Thursday 11th of July 2013 01:48:55 PM

link
While walking a few blocks back to our car (beware, they have old fashioned coin operated metered parking in this town) we passed a brewery I had totally forgotten was there: Full Sail. Not only is this an older institution, but one of the bigger breweries in the state with good distribution across the country. I'll admit I've never been a huge fan of the beers, but figured we should try it anyway. Taking up most of a a city block, this place is massive, but attractive and well-maintained. The brewpub side of things was nice and doing a gangbusters business. We were seated out on the balcony, up a few levels from ground on that side of the building and stepped into three levels of seating. With the stepped seating, each level had an amazing view of the river and surrounding mountains. Para sails and windsurfers dotted the river, echoing the sail shaped art/sculpture on the walls of the outdoor seating area. Simply the most beautiful view and location I've ever experienced at a brewery. We had the seasonal sampler of beers, knowing that I can find some of the regular releases out our way. Most of these were lagers, ( Marzen, Vienna, Mexican), and remarkably balanced and well crafted. I would highly recommend checking them out. I like the story of the place, being owned by the 47 employees is nice, and they were one of the first breweries to work on Green initiatives before it got trendy.

Friday 16th of January 2009 11:06:02 PM

link
I was anxious for my trip to Full Sail. After imbibing in their quality bottled beers, I was happy to get to visit the brewpub.

Having heard about the great views, etc, etc, I wound up being a little underwhelmed. Nice view of the river and all, but over-described elsewhere here.

Beers were great. I had both the IPA and the Pale, both full, well-crafted beers. The pub was an enjoyable place, service was good and friendly. Prices a little high.

Sunday 4th of January 2009 11:51:09 PM

link
Take the tour - there's a surprise at the end - and you'll love the tour! So good - best tour we've been on. Each step of the process was explained, we were given malts to taste, and everything was labeled making the process easier to understand. Parking was hard to find, you'll probably need to use metered parking so bring some quarters along, but again it's worth it - there is a pub attached to the brewery, with great atmosphere - they serve an amazing Reuben - We highly recommend it.

Thursday 23rd of October 2008 12:21:41 AM

link
Sitting right above the interstate looking out to the river the view from the windows or the deck is terrific. You walk through a hallway past several doorways leading to the brewing & fermenter areas to reach the tap room in back. The long bar is on the inside wall and there plenty of tall and short table seating both inside and on the deck. There are twenty taps including all their standards as well as some seasonals and special brewmaster reserves. I particularly enjoyed the vertical tasting of their three fresh hop varieties (for a change, my timing was good as Version #3 with Nugget hops has just been released). There is a big public parking lot right across from the brewery entrance.

Thursday 4th of September 2008 10:26:03 AM

link
Full Sail Brewery was a great place to visit for my first Fathers day. My wife asked what I want to do and since it was my day I wanted to check out Full Sail and a few others around that area. Full Sail is quite a drive up the Gorge but once there it was a beauty with a view to die for. The wind was kicking up so the surfers where in Full Sail on the water. LOL Had a great time the tour was awesome that was cleanest place I have ever seen. Loved the tasters and the beer by the pint had some great styles and experimental brews. We had a lovely lunch and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. Must say the wait staff needs work but I guess the burned out surfer crowd would careless so the old burned out surfers serving surfers is ok. It is a must stop for any beer lover. Plus there are 2 other beer places in town also so it makes for a big day if you wanted to hit 3 within a ½ mile of each other.

Monday 30th of June 2008 05:42:29 PM

link
Full Sail, conjuring up visions of rainbow-colored nylon sheets fluttering in the wind on a warm summer day carrying their boats and cargo effortlessly over blue waters.
In this case, the sail might be full but no one's manning the rudder. The boat is sailing dangerously close to the shallow sand bars on the Columbia River.
Wife Persimmon & I have visited this site three times over the past year. The view from their beer deck is amazing, full of wind-surfers, boats and the mighty river itself.
The beer is all overly-hopped...the service slow...the food indescribably tasteless. What's more, no one seems to care. It won't be long before this brewery finds itself cast ashore (and bought by a Missouri or Wisconsin uber-brewery) and what taste remains in the beers will be dumb-downed further, not unlike the ever-growing Redhook Brewery.
What's more, a full line of Full Sail is available in many grocery stores throughout Oregon & Washington where you can browse at your leisure instead of feeling like you're taking up valuable table space. Plus, depending upon the store, you're likely to find a knowledgable beer buyer who can discuss the pros and cons of Full Sail's repertoire...although for the life of me, I can't think of any pro's.
The town of Hood River supports (3) brewpubs including Full Sail, Double Mountain and Big Horse. Another is set to open before the summer is out across the river in White Salmon, Washington.
Persimmon & I will wait outside the door of that as-yet-to-be-open brewpub before we subject ourselves to Full Sail again.
To quote Groucho Marx: the beer is warm, the women cold and I'm hot under the collar.

Sunday 1st of June 2008 05:51:40 PM

link
Great location, with an incredible view of the river (and the windsurfing that gives the brewery its name) from the tasting room. They give free guided tours of the brewery, generally lead by one of the brewers, so they are very knowledgeable about the brewing process. I've never spent a lot of time there for the beer (I've usually gone in for the tour with minors), but I do know that the beer is good. They all the standard Full-Sail beers, plus they usually seem to have some specialty or seasonal varieties available.

Friday 9th of May 2008 12:11:47 PM

link
This pub is in the same location as the main Full Sail Brewery and has been upgraded in appearance, comforts, and food every time we have visited (about 6 times over a number of years). It's well worth a visit. You walk down a hallway from the street past windows giving a view into the brewery to end up in a large room with the bar and windows looking north onto the Columbia River. There’s often a great view of windsurfers from your seat. Next to the room is a good sized outside deck with quite a few tables and the same view.

On our most recent visit, our waitress barely knew anything about beer but she was able to give us a card describing the brewmaster specials in greater detail, so we at least got the information.

The food menu is fairly traditional, but the results are a cut above the normal (e.g., the salads are with great greens and are tossed without excessive dressing).