River City Brewing Company

Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

6241 Fair Oaks Blvd
Carmichael, California, 95608-4800
United States

(916) 550-5093 | map
rivercitybrewing.net
BEER STATS
Average:
3.55
Beers:
14
Ratings:
47
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.55
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
16
pDev:
14.65%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Offa:
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Reviewed by Offa from California

3.63/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
This is a good brewpub in the K Street/Downtown plaza mall. It is conveniently located near Old Sacramento and in one of the open-air plazas in the mall. I note that although this is a shopping mall, due to the location, open-air layout and design, it is actually a very nice mall. It has some outdoor seating in the plaza. Inside is a nice pseudo-industrial decor.

Quality of beer is generally good, solid but not outstanding or unique.

Service is very good, friendly and effective.

Selection is good, with a nice range and number available at any time plus a rotating cask choice.

Food, what we have had, is good. I definitely recommend this place in the area, for a good solid brewpub that should not disappoint even if it is nothing special. I also place it below Rubicon (in Midtown) for local places but definitely good.
Sep 20, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by KarmicSkrambl8 from California

Jan 04, 2015
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Reviewed by mrcraft from California

3.75/5  rDev +5.6%
After an enjoyable day meandering through the California Railroad and History Museums, I walked through the freeway underpass and came across this brewery/brewpub.

The host and server behind the bar were both very friendly, and service was speedy.

The atmosphere was good. The was a patio section outside and plenty of tables inside with some big screens with football on. The bar is on the left with the main dining area towards the right. I saw an open kitchen in the back but wasn't paying much attention to the food preparation.

The beers were good. I had a flight of their 6 beers available that day. I also had their frito misto which I thought was great.

I try to hit a new brewery on my business trips, I'm glad I stopped by here.
Nov 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by cmgage from California

Jul 07, 2014
Photo of armock
Reviewed by armock from New York

3.68/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Atmosphere - Located in an outdoor mall courtyard they have a good sized patio section in front. As you you walk in the bar is to your left with the dining area to the right. Along the right side is the brew house and some fermenters. They have a remodeled warehouse fell to the place.

Service - On my visit I sat at the bar and the bartender was kind and quick with things. The only down side was he didn't really know anything about the beers other than what was in the menu.

Quality/Selection - On my visit they had about ten beers on tap and a beer on cask. The beers that I tried ranged from bad to very good so its kind of a dice roll here.

Food - During my lunch visit I ordered the fish and chips and I must say that it was some of the best fried fish that I've had in quite some time.

Overall if your in that part of town its a good place to eat and grab a beer.
Aug 05, 2011
Photo of willjschmidt
Reviewed by willjschmidt from California

3/5  rDev -15.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5
A brewpub located in an outdoor mall in downtown Sacramento. Even with the fact that it is in a mall, it manages to have a decent atmosphere. The outside seating is nice. They have about 7 of their own beers on tap, no guest taps. The beers are not your average brew pub selections, they are a bit adventurous. I had the IPA which was decent and the porter on cask which was very average. Served way too cold. The food was too rich and too greasy. We ordered several dishes and none off them were very good.
Jun 26, 2009
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Reviewed by jerelwhall from Indiana

2.13/5  rDev -40%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 1 | selection: 3
I visited RCBC on a trip to CA a couple of days ago. Wow, what a waste of time. This is one of those few companies that seems to brew on-premise for the sole purpose of making their restaurant somehow more attractive. The beers were bland and lacked distinction. Basic style characteristics seemed to be ignored or misunderstood. One so-called 'porter' on hand-pull tasted and looked more like a mild than anything else - it certainly wasn't a porter.

To be honest, my perception of the beer could've been slightly tainted by the fact that we sat at the bar for a full four minutes, thirty-two seconds before anyone acknowledged us. The two bartenders and a server seemed more interested in walking all around us and shouting at their friends than in taking our order. When they did they didn't bother putting a tab together, so when we left, we had to wait while they figured out what we had ordered.

