November 15, 2009
Between moving to Davis in ’04 and now in ’09, Sudwerk has gone backwards for me at a constant rate. For instance, changing the food selection from an all German bonanza (rare and authentic) to the typical Applebees/TGI Fridays/etc. offerings took the cake in ’06. Now, they’re pairing some good, authentic German beer with typical American food. It doesn’t quite fit somehow. Also, to have your "top rated beers" (see above) not even be served at the place because they are renting out their equipment to better beer makers than themselves says something. ReaperAle just rents their brew-building next door and makes better stuff! How about look over somebody’s shoulder and get a clue. The Marzen and Dopplebock are good highlights, but there is nothing substantial about the beer in general, unless you’re comparing them to the big three... in which case, they’re awesome. If you’re a person who’s progressed past the "Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the best beer on the planet" phase of your life (this comes after the "Natty Ice is the best beer on the planet" phase for you Freshman 15ers), you’ll probably tolerate the beer. The ambiance is rather enjoyable with a bunch of friends, but the wait staff is spotty. When it’s slow, the service is good, but when it’s busy, the same amount of people are manning things and you’d better have your hazard triangles handy or your iPhone and a few good apps, such as the shotgun or T-Pain autotune. Some joking aside, it’s habit for most Davisonians to revert back to Sudwerk as the place to get "the best beer in Davis". The truth is, Burgers & Brew and the Grad have far, far superior offerings now, though they aren’t breweries.

September 30, 2009
Met DYCSoccer there for lunch on August 27 2009. Rather run of the mill ambiance with a large bar in the center. 10 beer on taps, rather expensive samplers (only can buy 5 at a time). Most are OK, but nothing outstanding. The food was decent German fare. Overall, there is much better in the area.

August 18, 2009
The only German-style brewery that I know of in Norther California besides Gordon-Biersch, (and much better at that) which is refreshing in itself. The beers are mostly pretty good, though their American-style ales are not their strong suit. This kinda sucks though, because they bottle most of their German-style stuff so you don’t really have to go to the brewery to find it, minus a few good specialties like Dunkel and Kellerbier. Freshness is key with lagers like theirs though, and you can never underestimate a fresh half-liter mug of helles or märzen at the brewery. The food has a couple decent German items, but a lot of uninspired fare that is not bad, just nothing to go out of the way for. The outdoor biergarden is spacious and relaxing on a summer afternoon if you can deal with the Davis heat. Worth a stop while in town if for nothing more than to pick up a fresh sixer of any of their lineup, which will be guaranteed to taste better than the older stuff in stores.

August 7, 2009
Only place in my college town of Davis to find good craft beer. Food is German style and pretty good for a good price. $1 pints on Wednesdays!

February 1, 2009
lost its german food influence,good beer/service.

July 16, 2008
Decent German Style brewery. Service was great, but I came at a nice hour. Their beers are, well their beers. Very Germanic influence on interior design and beer.

March 23, 2008
Maybe service was good for me because I sat at the bar in the afternoon when the place was less than 25% full. Mostly just had the sampler set, watched TV and ate a pretty good burger. The bartender and locals were friendly and conversative. In the future I think it would be a good place to go with a group of friends.

June 30, 2007
In June, I spent a week in Davis, much of it at Sudwerk. The food was great. I recommend the sausage platter.

With only German stlye beers, I was pleased with the selection. My favorites included the Marzen, the Hefeweizen, the Pilsner, and the Maibock. The brewery also produces a few "kristal" versions of their beers which are very pretty, very filtered, and lacking in the flavor category.

It is fun to be able to view active fermentation in the brewery’s open tuns. On a nice day it is great to sit outside on the large enclosed patio.

By far the biggest let down was the service. Servers and bartenders did not seem to grasp the fact that a group of people waiting to order costs them money. More than one time I heard from employees, "I not ignoring you guys, I’m just very busy right now." In the time it took to explain how busy it was our beer order could have been placed and paid for. Unless you are the ONLY customer in the place, I recommend ordering the Liter size mug due to the slow pace of service.

I look forward to tasting the Sudwerk beers on my next visit to Davis, CA.

June 29, 2007
Mostly lagers, but mostly tasty. Food is a variable - you have to be sure you understand what you are ordering. It’s pretty good though. Service is usually quite good. Seem to get here less than once a year - usually when taking friends out. It does not reach out to my ale loving spirit.

August 12, 2006 [ Updated October 20, 2006 ]
I visited this place on a Wednesday afternoon. Pretty spacious place with all sorts of tables and a central bar, which has brewing equipment in the middle. A brewing room is adjacent to the bar as well. They had 5 beers on tap with 1 "special" beer. They also have an outdoor patio. Service was rather prompt and the bartender was nice. I ordered the sausage sampler platter, which was very tasty. Pretty large menu with lots of German-themed foods. A decent place, but I imagine it might get quite busy and crazy when college is in session.----UPDATE 10/20/06-----The food menu has changed drastically since new management took over in the past 2 months. Sometime between mid August and mid September, the menu was drastically altered with virtually all German themed foods replaced by TGIF/Applebees standard pub crap. Between 10/13/06 and 10/20/06, the management officially took off its last German entree, the grilled sausage platter with potato pancakes. I once rated the food an 8, but it has been decreased to reflect the disasterous menu changes. Selection has been bumped up to show the fact that they now have 10 house beers on tap, as opposed to the 5 they had previously.