Wednesday 16th of November 2011 01:15:15 AM

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This is a cool looking restaurant bar with wood beams, a nice wood bar which wraps around between the restaurant side and bar side with lots of cool signs and bottles and scrimshaw, flat screens, large outdoor patio. The menu is typical pub grub but also has steaks, ribs.

The first beer was the Golden ale, it has a light malt aroma, light gold color, it has a nice creaminess and enough bittering to make it not cloying. A good session beer. The Tangerine beer was critrusy up front with a lite gold clear color, the flavor is lite citrus slight tangerine, a very clean beer with nice fruit flavor and some slight lingering bitterness A really good fruit beer. The next beer was a wheat rye with a nice clear lite gold color. All these first beers have about the same SRM. This beer has a nice flavor and is well balanced and clean. Slight wheat and rye flavor. Next was a boysenberry ale with a slight berry aroma and moderate hops to balance but more hops than the other fruit beers. Next was the pale ale that was slightly lite for style, crystal clear with about the same color. If I had to guess I would say the tangerine ale is the golden ale base and the boysenberry beer has the pale ale for the base. The pale ale is good, malty and well balanced slightly hoppy. The next beer was the Strong Blonde ale with a medium gold color and good maltiness with a slight sweet finish, moderate alcohol with some slight lingering bitterness. Next was the ipa, which has a nice hop flavor and some slight crystal malt and good lingering hop bitterness. Next was the stout which had a nice roasted aroma and a nice chocolate maltiness with great balance. This is a good beer, maybe not a traditional stout in the coffee/roasted/astringent way but another good session beer if you like that style. The last beer, a vanilla stout has a slight vanilla and just a very slight sourness, probably the stout with vanilla added this one seems slightly more astringent.

The fries were good and you could order different things like garlic, Parmesan cheese etc. Pepper jack cheddar or blue cheese.

One of the owners came by before we left and confirmed what I thought about the fruit beers.

Definately worth the stop and even coming back for.

Friday 23rd of April 2010 06:58:09 PM

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This brewhouse is a staple in Placerville. If you are a local as I am, you're sure to be seen here because the beer is excellent and the grub is fantastic! I'd recommend this place to anyone.

The only drawback is the parking and service. They are so busy that it takes a while sometimes to get served. In this case you have to belly up to the bar and just holler.

A little tip is to park next door at the paint store if the parking lot is full.

Otherwise, see you there!

Tuesday 24th of March 2009 04:44:48 PM

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A small group of us stopped here on our way to Lake Tahoe for a Bachelor Party Weekend, and since I was the one who suggested that we stop here, I was quite bummed that the beers were as bad as they were. Our first order was for a pitcher of IPA, which reeked of Diactyl. This beer was quickly returned and a pale ale was poured, but again it was not clean at all. I am not sure if they are rushing their beers through the process in an attempt to get the beer out, since they appear to do a great lunch business.
Other beers tried were the Golden, which was a little better than the others, but still had some slight diacetyl present.
A barrel aged beer appeared to in the best shape, but again there was a "off flavor" going on.

The food was only fair, and the service was slow, but I don't think from a lack of effort, they just seemed like they were short of servers.

I had visited this place several years before, and at that time, it was a much more enjoyable experience. I hope we caught thme on a back week, but I am not so sure.

Sunday 22nd of June 2008 04:16:58 PM

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Have to agree with danscott's comments. The central U-shape bar is small but comfortable and surrounded on three sides by additional table seating. The brewing room is visible from the bar area. Seven standards and three seasonals were on tap when I visited plus a couple Two-Rivers Ciders. I was surprised by how refreshing the Tangerine ale is on a hot day and the Vanilla Stout would make a great Stout Float. The menu includes a good selection of salads, sandwiches and some typical pub entrees. Parking is pretty tight in the small lot.

Friday 6th of June 2008 04:00:26 AM

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Used to be Hangtown Brewing, but the business split up so the brewer bought it and renamed.

Fun, cozy locals hangout with a pool table and decent food. Usually 8 on tap, 7 standards and a seasonal. Some interesting beers:

Tangerine Ale - which is delicious and refreshing.
Boysenberry Ale - another fruit beer done very well. Both are well balanced, not overly fruity.
Vanilla Stout - Big, strong vanilla flavor
Really nice pale ale, sometimes they will so a single hop batch
Strong Blond - Big! But not too boozy tasting.