Overall: weak, insipid, poor quality beers - exceptionally lazy, disinterested staff - an embarrassment to the brewing community, an utter disappointment.
Mar 03, 2009
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.64/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
This place was located inside the massive Downtown Plaza shopping complex, but they still managed to have some patio furniture out front along with a huge facade. Whoever submitted the photo really captured nicely what I am trying to describe. Entering, the long, black marble-topped bar was off to the immediate left with the brewhouse visible behind glass about 3/4 of the way down the back bar, headed aft. A line of tables and chairs were to the right of the bar, along the partition that separated off the restaurant area. The m.d.s. was to the right of the doorway with four (4) SVs off to the extreme right, along with the lavatories and a stairwell leading up to a second floor dining area. The restaurant area was just a sea of standard tables and chairs. The kitchen ran most of the back wall, especially off to the right. Past the kitchen, on the left, was a private meeting/dining area behind a heavy curtain.

Beers: Eight (8) on draft - Belgian White (4.0); "K" Street Kolsch (4.2); Cap City Pale Ale (4.65); HefeWeizen (5.25); Vienna (5.5); IPA (6.9); Wooden Head Ale - a 10th Anniversary amber aged on oak (7.0); and Black River Stout (4.8). They also offered West Coast Brown on cask during my visit.

On the blackboard was written "Coming Soon: A name of our IPA". Ha! At least they were honest about it.

It was a passable place and the beers were okay, but I probably would not make this a destination or even my first stop in Sacto.
Aug 24, 2008
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Reviewed by ghostfacekilla69 from Virginia

3.44/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
i am not so into this brewing company being in the middle of a mall. although, i suppose that in some suburban sprawl areas everything is in some ways in the middle of a mall. but anyways, i liked that they had a large outdoor seating area and since the weather tends to be consistently good in sacramento i can see it getting a lot of use. the service was fine although i think because the place is pretty big there can sometimes be some server confusion. they had about 8 beers on tap which were ok but wouldn't blow your mind. that pretty much describes this place-ok but wouldn't blow your mind.
Jun 23, 2008
Photo of bosco7
Reviewed by bosco7 from Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I am not a fan of the location and atmosphere of this place. Being in the middle of a mall kind of detracts from the experience (don't bring your girlfriend/wife unless you want to go shopping after). The interior of the brewpub is nice in a sterile yuppy bar kind of way. I felt better when I used the restroom and it was absolutely disgusting.

Beer is decent. I had the sampler which included there year round beers (a Kolsch, Pale Ale, Hefeweisen, Vienna Lager, Wooden Head, and an Irish Stout). The Wooden Head and the Stout were the standouts by far, the rest were pretty pedestrian. The Wooden Head is a hopped-up red ale that is aged on oak. I also had an ESB (they call it a RSB) on cask that was very good and the most drinkable beer that I tryed.

The food is very pricey for what you get. I went to Stone's Beer Gardens earlier this year and paid similar prices for a lot better food. This was a big turn off for me. Vegetarian options...forget it. They will happily pick off the meat in your pasta and charge you 20 dollars for it. The food was okay though just overpriced. I had the salmon (which was scorched) and the lady had the pasta.

Overall it was okay. I rather go to Rubicon and get great beer, standard pub-fare, and a relaxed atmosphere that lacks pretense for half the price.
May 20, 2007
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Reviewed by leechungsr from California

3.73/5  rDev +5.1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
From outside, the restaurant looks like some bourgeois business meetingplace. I always thought that their sign is kinda lame looking, although I have no suggestions to improve on it. Not bad inside; clean and fairly modern. The crowd there is pretty quiet, I prefer drinking in a happier/carefree atomsphere. Service is always fast and friendly. Food is excellent; I haven't had anything I dislike. I really enjoy their asiago chicken for dinner. If I lived downtown, I would probably go here at least once a week. I recommend the Hefeweizen; my favorite.
Mar 25, 2007
Photo of rayjay
Reviewed by rayjay from Hawaii

