May 2005: Excellent beer and food highlighted this brick-festooned brewpub in downtown. Good service, too.

Visited for lunch on February 7, 2009. I was a large group of 11 which included 5 kids. The building itself is in a restored / renovated building in a nice part of downtown Des Moines. Very comfortable space with large tables in the dining area, and a big bar area. The two areas were nicely separated. I only had time for one beer, though they had about 6 regulars and a seasonal (Porter) on when I was there. Service was great, very attentive. Handled the kids very well, with fun games for them to play. Menu has nice diversity, and everyone was happy with the food they ordered. I had the Jambalaya on the recommendation of the waiter, and it was goodish. The Portabello sandwich looked great, I would likely get that next time. Overall, a nice place to grab lunch, particularly for a larger group.

Cool, old atmosphere with great service. The beers seemed to all be average or better. The best brewery to stop by if you’re in DSM.

Solid brewpub. I love the atmosphere - dark and wood, my kind of place. Pretty good number of house taps, most of which are decent, but unspectacular. Seems like they are doing a little bit of "brewing for the masses", which is fine, but the beers themselves aren’t exciting enough to make this a "can’t miss" place everytime I’m in town.

Been here many times. Located in a beautiful old brick building in downtown Des Moines a few blocks from the river. They typically have 8-ish of their own beers on tap including a cask version of one of them and at least one seasonal. As of Spring 2008 they are smoke free! Kudos for that. They offer a sampler of all their beers. The food is respectable. Service tends to be good even when crowded. One of the better brewpubs in Iowa.

Ok beer with decent food. Friendly staff on my several trips. Smoky bar with a clean appearance. The best part about this place is that they have two beer engines. A typical brewpub selection. I will visit again on my next trip to Des Moines.

Nice little patio out front, dark inside at the bar with a relaxed atmosphere. Music in the background. Beer label signs on the walls and brewing equipment on display. The proper dining area looked a little sterile and generic. 8 taps one seasonal, all basic styles and one cask offering. Also offered a Brewers reserve which was a slightly higher alc beer. Numbered mugs hang over the lacqured wood bar. Service was good on a slow Monday night. Mennu ranges over some varied options with local pork and beef products featured. Having binged on steak the past weekend I went with the fish and chips and brisket and barley soup, both were above average to quite good pub grub. Unfortunately the unambitious beer was the lowlight here. Still a nice stop.

Been here twice and will return anytime I am in Des Moines. The much better of the w brewpubs in downtown. Average but large brewpub by looks. It is in the downtown area of Des Moines, so there are other nightlife things but it is just Des Moines. Service was average but the brewer is willing to talk to anyone, he is really nice. Food: was average restaurant stuff. The beer: well the selection is large, love that. I think I had like 13 different beers once, with the seasonal, a brewer’s reserve and a cask. No flaws in the beers except the barrel stuff can be a bit underwhelming. All the regular stuff is solid, the brewer experiments all the time. Unfortunately, there is a 6.2 cap in Iowa. I will be back for sure. Seems to always have a barrel beer going and a cask.

Pretty nice downtown brewpub. The beers were above average for a local brewpub. I would definitely come back if I was in town.

Stopped by on a Saturday night. Surprisingly, it was easy to find two seats at the bar, and the bartender was quick to serve us. Bartender was also very friendly, so service gets an easy 10. Nice ambiance, but it is really dark at the bar. Not that I expect it to be bright, but a little more light would be nice. Didn’t try the food, but it looked very nice. Beer prices were very reasonable, but food prices are high--expect around $10 for the cheapest starter. Selection was good, with three barrel aged beers on tap, along with their regulars and seasonals. A little more upscale than I was expecting, but overall a nice place that I definitely plan on revisiting...for beer anyways, I can’t afford the food at this point.