Wednesday 14th of September 2016 05:31:59 PM

link
Walnut Brewery is a block away from the historic Pearl Street mall in college-ville, Boulder.

It is a subsidiary of the Rock Bottom Chain which explains the quality of beer and food.

Best word; mediocre. The brown was good, the others (Pale Ale, IPA, mild {very mild} dark) all without character.

The food is expensive and the portions small. Our pretzels "bites" (and that's what they were...all 5 of them) were almost $5.00 -- on a Wednesday afternoon -- with 2 half pints -- total, $15.75 without tip.

This was my fault.

In my zeal to experience a new brewery, I asked a young lady on the street if she lived in Boulder. She answered, "yes" with a lovely smile. Then I asked about Walnut. She raised her hand, fingers stretched out in front and wriggled her hand in a "meh" gesture.

"And New Flanders?"

No words. Same hand expression...then, "I'd go to Mountain Sun."

Well, wife Persimmon and I have been there and, as I said, I wanted to try a new place.

I did.

I won't return.

Wednesday 6th of January 2010 12:26:33 AM

link
The Walnut Brewery, while part of the Rock Bottom restaurant group, actually appears to predate the first Rock Bottom restaurant in downtown Denver. That being said, the decor, menu, and beer list is definitely the Rock Bottom style. The beer list spans the fairly typical US brewpub lineup from light to amber to pale to brown to black beers. Even so, the Walnut beers maintain their individuality. The beers I've had at Walnut might not have been exemplary but were representative of their styles. The food menu is also very similar to the other Rock Bottom pubs; a decent variety but nothing really that would get me to travel a great distance for. My experiences with the Walnut staff have all been excellent. They were knowledgeable about their beers and friendly. This might not be the place to get me to revisit Boulder but is worth stopping in when I'm in town.

Saturday 11th of April 2009 08:07:15 PM

link
i also didn't know it was a rock bottom associated establishment. we went there to try a pint. the server seemed knowledgable but i asked only two questions. i got the pale and it was okay nothing great. my gf got the american wheat. i found it subpar. dull is a great way to explain the beers. it was 3.75 a pint for happy hour too i believe which seems high to me for a "sale" price. mountain sun up the road had way better beer. when i'm in town next time i'll hit avery or mountain sun.

Wednesday 23rd of April 2008 12:38:43 PM

link
I randomly wound up here while in Boulder recently and, at the time, had no idea that this was a Rock Bottom place. That certainly explains some things though.
First, the beer, which, to me, supersedes all else. Now that I know that it's Rock Bottom, it makes sense, because the beer seemed dull and unimaginative for Colorado standards. I had a pint of the ESB after hearing some disconcerting descriptions from the server of the pale, as well as a couple of others. Everything was just much lighter than I'd like it to be. The ESB was as such, but had a nice flavor. It doesn't compare with other ESBs I've had though, even from some of the larger brewers. My friend had the "black lager," which I called a "P" Porter, where "P" is a derogatory term that I won't try to tack on here. Flavorful, but, still, afraid to be all it could be.
The atmosphere is a little annoying. Very sterile and a little too nice, but I guess that describes most of Downtown Boulder. There are also about ten TVs in the place, which just annoys me, because I'm not there to be in a sports bar.
Although I didn't have any, the food was excessively expensive, but, of course, so was the beer. With the tax added, one pint came to about $6, high even for Boulder standards.
The server was especially nice and dealt with my intense questions and beer snobbery with good humor.
The place bids itself as having a long history in Boulder so I was especially disappointed to learn about the Rock Bottom association. Then again, I guess it's better that it is a chain, as I don't see any self-respecting independent serving a beer selection this mundane.

Sunday 9th of December 2007 01:32:43 PM

link
Part of the Rock Bottom group, I found the Walnut Street Brewery a little cookie-cutter-ish.

The beer was quality, the service professional, the food was reasonably good, price was above average (high). The atmosphere was pretty good, though, Rock Bottom has a nice platform.

We were lucky enough to be there while the CU-CSU football game was on, so the place was lively and enjoyable.

Annoyances: I'm more of a fan of the independent, little less corporate pubbery...