Welcome to stop #124 on the Brews and Choos project.
Distillery: Central Standard Crafthouse, 230 E. Clybourn St., Milwaukee
4½ (of 5) stars
Train line: Amtrak, Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Time from Chicago: 89 minutes
Distance from station: 1 km
Welcome to Milwaukee, Chicago's stepchild to the north. A relatively inexpensive trip from Chicago Union Station to Milwaukee Intermodal takes a bit under an hour and a half and drops you a short walk from 11 breweries and distilleries.
My Brews Buddy signed up for the Milwaukee Marathon last Saturday, so last Friday I took half a day of PTO to enjoy the beautiful spring weather trying some beers in Wisconsin. But first: lunch, and gin.
As it happens, Central Standard doesn't ferment on site; they distill at an ugly warehouse on the outskirts of the city. So their downtown tasting room technically doesn't qualify for the Brews & Choos Project. No matter; the food was really good, and so were the Guided Trail Gin and the Founder's Reserve Bourbon.
If the temperature had been a bit warmer, we might have eaten on the roof. The restaurant space worked just fine, though. It was a good first stop in the Brew City.
Beer garden? Rooftop
Dogs OK? No
Televisions? Avoidable
Serves food? Full restaurant
Would hang out with a book? Yes
Would hang out with friends? Yes
Would go back? Yes