Rhodell Brewery

Just off the highway, right by the river…nice larger room, pleasant atmosphere with mellow and jammy tunes playing and a few TVs on. Pleasant outdoor area with nice views to be enjoyed in favorable weather. Indoors its large windows and dark wood tablets and decor in general.

Old school feel, variety of brew styles..the imperial stout I had was quite delicious

No food…sheesh I’ll never understand that, sell some peanuts or popcorn or at least some sort of bar snack/bite, unless you are looking to make less money…was told to “feel free to bring food in”

Quality in house made brews can be found here, as well as a grown up, and mellow room to enjoy a few beers and some conversation...friendly old timer behind the bar is always a plus. Well worth a visit

 

A highlight of the central Illinois beer scene to be sure, but a bit hit or miss on quality. Good selection of styles and they tend to do IPAs best.

The new location is bigger and better! I still wish they had some food, but they still have some of the best craft beers in Illinois.

I had been looking forward to their reopening at the new , 100 Walnut , location. The place had a few TVs and a pool table but not exactly a sports-bar atmosphere. The music was on but not loud enough to distract. The two ladies were just having water and seemed perfectly at home at our table by the window with comfortable chairs.
As planned I started with a MacBeth's Revenge , a dark 8% Scotish Ale that looked promising, but seemed a bit thin on the mouth. This was served cold and did eventually put off a bit of aroma as it warmed.
My buddy wanted a flight and the bartender was helpful with him picking out four to try from the ten on tap. . The Mad Cow , chocolate milk stout was tasty, but again not much smell though a bit closer to the texture I was hoping for.

Based on what my friend said about what he had , the wheat, IPA, Vanilla and Red the lower gravity beers are solid and have the advantage of being fresh and locally brewed. The higher ABV stuff was ok.

Doesn't serve food. I like the vibe. I have made my own beer there before and that is cool. The only thing is... To me, all their beers taste the same. I know they are supposed to be different and they are good tasting beers but all very similar.

I go here quite a bit after work a few blocks away (you know what company I mean). Its a great place to jam with co-workers after putting in your time.

Good variety of brews and they're usually always hits. Only had one or two I didn't like from this brewery. No food there, so it really shouldn't require me to rate that. However, they let you bring in food so its all good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ten beers on tap at any given time, change out as they run dry. One out of the ten is a cask conditioned beer on a traditional british hand pump. Awesome range of beer, always has a few IPA's, a stout or a porter, a few wheat beers. Great environment with low volumed music, outdoor area is small, but fitting for population of area.

Rhodell Brewery is always my first choice when I want to get a couple pints with friends. It has a great selection of beers and they are always rotating their selection. So I can get something new every time I stop in. Overall, Rhodell Brewery is a great place to stop by if you're in the Peoria Area.

I like this place. My in-laws are from Peoria, and this is a nice place to stop into to pick up a growler or two for the weekend. I've sat at the bar and gone through a flight or two of samplers with my wife. The bartenders have always been friendly and knowledgeable. All their beer is more than solid. Like some reviews have mentioned, some beers are a little weak, but others are truly fantastic. Either way, if the criteria for a place is "Respect Beer", this place qualifies.

It always smells very strongly of yeast which I enjoy. The place is really focused on making beer and letting other people make beer, which leads to a lack of seating. I think this place would have taken off more as a real cult spot in the city if they had more seating and a kitchen. It's not a lively place to go out to at night, but, well like I said above, I just like this place. I've been in brewpubs from coast to coast, and I've never been in a place like this. It's unique. Worth checking out if you're in Peoria.

I'll repeat the flaws of this place upfront from previous reviewers: occasionally surly bartenders (at least they know what the hell the beer tastes like and can make recommendations), some watery/green brews, and a bit pricey (about .50 cents to a buck more per drink than you would expect for the area).

However: beautiful dark all wood interior, quiet ambiance (no BS top 40 music playing, no wall o' tvs with sports on), more mellow and older crowd, and constant brewing. Rhodells' is a brew on premises in addition to a bar. Of late, I've seen a rise in fellow customers brewing their own there. It's great to see more initiated into beer dorkdorm. Some bottles from these sessions decorate the bar too, ranging from sentimental to a bit lewd (but funny anyway).

