Blackwater Grill, Bricktown Brewery

No Longer In Business

At one point in my life I spent a lot of time here, even then I knew it was pretty crappy. The service is ok, but the staff knows only a bit about the food and nothing about the beer. This can be easily translated to the chefs/brewers whom seem to know a minimal amount about what they are doing. The food is good at very best but usually something straight out of a package and usually just ok. The beer is awful, truly bad. I know for a fact that while I associated myself with this place one of the brewmasters was an avid Bud/Busch Light fan while the other was a local highschool student. Let’s see, what else is there to say, oh the prices!!!!! The beers here are insanely expensive, like four or five bucks a pint. It is not worth a dollar a pint, I kid you not! This place does look pretty cool though, and they try (oh they try) to make it look nice on the inside. Don’t be fooled those copper kettles are for making money, not for making beer!

There was a national beer advertising collecting convention 2 blocks away,so I was excited about hitting this brewpub.I ignored my fellow collectors advice to stay clear,because I didn’t believe there could be uniformly bad beer.A very cool building,but thats where cool or worthwhile end.The service is spotty and indifferent,and the beer is brutal.It was my first time not finishing a beer in a brewpub...ever.My half price growler coupon got thrown away.If you want to enjoy your food,which is good-order something bottled,trust me.How anyone can think this is beer,let alone drinkable,is beyond me.

Awful, awful, awful. Went in in the middle of the afternoon and ordered a sampler. The waitress pressed us to order and then ignored us when we declined (for the third time). We had been considering some food, but she was rude enough that we decided against it just so we wouldn’t have to stay any longer than necessary. The beers were uniformly awful, either infected or horribly brewed, and the waitress eventually stopped by with the check without even offering us a water. First place in years that I did not leave a tip. The staff did not know anything about the beers they served. The best part was the cool old building. Avoid this place like the plague.

Great looking building, but that’s the only nice thing I can say. It had been 2 years since my last visit and the place has declined remarkably. Every beer that my work mates and I tried tasted infected. The bartender was clueless about the style of beers offered and the wait staff is slow and rude, like they could care less about getting a tip. Two of us ordered burgers that were served cold and one of us had the fried fish, it was obvious that the fish had spoiled, gone bad, but our waitress refused to take it back. It took awhile, but finally the manager showed up and agreed that there was something wrong with the fish, but by then we were ready to leave. This now ranks as the worst brewpub I’ve ever been to.

So this is the second Bricktown Brewery I’ve visited (not related to Bricktown in Oklahoma City, but it looks the same). Regular food, regular beer, regular tables, everything regular. I get the feeling while in Iowa that restaurants don’t want to offend the somewhat plain palates of Iowans. At least at this brewery I was able to find some decent fish. They had Halibut, Walleye, Salmon (but I think it was farmed), plus a few others - grilled or fried. I had the fried Walleye filet and was satisfied. The beer quality was lacking, and the recipes seemed uninspired. But otherwise, it’s really the only brewery in the area.

I was wildly bored by these extract beers the last time that I was here. The food is pricey and bland as well. I can think of no reason to go back here.

I’ve been here a couple of times. Located in a very cool old building in downtown Dubuque which was once a wagon works. Very close to the Port of Dubuque which includes the Mississippi River Museum and the Riverboat Casino. Service is extremely variable. The managers tend to be knowlegable about the beer and provide good service. Some of the younger wait staff can be forgetful. The food is okay at best. Decent number of house beers (8-9), including root beer. Unfortunately, I believe their beers are made primarily from malt extract. You can really taste the extract in most of them. They’re awful for the most part.

Fairly typical-looking old converted downtown wagon factory, probably late 19th century...the main thing you notice right away is that it takes up a whole block, really dominating the area. Are people in this small Iowa city serious about beer? Alas, no. The wagon factory ambience is cool, lots of old barrel staves, nice wood...you feel like you’re on the verge of the West, which Iowa was 150 years ago...but this is primarily a restaurant from the looks of the expensive menu, the other patrons drinking wine, and the odd stare I got when I ordered the sample. The less said about the beer, the better...lots of weak fruit beers, brown and ambers, etc etc. Not worth any effort to visit unless the food is much much better than the beer.

Loud and noisy with slightly slow service. However, it was a Saturday night. I ordered a flight and got 9 samples including a decent rootbeer. Overall the beer and the food are below par. However, considering where you are in Iowa, it is good enough. I went again, waited 10 minutes and got no service, so I walked out.

Absolutely some of the worst beer I’ve ever had. Out of the sampler I had, only 1 beer was even close to drinkable. Bartender seemed like she wanted to be someplace else, and if i worked here, I probably would too. At least the Busted Lift down the street had a couple decent drafts to get the taste of these beers out of my mouth.