It's my kind of place, a brewery and a restaurant as well as a pub, a huge space where beer is brewed on site, where the ceiling is black and the floor is brown, where high tables and chairs are great for a drink and where the spirit puts a smile on your face instinctively.
Excitement arose as the door opened, a place I'd like to call home, with 11 types of beer and 13 guests breweries offering their creations. Draft beer at Haymarket, I was hungry and thirsty, I wanted to enjoy the experience to the max so started by ordering one at a time, 4oz each.
It's a long bar with mirrors and bottles, televisions broadcasting sports and news, a big space inside and another area called "Drinking & Writing", more of a theater for events. The brewers are here, happy to help and assist, pictures are taken with no problem, the door is open and their faces happy and brightly lit.
It's dimmed during daytime, it was 3pm and we were coming for food and drinks. You can't imagine how happy I was.
On the menu:
- Sharable
- Greens and chili
- Sides
- Bar snacks
- Pizza
- Hand held
- Save too homemade sauces
- Daily specials
Beer:
- Speakerswagon Pilsner 5%: speak up! Fight for your right to drink better beer! Start with this crisp, straw colored lager brewed with imported pilsen malt, saaz hops and authentic cold fermenting lager yeast. A light bodied beer, light bitterness and light fruitiness with light aromas. It's a good beer that's interesting but needs a bit more to be perfect.
- The Saison Also Rises 6%: The traditional Belgian farmhouse ale is easy drinking yet full of flavor and perfect for squeezing a bit more out of summer. It's brewed with imported Pilsen malt, noble hops and authentic Belgian yeast. Light like the previous one with more aromatic notes, a light bitterness and a pleasant after note. Its flavors are more pronounced.
- Oscar's Pardon dry-hopped Belgian pale ale 4,5%: This straw colored pale ale was brewed with Pilsen malt, Belgian yeast and Amarillo, hops then dry-hopped with a touch more for a complex easy drinking experience. Fruity and aromatic, that's more of my kind of beer, a light bitterness and a lasting flavor. My favorite until now.
- Banana Hammock Hefeweizen 5% pale ale: Fernaine style unfiltered wheat ale is brewed with authentic Weiss bier yeast lending flavors and aromas of clove and banana. Very faded banana aromas, not my favorite of beers but one can't deny it's good.
- Blue Horse Brew 5% pale ale: Session pale Brewer with a touch of aromatic malt and dark custard, hopped and dry hopped with centennial and mosaic, brewed with the band Blue Horse Blue. Fruity and floral, light bodied and enjoyable. It's yummy!
I had five of them and let me tell you that the brew master knows exactly what he's doing. Excellent work guys, you left a great impression which will make me want to come back again.
The food:
- Sausage sampler: They are excellent, absolutely fabulous. A thick envelope embracing condensed spiced and flavored meat. Smoked sausages with a very nice texture and strong flavor. Bravo for those.
- Apple wood smoked and fried shrimp with fries: Large shrimp, juicy on the inside and battered, smoked and fried, waiting to be dipped in sauces and a fresh sauce, like candy, for ultimate enjoyment.
- Brined burger: Excellent, it's simply excellent, a sticky bun with two patties inside, a sandwich that doesn't even taste like a burger, no ketchup and no sweetness, but a goat cheese sauce, olive mayo, spicy mustard and pickles. It has a certain charm to it that's rarely found in a sandwich. That should be considered one of the city's best gourmet burgers.
Food and drinks in a pleasant ambiance, a smiley and welcoming staff and positive vibes... What else would you need? Recommended for sure and I'll be coming back.
