dorandbob Reviews - The Beer Mapping Project

Breakside Resturant and Brewery

dorandbob - score: 90.0 — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:25:35 EDT

Brewpub
Date and time reviewed: Fri, 03 May 2013 21:25:35 EDT

Overall Score: 90.0
Selection: 4.5 | Service: 4 | Atmosphere: 5 | Food: 4.75

Reviewer: dorandbob

Breakside Brewery is a new triangular building on a corner of a five way intersection in a mostly residential neighborhood of northeast Portland. It has a nice modern, "happening", yet low-key feel and it's well worth a visit.

Four intriguing custom-made large picnic tables are out front on a very wide sidewalk. Roll-up glass garage doors lead inside to the bar area with a number of tables with metal stools, including several made from a wooden cask with a circular top. At the back is a smallish L-shaped bar with tall chairs. Half a flight up on one side is a raised dining area with a few booths, a number of tables and a small kitchen.

There were nine house-made beers on our visit, representing a good range of styles. The IPA was modern in style and top-notch.

The food menu has fairly standard pub items, but if the tasty hummus plate and pretzel we ate are good indications, the quality is way above average.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Seaside Brewing Company

dorandbob - score: 91.7 — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:13:58 EDT

Brewpub
Date and time reviewed: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:13:58 EDT

Overall Score: 91.7
Selection: 4.75 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Seaside Brewing is in a substantial two-story brick and classic coastal wood building (with a parking lot) right in town and close to Hwy 101. The building has been extensively and tastefully renovated. There are two sections inside with brick outer walls and the remaining walls painted sea-foam green. The bar area on the left has very high ceilings and a lovely old red wood floor. There is a decent-sized L-shaped bar with chairs and stools and a number of assorted wooden tables. Two huge windowed doors open out to a raised outdoor deck with quite a few wooden picnic tables.

The tiny brewery is in the back of the dining section on the right, separated by a rope. It looks like quite a manual operation.

There were four Seaside beers listed on our visit: NW Red IPA, Imperial Pale, Honey Badger, and IPA. This, in addition to ten other Oregon craft beers on tap, makes quite a nice selection.

We didn’t try the food, but the menu listed mostly typical pub food as well as some interesting seafood specials. Growler fills are also available.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Triplehorn Brewing Co

dorandbob - score: 86.7 — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:55:21 EST

Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:55:21 EST

Overall Score: 86.7
Selection: 4.25 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.25 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Triplehorn is another one of the new breweries opening in Woodinville, a suburban/partially rural town on the northeast side of Lake Washington. Woodinville is also the home of an ever increasing number of tasting rooms for Washington wineries.

The brewery is located at the top of a sloped hill of warehouses (just keep going!). There’s a wooden floor and a concrete bar in the room as you enter, followed by a couch and TV beneath a ceiling fan. Further back are a few wooden tables and chairs in an area with very high ceilings and that is open to the brewery (separated by several wooden barrels). The vibe is comfortable and low-key. The place is dog-friendly and you can get growlers filled.

The selection is fairly impressive for a new brewery. On tap on our visit were: Harvest Porter, Landwink IPA (excellent), Nemesis Imperial Milk Stout, Falcon Cloak Blonde, Folkvang Red Ale, and Mystic Belgian Strong Ale. The IPA, the blonde, and the red ale are the regular beers and the rest are specials and seasonal offerings.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Schooner Exact

dorandbob - score: 95.0 — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:28:54 EDT

Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:28:54 EDT

Overall Score: 95.0
Selection: 4.75 | Service: 4.75 | Atmosphere: 4.75 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Schooner Exact is at the back of a small light industrial complex on 1st Ave. in south Seattle with parking available. You enter by walking up a concrete ramp that leads to a covered loading dock where comfortable folding wooden tables await. Inside double glass doors and an adjacent roll-up metal garage door, is a comfortable, modern, fairly small tasting room. There’s a long light-colored wooden bar with matching tall chairs and a number of other matching tables and chairs.

The bar back is a bright red partial wall that separates the tasting room from the brewery. You can get a good view of the brewery to the right of the bar.

There were eight house-made beers on tap on our last visit: 3-Grid IPA, Profanity Hill Porter, Gateway Golden, West Point Pale, King St. Brown, Gallant Maiden Hefe, Seamstress Union Raspberry Wheat, and Bravehorse Ale. The IPA, porter, and hefe were all quite good.

This place is well worth a visit. The atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming and the beer is good.

