Sort of disappointing given all the positive ratings we read.

I stopped in at lunch time. The bar area was empty, but the dining area was fairly full. I took a seat at the bar. From the beginning of my visit until the time I left, I had good service. Two different ladies kept checking on me. I didn't find any of the bad service that some have encountered. I had a Reuben sandwich with a side of beans and rice. My meal arrived quickly and was very good. Now on to the beer...

The selection of their own beers was impressive. It covered a wide variety of styles and strengths. The beers on tap included a pale ale, bock, two pilsners, weizen, schwarz, fruit lambic, several strong beers and some others that I can't remember. I wanted to try several so I was VERY happy to find that Hoppers sells tasters.

The first beer I tasted was the Magnum 44. It was a 44 proof (22abv) beer served from a beer engine! It was at room temp and had little to no carbonation. It was clear gold in color with an interesting fruitiness, mild bitterness and some heat from the alcohol. It was fairly dry considering it's strength. The fruitiness seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe a mead-like fruitiness? It's possible that it might not have been an all malt beer. The fruitiness could have come from the yeast or from whatever the beer was aged in. I asked my server how it was made, but she said the only thing she knew about it was that it had been aged for seven months. This mysterious beer was surprisingly smooth and I was very happy to have the opportunity to taste it. The next beer I sampled was the dunkle bock. It was described as an Austrian style bock. I thought this malty bock was well-made and very tasty. (I should have tasted this before the Magnum...) The third taster was the Cat Tail Pale Ale. I would classify it as a well-balanced India Pale Ale. I really liked the balance of malt with the hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. The forth was a strong (12abv)Christmas beer (Blitzen?). I'm not sure what style of beer this was, but it reminded me of a Wheatwine I once had. This excellent beer was smooth, creamy, malty and had a thick head. For my last taster, I tried the Lambic. It was made with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. If you're expecting a traditional, acidic, sour lambic, you'll be disappointed. However, that doesn't mean that this is a bad beer. It starts off with abundant sweet berry flavors and fades to a pleasant, tart finish. I didn't dectect the alcohol at all. All in all this was a tasty, refreshing fruit beer.

I would love to re-visit this pub and try the other beers I missed. I commend the brewer on the variety of beers brewed. I love a pub that experiments and surprises me along with producing excellent more common beer styles. Keep up the great work!