3.78/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Small brewery in the mid-sized outdoor mall in downtown Sac. Just park in the basement and they'll validate. Not much for atmosphere; I'm not going to complain, but it does have a sort-of corperate, business, less-than-inviting feel. About 8 beers on tap, ranging from a Kolsch to an Irish Stout to a Pale Ale to a Double Brown to a Barleywine and a few intermediate steps in between. I think it's lacking for a Califoria brewery not to have an uber-hoppy IPA, but all the beers are good and very drinkable. The Irish Stout is very tasty, as is the Pale Ale. I'll have to get back to try more. Food is a bit pricy, but there are some nice treats on the menu; pizzas with fun gormet ingredients, a tasty looking olive plate, burgers, etc. Food is a bit pricy but it looks like you get what you pay for. This place is worth a stop; the beers are quality, and you'll find something that suits you. Full bar as well. Cheers!
Mar 07, 2007
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Reviewed by Dukeofearl from California

4.22/5  rDev +18.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
I have to agree with EyeChartBrew's review of this place- it is an easy target for slamming, in that it is located in a (trying-to-be) trendy mall in downtown Sacramento, its atmosphere is trying to cater to in the non-beer-advocate-yuppie-type crowd, and it is somewhat typical in terms of trendy brewpubs. But this one does really seem better than that.

And I think the reason is in the beer selection. Rather than doing the standard brewpub blonde-pale ale-amber-stout grouping, this one does varations on that theme: kolsch (4.25%), Wit (4%), Golden Pale (4.7%), Springbock (Maibock) (6.75%), Vienna Amber (5.55), Wooden Head Ale (10th Anniversary Amber Ale) (6.7%), and a cask-conditioned Dry Irish Stout. The beer list includes descriptive details about each beer. This tells me the brewer wants people to like the beer and he/she is a little creative. Because they have a number of lower ABV beers, the beer was served in pints and liters (almost pints & quarts- Ps & Qs). The cask beer was served at proper temperature- hooray!

Note: the bartender told me that this place was bought by Faultline brewery in Sunnyvale after the original owner was sued by a customer. So it goes.

Service was friendly and prompt, food was good, price was decent ($20 for 2 good quality pints and a big appetizer). I like this place!
Jun 15, 2006
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Reviewed by devo from California

3.65/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
I have been there several times now - returning out of convenience rather than any actual fondness. The place certainly is not bad but it's not really good, either.

I have tried most of the brews on their fairly impressive menu and not one of them impressed me. I found the Belgian White to be practically flavorless and almost flat and both the PA and IPA were lacking hops.

The food was fine but a bit pricey and certainly nothing to return for. I had a creamy pasta with chicken once and a sausage dish another time and both were very, very fine - but certainly nothing more.

Overall, it's not bad - don't wince if a coworker suggests you have lunch there - but if you're picking the spot, feel free to pass on by.
May 15, 2006
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Reviewed by Troyone from California

4.43/5  rDev +24.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Located in a Downtown Mall this is a convenient place to get a good brew. There is a patio out front in the mall and different areas inside for dining. This is now a sister Brewpub of Faultline in Sunnyvale which has given this place a similar look.

All stainless steel tap nozzles and the kitchen was in the open with a real grill and fire oven. A type of granite or marble bar top with aluminum siding, wood tables and chairs. The brewing room is glassed off and the restroom was clean.

Service is friendly and knowledgable.

All the beers were possible notables and a similar selection to the options at the Faultline, one cask engine, and did not see any guest beers. Definite notables were the Woodhead, Vienna, and Scottish Ale (tap and cask).

Food was good and tastey.

reasonable
Jun 20, 2005
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Reviewed by PopeJonPaul from Oregon

2.93/5  rDev -17.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2
Well, I thought this place had a fairly cool architectural design, though I will have to concur that it's definitely positioned to attract the downtown lunch crowd. Large dining area, fancy stainless steel kitchen, cool industrial look.

Service was fair, I tried the Brittania Ale which was OK, a bit better than average. Problem with this place was, they brew 8 beers, but they were out of four (!) WTF? The bartender was b*tching about it, but still, whoever is managing this place seems to think the fact that they have a full bar will make up for this. I came there to drink beer, not a Mai-Tai. It looks like they experiment a lot which is cool, but if you can't get it, then what good is it?

Didn't try the food, if you're stuck in downtown without a car walk down K street and check out the new Pyramid place (also Yuppie but they have 15 on all the time) next to the Crest (which is a much cooler movie theater too)...
Jul 14, 2004
River City Brewing Company in Carmichael, CA
Brewery rating: 3.55 out of 5 with 47 ratings