Growler fills and peanuts are available.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Two Beers Brewing Co.

dorandbob - score: 95.0 — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:19:29 EDT

Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:19:29 EDT

Overall Score: 95.0
Selection: 5 | Service: 4.75 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Two Beers is in a semi-industrial area in south Seattle. The brewery is located far along a row of modern, multi-colored, corrugated metal fronted warehouses with parking and concrete loading docks in front. Two Beers has several wooden tables and chairs on their loading dock.

The tasting room is aptly called “The Woods”. The floor is painted brown concrete but the long bar and several tables are topped with thick slabs of real wood and the bar chairs are black with mahogany-colored wood seats. The wood surfaces come from an old elm tree in Tacoma that had to be felled as it was beginning to get dry rot, according to the tap room manager. The “bar back” is a partial wall that serves to separate the tasting room from the brewery (no glass). You can get a good view of the brewery on the walk to the restrooms at the back.

The place has a very friendly feeling. We were served by the tap room manager and got some of the best information about the beers we’ve ever had at a bar.

There were ten house-made beers on tap on our visit as well as Tieton dry-hopped cider and Churchkey Pilsner. The quality and flavor of the beers is good (we tried both the IPA and the fresh hop IPA). You can order tasters or a pint and get a growler filled.

Food is several varieties of small pizza and peanuts only, except for the food truck that visits on Fridays.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Columbia Valley Brewing

dorandbob - score: 58.3 — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:48:09 EDT

Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:48:09 EDT

Overall Score: 58.3
Selection: 1.5 | Service: 3 | Atmosphere: 4.25 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Columbia Valley Brewing is in a generic grey cinder block building that is shared with a gym and adorned only with a small amount of blue trim just below the roof. However, it’s right across the street from a small park on the Columbia River that’s part of the extensive paved loop trail in town. The large outdoor beer garden has some peek-a-boo views of the river between the trees in the park, and is a comfortable space furnished with white chairs with light blue nylon webbing and matching round glass-topped tables, mostly on grass. There’s also a small stage at one side.

Three roll-up glass garage doors open between the outside and inside. Inside is also a large space with assorted wood (and simulated wood) tables and chairs. The ceiling is double-height, the floors are concrete, and there is a long corrugated metal, L-shaped, wood-topped bar with tall light wood padded chairs on one side. The brewery is to the left behind a matching corrugated metal wood-topped counter lined with more of the same chairs. Pool tables are at the opposite end of the room along with another small stage set below a large projection TV screen. At one side are two groupings of comfortable looking couches and side chairs as well as a foosball table.

It’s a locals place (though visitors are OK). The bartender on our visit could not accurately describe the only two house-made beers available (Wenatchee Weizen and “Suffocator”, the latter described as a stout, but actually more accurately called an Imperial amber on their Facebook page). Neither beer was truly outstanding. Their brewing techniques still need some work. It’s a shame, as the space is really quite nice, so we hope their beer improves to do it justice.

There is a parking lot. The only food is pretzels.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Airways Brewing Beer and Bistro

dorandbob - score: 90.0 — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:15:08 EDT

Beer Bar
Date and time reviewed: Sat, 05 May 2012 17:15:08 EDT

Overall Score: 90.0
Selection: 4.75 | Service: 4.75 | Atmosphere: 4 | Food: 4.0

Reviewer: dorandbob

Airways Brewing Beer & Bistro is in a fairly generic two story brick building at the front of a small office complex. The parking lot is in front and the entrance is on the side (only the small signs in the high small windows on the first floor can actually be seen from the street).

Inside is a long rectangular space. On the right is an area with wood-topped tables and large windows overlooking the courtyard with a few rhododendrons. Straight ahead is an L-shaped wooden bar with a blue wooden top and attractive tall black metal chairs with rich mahogany-colored wooden seats. A simple open kitchen is at the back. Behind the bar, the twelve taps are on one side of a small-ish aluminum refrigeration unit (implying short lines; always a good sign).

The floors are worn painted concrete. The finished ceiling has recessed lighting fixtures, and over the table area it is made from dark wood and has some attractive blue glass hanging lamps. The walls are light beige/yellow except for a couple of blueberry blue colored accent walls that match the bar top. On the wall behind the bar there is one small TV with the sound off, and a poster-sized black and white photo of an historic Alaska airline stewardess onboard an airplane. Near the entrance is a large chalkboard listing all the beers on tap with a few additional details.

There were four Airways beers (ESB, IPA, Imperial IPA, and Cascadian Dark Ale), seven more local craft beers, and a Washington cider on tap on our visit. The two IPAs and the CDA are all quite good.

