Thursday 9th of September 2010 10:19:53 PM

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I was happy to find a place with a really great selection of brew on tap. On my first visit (on a weekday afternoon) they had 18 Rogue brews on tap, three of their own in house brews and six guest brews. Being an IPA fan I opted for the house brew Contraband IPA. Great hops flavor and just bitter enough.
Food and service were decent. Prices were typical for a sports bar/brewhouse.
I'll be back.

Tuesday 18th of August 2009 07:24:21 PM

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First things first, the beer. Rogue is one of my favorite breweries, period. They seem to have a knack for brewing up everything they do juuuuuuuuust right. They really do offer something for every taste, and have one of the most extensive lineups of beers of any brewery you will ever go to. The Issaquah Brewhouse carries the full lineup of beers from the Rogue flagship brewery, plus their own house brews, and a few guest brews. Their brew lineup is far too extensive to really review, and I have had most all their brews at one time or another. Just go, order what your little heart tells you, and enjoy. Or get the sampler, that works too.

As far as the burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs go, this place makes some great food. I was especially impressed with the quality of their hot dogs that are made locally; though with a $9 price tag, I can understand why most people would shy away and try something that seems more appropriately priced. I personally feel the $9 chilli dog was worth it though. Only food item that left me somewhat disappointed was their hummus plate, and that's only because they need to work on how they divide the toppings. The juices from the roasted red peppers was left to roam free, and made the pita bread soggy by the time we got to eating it. I don't like soggy stuff, and you probably don't either.

Service is so-so. I can recall a few times that the service was a bit embarrassing since we had been hyping the place up. Also, I don't much care for having loud children sitting at the table next to me when I'm trying to enjoy a beer. So as far as atmosphere goes, those are the biggest downsides

Thursday 11th of September 2008 11:18:14 AM

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This was my first time at this Rogue so I was not sure what to expect. They had a very nice selection of beers on tap and the food was the regular Rogue pub food. The service was nice and pleasant. We where able to bring the kid into the pub and she liked the French fries. Was also able to buy several of the off styles in the bottle so I can check them out at my leisure. They have a sample tray of 4 which does not do it justice I must try to get more next time. Rogue found a nice niche up in Issaquah WA. They got a huge sports bar area if needed and the brewery is right there. Check out some of the different brands they got some good stuff. They may even start Micro Distilling in the near future.

Thursday 28th of August 2008 06:27:50 AM

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You want a good selection of beer on tap on the east side? This is the place to go. Just about every different kinds of rogue beer on tap, more in bottle, order kegs and growlers to go, great food (Kobe beef included), decent prices. It can get a bit busy at the bar, but sitting down for food, or just drinks is great. Lots of seating, knowledgeable staff. I could go on, but all I really need to say is that if you are on the east side of Seattle and you want to be able to sit down and enjoy a number of good beers and have a good meal this is the only choice.

Sunday 15th of June 2008 12:07:00 PM

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The main room is long and narrow with north-facing windows all along the long side. Lots of booths and some tables as well as a large wooden bar that heads back into the interior of the building. Green carpeting, beige walls decorated with Rogue awards, bottles, cans, and other paraphernalia. There are two other rooms, a small one off to one side with more windows and tables and a large overflow room on the other side behind the brewery. There are various TVs (no sound) and music in the background. There are a few tables outside on the sidewalk in the summer. Kids are OK, except right at the bar (and there’s a kid menu that comes with a Rogue frisbee).

You can buy bottles of Rogue beer and various t-shirts, etc. as well as the rum and gin they distill in Oregon.

The beer selection is great. Rogue beers cover a wide range of styles and are all made with a little (or a lot!) of attitude and are all worth trying. There is a large selection of Rogue beers from the main Newport, Oregon brewery, quite a few distinctive beers brewed here (you can see the brewery through windows on one side), a few from the other Rogue brewery in Eugene, Oregon, and generally a couple non-Rogue beers.

There is an extensive menu of fairly standard pub fare. The quality and range has improved enormously over the years we’ve visited, but it isn’t outstanding. Not bad by any means, but not particularly special.

One minor note about the restrooms: the women’s room is “Hops” and the men’s is “Barley”. It helps to remember that the hops in beer all come from female hop plants and the character John Barleycorn from the English folk song was a man.....

