The Wellhead Restaurant and Brewpub Reviews

Terminus	3.1 The Wellhead Strawberry Blonde Tap at brewpub pours yellow witb a small soapy white head and sparse lacing. Nose is grainy witb some sweet berries.very medicinal. Flavors are bright grains witb lite grassy notes. Pretty basic yet its clean so it gets a decent score for that. Wednesday, June 18, 2014
kevinator	2.9 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout For an out of the way brewery, this is not bad. The aroma was faint with roasted malt. The color was quite dark with a creamy appearance. The palate was light but smooth. The flavors were of roasted malt with some chocolate and a dry finish. I think it needed a little more alcohol though. Decent brew. Tuesday, May 20, 2014
swoopjones	3.1 The Wellhead Wildcat IPA hand bottle at Gene McCarthy’s. Floral hop flavor. good mouthfeel, Probably a tad dated but easy drinking and decent IPA Saturday, November 16, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.5 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout The beer arrives from the tap with a deep brown tinged, dark tan colored head that is maybe a 1/4-finger thick. The beer is a deep black color that has some concentrated brown edges to it. Wow, character, finally, the beer has deep, roasted richness to it with lots of roasted coffee like character, charred black malt, and, as the beer warms up, even a hint of dark malt sweetness up front that leans towards roasted molasses notes towards the middle and finish. The beer is fairly light bodied, and is quite quaffable. Rich roasted, almost smoky leaning notes linger on the palate long after each sip. The finish has bitter hop notes as well as quite a bit of bitter burnt malt character to it. Burnt toast, black cold coffee, and touches of rounded dark chocolate that are just noticeable. Deeply toasted whole grain flavors become a bit more noticeable as the beer warms up; this beer really is served at too cold of a temperature. I hadn’t realized how light this beer was; it is really a beer meant for quaffing, and has a ton more flavor than Guiness does these days. Definitely a tasty beer, and the best I have had so far from this brewery, by far. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3 The Wellhead Roughneck Red The beer arrives from the tap with a tan colored head and a red color, that shows brilliantly clear when held up to the light. The aroma has a faint smell of crystal malt; a bit caramelized, some toasted brown cracker notes, and a soft malty sweetness are all that is really noticeable. The beer has a light sweetness to it, lots of caramelized grain flavors, with chewy brown grain cracker notes, a bit of toasted maltiness, touches of sweet tea, as well as a hint of herbal hop character. This beer is really all about the malt though, it barely has a hop presence. There is a bit of a thin metallic character here as well. The body has a touch of viscosity to it, but this is defintiely a quaffable beer. Again, a beer that seems like it is from the beginnings of the US craft beer industry. Clean and well made, but really not very interesting to me. A great starter craft beer perhaps. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3 The Wellhead Pale Ale Arrives from the tap with a 1/4-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a clear, copper / gold color. Thin, pale malt aromas are the most noticeable thing here, a bit of dried straw, some cracker like malt, and perhaps a soft herbal character is noticeable. The beer has a metallic flavor to it that seems a combination of hops and straw like malt character. There is a soft herbal note as well as a bit of pine like hop character here, and perhaps a touch of citrus character, but this last is quite light. The beer is quite quaffable, but has just a touch of viscosity to it so that it does not seem thin. Not my type of Pale Ale, it seems straight out of the early days of craft beer, where it was thought that Sierra Nevada was way too aggressive of a beer. Not bad, and certainly quaffable. Sunday, September 29, 2013
