Wednesday 25th of May 2011 09:52:08 PM

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A cozy, friendly small town brewpub that happens to have very good beer and has a focus on using local ingredients for its food. The food is very good, but the menu is honestly limited. Then again, it's not a big place and I would much rather have the food be very good than there be many different choices.
Beer has quite a range. The standards are IPA, wheat, pale, porter and pilsner. Note the distinct lack of a "light" or "lager." That kind of brewpub. In fact, especially when you get into their seasonals (which they have available on 22oz bottle from the cooler inside), I would submit that, maybe with the exception of New Albanian, this is the best beer in Indiana. The wheat (unfiltered, quite good) is, by far, their most popular but they have a "beer of the day" every day, and that beer goes down $1 to $3 for a pint. No happy hour though.
My favorite, of the standards, is the IPA. It's one of those well-balanced IPAs that features enough hops to bite you but keeps it sane so as not to drive you off. The pale seems to be a relatively similar recipe but with less hops. Kind of a "light IPA." I also really like the Bad Elmer Porter.
But this is a really comfortable place to come. It's kind of a cross-section of Bloomington and features that Bloomington friendliness, both in the crowd and in the servers. It's far enough off the college strip that it doesn't see too much of them, but those that do like beer other than Bud Light also do seem to make their way over there.
There's a great patio but, when the weather's nice, it's the first place to fill up. It gets very crowded on weekend nights, so plan accordingly if you want to come and be comfortable trying the beers.

Friday 8th of April 2011 10:55:19 AM

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Okay, I love this place. I've been an avid homebrewer for a couple years now and been "researching" all kinds of brews from breweries all over. I seriously think most of Upland's brews can stack up with the best of 'em.

Brew Selection. This isn't a 5 because although they have a pretty nice variety of brews available (I think like 7 beers on tap), they don't always have a nice variety of styles represented. That being said, what they have is great...and going to the pub will always present the opportunity to try something you can't get on the store shelves.

Atmosphere. Great place...just a little small. It's always packed (good sign there!)...so it can be tough to get a seat sometimes.

Service. Everyone is SUPER nice. I haven't met a server or host/ess who wasn't nice. They always know about the brews too. Especially when they start to recognize you, it creates a truly unique experience.

Food. Awesome. I didn't give it a 5 because it's basically a normal bar menu, but I didn't go to a 4 because most of the food is "on steroids" in some way shape or form. Locally driven is the key. Again, great food...burgers are really great...but it is a burger.

Wednesday 9th of December 2009 10:19:00 PM

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Previous reviewer pretty much covered all the highlights. But as for sanitation problems? Hardly.

Just good beer by people that know what they're doing. The seasonals are always good, particularly their winter warmer barleywine. But in my opinion, their red rad amber leaves something to be desired.

All in all, some enjoyable brews that fit well with some of their great food and a pleasant atmosphere. Go in the summer so you can eat outside on the patio.

Tuesday 24th of June 2008 10:17:08 AM

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Sorry but I have to stick up for Upland here. Visited over the weekend, there was no "twang" to any of the 7 beers I tried. Sour grapes? The place was clean and everything seemed to be working efficiently.

The space is airy with high ceilings and large windows. Hops were growing out front, snaking up along several ropes tied to the roof. There was an outdoor patio with umbrella tables, and a sizeable seating area indoors. An eclectic bottle collection was displayed on high shelves around the room. A large window behind the bar gave a glimpse of the brew kettles. Beer to-go in bottles (cheap) and growlers too.

We sat at the bar and tasted all seven of the beers offered (3 were seasonals). The best ones I had were the porter and wheat, the pilsner was good too. Ar Dri (March seasonal) was not on tap, but I later had some in Muncie, and it was my favorite. Ordered some pretzel bites with spicy mustard, they were hot and served in a paper cone ala pomme frites. The bartender described all the beers well, and answered our questions. 8 varieties of lambic will be released in the fall...

Overall this was a comfortable, inviting place with good beer and food. I'll return here when visiting friends in the area.

Sunday 8th of June 2008 12:11:22 AM

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I've been here twice in about two years.
Both times a noticeable "twang" to the beer (AKA sanitation problem). I tasted two or three different brews each time, but all had a lactic component. Nice place, but in 2008, I would expect a brewer to be on top of sanitation. From what I've heard, the place is a hot spot for local college students, who apparently haven't tasted enough brews to notice the issues.