Mad River Brewing Company

Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

101 Taylor Way
Blue Lake, California, 95525
United States

(707) 668-4151 | map
madriverbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.68
Beers:
26
Ratings:
4,158
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.16
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
19
pDev:
7.69%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Kbooth8:
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Rated by Kbooth8 from California

4/5  rDev -3.8%

Aug 20, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.66 by 2beerdogs from California

Jan 18, 2024
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Rated by Grahampuba from Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Solid beers without any taproom exclusives at the time. Nice patio and chill atmosphere.
Jan 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.01 by Mikefernandez from Colorado

May 30, 2017
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.88/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4
I visited Mad River last night. It's a bit out of the way, in the small town of Blue Lake, but they manage to get quite a bit of business anyway. The taproom itself is a very welcoming, homey space where I felt immediately comfortable. It's definitely a "local", which I think is great.

They had 13 taps available; 7 flagships and 6 rotating. Overall the beer is decent; nothing ground-breaking but all very serviceable. Service was decent and the food, like the beer, is tasty enough if not gourmet quality.
Oct 31, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Jun 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.32 by Hoppedelic from California

May 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.63 by JimyJazz from California

Jan 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4.87 by M1gunner3006 from California

Aug 19, 2015
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Reviewed by Act25 from New Jersey

4.32/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
Visited 3 brew pubs near Arcata, and Mad River was by far the best.
Great craft beer, offered in flights or in $1 tastes by knowledgable bar keeps.
Very friendly place. Homey and happy feel.
Great selection and the best beers in the region.
Jan 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by Harvest06 from Oregon

Jan 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4.32 by mihkeljaanhaus from Connecticut

Nov 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by WoodBrew from Ohio

Aug 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Endocador from California

Jul 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by zestar from California

May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by smanrob from California

Mar 16, 2014
Photo of colonelforbin
Reviewed by colonelforbin from California

3.74/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4
Nice location, right next to the Mad River. You can take a stroll along the river before or after your time at the pub.

Homey feel inside this place. It's not too big. They do have a rather spacious outdoor seating area, however. Small bar and tables spread about the rest of the establishment.

They had some interesting seasonal specialties on tap, including a bourbon barrel aged stout and a bourbon barrel aged porter. John Barleycorn was on, as was a nice hefeweizen and a chili beer. Overall they had 12 beers on tap. Pretty solid, especially the seasonals.

Service was pretty standard, no problems.

I enjoyed the location of this pub, just a few miles off 101 on Hwy 299. Nice spot to visit for sure, if you are in the area. Solid and occasionally very good beer.
Nov 23, 2013
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Reviewed by flexabull from California

4.16/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Small tap room with a nice large outdoor beer garden. No TVs or food, but it would be a nice place to hang out on a warm day.

Quality is good, had a good black ale, then the extra stout on nitro which was wonderful. I have always thought that Mad River was one of the better breweries on the coast, and this visit helped affirm that.

Service was good. Service was friendly, but kind of quiet. The place in general was quiet too.

Selection was good. I think they had 9 offerings. Was a little bummed that I missed cask night which is coming in few days. Stout with cocoa nibs on cask?! Yum!

Food was basically snacks, chips, jerky, etc.

Value was good $3.75 for most pints.

Very nice place for a beer, just remember to eat elsewhere.
Mar 20, 2011
Photo of DeanMoriarty
Reviewed by DeanMoriarty from California

4.56/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
Just off the 299 near Arcata - this chill little hidden gem lurks along the hillsides of the Trinity Forest in the quaint little town of Blue Lake, California.

The vibe in this place is extremely chill - nice small town local spot that is completely unpretentious and very welcoming to outsiders. There is generally live music and always a fair mix of males to females (extreme rarity these days). The bar is made of insanely beautiful hand carved wood with images of fish inlayed into the front of it, surrounded by a dozen bar stools lining the front with 4 or 5 tables that line the back wall opposite the bar - there is also a good amount of open floor space right when you walk in where the band/musician set up for the night.
The service is absolutely top notch with perfect pours and knowledge of the beers on tap. On a side note (in regards to service) - my buddy and I were traveling through town and stopped in after a long day on the road for a couple coldies to wash the miles away.We had our drinks and paid up but wanted to take some for the road. I had a case of assorted beers picked out and the bartender pointed out the fact that they had cases of Mad Belgium on sale for $20.00 a case. I had my doubt as it was a Summer seasonal and it was getting into the Winter months, so I asked how fresh it was - the bartender offered me a taster from the tap. It was still pretty damn fresh and super tasty - so obviously I bought the case! Moral of the story - I was willing to spend double the amount of what the bartender sold me on. Gotta love Nor-Cal!
Selection was amazing for what the brewery has to offer on a regular basis (year rounds and seasonals) - would have liked to have seen some aged ales or maybe some more rarities that a person couldn't get outside of the brewery.
Feb 27, 2011
Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, CA
Brewery rating: 3.68 out of 5 with 4158 ratings