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| - I had been coming to Downtown Chandler since it was pretty much just Brunchies and a weird thrift store, just after they had redone it, so I was really excited to see a non-chain brewpub open up there and made a mental note to go back. Over a year later, I finally made it, on the way up to Phoenix.
I was put off at first by the place because they had a radio station blasting on their small sidewalk patio and remarked "I hope it's not that loud inside." It's not, although it's still kind of loud. But I really like the way that this place is set up. First, there's the double-sided bar, with the "other" side in front of the San Marcos, behind retractable, auto repair style, garage doors. Not only that but, in homage to the building's history as a bank, there's a big safe door in front of a regular door which leads to the staff area. The brewing tanks are viewable through the glass behind the bar.
As mentioned before, the smoking thing sucks. People do sit at the other side of the bar and smoke, and it wafts in. It seems like that violates the "Smoke Free Arizona" thing, but whatever.
I have a ritual with brewpubs: ask for a sampler/tasting tray, get a glass of water and a food menu to look over. The problem that day was that I was not hungry in the least, and couldn't have eaten the food even if I had wanted to.
And what a shame. I like burgers, but I really like interesting burgers, and that's what these guys do. The main thing that caught my eye was a burger consisting of lamb meat, stuffed with pistachios and chopped dates, among other things. Wow. Now that's an interesting burger, and I definitely plan on going back to try it soon.
The sampler had their five standards and their one seasonal which, in this case, was the Hazelnut Brown. The Hef and Golden were a little too weak for my tastes, although I was happy that the Golden was not the quintessential cop-out beer that brewpubs keep on tap for those who ask for Bud Light. There was also a stout, which I wasn't impressed by. I liked the low carbonation, but it wasn't thick and heavy enough for me. Plus the flavor wasn't that great, mostly malts and a coffee essence.
The hoppy beers are, I think, where they do their best. They have an IPA, which was my favorite, but the hoppiest one on tap is the red. It was good, and I would drink a pint, but the IPA had a really, really nice flavor, so I got a pint of that.
The pints, mind you, are in special 18oz glasses. They're $4.75 normally, but go to $3.75 for their happy hours. The IPA was served nice and cold, which was a plus since the samplers were a bit warm.
The bartenders were super-nice and the servers seemed to be as well. The food seemed to come out quickly.
The other downside is that the place is a bit loud. Concrete floors, high ceilings, having those open doors and a bunch of TVs overhead make the place a bit too noisy. Definitely not an intimate dinner kind of place.
Also, I wasn't excited about their happy hour specials. They take about $1 off a lot of the food items, and the beer is only $1 off, but, considering that you're getting an 18oz draft beer for $4, that is a good deal. And they do reverse happy hours.
If you like brewpubs, then this is a really good one, maybe one of the better ones in the state when you factor in that food. So come for the beer, but save your appetite.
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