Rhodell's biggest attraction is the high variation of beer styles available: 8 + 1 on cask, with about 1/2 changing every week. I've found it's an excellent opportunity to try a bunch of styles without investing in full six packs/bombers. Hard to not find one you like. The website gives an accurate listing by week too.

Glad to have this + Kelleher's next door.

P.S. Just because its from extract doesn't mean it's going to be awful. I would accuse the last commenter of the snobbery he spoke of, but again Rhodell's has seldom "misses." I've had watery green apple tasting BS there, but excellent ones too (love the Whiskey Stout and the pumpkin ale). The slightly uneven quality is a small price to pay (especially in not exactly cosmopolitan Central IL); I'd rather have the brewer experiment than the usual red/brown/hoppy/wheat/seasonal lineup I see at most breweries. Make sure to try a sample before you buy.

7/11: Haven't had a "miss" here in a long time, every one I've had has been excellent. What's on tap has gotten more interesting as well, less "safe" styles like basic american wheat and ambers.

Was in Peoria to visit a friend and was hoping to check out the local 'brewpub'. Place is dark and all wood which typically is right up my alley. Smelled like the floor had been hit with a dirty mop.
As noted below the bartender was pretty much a jerk (burped in front of me three times while I ordered).
The brewing system is right out on the open and was hard to figure out where the mash tuns began and where the boil kettles ended. This is where the kicker really hit me. When I asked about their brewing setup I was told by an employee that they brew extract beers only. My jaw hit the floor. He then says "The only difference between all grain and extract brewing is snobbery". I was literally speechless. This definitely explained the quality if the Scottish Ale and the IPA my friend and I ordered. Reminded me of the first couple if batches I had brewed when I was just learning extract brewing. We finished our starter kit beers and quietly walked out of the place.
If you find yourself in the area I recommend going to the excellent beer bar right next door to this place.

I like this place. It has the feeling of a beer lovers hideout. Nine beers on tap and from what I can tell you never know what those are going to be. All small batch productions in the BOP. I do think a few of the recipes will eventually float to the top. No food and a surly bartender but you can take your beer outside in the summer time and sit on blocked off water street. I grew up in P-town and move away after collage. this place might get me to come back to visit once and a while just to check out the selection.

With me and Rhodell's, it is definitely hit-or-miss. They sometimes have *really* good beers and other times, they have green-tasting extract-wang beers. The browns & fruit beers I've had were really good. The wheat is "safe" to the point of being boring.

The selection always seems to be limited, which is why I dinged it. I've been told this is mostly because they sell out of the more interesting beers quickly. But their website update may list a beer and the very next day, they don't have it on the board.

It is an okay place to hang with friends until it gets crowded. Then the hardwood floors and brick walls echo every conversation into a loud roar.

I think the beer is a bit expensive for the quality, since Kelleher's next door servers some great beers at fairly inexpensive prices.

Never before have I entered a brewpub that smelled so wonderfully strongly of malted barley. The bar seems entirely made of wood--that is, the whole building. Like Lincoln Logs. The scent was delicious, at times nearly overpowering, and what do you know it was due to the fact that they were brewing and bottling there, right there, they weren't even separated by a window or nothing.

Everything else was kind of mediocre. The staff were cool but the bartender was a fucking douchebag. I-I don't really know why. It's hard to put it into words. He was a little curt, a little stuck up, but overall my revulsion is hard to put into words.

The beers ranged from okay to bad. The Chocolate Cherry stout tasted like Robitussin, but the IPA was solid.

Here's a tip: if your location is right next door to a place that sells Rogue pints for 4.50, you probably shouldn't sell your middle of the road homebrew for 5 bucks a pint.

Rhodell's is a very casual place for anyone who is serious about good beer. They usually have eight of their own brews on tap and sometimes (if your lucky) they will have a beer on "the cask". Most of the cask beers seem to be pale ales, although every once and awhile Mark (the brewer) will put something else, like a porter on the cask (yummy!). There is usually a good variety of beers on (a stout or porter, an IPA, an Amber or Red, a wheat beer or two and a variety of scotish, double or triples and a blonde or lighter offering). So you should be able to find a beer to your liking. I'm a hop head and Mark always has a hoppy beer on. My wife likes Ambers, Reds and Blondes and there is always a beer on that she takes a liking to.
They make "Butches" frozen pizzas (if have to eat) and there are usually pretzels or nuts on the bar for snacking. Rhodell's is not place you go to eat! Rhodell's is a place that you go to drink beer. If you like good beer, Rhodell's is the place. If you want to eat and drink OK beer, there are plenty of other resturants/bars in Peoria that you can go to.
If your in Peoria, stop by Rhodell's and try a pint (whatever beer leans toward your particular taste) and I'm sure that you'll be Rhodell's convert.

