future. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Sommer Hefeweizen in the bier garten - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

The beer is only ok and very few options for mom beer drinkers. They have live music- which you'd think would be great! Except it's so loud you can't have a conversation even outside. If they regulated the sound of the music, it would be a lovely place to have an outdoor beer. As it is... It's not comfortable or a good environment. read more

I was first introduced to Capital Brewery when I began dating my husband back in 2010, and I've never drank anything "light" again! Capital Brewery sits on the corner in downtown Middleton, and the only thing it's lacking is adequate parking. It wasn't so bad back in the day, but now that Middleton has revamped their downtown, it's tough to find close parking if you're there for an event. Any of their beers are sure to hit the spot, but the favorite in our house is Blonde Doppelbock. Unfortunately, it's only released in limited quantities once a year. Thankfully my in-laws' have been shareholders for years, so they are able to get their hands on a few cases. I attended the 25th Annual Bockfest over the weekend with my husband, and it was so much fun! We had been to other events at the bier garten over the years, such as Dogtoberfest (super fun and you get to bring your pooch!), Gray Matters Music Jam (event to raise money for brain cancer), as well as just stopping by after work for a pitcher with friends. Bockfest was really cool because we were able to take home our plastic pint glasses. I'm a big fan of swag :) During the winter months, the bier stube and grain room are open for viewing, which is pretty neat to check out. Capital has won many awards, and they are all well-deserved. We will be life-long Capital Brewery fans for sure! read more

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One of the first places in Wisconsin I visited when I first moved to Madison in 2000. Absolutely blew me away might be a fair assessment of that inaugural evening. It was the first experience I ever had where people actually desired to be pelted with fish being dropped from above I recall. I think it was some maradi gras type thing, and if you accumulated enough fish you were rewarded with plastic beads which were in turn used to barter for plastic mugs of highly intoxicating beer. The part I usually remember from this experience was always the part where I had two of the large plastic mugs and a cou oil I hours later when I back in my house it occurred to me I was pretty well still drunk, or rather I was drunk, but I didn't feel as if I had been drunk in the first place. A couple years later I again came to the Middleton beer factory place and I think modern civilization must dawned on the natives and they evolved passed the fish shower and so I think I decided the fun wasn't all that I first thought it could be so I drank a beer and didn't return for quite some time. But I didn't forget about the place. Ten years later I moved to Middleton and now this place was a reasonable distance to consider the occasional pub crawl. As much as I enjoy the place I am surprised that my wife and I don't frequent this place as often as we could. Though I do know they held a dog raffle type event Officially it was marketed as a rescue event. But what I came to learn was it was bait and switch of sorts. The concept is simple. Offer a bunch of west side liberals a place to drink strong beers, have a decent rock and roll blues band encouraging people to dance and have a family friendly atmosphere that encourages all the adults with offspring to let the kiddies tag along. Next announce the puppies and kitties who were rescued from Texas where apparently a large quantity of pets are slurped up by tornados and become estranged from their humans when the cyclone loses its stream. Presto. Instant rescues for the do gooders to placate the kids who all want a doggie or kitty. My wife was wise and crafty when she called me one day a few years ago and said to join her and some of our friend for a beer at the Capitol. So I arrived. I saw some great dogs and a couple cats too I had to take off and do something so I didn't hang long enough to know what tomorrow was going to have in store for me. I next knew I apparently was the new human to call a little dog my pet, while I was to be known as food guy. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Mini. The rescue. - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

Cool brewery and amazing outdoor space to hang out in. I haven't seen the place in the wintertime, so I can't say for sure how fun it is then, but when it's warm out it's definitely a great place for a beer and to hang out in the beer garden. I tried a few of their different options when I was there and I remember liking the Supper Club the best. The tour was interesting, but not the best I've been to. They did a nice job of talking about some non-standard beer tour topics, like the history of the building, their canning and shipping, and other logistical topics. Sadly, the portion of the tour that was about the beer itself wasn't super exciting, but they still did try to change it up a bit with those other topics. Would definitely go back. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

Always a good time when visiting their beer garden. I was lucky enough to be in town during their Oktoberfest celebration. The band was great, the beer was cold and the company was lively. Prost! read more

