So I need to start with a disclaimer... My experience as a brewer makes me a bit over analytical of all things beer. But also because of this, I can appreciate good beer that may not necessarily be something that I like. I don't have to like it for it to be good. So with that, I write my first truly bad brewery review (and I've written a lot of brewery reviews).
In all the breweries that I have ever been to, which I believe to be pushing around 30 or so, I have never seen such a lack of pride in the beer being brewed. I tried every single beer on tap, and all of them were plagued with many different kinds of off flavors, many of which are very easily prevented and avoided. Several examples reaked of diacetyl, a buttery smelling/foul tasting chemical that is released by the yeast during fermentation (though can often happen from poor sanitation). Avoiding this in the final product is something beginning homebrewers know how to do, and it's a shame that a brewer wouldn't take enough pride in his work to take the steps to keep it out of the customer's glass. And any respectable brewer would dump a batch of beer if it was truly infected, and couldn't get the flavor out.
Other beers were very phenolic (medicinal taste), and fruity smelling/tasting. Not from actual fruits, but most likely from fermenting at too warm a temperature for that yeast strain. If I order an ESB, I don't want it to smell and taste like a belgian ale. Again, letting something like that pass quality control is unacceptable in my book. It's a shame I couldn't even taste what the beers were supposed to even taste like because of all the off flavors. The only beer I could stomach was the IPA, and that's because the extra hops masked the flaws.
I was very turned off by the fact that the staff knew nothing about the beer, or about their brewing process or system. I asked basic questions about their beers and brewing process, and got a blank stare. When I asked about their brewing equipment, the response was "um, we have some of these tanks that are like... this much taller than me!" A good brewpub has a staff that knows the product, and is ready to educate the customer. And for our lunch of 1 (very) small sandwich, 1 salad, 1 beer, and 6 tasters, it cost $42. No bueno
I love breweries. I especially love small, privately owned, hand craft establishments that love what they do, and take pride in their work. I got no such impression here. If you're in the area, and want a quality brewpub experience, Skagit River Brewing in Mt. Vernon is lightyears ahead of this place.
I never wanted to write a truly bad brewery review... and I almost skipped this... but I couldn't let it go. That's $42 I want back. read more