As Peoria's only true BOP, Rhodell makes a good beer, but the best aspect about the place is brewing your own beer. I have brewed with the owner on two separate occasions, and he is extremely knowledgeable of beer. Both times I have brewed our beer came out very good, IPA's both time. You get about 5 cases for around 120 bucks, which is an excellent deal for great beer and a good time. This is a great place to take non-craft brew drinkers, as seeing the brew process and learning from a knowledgeable staff may help them begin to appreciate beer.

The beers on tap are usually pretty good. My favorite is usually the cask beer (varies), I believe this is the only bar in Peoria with one. They do not serve food, but there are plenty of restaurants within walking distance, making this an excellent after/pre-dinner stop. This is a definite must-hit when you are in Peoria.

Just a short walk from O'Brien field. Stopped here before the Chiefs game. I'd been here before, but that was a Sunday afternoon. This was a Friday it was much fuller. Smoking at the bar kind of bummed me out, but we found a high table far enough away. Only two tvs, but wasn't there for that. Plenty of beer related literature near the entry way for the BOP they have. Nice and dark, but not too loud for conversation and you could read if you wanted. We just got our beers at the bar, and he was pretty quick, so I don't know how the servers were. Reasonably priced at 4 to 4.50 per glass. Growlers were a little outrageous though. $15 for a new one, but apparently, the same to get it refilled. Very disappointing that.

This pub is in a downtown, rejuvenated river front area next door to an Irish pub that seemed to be doing good later afternoon business as well. Celan, well kept bar, and full of locals. Wood floors, chair--everything really, including the tables. Clientele seemed a bit upscale for the honky tonk motiff going on in the place--after work drinkers in ties mostly. Friendly--got lots of enthusiastic advice as to what to order. It is also a brew on premises, and the small kettles are in the back, and the brew club seemed to be later that night as several people were trucking in bottles. Didn't see a separate brewery for the stock, so not sure where the pub beer is brewed and didn't have time to ask.

As for the beer, it was a good stop and worth getting of the freeway a mile or so. Parking across the street from the bar and free. The Honey Pilsner was clean and bright--good after taste, and the Belgian Farmhouse was peppery, strong bodied and interesting. The Oatmeal Porter was solid, smooth, and medium bodied with a slight coffee taste. Only the Angry Angus didn't strike my fancy--a bit astringent and seemed off balance to me. My final beer was a draft of Summit Hop Head IPA, which lived up to its name. A clean pale ale, lots and lots of nose, a dry finish and a little grassy in the taste.

Overall, a strong brewery in Peoria, and a place that if I needed to spend a night in Illinois for some reason, I might set up shop here to explore a few more of their brews and maybe the bottles behind the bar as well. Compared to the Quad Cities earlier in the day, and the beer in Bloomington/Normal that evening, this was a very good stop and easily the best of the day except for maybe Bent River.

If you go to Peoria, *DO NOT FAIL* to visit here, for Peoria's only locally brewed beer. The beer at the John S. Rhodell Brewery is world class.

I visited on a Tuesday night and found a small crowd that included people who were bottling and people who were regular customers for brewing and drinking. The atmosphere was very friendly. This place seems like less of a business and more a university of beer and brewing.

*Most* impressive were the variety of beers available and their uniformly high quality. I had a cask pale ale, a very solid sessionable brew. Then I got a taste of the saison. Wow, so very complex in flavor, very fresh and alive. The Hophead IPA blew me away - hops flavor as intense and on target as the 60-minute IPA that I sampled at the Dogfish Head brewery tour ! I also sampled the Angry Stout, the regular stout, and the amber - all were extraordinarily tasty, fresh, and interesting.

According to those who have brewed with him, the owner and brewmeister is a brewing wizard and genius. Based on the beer I tasted, I would have to agree.

I was able to stop in for a few pints during my last trip to Peoria.

