Crikey, Reuben’s Brews are Good!

My kitchen counter is lined with growlers from Reuben’s Brews. We empty them quickly then then they sit empty until my husband has time to take one back and fill it up. Sometimes the whole family runs up for the refill, but until recently it was always a quick errand. The tasting room at Reuben’s was too busy and crowded for a family with small kids to spend much time. Until recently.

This summer, Reuben’s brewery moved to a new location (practically across the street from the old one) that offers seating for about 100 people, half inside and half outdoors. Finally, on a recent Sunday, we stopped by to fill up a growler and stayed to savor a selection of Reuben’s Brews.

We scored a table and the kids enjoyed a bottle of Thomas Kemper root beer while the daddy and I worked our way through an eclectic taster selection from the 19 brews on tap that day. We tried:

Koyt: a Dutch-style ale with malted oats and wheat

Lemon-Ginger American Rye: just what it says

Imperial Black IPA: We both had the same reaction. Ka-pow! Robust and full-bodied with big hops, big malt and big satisfaction.

Red IPA: A kinder, gentler version of the above. Think of it as comfort beer.

We filled our growler with Crikey IPA, which we didn’t taste because we already knew that it’s our favorite beer. Period.

Reuben’s is a tasting room, not a pub, so they don’t sell any food. They do keep nuts near the door that you can scoop into paper trays to nibble as you drink, and on most days (not Sunday) there are food trucks parked outside. Zeek’s Pizza offers a 15% discount to people who order for delivery to Reuben’s.  One whole wall is filled with a chalkboard calendar identifying food truck days and charities benefiting from their Thank You Thursday program that donates $1/pint to charity.

Reuben’s is a family business named for their young son, and is as kid-friendly as their backstory implies. Our kids were not the only ones in the tasting room when we sat down, or on any of the days we just dropped by to pick up a growler. That said, in my barely-biased opinion, I don’t think the presence of kids detracts from the atmosphere for those who are out for a different kind of good time.

Frelard is turning into a prime spot for a brew-crawl (pub crawls are so passe) with Lucky Envelope and Stoup (plus old-timers Hale’s Ales and Maritime) only blocks away. But somehow, we never seem to get past Reuben’s.

Reuben’s Brews

5010 14th Ave NW

Open Monday through Thursday 3 pm to 9 pm

Friday through Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm

http://www.reubensbrews.com/#on-draft