Rating: 2 out of 5

336 Arizona 179
Sedona, AZ
(928) 282-3300
www.oakcreekpub.com

First Impressions

After a long day of hiking our group was ready for a beer and some grub. Being the beer dude that I am I of course suggested the Oak Creek Brewpub. None of us had been there before and we were all excited to hit up a new pub. As we wandered into the Adobe style pub there were decorative tile and fountains spewing water about. The open floor plan in the basement was a refreshing idea until we ended up heading inside the building anyway. The first impressions were mixed by all. Servers frantically about, 80’s music on the radio, TV’s with basketball on them, old Christmas decorations above the bar and a sleuth of German style artwork on the walls.

Review of Oak Creek Brewery and Grill – Sedona, AZ

Beer

Oak Creek Brewery has been brewing beer for about 15 years until about 7 years ago when they opened another operation at the current brewpub location. Currently all the beer served is actually brewed on site and stored in vats behind the bar. Oak Creek has many award winning beers from both the Great American Beer Festival and the North American Brewers Association. So I decided to take the flight. To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed.

Micro Light

This beer was bright golden in color with a malty sweetness that didn’t seem to be balanced by any hop bitterness as advertised in the menu. It ended up being served a little to warm for my taste for something this light. The point is to usually not taste it. It tasted better than a Bud Light, but it still had that weird sweetness that comes from an American Light Lager. This would be a great option for anyone that likes light American lagers. However, to me, it felt like this brew was only made to appease the tourist masses that must come through this town.

49′er Gold Lager

Much like the micro light but a little more pleasant on the tongue. This beer won a NABA Gold medal in the 2002. This beer had a minimal flavor profile, but was balanced nicely with some sweetness and hoppiness, a very versatile beer.

Orange Blossom – Seasonal

This brew is considered a Hefeweizen, at least that is what the waitress told me, but it doesn’t really take on that type of characteristic. In actuality, it is very light, very fruity with minimal citrus character for its name. In fact our group came to a consensus that it tastes like a water downed dreamsicle. A little bit vanilla, a little bit orange and overall, not that great.

Horseshoe Hefe

A 2003 GABF Gold medal winner, this brew is probably the best brew they have on tap. A great banana and clove aroma permeates my nostrils with relief that I’m going to finally have a beer I’ll enjoy. Made with 50% wheat, this cloudy, golden color brew has a sweet and spicy after taste. However, my wife seems to taste a strong alcohol after taste. I don’t get that, but I drink whiskey straight and like it.

Amber Ale

Bright amber color seduces my eye as I pulled this 2001 NABA Silver medal winner to my face to take a whiff. I smelt a sweet caramel flavor and immediately was intrigued to go after a taste. I was surprised at a very minimal hop character and a much stronger than anticipated caramel flavor. The beer finishes very subtly. It was not a favorite of the other Amber beer drinkers at the table. Just seemed to be lacking in a direction.

Docs Pale Ale

Upon first taste at the table this brew was a disappointment. However as it warmed up it became much more complex and enjoyable. Surprisingly there was minimal hop floral aroma as it was dominated by a caramel character. As you take a taste though the hops jump out and squeeze your tongue a bit, but quickly die off in a smooth finish. This brew is a solid choice among its brethren.

Village Nut Brown

A deeper amber, almost brown looking beer that promises to have a hop characteristic sneak up on you. Upon sniffing I get a super sweet, hazelnut smell. I take my first sip of the Nut Brown and as implied with the name it has an earthy, nutty flavor to it. However the hops never seem to catch up.

Porter

A bit of a let down, but still on my list of good beers to have while there. It looks like a Stout at first glance with its dark black appearance, but upon tasting the delicious sweetness and roastiness of the porter comes out. It is a solid choice, but be warned, you could be let down by its lack of impact.

Ambiance

I pondered the very thought of hanging out in this place for an evening and it made me cringe. Madonna and Michael Jackson along with a whole another top 100 list from the 80’s was playing in the background. I still could not get past the Christmas trees that were still up over the top of the bar and the interesting “lodge” feel this Adobe took on. Mix that with some German arts and I’ve got a bad feeling that I’m in a tourist trap with no exit. The apparent lack of a common culture or theme gives this place a very wide appeal. I didn’t feel I was grabbing anything for information, nor experience, that I couldn’t have found at some major restaurant chain anywhere else in the country. The only thing that set this place apart was the copper vats behind the bar, otherwise, it was Granite City.

