October 7, 2009
I’m not a big lager fan, so this place isn’t my cup of tea. The altbier and black lager were tasty though.

August 16, 2009
Located in the Bolingbrook Promenade, the restaurant is not large but has nice ambiance. There’s a decent outdoor seating area, but we didn’t partake as it was quite hot. The service was efficient and fairly friendly. Very large food menu with quite a large variety of food. The food was a bit pricey, but what we had was delicious. The Steak Frites with garlic fries was top notch. The children’s portions was large and tasty (I helped finish their burgers). Beer was above average. I tried the sampler and found all of them to be very good, especially the hefeweizen and schwarzbier. Overall, a nice restaurant with very good food and great beer. A tad expensive, but nice to visit once in a while.

June 1, 2009
We were here in April, a bit too early in the season to enjoy the outdoor patio or to experience the unique garage-door style windows which open behind the bar to let the outside in, but the ambience was still rather nice, upscale in a Rock Bottom kind of way. Prairie style with a touch of jazz... rosewood and sage, marble and granite, red brick and stainless steel, all adding to an upscale feel without being pretentious. We sat at the bar and had an enjoyable bartender with more than adequate beer knowledge, although we occasionally sat with empty glasses for longer than I expected on a not-so-crowded afternoon. He appreciated our requests for non-chilled glasses and for Weizens without lemon wedges. The beer selection was rather basic with 6 house beers on tap spanning a variety of styles. Beer quality was just above average, their best IMO being a Schwarzbier. We had appetizers and sandwiches which were tasty yet a bit overpriced. My "crispy" artichoke hearts were far from crispy, but my blackened Mahi sandwich more than made up for it in flavor and preparation. Bottom line is that I would suggest you stop by for a flight and a sandwich (which will be enough to give you the overall experience without getting gouged) but, as others have said, don’t make a special trip thinking this is something out of the ordinary.

October 18, 2007
Simple design leaning slightly to the upscale side of center. Very different from the original locations in Palo Alto, SF and San Jose. One big room, divided in half 1 side dining, 1 side bar with high tables and several flat screen TVs. There were 7 beers on tap, with one seasonal. The beers are average and the lineup was conspicuously missing a hoppy ale. The food was pretty good, although they wont cook their burgers below Medium, so my burger was overcooked and less flavorful than it otherwise would have been. Garlic fries are outstanding and come standard. Don’t go out of your way, but if you live in or are visiting Bolingbrook, your nearby alternatives are relatively limited.

August 9, 2007
Came down as part of Summer of Beers 2007 with Arnie. Ambience is similar to many of the chain brewpubs that are springing up, with some German posters on the walls and a definate love of the Prairie-style in logos and on furniture. Bartender was friendly and knowledgable if a bit pushy. Met the braumeister, which was a treat. My fish and chips were overdone and not served with malt vinegar, but the garlic fries were incredible. Beer was predictably average. All told, my experience was fine, but I’m not going out of my way again.

June 5, 2007
Nice place. They still are trucking the beer in, so they don’t have a seasonal yet. Otherwise, the server seemed pretty knowledgeable... and explained each beer to me in detail (although no explanation was needed). The food was unexpectedly good, even though I just took their burger special. One downside is the beer prices are a little steep.

May 2, 2007
This is indeed a great place if you like German style lagers. NOTE: My review is based on the beers they had at open which were brewed and trucked in. I have yet to drink beer actually brewed in Bolingbrook. Ambiance: Since this chain is now owned by Tennessee folk versus Californian, a bit more folksy than slick. But a place that is welcoming for taking a date, your family or work associates. Probably a bit too "sterile" to take the softball team after a game. Service: I had very good, almost overly attentive service in my two visits. But overly attentive sure beats nonexistent. Selection: Great if you like German Lagers. See Cornfields list below. The one he miss is a Czech Lager, a Pilsner that has a nice hoppy backbone to it. I agree with his comments - they are both true to style and tasty. Food: The crown jewel of GB. Sushi, Calamari, Garlic Fries, this brewpub menu has its tuxedo on and is ready to deliver. With Emmett’s downscaling its menu, this may have Chicago highest quality brewpub fare. Overall: I am pleased to have GB here. It is a great alternative with all the German beers.

May 2, 2007
The Lure: A new brewpub in the area serving fresh German styled beers, an attraction to this son of a Transylvanian Saxon.

The Arrival: A well-scrubbed Denny’s of a place (except for the brewing area) smack dab in the center of a shopping mall, filled with busy shoppers drinking their sodas.

The Tease: A full-figured buxom hostess; a slender-yet-buxom assistant hostess; a female mixologist with pretty eyes; Beer.

The Victuals Realized: The usual pubgrub, and yet my fish and chips was properly accompanied by a bottle of malt vinegar without my asking. Tasty garlic fries (i.e., my chips).

The Nectar Realized: Solid German beers, not exciting, but true to style and tasty. No seasonals yet because of their rush to open the place, but on tap was a Dortmunder, a Märzen, a Schwartzbier, a Hefeweizen, and something else that eludes my mind at the moment.

The Overall Mystique: A decent enough place if your like German styled beers, which I do. (But as many of you know, I pretty much like anything called "Beer.") I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to visit again, but would certainly stop back if in the area.

The Aftermath: Why the frak am I writing like this?!?!?