FlacoAlto	3 The Wellhead Prickly Pear The beer arrives from the tap with a thin, pale tan head and a lime. The beer is a pink tinged, amber color that is quite hazy. The aroma smells tart and like lime zest (imagine that), underneath this is a straw like grain character and a touch of pale cracker like malt. There is also a general fruitiness here that reminds me of berries, tart watermellon, and that sort of prickly pear fruit note that adds a bit of funkiness. Lightly tart up front, but with an almost bubblegum like fruitiness to it in the middle and lingering finish. There is that sort of vegetal, funky fruit character from the prickly pear, as well as that berry / watermelon like character. The body is light without being thin. A decent enough prickly pear beer that is clearly well executed, there is not so much of the fruit that the funky / vegetal character from the fruit gets in the way of the flavor. Having said that, not really my type of beer as I find that prickly pear just doesn’t really work in a beer. Definitely made better by the addition of the lime, but it drowns out the base beers flavors here. Saturday, September 28, 2013
FlacoAlto	3.4 The Wellhead Smoking Black IPA A steady pour into my teku glass produces a two finger thick, light brown tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a concentrated brown color with a bit of an amber tinge; when held up to the light the beer shows a lightly hazed, deep amber hue. The aroma has a floral, fruity note to it up front and this is backed by a lighter herbal / pine like note and a soft toasted / roasted grain character. Aromas of tangelo zest, lychee, guava and kumquat all are prominent and have a slightly burnt edge to them. The beer is quite bitter up front and only gets more bitter through the finish were the roasted character accentuates the bite. The finish is herbal and woody and also plays up the bitterness, and in fact the dominant hop flavors are pine, peppery flavors, and woody herbal notes. The body is quite light, there is a softly prickly carbonation, and just enough body to keep this from being overly thin; it is a bit on the thin side, and with how dry it is the juicy, fruit leaning hop character from the nose is drastically diminished, if not at times non-existent, in the flavor. Hints of soft, watered down orange juice flavors, some herbal citrus zest, and perhaps some floral notes are all that is left of the juicy hop character found in the nose. The nose of this beer held such promise, but the beer is just too dry for this to have the fruity hop balance that the bitter, herbal / pine flavors need. The body is also a bit on the thin side, even for an IPA. Saturday, September 28, 2013
Oakes	2.8 The Wellhead Barley Wine 2 years old, draught at the brewpub. Amber, flat and a bit dull-looking. The aroma has rich malts, fruits and a little oxidation. Sweet, sticky and also a bit watery in the finish. Almost candyish. An okay barley wine, but a barrel would help this by lending some tannin...some sort of red wine barrel would be the key. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	3.2 The Wellhead Bulldog Pumpkin Spice Ugly amber. Lots of pumpkin and cinnamon on the nose. Flat body, with an almost root beer-like sweet spicy character. Wintergreen? Decent though it is a bit strange. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	3.8 The Wellhead Wildcat IPA Amber and bright. C-hop aroma. Moderate bitterness. Very grapefruit and c-hop bitter. I like the fresh grapefruit juice character. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	2.9 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout Brown, looks flat. The aroma has fudgey notes, and a little bit of roast. Similar mix of roast and malty fudge nuttiness. Decent. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	2.7 The Wellhead Pale Ale Golden-bronze colour. Lightly spicy hop aroma. Has some earthy, slightly spicy, slightly earthy taste. Caramel malts lie underneath. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	2.8 The Wellhead Roughneck Red Slightly hoppy reddish-brown. Dull. caramelly, earthy character, with almost chocolatey notes. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	3.1 The Wellhead Indian Basin Wheat Dull tan and cloudy. The aroma is quite spicy - lots of peppery, coriandery character. Quite clovey too (and I didn’t know they used any!). Light body. Slightly watery. Decent. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Oakes	2.3 The Wellhead Cisco Canyon Blonde Hazy bldone. Light, clean but not much aroma. Straw-like breezy malt character. Easy-drinking. Sunday, January 22, 2012