Food and Cost

The food was good. I had the Brewmaster’s Special, which ended up being pork sausage, brats, garlic potatoes, sauerkraut and a side of mustard. I really enjoyed my meal but the people around me were afraid for their lives later in the evening! The rest of the table sampled the turkey burger, pasta, and soup. All were delighted by the food, but that ended once we saw the bill. It just so happens that when you are in a tourist trap you pay more for everything. Its like asking for a discount on a wedding cake the day of your wedding. You are pretty much F’d in the A. All the plate cost around or more than $14 and the beers were $5 to $7.

Did I mention the service wasn’t that great? Aside from making one of us feel stupid for not knowing how to answer one of her food questions, she messed up our bill and was nearly impossible to understand with her heavy accent. (Which was not American).

Uniqueness

Overall, I felt this place was what you would call a “sell out”. It was trying to appease everyone, from beer to food to ambiance. Nothing stood out, nothing impressed me and overall, it just cost to much for what we actually got.

Would I Go Back?

Nope

Rating : 4 out of 5
On a trip to one of the meccas of brewing, Portland, OR one can find themselves overwhelmed with the options presented to them, especially in the Pearl District. However, I have found a great place in the Bridgeport Brewpub and Bakery. This one is on the top of my list of places to drink when in Portland, OR.

Bridgeport Brewery

Beer

I grasped a menu and immediately looked for a brew. The list had variety some quirky names such as Blue Heron Pale Ale, Haymaker EPA or the Ropewalk Amber, which if I remember correctly is a tribute to the history of building once being a rope factory. Putting that aside, since I was on a Stout kick during the time I hit up the Black Strap Stout. This beer had a lot of qualities of a Guiniess but tasted much better. It had more carbonation, better head, a tish of sweetness from the Black Strap molasses which could be attributed more to the aroma than the actual flavor and finished with a slight bitterness that I can only attribute to some black barley of some sort. Charlie Papazian talks more about Black Strap Molasses in his book The Joy of Home Brewing. Very good read!

After a few Black Straps I moved on to a seasonal ale called “Ebenezer Ale”, which I really enjoyed to. I could really taste the pine that was added to this beer and it really reminded me of the Bombay Sapphire Gin that I love so much.

Ambiance

Going into the place I was greeted by the fresh smell of baked bread, brick walls, accented with aluminum chairs, tables, and exposed duct work. A warm sensation comes over me every time I enter a place of historical value updated with a modern flair. We were greeted and brought to a table and the first thing I noticed was “What a Long Strange Trip” by the Grateful Dead playing on the radio and a child sitting with his seemingly grandparents playing a intense game of cards. An ease fell over me. You almost feel home.

Food

To be honest I didn’t eat much of the food. I’d rather drink my meal than eat. While there though, I did decide to sample something that came from the bakery. I ended up ordering a soft pretzel. I know, I’m so classy. I AM! They brought it on a nice plate with 2 separate dipping sauces. One sauce was an esb mustard and the other was a black strap stout cheddar spread. They were both good, but I preferred mixing them together and dipping the pretzel in them like I was at a baseball game. This appetizer hit my drunk munchies perfectly!

Uniqueness

The place was down right relaxing and fun to be at. Aside from the beer my favorite thing about the place was the toilets in the men’s room. They had to be 5ft tall all the way from the ground up. You could literally sit in one if you wanted…

The other thing that I found really interesting and is probably just the brewing nerd inside me is learning about a technique where beer is kept in a “firkin” while it carbonates. A Firkin is a traditional wooden cask equal to a quarter barrel, but the idea here is that the beer is naturally carbonated, not force carbonated like a lot of the commercial beers we are used to. I’ve heard people tell me that this is referred to by the British as a “real ale.” Regardless, I think it might attribute to some of the sparkaly carbonation sensations I was experiencing in my earlier beers.

Would I Go Back?

Hell yes!