SKW Brewing

Just up the street from Rogue Ales comes a new brewpub in the form of SKW Brewing. SKW's beers originate in the brewer's 1 1/2-bbl brew house garage and are served at The Sea Towne Pub, a tied house on the Coast Highway just north of town. The pub is an airy, café-style venue serving five SKW beers with a guest pear cider and house made root beer and cream soda. Food is limited to a skeletal menu of sandwiches and snacks with a rolling BBQ brought in for bratwurst on weekends. Free peanuts are provided but patrons are encouraged to bring their own take-in food.

Though it's a tough gig brewing in the shadow of the Rogue, I can't express much enthusiasm for SKW's beer. The Sea Towne has a lot of charm in the form of a shared courtyard, live music (including a blues jam session on Sundays) and a monstrous taiko drum from Japan that's irresistibly fun to bang on. (Thank goodness the pub does not allow children or you'd never hear the end of that drum.) All beers are unfiltered and range in style from a seasonal doppelbock, a California common lager, and an IPA called Felony named in commemoration of a break-in at the pub in which thieves made off with 160 mason jars full of beer. Open seven days.