Four of us on the way to Milwaukee stopped here for lunch recently. We were seated immediately at a table; everything in the restaurant was clean and modern. We ordered two samplers that totaled 10 6-ounce beers. These included a lager, hefeweizen, red ale, two IPAs, stout, schwarzbier, brown ale, pumpkin porter, and scotch ale. The waitress also threw in their just finished Trappist Wheat Barrel Reserve. All the beers were good though the Trappist wheat was pretty sour. My favorite beer was the Cask Conditioned Double IPA. The brewing equipment could be seen behind the bar and around one of the corners. All the food was great; we had pizza, dogs, and burgers. Service was excellent. Parking is not a problem since they are at a stand-alone location with their own lot. The restaurant is entirely no smoking.

reviewed on: 2009-11-19 20:27:22

Stopped here for lunch on a recent road trip. We sat at the bar and sampled a few things, there were 15-16 house taps at the time of our visit. Their detailed website has ETA dates scheduled for seasonals and rotating releases. The seasonals I tried were the Coriander Saison, Roggenbier, and Bourbon Stout, in addition to a few of the house regulars. A sampler of 5 brews (6 oz.) runs $8.50. They are served with a black wrought-iron holder, which lines them up perfectly in front of you. Nothing really impressed enough to get a growler of, though the Doppelbock was my favorite. 32oz. growlers were $12.50, more for high-gravity stuff. The bar was polished, dim glowing lights were underneath. It was adjacent to the kitchen, so there was some high traffic on the left side. Brew kettles and an oak barrel were visible behind the bar, through large windows.

Atmosphere was very clean and polished, "metro-industrial" decor. There were a number of dining areas, all sectioned off by walls made of contrasting wood/metal beams, with frosted glass. Near the bar, the glass had actual sprigs of grain set into it. Lofty ceiling with beams and exposed ductwork. It was almost too shiny and polished, but it seemed that they had a diverse crowd to impress. There were lots of families, big groups, people of all ages.

There was an army of staff here, even though we just came in and were seated at the bar, we had contact with 5 people. Lauren the bartender was quick with recommendations and samples. Service was very attentive at lunchtime, with a decent crowd in the bar area.

Food was good, especially the pozole. Pizza and Reuben were just ok. The reuben was served on bread that had dried fruit in it, non-traditional I guess. We'll be back to try more of the seasonal beers later in the year.

reviewed on: 2008-04-14 10:33:28