Beershine	3.2 The Wellhead Barley Wine Draft @ brewpub. Apparently 2 yo. Red orange oily. Looks tastes smells like Ihop strawberry syrup. Aroma hot, alcohol before anything. Muddled malt. Frightful, but strawberry syrup, jam. Soft palate with alcohol late and to head. Strawberry carries through to palate, is very sweet with a small tannin chalk in finish for redemption. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	3.3 The Wellhead Indian Basin Wheat Draft @ brewpub. Hazy, and dark , almost orange. Really nice spice profile with solid real malt finish. Nutty malt plus juicy orange. Coriander. Light clove. Fruit skin, apricot. Ugly in glass no head oily but forgiven, because it’s quite nice and drinkable and goes well with my catfish too. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	3.3 The Wellhead Wildcat IPA Draft @ brewpub. Lovely bright orange, big hop aroma, pine oil, pine needles, lots of hop oils on palate, not a transcendent one but certainly nice. The flavors are a little more muddled, lots of wet malt before the duller earthier hop flavor. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	3.4 The Wellhead Bulldog Pumpkin Spice Draft at brewpub. Gourd orange color, autumnal looking, scant head. Pure pumpkin and mild pie spice aroma, creamy palate, almost eggy like pie...the flavors are sweet, childlike, pie, not quite candy but very easy, nice and enjoyable. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	3.2 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout Draft @ brewpub. In sample glass doesn’t look great. No head but scattered ran lace leads me to believe there might be some. Aroma is coffee grounds, in a Folgers direction, not Intelligentsia. Smooth body, nice toasty roast coffee bean flavors, Not bad, just thin. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	2.8 The Wellhead Roughneck Red Draft @ brewpub. Dark, deep auburn. Aroma has integrated diacetyl, buttery, like mixing fresh butter into flour, at the point where no liquid has been added, so not doughy--if that makes sense. Has some buttered toast ends to...But the flavors are doughy and sweet. Brown bread crust. Needs hops to brighten it up! The malts are fine but that’s all there is here. Sweet. Bread and butter beer. 3,6,3,6,10 Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	3.2 The Wellhead Pale Ale Draft @ brewpub. Copper color, nice hue. Aroma is nicely hopped, very piney. Toasty, woody malts. Earthy and bland but soft and balanced and technically flawless. Saturday, December 17, 2011
Beershine	2.2 The Wellhead Cisco Canyon Blonde Draft @ brewpub. Lightly hazed yellow. Super bland aromas and watery palate, the only flavors a smidgen of sweet pale malts. Fruity, in a generic way. Clean enough but boring. Saturday, December 17, 2011
troyc	3 The Wellhead Roughneck Red [Tap] Pours a clear ruby color with little head. Some off white lacing is evident. Sweet caramel malts and floral hops in the aroma. Sweet malts, biscuit, some pepper, even a citrus crispness in the flavor. Below average carbonation. A pretty good brew. Monday, February 15, 2010
troyc	2.8 The Wellhead Cisco Canyon Blonde [Tap] Pours a clear yellow color with a decent looking white head. Light grassy and corn in the nose. Taste is of light, grassy hops. Sweet light malts and lemongrass in there as well. Dry and grainy finish. Decent mouthfeel and relatively high carbonation levels. Better than I expected. Monday, February 15, 2010
troyc	3.1 The Wellhead Pale Ale [Tap] Light amber pour with a small amount of beige head. Light grapefruit in the nose. The taste is a bit more robust. Crisp, fresh hopping is clear throughout. Sweet biscuit and caramel backbone. Average body and mouthfeel. This was probably the best beer I sampled at The Wellhead. Monday, February 15, 2010
troyc	2.6 The Wellhead Indian Basin Wheat [Tap] Pours a hazy yellow color with a small amount of lasting white head. Aroma of wheat malts and clove. Sweet and thin body of wheat and some grass in the finish. Lingering band-aid (phenolic) notes. Light to medium mouthfeel. Far from a German hefeweizen... Monday, February 15, 2010
