Sweetwater Tavern - Sterling

4/6/2008 5:08:05 PM, sunday, april 06, 2008
Sitting at the outside bar on a saturday night. Seemed to be a pretty popular destination, but this lead to being a bit loud and crowded. They offer a sampler of the 5 beers they have on tap for about $8. The beer was definitely tasty, but was served a bit too cold for some styles (especially the imperial stout). The food was tasty, but a bit pricy for what little you get. The staff was friendly, and seemed to have quite a few regulars. Overall a decent spot to catch a beer if you’re in the area.

2/29/2008 1:48:26 AM, friday, february 29, 2008
Douche bag central on a Friday and Saturday night. The menu never changes and it gets old quickly. Best part of the experience is the bread basket and the sweet rolls. Oh beer, ok nothing special. Sometimes they have decent seasonals but every time I’m there it’s usually something very lame.

7/3/2007 1:53:34 PM, tuesday, july 03, 2007
Family restaurant. Long bar in the middle, TVs above, very open and comfortable but it’s just your basic family restaurant in the burbs. Belgian Wit was on tap as the seasonal when I visited. It was ok at best, tasted like Blue Moon.

12/14/2006 12:45:29 PM, thursday, december 14, 2006
Your modern "we wan’t to be back in the wild west" decor. Doesn’t have the soul, but probably good for turists. 5 beers on tap - poor to good. Friendly service. Didn’t eat.

10/10/2006 7:03:05 PM, tuesday, october 10, 2006
Eh, I wasn’t that fond of this place. Ho-hum service and a boring modern cliche decor. Limited beers on tap and most not all that good. Didnt’ try the food, but the menu didn’t look that interesting in either case. Good place to hang at the bar and talk, but that’s if you don’t get towel whipped by the bartender and drowned in bleach.

8/14/2006 7:49:43 PM, monday, august 14, 2006
Nice bar ambience and terrific service. Good food and usually a descent beer or two on tap.

5/16/2006 7:12:06 AM, tuesday, may 16, 2006
Excellent food. Excellent service. Excellent facilities. Outdoor dining offered with a nice view of their fake lake / pond. Beer is good, but not special... with the exception of their barleywine and imperial stout (seasonals). Don’t visit without eating. Their appetizers and steaks are second to none.

1/24/2005 5:39:37 PM, monday, january 24, 2005 [ Updated monday, january 24, 2005 ]
Went here the Sunday after the Founders gathering. Went with chris_o. We didn’t eat and simply came here for the beers and the porximity to Dominion Brewing. The beers were above average but were served in "frozen" glasses. Also the staff seemed to not know much about the beer which was not a problem for me, but could be for those without knowledge. Worth going to especially considering how close they are to Dominion.

1/19/2005 12:05:57 PM, wednesday, january 19, 2005
Went on a crowded Thursday night (at the start of a long weekend). I agree with Jeff -- things look about the same as at Merrifield. Beerwise, the selection varied somewhat (and the website seems pretty good about listing what’s currently on tap at the three locations), but it was pretty much the same quality -- decent, occasionally quite good.

1/17/2005 6:39:31 PM, monday, january 17, 2005
Essentially an identical experience to the other Sweetwater Taverns. The brewer is different and as such the tap list varies from the other locations. IMO, the beers at the Merrifield location are typically a step ahead of the other locations. See my review under Sweetwater-Merrifield for more details. Here at the Sterling location you have a good chance at seeing a Redskin or two during the season as the practice facility is just a few miles down the road and this is a favored haunt.