Watson Bros. Bistro & Brewery

Mywife and I went here over the labor day weekend on a Sunday afternoon, so it wasn't all that packed. Sat at the bar and decided to induldge only in a sampler. Nice atmosphere, though as other have mentioned, very upscale, which for me makes me somewhat uncomfortable.

When the sampler came out, the bartender gave a brief explanation of each beer, and informed us that they were out of there "dark" offering, and when I inquired about their stout, I was told that it had not been brewed for months. Shame. So, our sampler consisted of a "golden ale" (i.e. miller), an amber (which was actually the best beer on the sampler, offering a heavy dose of roastiness paaired with some malty chocolate undertones), a raspberry wheat, a wheat, a pale ale, and something else I didn't pick up on and couldn't really decifer.

All in all the beers lacked some complexity, which is a shame, because the brew equiptment which was visible in the bar looked awaesome! Quite a setup!

Didn't sample any of the food, but looking around at what others had, it didn't look like it even came close to measuring up to what one has to pay for an entree ($20-$30)

Save your money....

Stopped in today after a trip to Jungle Jim's. There is a large room wiht a bar in the middle and a smaller room that can be closed off of it. At the back of the establishment, the brewing equipment can be viewed behind a glass enclosure. The bar itself is very impressive, with a copper top and a copper rail from which the tap handles emerge. The place was very clean with a semi-upscale feel to it. All the servers were dressed very nicely. The service was very good. There were very few people there on a sunday afternoon, so that could have helped in that area. There were 6 beers on tap. We didn't eat, so I cannot comment on the food. I enjoyed stopping in and would probably drop by again when in the area. I'll look forward to sampling thier food.

This was the first stop on a recent pub crawl. The interior is very nice, lots of woodwork, wood beams, and a big bar in the center. There is a patio for warm weather days. The brewing equiptment is in good sight inside. The staff that was there to serve us was very friendly, and took very good care of us. They even gave us a great price for pints of their beer. They all seemed to have at least some knowledge of their beers. I did not have any food on this trip. The main problem, was the beer. Except for the Main Street Pale Ale, everything else was very watery. There were some good flavors, but watered down. The stout that they had, maye have been a decent brown ale. Very disappointing. If the beer would have been good, this would be a great place beacuse the staff served us very well.

A nicely upscale brewpub restaurant with a decent selection. The atmosphere is very nice with great furnishings and several nice seating areas. Great looking brewery equipment. This is a pricey establishment for the general geographic area with pretty high average prices. Sandwiches start at 9 bucks and the entres will set you back a 20 minimum. Great place to take a non-BA for exposure to the possibilities. Super location and great views.

Very upscale brewpub. As the "bistro" part of the name implies, the menu is a little on the chichi side, and somewhat pricey. Prices ranged from the $9.00 burger to the the $30.00 top-of-the-line entree. The food that I had, however, was quite good.
The dining rooms are comfortable and spacious, and the staff is quite friendly and knowledgeable about the beer.
The beer had a nice selection, and I tried the sampler. There were the typical golden, pale ale, and stout, an interesting summer beer and a very interesting dark lager/alt. The brewer is not afraid to use a lot of malt, which normally I favor, but it did not seem appropriate for the wheat or rye beers.
Note: This brewpub makes the beer for all the Queen City group restaurants, so you should be able to find this beer at various places in Cincinnati, such as Teller's of Hyde Park, Jump, and Bella's.
Note II: Corporate brewmaster is Toby Hunt.