June 18, 2011
We stopped in to see the newly expanded brewhaus. Very nice big room, lots of tables and room for a live band. There were 9 beers on tap, still working on the Bock Dark, maybe next trip they will have it. The brew master was not there, but the bartender had a pretty good grasp of the beers. We sampled several and were impressed with a couple that were combo beers. One was a Pilsner and Lemonade. May not sound good, but it is worth trying. The other was 50/50 Hefeweizen and Cola, not quite as good. Great view of the swollen river, would definitely visit again.

February 14, 2011
We stopped in here on a weekend afternoon in February after driving some of the River Road through Alton to Grafton. The Grafton Winery building is interesting, very new-looking, with separate entrances for the winery and restaurant, Brewhaus, and gift shop. We opted to eat and drink in the Brewhaus, a small room on the lower level with a short bar and a couple visible tanks along with some high-top tables. There are only four beers and they’re okay. The food is okay, too. The service was about as friendly and helpful as possible, and everything was brought very quickly. Can’t ask for more there. We were told the place is expanding into the empty storefront adjacent to it, increasing capacity significantly. They expect to do 7 more beers in the near future and see the brewery as a major growth part of the business. Good to hear. There are a couple patios upstairs that would be nice in the warmer months with great views of the River. This place is right across the street from Piasa Winery and Pub, which has some great beers, so this is a worthy trip if you’re in the area and this place has potential to improve.

January 25, 2011
Showed up on a Sunday night about a half-hour before they closed, and the bartender was counting out for the night. He was really friendly though, and ran through the house beers and guest taps for us. The best beer here was Six Row Dunkelweiss, sadly the house beers tasted basically all the same with slight color variation. We were told the beers ferment for 3 days, condition for 3 days, and are ready to go... homebrewers I know allow 2 weeks for conditioning and natural carbonation. The house beers were all overly carbonated, making me wonder if they force carbonate everything. Apparently the "nut brown ale" here is a blend of the pilsner and stout... what? They did have one seasonal (red ale), but the bartender said they really dont stray from the basic "3" which to me says this brewpub is really just phoning it in. The potential is there, but they need to get more creative to make it remotely interesting. The Brewhaus was adjacent to the Grafton Winery, but had its own entrance and logo on the door. Spartan and clean interior, with a partial view of the river outside. Limited hours, only Fri-Sun. There was talk of expansion in the future, when the current tenant next door moves out. Currently there were 2 kettles behind the bar that doubled as serving tanks. A side row of 6 taps had Matilda and 6 Row Dunkelweiss, which was the unexpected gem here.

May 29, 2010
Stopped in on the Saturday before Memorial Day. This was our second stop here but the first since they began offering their own beer. I had an American Pilsner and a Stout. Both were tasty but I was especially impressed with the Pilsner which was quite well hopped and spicy. Food was tasty but not elaborate. Still, it was a step up from typical bar food. This was open air seating. It i a very nice facility and is only a couple of years old. They also have several other taps and some bottles. One tap was Goose Island Matilda. The location is right next door and up river from The Rotten Apple, another Grafton Beer destination. Almost across the street is the Piasa Winery which also has a nice bottle beer selection.