Monday 8th of August 2011 07:19:46 PM

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If you made it to this part of California you have to stop to have lunch or dinner. There isn't much else (brewery wise) in Eureka.

The Downtown Brown is my favorite and their Tangerine Wheat is a close but different second. I was with several friends who all had something different including the Raspberry Brown and the standard Great White.

I had the Santa Fe Chicken salad on this past trip, 8-6-11, which was very good. The Buffalo wings aren't for the faint of heart and were very good.

Monday 11th of January 2010 08:33:52 PM

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There were twelve house-made beers available on our visit: 8 regulars, 2 seasonals, and 2 fruit variations. The quality of the beers is good.

The atmosphere on our visit was more about eating than drinking but it was very local and friendly with all ages and demographics represented and quite busy.

The pub is in a classic old small-town-American building, rectangular in shape with the narrow side in front, and painted mustard yellow. Inside there is a double height ceiling, partially covered by an open mezzanine area. The floors are old worn wood. Green-topped tables with light-colored wood Queen Anne style chairs fill the front room. The wooden bar and stools are in the middle of the space and there are more tables and a pool table in the back. The decorations are whimsical and historic - old photos of Eureka, hanging paper mache creatures, palm trees, and an elaborate painted dragon on one wall.

The food is mostly generic pub. The burger we had was OK but nothing special.

Sunday 11th of October 2009 11:23:55 PM

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after spending 4 days hiking on the lost coast, stopping at lost coast brewery in eureka at 11 a.m. was kind of a let down. the beer was fairly flat, cleaning the lines would help and there was a definite north cali sketchy, foggy morning vibe going on, tweekers passing through, talking to in-training waitresses and such. it looked like a good late night spot, after a few drinks. i'd recommend just picking up a six pack at eureka's co-op, only a few blocks away, and driving to the beach.

Saturday 13th of June 2009 01:01:52 PM

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Always a treat stopping here, the staff are pleasant, the food is good and the beer is very good. This place is fun because they are willing to experiment with their beers. The difference between their tangerine, acai and apricot wheat's was suprising. The IPA is ok but raspberry broen was very good! The food is very good and the atmosphere is relaxed. I don't know if they have a tour of the brewery but I will find out the next time I am there. Plenty of parking here and old town Eureka is well..... unique. This place is family friendly in the afternoon/early evening. The only drawback is the lack of outdoor seating.

Wednesday 3rd of June 2009 09:31:01 PM

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This was a pleasant stop on a tour of many Californian breweries. Though not the best, it was enjoyable and better than some places we visited.

They had a good selection of beers on hand, though no specialty beers were available. Their 8-Ball stout was very good and Tangerine Wheat was as well - a hint of tangerine that wasn't too sweet or overpowering. Overall the beers were above (good-beer) average, but nothing truly excellent. At least not when I had spent the previous day at North Coast Brewing :-) The upside is there was nothing to dislike about their beers.

The atmosphere was very nice and comfortable. Nothing outstanding of note, but nothing objectionable.

The service was good, the servers were knowledgeable of the beer and not put off by my pestering them for tourist merchandise.

The food was like the beer; good but, nothing outstanding.

Overall I was glad I visited. The lack of "excellent" didn't bother me because I have been to places that are just plain bad. I was to be at a capable establishment.

Thursday 20th of November 2008 12:40:56 PM

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This is a great place to grab a decent meal - nothing too high brow, just burgers and pub grub - with an excellent pint of beer. Drinking their beer in a bottle is fun experience but actually getting it from a tap at the brewery is just awesome. I am partial to their Downtown Brown but the brewer at Lost Coast has great seasonal beers with a great sense of touch. His beers are not hop bombs unless they are some specialty thing, and that's hard to come by in the Pacific Northwest. Go to Lost Coast, it's a great stop right on Highway 101.

Friday 26th of September 2008 02:09:49 AM

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Nice old building in Old Town Eureka. There is a good size dark wood bar toward the center of the room with lots of tables up near the front windows and more in back along with a pool table as well as more seating upstairs. All ten operating taps were included with my taster of which 3-4 were seasonals. Most of the seasonals were fruit flavor enhanced versions of their standards so that was a bit disappointing. I did enjoy several of the standards (Indica IPA and the 8 Ball Stout for example) which are commonly available in stores. The menu is pretty typical pub fare. I had a large bowl of stout beef stew which was very tasty. We found parking on the street but there is a pay lot right out back.

Wednesday 24th of September 2008 10:16:50 PM

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Found this place by chance while driving along Highway 101 through Redwood National Forest. Stopped in rather late on a weeknight and it was packed. Bar area is kind of small.

Unfortunately only had the opportunity to try Downtown Brown and their homemade root beer. Both were quite tasty.

Very beach like theme to the place. Served food but had no time to eat on this night. Bartender was very knowledgable although the hostess was not aware they sold logo pint glasses.

Saturday 12th of July 2008 07:01:13 PM

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We stopped here on our way to Redwood National Park. I always try to stop here because it is great. We had:
Scotch Ale: Very malty, sweet and strong. I liked it. Brian tasted chili pepper, and Jan said it wasn't that great.

Berry Pilsner: Light and crisp. Berry aroma, but little berry flavor. Good.

IPA: Balanced, bitter, hoppy, though no distinct hoppy notes, so no guesses as to the hop; no citrus, no pine, no flowers, no grass. Just generic hop. What did they use?

Pale: Decent, balanced, light, nicely dry, clean finish.

Raspberry Brown: Good! Very dry, with just a little malty sweetness, and raspberry aroma.

Tangerine Wheat: Good, very tangerine, crisp finish.

The food was good, though the Halibut Fish and Chips was a small portion for the price.

Wednesday 28th of May 2008 03:00:55 PM

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Made a stop while on a West Coast visit last week. Arrived about 1pm thinking the lunch crowd would have cleared out, but it was still busy. Had the Alleycat Amber which was OK, along with a the soup and half sandwich which was good. Wish I'd had more time to try more beers, but I needed to hit the road. Friendly quick service, moderate pricing. Would definately try again if I ever get out that way.

Friday 4th of April 2008 07:12:20 PM

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Lost Coast is fairly well-known now for their Great White Ale, but they actually have quite a wide variety to offer.
I stopped in on a larger coast tour and had the misfortune of coming in on July 4 in the afternoon. The place was jammed, not only with patrons, but also with people ordering kegs, whom the manager had come out to help deal with.
This is a nice place, in a big, old wood facade building, very much fitting into the rest of Downtown Eureka. It's two stories but, even then, feels small maybe because of the crowds, the number of tables, or just that the place is a little narrow.
I had a pint of the IPA and checked my email at the bar. Not a fan of Great White, I hadn't expected much, but I was really impressed by what I had, and wanted to order more, but the bartender was so slammed that I just paid and left.
It would be a really cool place hang out if it weren't so busy. I don't really understand why Eureka is so big for July 4, but it certainly is.