Welcome home Middleton Class of 1973. $450!! Our group elected to have a gathering at a local spot before our 50th reunion. Concerned about weather we were offered a room to buy beer in the event of a storm. As it turned out, the weather was fine and we never needed the little room. Little would be the word. A few tables and chairs and one bar tender. Boring. No TV, even though there was a Packer and Brewers game on during our gathering. The most bitter pill was a bill for $450 for the privilege of paying for your beer! Why does Capitol Brewery feel the need to charge more for the beer than the bar down the street and then impose a fee of $450 to drink it? I called the business office about this matter. I guess their phones don't work, as I never got a reply. There are many places to go, and beers to drink. Good bye Capitol. The class of 73 can go elsewhere. read more

Not Family Friendly anymore... I have lived in the "good neighborhood" for over 6 years with my family and we frequented quite regularly. We will NO LONGER and lost a loyal customer. From the moment we entered to the moment we left we felt targeted for having children with us. Being asked to pour water from our KIDS water bottles into the entry man's hands to check if it is vodka to being threatened we were going to be kicked out for our child playing with other children...it's disappointing. It's a brewery- if you don't want kids- limit it to 21 and over...don't tell parents that they should have taken their kids to park (vs capital brewery). No one should tell me what to do with my kids. Period. I never write reviews but this was unbelievable. read more

Good music and great beer! Fun in summer. Check schedule for bands and food trucks. Parking is a pain though.

My review of Capital Brewery used to be a 4/5. I'm not saying that they won't regain that star but I have terms after last week's incident. My wife Katniss and I were visiting our friend Genevieve and her baby Esmerelda. Whoa... Esmerelda is actually a toddler now I guess. I'll call her that when she says my name out loud though, right now it's just "goobi gobbi" this and "goobi gobbi" that. Last Friday we packed up some trail mix, Esmerelda, and our pair of 10lb lap dogs to take the 20 minute bike ride for a few lagers at the old brew house. Our bike ride was great. Katniss enjoyed it even though she usually complains about her crotch hurting after riding a bike. Upon our arrival, we unpacked all of our shit, which included all the baby shit you need to bring with you when your kid leaves the house for 2 hours. Kids are high maintenance and unapologetic about it. We also had outfit changes for the pups because we were going to assess the scene at the brewery to see what was appropriate. As we walk in with a cute kid and a pair of heart melting poodle mixes, we are expecting an evening of estate beers and a lot of attention from drunk girls. Nope - we get 5 steps in and the bartender screams with rage: "no dogs allowed on Friday, ass hats!". I'm just kidding - she said it nicely. But here's the thing: their website doesn't say that and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. Their website did say dogs allowed. We ended up going somewhere else and the food was okay. Everyone liked our dogs but they were older people and not young drunk Middleton girls. I'm docking 1 star from my previous 4/5 experience. I would have docked 2 but we rode e-bikes which means I didn't really break a sweat. E-bikes are awesome: 4.5/5 for e-bikes. Update your website or point me to where it says no dogs on Friday and I'll get you that star back. -GG read more

If you want to be pressured into making your kid spam their bolthouse smoothie, this is the place for you! While I was literally ordering soda for my kids and beer for us adults, the bartender was informing us that our smoothie was not allowed. Does this no outside drinks, no exceptions rule carry over to formula? Bottles of breast milk? If I'm lactating, should I leave my boobs outside? Also, the beer continues to be average, at best. Two stars for having an excellent shade tent. read more

The menu is only on a revolving screen/ meaning once you start reading about the beer it changes to a new screen. No printed menu so when you order a flight no way to compare description to taste. Rude bartenders when asked questions. Beer just meh read more

We love coming here to enjoy a beer in the summer time. They have a huge outdoor patio with lots of long wooden benches go seating. Dog friendly! You can bring takeout from nearby restaurant to enjoy here. They also often will have concerts by local musicians. read more

I liked Capital but unfortunately we made it here about an hour before they closed, so we couldn't fully enjoy it as much as we'd like. I sampled the Ghost Ship, which had a nice hint of citrus. My husband is a fan of their Supper Club so he drank some of that and ended up purchasing a case (even though it's available back home, but when in Rome...). He also enjoyed their Grateful Red brew and we both tried the "Lake House" and ended up purchasing some six packs of those as well. We sat outside in the beer garden which was a good size, with plenty of picnic tables and a large music stage. Residential homes sat beyond the fence which seemed a bit odd in comparison to other breweries I've been to. It was a quiet afternoon in the beer garden but it was nice to enjoy some brews in the late autumnal sun. I definitely want to return for the tour, maybe (for $7? ehhh....), to sample some other beers, and spend more than an hour of my time at Capital. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