I like how they have revitalized the old building. It has great high ceilings; old original wide plank wood floors and a large front window, which makes the place seem nice and airy.

The bar itself is small and maybe seats 8 to 10 folks. There are a lot of tables that can accommodate another 60 or 75 drinkers.

For added distraction, they have a pool table and a Golden Tee Golf machine.

The service was very good. They have a knowledgeable and friendly Scottish bartender named Mark who was very accommodating.

They had 9 beers including a barley wine, blueberry ale, Imperial IPA, porter, honey pilsner, amber and Scottish ale. They offer a cask beer, but none was available during my visit. In talking to the bartender and other customers, it sounds like the cask offerings go very quickly. The beers I had were all decent offerings.

The happy hour crowd was on the small side, but it was very friendly and I was able to discuss, beer, sports, etc. with several of them.

I enjoyed my visit here and think most folks will.

As you walk into this brick building, Rhodell's is in part of the first floor. The smell of fresh wort and grain boiling fills the room. The long brick bar has lots of beer bottles from there many past types of beer. They have a nice little bar 1/2 way down and about a dozen stainless steel 10 gal kettles to brew-your-own. They have big tin drums of malt extract stacked all around the bar up above the bathroom and some other built-out rooms. They also had a neon sign of Bare Knuckle brew form A-B and a neon sign of Budweiser world select. There is lots of seating and a pool table with a golden tee video game. The jukebox played everything from classic rock to top 40 and it wasn't loud enough to hear unless you focused on it. There was a group making a brew and they were standing around with two huge pitchers of malt extract and a scale. I couldn't tell if they were on their own or some one was giving directions. Scattered around the bar are card games and brewing books and magazines but the light were to dim to really see to read.

The beer is made with extracts and some grains for flavor which always imparts that strange slightly off "nugget" flavor at the finish of the beer. It really stands out in all their beers and I think the extract really makes it hard to get distinct differences in the many styles they brew.

The man working behind the bar was the only one working that Saturday night so he was scrabbling a lot. He would pour beers and then run around to gather all the glasses at the tables. I felt like they had a very limited number of glasses so he had to go collecting to they could keep serving. He was very nice a friendly but didn't have time for much conversation. He had a register right behind him where he kept the money but he would do all the math in his head.

They had 9 beers on tap with the cask hand pull down for the night. In the fridge they had lots of Anheuser-Busch produces and Miller 1855 plus a 1/2 bottle of wine and some cases of pop. When you ordered a pop you got the can and that was it. On the wall they had 63 beer labels from the beers they had brewed and at least double that in bottles around the bar. There selection seemed pretty "safe" with a stout, an amber, an IPA, a Blonde, a pumpkin beer and a fruit beer.

They serve Butch's pizza, which is the locally made frozen thin crust pizza and they have pretzels at the bar but that is it for food.


I feel that the bar is going for mass appeal and trying to stay in the black. They have some O.K. beer and it is a nice little bar but I think their "Warning our beer has Flavor" signs might be a bit of over-exaggerating.

Rhodell's brews their own beers and serves them on tap, with the selection changing often - there's usually about 8 different choices. Their bigger beers are almost always good, and they usually have some version of their Hop Head for the IPA lovers. They'll occasionally have a cask beer. The styles offered can vary wildly, and there's usually at least one big beer. They always have seasonal brews also... I look forward to the Pumpkin Ale every fall!

The bartender is always very friendly, willing to give you samples and trying to match you with the right beer. The atmosphere is cozy and homey... there's a pool table, a good jukebox, and a big screen TV in the corner, which rarely gets much attention. This place is all about the beer and conversation. I think the largest crowd I've ever seen there was 25 people, so it's never too smoky or cramped.

I know they offer group "brew-your-own" sessions, but I've never done one. I've heard they cost around $100 for each style of beer brewed, and you get to take home your handiwork once it is bottled.

Rhodell's beers are reasonably priced - I think $3-4 per pint. You can get growlers for $12 ($10 refill), but they won't fill growlers of the big beers. They don't serve food, other than maybe some Butch's pizza (locally-made frozen pizza). I've never eaten there. Go next door to Kelleher's for pub grub - it's a great Irish pub with some excellent taps of its own. It makes for a nice back-to-back experience. All in all, check out Rhodell's and Kelleher's for the best beer drinking experience Peoria has to offer.