Monday 30th of July 2012 09:57:14 AM

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This is a cozy little brewpub in a small strip mall on Main Street near Greenwood, Indiana. It has been in operation since July, 1994 and is a standard to the locals. They have 6 house beers and typically one seasonal on tap at all times. There are no guest beers and cold bottled house beers are available.

Several of the beers are worth strong note and several are NOT. Although it's Raspberry Wheat is one of it's flagship beers, and is rather good it has probably outlived it's uniqueness. Still worth a taste. The Indiana Amber Ale is an excellent example. Their Alabaster Ale, a cloudy belgian wit is also particularly good even though I've always considered the SRMs on the ALABASTER to be slighlly off style and a bit yellow. The Gnawbone pale ale is worth a try, also.

For the HOP HEADS there is SUPER FLY. An imperial IPA With 100+ IBU is it definitely HOPPY with an ASTERISK. The focus on Bittering Hops and the notable lack of any balancing flavor and aroma hops makes it hard to take for all but the most crusty palates. Could use a stronger finish or some dry hopping to give the beer a bit of a nose and some balance.

Food is EXCELLENT, Above average for a brewpub. Their Porter laced Black Bean Soup is excellent. Never had a bad meal here. They are typically quite busy from Thursday to Saturday.

There are 2 bars. One in a main room and the other in the Brewpub. The main room is surrounded by the brewery which is visible through large glass windows. A nice atmophere. There is also a back room and an outdoor dining area. Their recent enlargement of their brewery should bring some new life to this brewpub. Hope to see some new experimental beers popping out .

Friday 20th of January 2012 02:50:38 PM

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Oaken Barrel is located in a really strange strip mall across the street from a huge apartment complex. There are two rooms, the restaurant and the "brewpub," and the restaurant is divided into bar and family. The bar area is very small. I had the sampler and it included 5 beers: Razzwheat, amber, seasonal, pale and porter. None were very good. The restaurant is nicely decorated, and they have an outside "beer garden" area during nicer weather.

My wife and I had lunch and it was fantastic. Seriously, the food was very, very good. They made their potato chips from scratch! My Buffalo Chicken Sandwich was also good. Our service was just right for the amount of people there for lunch. I would not make a special trip here if you're just looking to try their beers.

Sunday 1st of May 2011 07:22:09 PM

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I didn't realize this place existed until I saw it on a bottle menu at Bazbeau Pizza (great beer selection there). We took the drive down to the 'burbs and found it, in a really strange stripmall across the street from a huge apartment complex.
There are two rooms, the restaurant and the "brewpub," and the restaurant is divided into bar and "family." Remember, this is the suburbs, so sit in the bar lest you enjoy the sounds of screaming kids.
Bar area is very small. The sampler is $6.50 and includes 5 beers: Razzwheat, amber, seasonal (wit at the time), pale and porter. None were very good. The pale was dry-hopped to the point that it ruined it. The amber was the best on the table, but that's not saying much.
They also had a seasonal wheat on, and an IPA. At 7.5%, it's a hefty IPA that rests heavily on you. $3.75 for a pint. Be careful with it.
We also ate dinner here: fantastic. Seriously, the food was very, very good. My companion got the Chicken Sonoma, and it was like something you'd find at a fancier restaurant, not a brewpub. My Buffalo Chicken Sandwich was also good, but you can only do so much with these, so I wasn't blown away.
Service was slow.
Come for dinner, maybe, but skip it if you're just looking to try the beers.

Monday 9th of June 2008 06:29:50 PM

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Tucked away in the corner of a strip mall type building on the edge of town, this is a decent brewpub.

Their flagship beers are average. The craft brewing market in Indiana isn't what it is in California or on the East Coast. I don't much care for the Razzwheat (their #1 selling beer), but their seasonals as well as their Gnaw Bone Pale Ale are quite good.

The restaurant is nicely decorated, and they have an outside "beer garden" area, although it could use a little work on the landscaping.

Service was average, but very polite. the menu is varied and I have not had a bad meal there to date.