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We made a weekend of stopping at breweries in the area, and this was the one that disappointed us. Maybe if we arrived at a different date and time (and with different weather) it might've been different, but it seemed the staff was cold, crabby and eager to hustle patrons out so they could close early. We arrived Saturday at 5 pm expecting it to be open until 9 pm based on the website. We were told they closed at 6 pm and the website hadn't been updated. When I pointed out the printed calendar hanging over the urinal in the bathroom also noted closing time was 9 pm, I was told that was outdated and incorrect, too. The interior was closed, which was a problem considering we arrived during a cold snap in the middle of October. Temperatures were hovering in the mid-40s, so hanging around outside was not very comfortable. And for some strange reason, the only operating heaters were BEHIND the bar over the staff, not for guests. We drank one beer and beat it, since the attitude of the employees made it clear how welcome a second beer would be. Maybe on a nicer evening or after the interior was opened, we would've had a better experience, but pretty much everything about Capitol on the frigid evening we were there left us cold (pun intended). read more

This is a great place to grab a cold one. Friendly staff. Beer garden esk. You can bring your puppies if you want. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

This place has to be one of my favorite brewery! They have tours you can take and you get a free glass to keep. You also get a few samples afterward. The staff is always very friendly and the beers are awesome! One of the best part has to be their outdoor patio. They have lots of places to sit or stand. You can bring your dogs! They also have live bands but be sure to check the schedule. This year me and a couple of friends decided to try out their mug club. Basically you pay $55ish dollars and wait for your mug to arrive. The mugs are stainless steel so they keep your beer cold and they are also about 24 ounces so you get more beer for the same price. They also have special mug days the first Wednesday and Sunday of the month you can get beer for $3. They do have a limit on how many they order a year so if you want to try this make sure to ask when you can sign up. read more

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I like the vibe of this place alot! If there was food offered or a food truck option it would have gotten five stars! I came to stop by and meet a couple of friends. The space is small, but cozy and they have hanging racks for coats for when it gets cold. The staff was friendly and the beer was cheap. Capital brewery is distributed and sold all over wisconsin so i was happy to visit, but too late to take the tour. I will update when i come back and get the chance, but if you're a fan of their brews you should check this place out! They have a gift shop to buy further merchandise and i'll have to come back in the summer because their outdoor seating looked nice. Happy brewery hopping! read more

If you're not local stay away. You won't get served if the beer tender does not know you. Literally came in, SAT AT THE BAR, there were three other people there, and not terribly busy. Bartender looked at me, didn't say a word, helped two folks check out and then literally looked past me to get a beer for someone who came in after me. Then walked away to the back - I'm assuming to check in other people? I waited a good 5 minutes, got up and left. read more

Capital Brewing never fails to deliver a fun filled night with your favorite bands, a great selection of home brewed beers and friendly staff. read more

Capital Brewery & Beer Garden is a great brewery to go to all year round. I have been here 20+ times and have been on the tour multiple times. In the summer there are live bands multiple times throughout the week and there are always food venders present. Usually different beer specials on different days. The outdoor beer garden is large and at night is lit up in lights, all under a large tent. This place is a very chill place to just hang out with friends and grab a beer. All the beers are good. The brewery tour comes with a free beer (or four smaller samples) and a free glass pint. Capital brewery is dog friendly. There is also a indoor bar area. Easily one of my favorite local breweries. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

We came here for the $7 brewery tour which included 4 4oz samples of beer and a pint sized souvenir glass. Lucas was our tour guide and was very knowledgeable about the brewing process and history of Capital Brewery. Additonally, a sample of Oktoberfest was provided on the tour. After the tour, we went into the pub-style bar area and tried several samples including: Mutiny IPA, Special Pilsner, Island Wheat, Supper Club, Winter Skol, Pale Ale and Ghost Ship IPA. The beers were all excellent and provide a wide variety of options for craft beer enthusiasts. There is a small gift shop that offers a 20% discount if you take the tour. It has several tshirts, sweatshirts, and other novelties as souvenirs. read more

