Monday 27th of July 2009 01:30:21 PM

link
Very upscale with lots of brick and wood accents. large outside patio. Large Bar area with big Screen Tv's. Bighorn Blonde exceptionally clear with light malt aroma with light malt sweetness and just enough hops so it's not cloying, a very nice beer. Bighorn Hefe has some lemon aroma without the lemon slice, typical banana and very lite clove, another good beer. 71 Pale Ale has some moderate malt sweetness and hop bitterness and is well balanced, lite for a Pale Ale but a very good beer. Big REd IPA has moderate hop aroma with some initial malt sweetness followed by moderate hop bitterness, another crisp and clean beer. Buttface Amber Ale has some light crystal malt malt and lite hope aroma, some moderate malt sweetness and low hop flavor. taildragger IPA is hoppy but not overdone, nice hop aroma and good hop bitterness. All the beers seem to be filtered as they are crystal clear. Crab and shrimp enchiladas were very good. All the food was good, pulled pork sandwich, fajitas, Ahi burger, ribs were spicey and tender. Well worth the trip.

Thursday 21st of May 2009 08:54:16 PM

link
Another home-away-from-home. I've been coming here many years as well.

Mug Club membership is a must for regulars! About $30 per year gets you $3.25 mugs (24oz) all the time for one year. Best Beer value in the Valley - bar none! If you don't have that and don't hit happy hour, the beer prices are above average.

Note this location does not serve mugs during big sporting events - a major problem, so I go to Meridian.

The Beer: Very well done traditional styles. The only thing keeping it from being exceptional is there is no risk-taking, or strays from tradition. The brewers Kevin and Jake are very knowledgeable and precise about the styles they make. You will NEVER have a bad beer here, but you will not have anything like a Devil Dog or Maximus or Old Chub either. The brewers are fantastic guys and will gladly talk with anyone about their work. They have won many GABF medals with their precision beer styles.

The Hefeweizen and seasonal Pilsner are world-class. The Buttface Amber and Total Disorder Porter (with the help of some new specialty malts) are top-notch. Taildragger IPA is always very good when you can get it. If you like Guinness you must try their Ol' Saint Micks Dry Stout on Nitro. It's what Guinness should have been.

The food is very good, if a little on the pricey side. The burgers are very good as is the pulled pork bomber. Their BBQ meatloaf sandwich is amazing and huge. Sundays are buy one burger, get one half off, if you're on a budget.

The service there is not always as personable as the Meridian location, but it, in general is very professional.

Patio dining when the weather is nice is a great option.

Tuesday 2nd of September 2008 06:52:30 PM

link
Stopped during our tour of Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, Western Montana and Western Wyoming regions. As we visited all the National Parks and Breweries summer 2004. This was a huge place with a nice selection of brews. Busy was the word and we hardly got to sit we where were bumped into so many times. Food was good the beer was so so. Try it out on a non weekend night should be nice. The river and the patio are nice but the summer is hot and lots of bugs.

Friday 22nd of February 2008 02:50:14 PM

link
This place is a large open space with very high ceilings. The bar has a couple of segments and seats about 30. There are lots of tables in the bar area. There are some nice long skinny tables for larger groups. They offer more booths and tables in dining area. I think they also offer an outdoor area.

For beers they had 6 or 7 regulars and 4 seasonal offerings. These seasonals included a Belgian, a pilsner, a lager and an IPA on nitro. Beers were decent and per style.

I was here twice and each time had a friendly professional bartender. College age wait staff.

The large food menu should have something for just about everyone as they offer a wide variety of salads, appetizers, entrees, etc. Lots of the options employ Ram beers for sauces, marinades, etc. Good to see! I liked my salmon tacos!

As with a lot of Rams, the music is a mishmash of styles and could use a bit of fine-tuning. How do you put the Ramones between Michael Jackson and Anita Baker???