Powerhouse Brewing Company's Columbus Bar

 

 

This place has been known locally for years as the "CB" and it's a staple when it comes to bars in the Columbus area. The tap list is a mixture of craft beer and also selections brewed right there in-house. Whenever we come back to town (I'm from the area), the CB is always on my "list of things to do". The food has always been great and although the tap list is small, I always find something I enjoy.

I'm also into architecture (which Columbus is known for), and what's very cool about the CB is the entire vibe because they managed to preserve the integrity (both internally and externally) of the 1940's and you don't come across this every day - just way cool. (!!!)

 

 

 

 

Stopped in with a friend on a recent trip through Indiana. Small place, but with a lot of character and a history dating back into the mid 1800's, (you can read about it on their menus). We took a seat at the bar and were immediately greeted by a friendly bartender, (who I think was an owner), who was very knowledgeable about craft beer and engaged us in some good conversation. Lots of great beers on tap including a good selection of Indiana breweries, as well as a few of their own brews. Both my friend and I dived right in to their Diesel Oil Stout, which looked exactly like the name. Very rich with strong chocolate and roasted malts tastes. I ordered a sandwich called "The Thing" (A 1/3 pound burger on grilled rye with Swiss cheese, lettuce, and mayo), which was delicious. Don't quite remember what my friend ordered to eat, but he also raved about it. We had planned to grab a 2nd beer, but our server had left to attend to a computer problem, leaving the bar in the hands of two other bartenders, (a male and a female), who proceeded to completely ignore my friend and I for the next 5 to 10 minutes. This would have been fine had there been a full bar, but there were less than 10 people in the entire place, only 4 of which were at the bar. But our guy finally came back and immediately asked if we needed anything, but by then we had to get back on the road. This is why it is not getting a higher rating in the service field on here. All in all a great little place that should be on the radar of anyone driving through this area.

Ahhh, a birthday drive punctuated by a small trip outside the confines of Indy. Awesome.

I had sampled some of their beers during a recent trip to Madison, Indiana at a place called Bistro (enter number here). Little did I know the atmosphere would entail a '40's style caboose car bar and great color and lighting.

The selection of beer, well, you better like good beer, because they had a limited yet sophisticated draft list (including double bastard, alpha king, left hand imperial ipa). Some locals in Sun King, but the prize, their own brews, brewed in a corner of the front of the restaurant, for anyone walking through the morning to see.

The bartender knew his stuff, opening my mind to their Diesel Oil Stout and rye, and further questioning led me to find out about the Dubbel they must have been hiding from me as I schemed the last pint...I mean growler. (delicious)

Not a place you would want to go get an obsure bottle, or a reasonable yet totally satisfying meal. Both my wife and I's plates had something merely OK about them. The fries were average. Don't order honey lime wings. However, the main entrees were pretty good, with a spicy and savory ancho pork wrap and a texas toast chicken sandwich filling the void.

I loved the vibe, I love that they are unafraid of brewing good beer...I wish they had had more than two beers of their own on the board, but who am I to judge??? Oh wait, I do want to judge, because their beers are so tasty that they deserve to serve more choices. Well done Powerhouse.

Stopped by a couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday. I actually reserved my motel in Columbus specifically so I could try this Pub. I had their fish fillet sandwich and it was wonderful. Very large portions. I thought I would try their Berliner Wiesse which was on tap. My goodness was it ever good. Top notch!! I strongly recommend it. I then had a pint of Stone Sublimely Self Righteous which was mighty fine as well. But their Berliner was the highlight. I plan to make Columbus my planned stop each time I travel South and the Powerhouse Brewing Co. will get my business every time. Great place.

My brother and I stopped in here after doing a bit of geocaching. I tried the ham on rye, the diesel oil, and the berliner wiess. All very good. My brother had fish and chips which was good and I had the black and blue chicken sandwich which was delicious. A cool place. I'll be going back next time I'm down there. The service was very good and for an early Saturday evening the clientele was pretty lively, but in a good way. I was surprised that after 3 brews and two beers our tab was under 30 bucks. Can't wait to go back.

Our visit was on a Saturday afternoon. We were impressed right away with the beer menu. The 20 taps were some of the best collection I've seen, and I have searched the US over for beer. Some may call it a hobby, for me it's a quest. The tappers are continually rotating but included Founders Porter, 3F Alpha Klaus, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (good but over nitroused), and their house stout Diesel Oil (which was quite tasty). The food was pretty good. My burger was a processed patty which I don't care for, but my wife had a pastrami reuben that she said was great. I wouldn't know because she wouldn't share.

We never got around to looking at the bottle menu but based on the tap list I'm sure it was excellent!!!

It is only about 20 miles from the house so I should be a frequent visitor.

I had to make a run up to Indianapolis to the Great Fermentations Homebrew store and decided to check this place out on the way back.

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

I have a small gripe with the signage outside. I knew vaguely which block it was on, but that's about it. So I walk around the block trying to spot it, but failed to see any sign. So I stopped into what appeared to a friendly looking neighborhood bar and asked a a guy at the bar "Where's the brewpub that supposed to be around here"?