Capital Brewery & Bier Garten - Beer is good. - Breweries Near Me - Middleton, Wisconsin

On a few days of vacation in Wisconsin. My wife and I drove hours out of our way and added a nights stay in Madison to go to Capital brewing. We get there 30 min after they open on a Tuesday and the door is locked. The sign next to the door said they are supposed to be open. We hear some people talking around the side of the building so we walk over there and the beer garden is open. Trouble is that it is only about 50 degrees with a 25 MPH wind. The bartender said they were short staffed. Not my problem. We went to Vintage brewing, sat inside and had a great time. read more

Great beer and nice surroundings! I was a big fan of Lake House since I am a fan of paler beers. We went on the tour, drank some beers, and then got to sit outside with dogs, families, couples, and individuals all enjoying some snacks and the beautiful weather. I was surprised how many people brought meals or pizzas with them, but it is a smart idea if you are going to make a day of hanging out. They also had an event later in the day that looked fun! read more

Definitely a chill place to hang out with a pitcher of beer and friends. My friend and I stopped in to hang out and throw back a few pitchers of beer. It was a glorious sunny day and we we hopped on the Middleton trolley over for an added bonus of fun. The place is super pup friendly, and we thoroughly enjoyed the numerous pups that were hanging out with their humans. The day that we chose to stop in was a bit chaotic between a graduation party and kids running around outside. There was a party of parents that had all their kids running around, between the tables, and causing a ruckus. Luckily the staff kindly asked the parents to mind their children, which somewhat helped. Overall, we'd definitely stop in and I highly suggest that people try the trolley experience just for added fun. read more

Meh. In my quest to visit EVERY brewery in Wisconsin, I had to stop at Capital Brewery. I previously tried some of their beers at the MKE Brewfest and was semi-impressed by the new Imperial IPAs so I wanted to give some of their other beers a try. I don't know if it's because we came on a day where there was a 5K or what, but the brewery was pretty much closed except for the beer garden and the little store inside. There were no samples or flights offered and you could only get a pint for like $6 outside. Bah. We wanted to try something new so we had an Autumnal Fire and the Appleanche Dopplebock. We weren't impressed with either one. Frankly, the Appleanche was just weird. It smelled like an apple cider and tasted like an average ale. The Autumnal Fire was decent but nothing special. I totally committed alcohol abuse and threw half of my beer away. *GASP* Sadly so, I expected more from Capital and don't think I'd stop back in next time I'm in Madison when there are breweries like Ale Asylum nearby. read more

Very cool tour. I went here early in the spring last year so it was too cold for the beer garden but I think it would be great in the summer with the live bands...and of course Capital Brewery beer!! Yum! On a cool note, our guide said that the warehouse can be rented out for events....I think it would be awesome to have a party in there surrounded by pallets, cases, MOUNTAINS of BEER!! :) read more

I feel for the guy who has to lead a tour with a bunch of tipsy tourists, I really do. The tour is about an hour long, costs $7, and includes a take-home pint glass. You also get four bottle caps which you can trade for four tastes of their beer or a pint. I've been on many brewery tours before, and this one is equivalent to the others I've done in the past. The beer and beer garden here are really nice--lots of trees and picnic tables, and they had a band there for a little while (the old lady in me says the volume could have been turned down a bit). Even though it was super humid outside, it wasn't too hot on the patio. Also, you can bring your own food and drink to enjoy while you beverage. I really enjoyed tasting all of their beers, obviously some are better than others. Because they weren't so vigilant about taking the bottle caps after each taste, the three of us really ended up tasting all of the different beers (an added bonus, but I wouldn't count on that happening to you). It's the only actual brewery I've been to so far in Madison, but it's definitely a worthwhile stop. read more

I think this was my favorite brewery on my last Wisconsin tour. At the very least it tied for 1st place. The tour was informative and quick. I hate long boring tours. The value was good. We definitely got our moneys worth with the glass and beer. They have a beer here for everyone. None were exactly life changing to me. But I was happy spending an afternoon here. The outdoor area is awesome! I would love to be here in Summer with food and bands. This is a definite stop if you are anywhere near here. Check website for tour times. read more

