November 12, 2009
Great variety of beers brewed on and off site. Something for all beer lovers. My father loved the java porter and I really liked the IPA’s and Wheats (there are about 5-7 different kinds). Smoke can be a problem so if you are really wanting to try the beer with a fresh palette it may best to take a growler with you. Food is good too; mix between bbq and southwestern flavors.

August 3, 2008
This place is great and doing some big beers. If you can get past the cigarette smoke, even if it is not smoky, it still has an acrid stale smoke smell to it. The beers are great and the food is not bad either. Java porter and the Whiskey stout were the top two on my trip. Service was so so, another bartender that could care less about you, was more interested in flirting with the young lady across the bar from me.

June 17, 2008 [ Updated May 15, 2009 ]
Stopped here later in the evening on a Saturday night. My goodness this is a sprawling place, there are levels, a room here, another level, another room, suddenly a staircase down to another giant room. Weird, but appealingly so. I only had a soft pretzel (which was good) and 5 samplers when I visited. The service is knowledgeable and attentive. More than willing to explain beers, what was on, etc. When I was in, they had 11 beers on tap, which is nice. Overall this is well worth a visit.

March 15, 2008
Nery nice establishment, clean and comfortable the wait staff took no tim ein waiting on me. Was there when the Big 12 Tourney was on TV as a sports fan that was all right with me.

September 5, 2007
The place is currently being renovated so the ambiance is a bit lacking, not to mention that your choice of non-smoking seating begins about 5 feet away from the chain-smokers at the bar. We were seated about as far away from it as possible.. They had 11 beers on. I tried them all with their $3 per 4 samplers. None of them were bad, but only a couple (the Maibach and the Java Porter) stood out. The menu is fairly ecclectic, but both my buffalo burger and my wife’s chicken were overcooked. I mentioned this to the waiter when he asked how "everything" was. He seemed unphased. My recommendation is to be very specific about how you’d like your food prepared if you don’t like dry and charred. Overall, I was underwelmed. The Java Porter, however, is one of the best coffee beers that I’ve ever sampled and along with the Maibach, it saved the trip from being a flop.

July 22, 2007
The only reason to go to Topeka. Solid beer. Family freindly. Good food. Lots of different rooms. Worth stopping.

June 27, 2007 [ Updated October 10, 2007 ]
Cool-looking old building that seemed out of place in its area. Many levels, display cases with the breweries awards, windows overlooking the tanks, and the outdoor deck all added to its charm. The beers were above average. Better than you’d think you’d see in Topeka. Service was pretty bad, and they didn’t have sample glasses available for us to have a sampler. Food was good for me. If you’re in Topeka or driving through, it would be worth a stop for a couple of beers.

April 2, 2006 [ Updated July 9, 2006 ]
Visited on a random sunday afternoon with the dinner hour approaching. An almost depressing group of regulars at the bar (not to bad mouth anything or anyone but it probably speaks more to Topeka and its location in the city than to the brewpub). I had some wings that weren’t even standard pub fare, they were worse, the ’hot’ wings were as mild as I may have ever had. Speaking of mild, that describes many of their beers as well. Not that they weren’t good, they just weren’t overpowering and favorfful, however they were far from bad. At $3 for 4 samplers I would reccomend making the trip to the rather remote and random location in south Topeka. However dispite the negative things I’ve said about the bar, they have a great atmosphere with its multiple levels, unique ’lodge/honkey-tonk’ feel, bar games, and nice big patios. Bartender seemed to have fun with the customers, not standard corporate boringness. Beers are better than 75th, imo, average at worst to well above average. Would strongly reccomend.

October 11, 2005
Visited on October 7th and found the service friendly and knowledgeable but somewhat distracted and unavailable. The dish my partner ordered was quite good however, the dish I ordered had a sauce on it that made it almost indelibly salty. To their credit however they discounted the dish on our tab. I’ll be back.

June 12, 2005
Visited June 2005, my second time (last time around October 1999). Very big selection of mostly excellent beers. The service was friendly, mostly knoweldgeable. The food was standard fare and about average.