He replied "You're standing in it"

They need a bigger sign out front.

They also need a bigger brewing system. They're supporting the place using a 20 gal brewing sculpture, like the kind you might buy from somebody like MoreBeer. It's hard to fathom how they manage to brew enough beer in that thing to support a brew pub.

The tap selection was quite good, with about 20 or so taps (didn't count). I don't remember every tap, but in addition to their own stuff, they had Stone Russian Imperial Stout, Three Floyds (Alpha King and something else, I think it was Gumball head), Schlenkerla Rauchbier, and a host of other worthy contenders. It was $3.00 pint night for everything except the Stone RIS, which was a nice bonus.

I sat at the bar for about 2 or 3 hours and had very nice conversations with the bartender, various servers, the head cook, and the brewer. I also had the best damn fish dinner I've had in a very very long time. Hand breaded with a cornbread crust, just amazing.

In addition to the bar area, they also have a regular dining area, but I didn't venture into it.

Definitely worth the stop for folks venturing up/down the I-65 corridor between Louisville and Indianapolis

A small, cozy, brew pub in downtown Columbus. A very helpful staff. The brew pub has a small 20 gallon system, so they have a limited number of their beers on tap. The selection, however, was very good for their small size. They had 20 taps with various craft beers, some from other, local, microbreweries (e.g., Upland). Had an impressive selection of Belgian beers (tap and bottle) with many other craft beers in bottle. Very attractive U-shaped bar with booth seating. Parking was good with a public garage just around the corner. Met the Brewer/co-owner John Meyers. John was friendly and was very happy to talk about the success of the brewpub and his plans to expand.
They had three of their beers on tap: Dark Wheat Ale, White River Brown Ale and the Million Mile Stout. Recommend that you stop in, if you have a chance. The food was highly recommended. I scanned the menu and everything looked very good.

This self-proclaimed "nano brewery" is in the heart of a tiny downtown in a tiny pit-stop of a town along I-65 between Indianapolis and Louisville. They have only a 5 barrel brewing system, which can be seen in the front window standing behind a velvet rope. The bar is small, there are only a few tables, and old, small, square TV's adorn the top of the bar for patrons to watch. The adjacent building provides more seating in a family friendly environment. And on some evenings, live music is performed from a balcony overlooking the small restaurant. Nice!

The Columbus Bar serves pub grub. They know it, and they're damn good at it. Their classic "Hoosier" fried pork tenderloin sandwich has been written about in the New York Times twice, and for good reason. The hand breaded and fried gigantic piece of pork (twice as big as the bun it comes on) is flavorful and fried to perfection. (Actually, the 2nd time I had it, it didn't seem as big. It's either rising food costs or a bigger bun.)

The fried mushroom caps have breading that doubles the size of the caps, and is obviously hand breaded and fried. I would prefer a little less breading myself, but it was still good, and I appreciate the effort. Finally, a homemade praline cheesecake competes on the menu with a Cheesecake Factory plain, and please, please go for the homemade option every time! It was amazingly delicious. I wish I had room for another piece.

They only have a couple of their own brews on tap at one time, and only one when I went. That being said, their Diesel Oil Stout is very rich, thick and flavorful. I enjoyed it very much. My second visit they had their Nut Brown, and it was average. Their menu describes it as, "A full bodied well-balanced mahogany colored brew with a good hop character, nutty flavor and off-white head. It is a mid-pallet beer that is easily digestible and pairs well with most foods." And that describes it perfectly. There is a fairly heavy mouth feel, mild to moderate hop bitterness, one note of nutty flavor, and nothing else clouding up the palette picture. It's a very simple bear, it's adequate, but I've had much better. Their beer list is still magnificent. This is more of a great beer bar in a historic location than a good brewpub stop. They are the first to carry Indianapolis' Brugge Brassiere's beer. They also carry Fuller's, Bell's, Black Hook, Stone, and Brooklyn, to name a few. Not bad for a small bar.

This place was pretty empty on a Monday night. I think there were all of 4 of us there at 9:45, including myself. They had Bell's Oberons on special at $3 a pint. I also tried a Three Floyds Alpha King, both from the tap. They have around 20 micros on tap, and will offer you a free sample if you are uncertain of what you are thirsty for.

I did see their first batch of brew in the front window, it will be ready after Memorial Day according to the bartender. He told me they will be brewing one keg at a time, and will be switching it up. Looks, like a good place to sample some craft brews once they get rolling. I cannot remember what he said the first beer was going to be, if you really want to know call them or stop by, I am sure they will tell you.

Service was quick, but hard to really gauge, since there were so few of us. The interior was very bright. I think the atmosphere would benefit from a little dimming of the lights. I was impressed by the look of the place, the old style bar, mirrors and colors make the interior quite attractive, just turn the lights down a bit.

I also heard from a few locals that this place also has excellent food. When in Columbus, IN this place is definitely worth a visit.