fordest	3.2 The Wellhead Strawberry Blonde Draft at the Brewery. Aromas were actually pretty similar to the regular with just a hint of Strawberry. The strawberry really comes out in the flavor though. Not overly sweet, but just enough to let you know it’s a fruit beer. Then the middle and finish are back to the Cisco Canyon . Not bad. Friday, August 25, 2006
fordest	2.8 The Wellhead Indian Basin Wheat Draft at brewery. Hazy orange with no head to speak of. Some Wheaty aroma. A bit of clove. The same on the flavor, just a bit of clove and some wheat. Pretty plain, but what I have come to expect from small brewry American Wheats. Friday, August 25, 2006
fordest	3 The Wellhead Pale Ale Draft at Brewery. Deep Amber color. One or Two tints paler than the Red. Not much head. Aroma was very hard to pick up. Had to swirl the glass and really bury my nose in there to pick up anything. Flavors were better though. The hops came through in the finish and left a bit of ing flavor although a bit soapy. Tuesday, August 22, 2006
fordest	3.2 The Wellhead Roughneck Red Draft at brewery. Dark red pour with not much head. Aromas were mostly malty and yeasty, but somewhat difficult to pick up. Flavors were nicer though. More bready and malty flavors with some hops on the finish. Didn’t leave a ing bitterness. Pretty good. Tuesday, August 22, 2006
fordest	3 The Wellhead Cisco Canyon Blonde Draft at brewery. Golden as advertised with a decent head. Aromas were a little vegetal, but not bad. Some lemony citrus in there too. Flavors were some hops but more sweet malts. Not bad. Sunday, August 20, 2006
fordest	3.8 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout Draft at the brewery. I thought this was pretty decent. Darkest black with a smallish brown head. I was able to make a bigger head later with a bit of swirling. Aromas of chocolate and some coffee. Flavor were very milky with some more chcolate. Hoppy citrus in the finish and a touch of porter dustiness. Pretty Good. Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Terminus	3.5 The Wellhead Pale Ale pours pretty yellow for a pale ale (considering their wheat beer was darker!) Piney aroma with slight citrus notes. flavors are mostly hops and crystal malts. medium piney finish. flavors were just not that bold for a pale ale and the body was a tad thin. Rerate june 2014 Its been 10 yrs since I have been here. Pours bright orange with a nice soapy white head. Nose is classic c hop notes. Grapefruit throughout. Clean ferment with some nice bitterness. Much better than it used to be. Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Terminus	3 The Wellhead Roughneck Red pours a copper red hue with minimal head. medium carbonation. malty, roasty/toasty aroma. flavors of roasted malts, bready with some spicy/piney hops (chinook). Pretty dry finish. Their best offering! Good brew. rerate-this time, the stout was the best beer they had. this one was similar, but not as good. some good earthy hop notes (ekg or chinook) with a medium body. a little dull on the flavors and a little to nutty/grainy. Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Terminus	3.1 The Wellhead Indian Basin Wheat pours a golden yellow hue, which was actually darker than their pale ale. spicy aroma with minimal banana but present on the finish. pretty malty for the style also. bready flavor, spicy with a subtle hop kick. short finish. I taste a resembelance to the santa fe wheat. Clean and refreshing Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Terminus	3.4 The Wellhead Crude Oil Stout pours pitch black with minimal head and light carbonation. Nice aroma of roasted chocoloate. medium body and pretty dry. Nice coffee finish. pretty good. rerate-pours pretty much pitch black with a small beige head. roast, chocolate, and lactic qualities on the flavors. Some resembelance to the santa fe porter. This is pretty dry on the finish. good use of black patent that is present on the finish. Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Terminus	3.3 The Wellhead Cisco Canyon Blonde Aroma is grainy, sweet, and spicy hops. very pale yellow appearance with nice lacing. Spicy flavor with some cloying but not in a bad way. Long finish for a blonde ale due to the tettnanger hops. Solid blonde! rerate-tastes pretty much the same, but with more pale malt grain husks. the corn is slightly present, but not too bad. some good citrus notes on the finish. Wednesday, May 19, 2004