Monday 18th of February 2008 01:29:08 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

So I recently hit this place up a couple of times simply to get my hands on a larger variety of special brews from Rogue as well as others.

The location is a multistorefront beast as they out grew their original location, the atmosphere is nice because all the brew apparatus is spread around and you can look it over when you want. Nothing fancy here, the food and the beer are the focus, there is a minimum of bar games but they seem to be decoration as much as anything as no one seemed to use any of them on a saturday night.

The food selection was great, No one at the table was disappointed in their selections from the menu. As the earlier reviewer pointed out they did not allow my fiancee to substitute a cup of soup instead of fries with her salmon sandwich even after we said we didnt care about cost, we ended up having to just order the soup as another item, it wasnt a huge deal but it does show that customer service is not their specialty.

The beer selection is outstanding and fairly priced. All the house made brews plus tons of taps from rogue, but the oddest part was the coors and MGD taps on one corner (I guess they cater to the locals a bit). The bottle selection was outstanding. Of course they had basically all the rogue beers that are bottle available in bottles as well as a fine selection of bottles from other brewers. They had trappists, lambics, lots of west coast and socal brewers were represented including stone, Port Brewing and many more, all of which were kept cold in the coolers as well as extra supplies on shelfs in the back. Not to mention the waitress was very knowledgeable about the beers and their flavor profiles.

Dont miss the selection of the rogue XS line on tap you wont find those often and they alone make the trip out worth it. I highly recommend a visit or 2 here, Beer is the focus and they know their stuff.

Wednesday 28th of November 2007 05:12:42 PM

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Rogue (from Random House Dictionary of the English Language) - a scoundrel, no longer controllable, a renegade.
"The spirit of the Rogue brand, even the name, suggests doing things differently, a desire and willingness to change the status quo." (From a speech by Kim Jordans, of the New Belgian / Fat Tire brewery at the 2003 Craft Brewers Conference.)
And there you have, in essence, the mission of John Meier and the Rogue Brewhouses.
Beginning in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon with a simple manifesto, "What if people want beer with taste?" right up to the present with a Gold Medal for their Shakespeare Stout at the Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, Rogue Ales continue to shine.
The Issaquah Brewhouse was bought by the Rogue Nation in 2000 and features, count 'em, 28 beers on tap and with more than 280 award-winners available, there's enough here to keep the most discerning beer geek in brewery heaven.
IPA, Bullfrog (Hefe), King Frog (Imperial Smoked Stout), Menage a' Frog (Tripel), Mocha Porter, Chipotle Ale, Brutal Bitter, Yellow Snow and the extraordinary Hazelnut Brown can leave your taste-buds reeling like a December skinny dip. Shivering, lips smacking, glad to be finished, with jutting chest from the realization of what you've accomplished and suddenly you can't wait (as my 5-year old once said after a frightening roller coaster ride) to "do dat agin!"
The menu here is a delight as well with Kobe Beef burgers (w/Oregon blue cheese crumbles) --gator gumbo, spinach & artichoke dip...again enough to satisfy diverse likes. There is an unfortunate drawback and one I consider a violation of good customer service. Fries come with burgers however, I wanted waffle fries instead. "No substitutions" the waittress pointed out. I was more than willing to pay the extra $1.50 for get what I wanted but no deal. Jack Nicholson's quandry in "Five Easy Pieces" came to mind but I bit my tongue. Fortunately, a good many of Rogue beers can be found at local groceries so, although I do prefer draught over bottle, this is not someplace I will patronize again anytime soon...not until my righteous indignation subsides.
Outdoor seating is limited to 4 tables on a busy side street...but the indoor can easily accomodate 150(+) and more times than not, it's crowded leaving the bartenders or other beer-lovers little time or ability to just converse.
Even so, there's still a community feel to this pub and of course, the multiple award winning beers. So, I'll end with this appropriate quote learned in high school (thanks to my Latin teacher screaming it in my ear!)that also happened to be the sign over the bar: Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes.
(Translation): "If You Can Read This, You're Too Smart To Be Here."
(Disclaimer) Yes I took Latin but all I remember is Vini, Vidi, Vici -- I came, I saw, I conquered. The bartender translated the other whilst I conqurered my Hazelnut!