The food choices are simple (flatbread pizza, panini, salads, and a couple of appetizers) but good. We enjoyed the sausage pizza we tried, and the salads looked to be quite special.

Only those over 21 are allowed here.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Neighborhood

dorandbob - score: 93.3 — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:40:06 EDT

Beer Bar
Date and time reviewed: Wed, 02 May 2012 12:40:06 EDT

Overall Score: 93.3
Selection: 5 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: 5.0

Reviewer: dorandbob

Neighborhood is an alehouse/gastropub on a corner in the redeveloped, but still somewhat edgy, East Village neighborhood in the center of downtown San Diego. It’s a bit on the trendy side, but the beer selection is amazing and the atmosphere is modern/casual and inviting.

Interestingly, the beer list is categorized by flavors. On our visit, there were four “Light/Fruity/Wheaty”, 6 “Hoppy”, 6 “Malty”, 12 “Belgian/Spicy/Sour”, and one cask beer. The selection is largely local craft beers plus a few craft beers from elsewhere in the US and some Belgians.

The metal bar is topped with dark wood and lined by padded stools. Also in the bar area is another stand-alone tall counter with the same stools.

The remainder of the seating has dark wood tables with black padded chairs and benches (the one we sat on had “BEER” stitched into it). Large glass windows are on two sides. These windows fold up to let in air. On the sidewalk outside on both sides are outdoor seating sections partially shaded by large awnings.

The floors are worn wood and concrete. The high black ceiling has exposed ducts, painted rosebuds, and strange artisanal light bulbs hanging down from black metal tubes. A striking black and white mosaic with the San Diego skyline is on the back wall. On one side wall is a large painting of Sigmund Freud holding a hamburger and behind the bar is a smaller painting of Jesus Christ holding a hamburger. Also behind the bar is a huge elk head over the chalkboard beer list.

The food is upscale - both pub food variations and some innovative choices. The small plate we tried was excellent (fried olives, cherry peppers, sauteed almonds and strawberries).

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

Mission Brewery

dorandbob - score: 88.3 — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:53:26 EDT

Brewery
Date and time reviewed: Tue, 01 May 2012 13:53:26 EDT

Overall Score: 88.3
Selection: 4.5 | Service: 4 | Atmosphere: 4.75 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

Mission Brewery is well worth a visit: the beer is good, the atmosphere is welcoming and pub-like, and there’s a front-seat view of the stainless steel brewery.

There were six beers on our visit: Blond (Kolsch), Amber (Dusseldorf Altbier), ShipWrecked Double IPA, IPA, and Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout. We tried the IPA, the Alt, and the Russian Imperial Stout and all were impressive. (beer was served in plastic cups, however).

The tasting room and brewery are in a large, old, but beautifully restored brick building (apparently a former Wonder Bread facility!), right by Petco Field baseball stadium and not too far from downtown San Diego. The ceiling is an extremely high wood ceiling with exposed rafters and large skylights. Quite a few tall wooden posts help support the ceiling.

A very long and very deep dark wood bar runs along one wall, lined by black wooden stools. Behind the bar are ten taps and a hand pump. On the other side is the brewery, separated only by a matching long bar counter (no seating). The mash tun and brew kettle are front and center and there are at least six good sized fermenters. In between the bars are a few tables with stools and a shuffleboard. It’s quite a good sized bar space and the feeling is light and friendly.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com

La Jolla Brew House

dorandbob - score: 73.3 — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:12:11 EDT

Brewpub
Date and time reviewed: Tue, 01 May 2012 10:12:11 EDT

Overall Score: 73.3
Selection: 4 | Service: 3.5 | Atmosphere: 3.5 | Food: N/A

Reviewer: dorandbob

The Brew House is in a middle of the road, vaguely mission-style building on a side street in La Jolla. A covered outdoor area runs in front of the space. Inside, windows run across the short front wall, a long wooden bar runs along the left side and an elevated dining section runs along to the right.

The bar is in an L-shape with seating on two sides and is lined with tall dark wooden chairs. A row of flat screens runs side by side on the similarly-shaped bar back. A few tables complete the bar section. The raised dining section has pine booths with padded seats and a row of tall tables with the same chairs as at the bar.

The white ceiling has exposed joists and heating ducts and rotating fans. A big mounted sword fish (or marlin) and several kayaks decorate the walls. The floor is of worn wood.

Seven craft beers were on tap on our visit, representing a wide range of styles, mostly not local.

We didn’t eat anything, so can’t comment on the food.

Link to this Review at beermapping.com