History, taproom and tour questions at Minhas Craft Brewery, plus the Limburger, wine and bar stops within a short walk.
Anyone searching for Minhas Monroe WI is heading to a brewery that has been made beer on this site since 1845, through Prohibition and a long string of owners. Minhas Craft Brewery at 1208 14th Avenue sits about 0.1 miles from the courthouse square, and it now holds a taproom, a gift shop and a spirits bar under one roof. This guide covers what Minhas in Monroe, WI, is like to visit today, how a Swiss immigrant's small brewhouse became a Minhas family operation, and where to eat and drink on the short walk back to the square.
It is one stop among the things to do in Monroe, and the brewery is close enough to the square that the two pair easily on foot.
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From Bissinger's brewhouse to the Minhas family
The Monroe Times traces the brewery to 1845, when a Swiss immigrant named Bissinger opened it with a capacity of under 400 barrels a year. In 1848 John Knipschildt, a Prussian immigrant who later became Green County treasurer, bought it, and the business passed among several owners and partnerships until 1892. That year Adam Blumer Sr., a Swiss immigrant, became involved, and in 1906 the plant was renamed the Blumer Brewing Company.
Prohibition is where the story gets colorful: the Blumers kept the company alive by making ice cream and distributing farm equipment, and a 2014 write-up by Midwest Wanderer adds that near beer and black-market sales of leftover alcohol led to a mob kidnapping of Fred Blumer. Cheese magnate Carl Marty then managed the brewery until 1947, when Joseph Huber bought it. Output reached 60,000 barrels in Joseph Huber's heyday and 200,000 under his son Fred, according to the Monroe Times.
Wikipedia notes that the Augsburger brand peaked around 1978, and that the brewery was sold in 1985 for $7.8 million. Sources differ on the mid-1990s details, but the Monroe Times says Madison's Weinstein family bought it in 1994. On October 3, 2006, Ravinder and Manjit Minhas bought all of it and renamed it Minhas Craft Brewery. The brewery's own site says it covers almost three city blocks downtown.
The brewery calls itself the oldest brewery in the Midwest, and one write-up says it describes itself as the second oldest in the nation. Treat those as the brewery's own claims rather than settled rankings, because the sources do not agree on how the title is measured.
What a visit looks like now
Reviewers describe a place with something for everyone: one who went on a Sunday did a 20-minute beer sampling, browsed the huge gift shop and crossed the street to the distillery for drinks. More recent visitors say the spirits and wine now share the brewery's space, so one stop covers all three. One May 2026 reviewer says the museum is gone, though a July 2026 regional guide still lists it. Another visitor in August 2026 singled out two bartenders by name and called the staff the best part.
The honest limit is the beer itself: one 2025 reviewer wrote that they were not a fan of the beers but liked the layout of taproom, gift shop and back rooms. Much of what the plant makes is not sold under the Minhas name, because the brewery says it specializes in private label and co-packaging. In 2021 beer writer Stan Hieronymus said he saw no Minhas-branded beers on tap in Wisconsin bars, but he also noted that the sign outside still reads Home of Huber Bock.
The tour question: confirm before you drive
The brewery's site advertises brewery tours as an inside look at the brewing process, but it does not post a schedule or a price. Phone the brewery on (608) 325-3191 before you plan around a tour time. Travel Wisconsin lists tasting and tours at the brewery, again with no schedule.
Older write-ups give a sense of the format but not current details: in 2014 Midwest Wanderer described a tour that starts with an introductory film, walks outdoors between two buildings joined by a tunnel under the street, and shows bottling and pasteurizing without entering the brew house. The same piece described a separate micro distillery tour that ends at a 1,000-gallon still nicknamed Godstilla, but the distillery has since moved into the shared taproom space, according to visitors, so do not count on that route. The micro distillery opened in 2012 in space the brewery formerly used.
Three blocks to the square: a Limburger sandwich and a self-pour glass
One 2025 reviewer suggests a Limburger sandwich at Baumgartner's, then a wander three blocks down to the brewery. Baumgartner's is about 0.1 miles from the brewery.
Posted hours run 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Google marks it wheelchair accessible, with free street and lot parking, and outdoor seating. If the cheese is the draw, the cheese counters around town are worth a full pass of their own.
It is about 0.2 miles from the brewery and, per Google, not good for children. The Turner Hall of Monroe, a Swiss chalet-style hall, first built in 1868 and rebuilt in 1938, is a short step from the brewery on 17th Avenue and worth a look from the sidewalk.
Where the locals drink: The Depot Bar and Spirits Bar & Grill
The Depot Bar at 1315 17th Street is about 0.3 miles from the brewery, a bar and grill with burgers, sandwiches and nachos, pool tables in a back room and an outdoor garden for carrying a drink outside. A 2025 reviewer who was new to Monroe called the drinks well made and unpretentious, and warned that card payments cannot take a tip, so bring cash for the bartenders; there is an ATM on site. Posted hours show it opening at 7 a.m. on weekdays, closing at 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and staying closed Sunday.
Spirits Bar & Grill at 2308 6th Avenue is the farthest of the group, about 0.9 miles from the brewery, and posts daily hours of 11 a.m. until midnight. It shares its address with Leisure Lanes, the bowling alley, and one reviewer used it for an annual bowling banquet. The rest of the town's taverns are laid out in a guide to the bars in Monroe.
Fitting the brewery into a Monroe day
Monroe had 10,661 residents at the 2020 census and bills itself as the Cheese Capital of the USA, so a brewery stop fits alongside the cheese shops and the square. The Minhas Kitchen and Wine Garden, at 1408 13th Street, lists an outdoor patio, a wine and beer garden, flatbreads, salads, burgers and a Friday fish fry. For a sit-down meal elsewhere, pick from the restaurants in Monroe, which range from tacos to Italian.
Cheese Days, held on the Courthouse Square in even-numbered years, ran September 18 to 20 in 2026, so the next one falls in 2028. Anyone timing a trip around the festival should read the Green County Cheese Days guide first, because the brewery is a short walk from the festival grounds. The Green County tourism office at the courthouse, 1016 16th Avenue, can be reached on 608.328.1838 for current events.
A brewery that has made beer on this site since 1845 sits three blocks from the square, which is reason enough to walk down 14th Avenue and see what is on tap.
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Published October 5, 2026
