Pearl Street has long been a center of activity in La Crosse, and La Crosse has long been a major beer town. The Pearl Street Brewery combined the two to offer residents, visitors, and many UW-La Crosse students (21 and over) several craft beers in the heart of downtown “LAX”.
Pearl Street Brewery opened up in 1999, the same year monster brewer G. Heileman shut its doors just to the south (today, it’s City Brewery.) While still serving beer on Pearl Street (and 3rd Street, famous for being packed with bars), the brewery and Tasting Room have moved north of downtown a bit to a 100+-year old former Rubber Mills boot factory just east of Highway 35 that offers plenty of room for both brewing and tasting. There’s room to move around, a small stage for live music, and even an arcade area with old-school video games to enjoy – or get mad at, depending on how you do.
The Tasting Room is open every day but Sunday and Monday, and you can take a tour (a “Brewery Tourery” as they call it) on Saturdays from noon to 5pm.
Popular Pearl Street brews include their D.T.B. Brown Ale, which won a Gold medal at the World Beer Championships; Pearl Street Pale Ale; Linalool IPA; Me, Myself and IPA; El Hefe Bavarian Hefeweizen; the (language alert) Shitty Lyte light lager; Java Lava Coffee Stout; and the – get ready – “That’s What I’m Talkin’ ‘Bout Organic Rolled Oat Stout.” They also have some popular limited edition and seasonal beers, such two Gose style beers (17 Up and Pop Gose), a porter called Smokin’ Hemp, Lederhosen Lagerfest Bier (a fall feature), their Applefest Appleweizen, and a favorite of ours, the Breakfast Beer – a tasty amber cream ale. They also have a “Funk Cellar” (cue the George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic music), where they produce sours and other brews like their Funkadelicacy, Gosecopia, and more.
Pearl Street’s Tasting Room is a few blocks off Highway 35, north of U.S. 14/61 and Highways 16 and 33 by a few miles. U.S. 53 is just to the west and I-90 crosses just two miles to the north.
Pearl Street Brewery Address:
1401 Saint Andrew Street
La Crosse, WI 54603
(608) 784-4832
Website
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