Went here in the winter - beginning of the end? It was an average stop. We'd been doing our own personal beer tour, but when we came here, we just wanted to get to the beer. Unfortunately, we skipped the beer tour, maybe we coulda got some laughs there. The waitstaff was helpful, but all we experienced was a small room with a big flight. Pricing was good, but we just didn't like the beer. I was very sad because I LOVE supper club, and was just hoping to love something else here. Their stout was promising, but the flavor profile was just off for us. Fast forward to now, more summer like weather, I just tried their Lake House (at Brat Fest) ... very similar to Supper Club, and me likey. The Amber was drinkable, but if I'd had more options I might have picked something else. Keep on keepin' on. Drink up Wisco. Will update after tour and experiencing the beer garden in summer. read more

My boyfriend and I wanted to find a brewery to try something new on a Friday night, so a quick search found this just a few miles away. We walked in, and it's a little bit of an odd set up. You walk down a long-ish hallway, and it dumps out into a pretty small room that is open with columns at the front. The bar is along the back wall. This night happened to have a really good band playing, but it was pretty crowded and we stood around for a while before we could find a place to sit. We tried a couple different beers (The pumpkin kind, the Island Wheat, and the Capitol Red), all good. The pumpkin was the standout, and the other two were good but somewhat generic. We left afterward finishing our couple drinks because the general atmosphere was pretty filled with regulars. Everyone seemed chatty and like they new each other, which is great if you go there often, but felt a little cold to us outsiders. Not to mention we garnered a few stares walking in. So if you'd like to establish yourself as a regular here, it would be totally worth it. They even have super cool mugs that you can buy and keep there on a wall to use every time you come in. But if you're just looking for a cool friendly place to have a few beers, it was just alright. read more

Came here to enjoy some brews on a sunny day. We didn't do the brewery tour, just the biergarten. My friends had flights of beer, and I had a Madtown Mule. It was delicious and refreshing. The bartenders were nice and helpful, and they really seemed to know a lot about each brew. The biergarten itself isn't much for atmosphere - splinter-heavy benches, a giant tarp roof, and that's about it. I think that some refinishing on the benches, flowers/plants, and string lighting would really make it pop (and make it a must-do for dates or friendly gatherings). If you're in it for just cervezas, though, you can't go wrong with Capital. read more

Went for the tour and drinking on a summer Saturday. Pretty nice little Saturday! Tour is $5 and they just take you through the warehouse and some of the brewing area. It isn't anything overly special. If you've been on other brewery tours before it is a pretty standard one. Beer I great though. With the $5 tour you get a small tasting glass and three different tastings. They have the staples along with more seasonal and experimental type brews. Pretty reasonable prices too if you want beers/pitchers also (which you will). Pitchers are generally around $11. read more

Stopped here on my way through the Middleton area because I had heard so much about it. They have a very large beer garden that's attached to the brewery which is great to go if they have live music or it's a nice summer day. I would recommend the lake house lager if they still have it on tap, great refreshing beer for a summer night. read more

The reason for this particular visit is The Mustard Museum is thanking volunteers from The Mustard Fest with some cold brews, delicious Middleton BBQ and of course...MUSTARD! I love Capitol Brewery's beer garden! Always new friends to be made while enjoying the beautiful outdoors! Never a bad time! Fishin' In The Dark and Bike-fed Red were perfect for the event and the day! read more

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Capital is my go to Friday night spot! I love visiting Capital Brewery anytime of year. The beer garden is a great place to enjoy a cold brew, sunshine and live music in the summer time. In the winter the bier stube is cozy and fun. The staff is awesome and the beer is delicious. Plus you can bring your own snacks! read more

Finally went on their tour this Saturday, which I actually felt obligated to do, considering how much of their product I ingest on a regular basis. Our tour guide was very lively and fun, and knew a looooooot about the process of brewing beer. We also got a small drinking glass as part of our tour, and 3 beer bottle caps that can be traded in for a sample of anything on tap. You can also trade in all 3 caps for a pint of a single beer, which I wish I had known about before I eagerly sampled my first beer. Anywaaays, the tour was short and sweet, and the beer cold and refreshing. A perfect break on a Saturday afternoon. read more

Dan Navarro rocked the joint tonight! Great place for friends, beer, and music under the stars. The musical talent just keeps getting better and better and the beer selection is as wide as you'll find in a state known for beer excellence. Bring your own food though, as they don't serve anything but a few snacks. Nearby pizza parlor will deliver here. read more