Monday 11th of January 2010 08:28:59 PM

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The tasting room has a nice modern but classic dark wood bar with a brass foot rail and tall chairs. The bar back is in a matching style with several round columns. A few tall tables and chairs round out the room. On one side is a refrigerator with bottled beer for sale. The floors are light-colored wood. The light fixtures are classic in style, including ceiling fans. There are also several metal tables outside.

On our visit, there were six regular ales (from a pale ale to a stout) and three seasonal/specialty beers. Quality was good.

The brewery is in a separate building and it’s well worth calling ahead to get a tour. The whole operation is very self-reliant. The bottling line has components mostly from the 1940’s and the brew kettle and mash tun come from Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada). The brewing process is highly manual and they brew 24 hours/day.

Tuesday 13th of October 2009 09:47:23 PM

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Steelhead extra pale ale, is the for me, the stuff of legends. i first tasted this beauty at a bar in lake tahoe ten years ago, i couldn't get over it. over the years i was able to find bottles here and there, excellent but, no drafts where i a happened to be. fortunately, we were able to get out to humboldt county recently and after an awesome lunch and warm-up steelhead pint at the alibi in arcata, we drove out to the town of blue lake. this tap room sits like an oasis in these big woods. when we pulled up our stools, the only people there were the bartender, owner and a couple good guys just off work from the barrel and bottle rooms. everyone was talkative, cool as could be, and the beer....yep, it was damn good. we tasted the gauntlet, which included, their steelhead pale, the double ipa, scotch porter, jamaican red and other a few other fine ales. popcorn, outside seating and good vibes are always recommended in the golden state, mad river provides. unfortunately for the masses, we grabbed their last 4-pack of the serious madness black ale (it'll be back on shelves and tap in the winter) and finished it off out on redwood creek. these folks are at the top of their game and have an amazing spot to showcase their brews.

Wednesday 24th of September 2008 12:01:26 PM

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Nice new tasting room with comfortable bar, tables and even a bit of outdoor seating on the front porch. The taps included 8 brews when I visited and they were all styles that I enjoy. My only disappointment was that a Black Ale seasonal which sounded great had run out. The sampler was reasonably priced and included 7 of the taps (pale ale to barleywine). The eighth tap was a Bourbon Barrel Aged Extra Stout that was available by the glass and very delicious (it’s headed to GABF). There tasting room also serves as a retail store including homebrew supplies. The actual brewery is located in the industrial building right next door. All in all, a great location with friendly service.