Taproom by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

3.43/5  rDev -16.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4

First stop of our last day up along the Central Coast, walk in and see a bar with ten taps, mugs, shirts, and other accesories for sale to the right of it, then some tables, and an outdoor patio on the other side, can see the brewery through the windows and walk upstairs to look around too, the bathroom is actually in the brewery pretty much, crazy how much equipment they pack into a small place, I ordered a snifter of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Double Barrel Ale for six dollars, my girlfriend and her friend got a sampler with four beers including Hemp Ale, Hefeweizen, Unfiltered Double Barrel, and Union Jack, for six dollars and it came with a free souvenir pint glass, other beer choices were Double Jack, Pale 31, their porter, Nectar IPA, and standard Double Barrel, sat down and had a bag of Rold Gold pretzels with the Firestone mustard for fifty cents, walked around a little bit and were on our way, the guy working the bar was pretty rude and in a hurry when nobody else was ordering, asked him one another question and got a very short answer, cool place and especially for this area, as you know Matt brews some great stuff, too bad I missed Slo-Lambic by a few days, I will revisit here when I am in the area again for sure, cool atmosphere with a lot of tourists, they do tours Saturdays too, recommended

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3.95/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25

had the krieky bones and loved it. great sour, refreshiing

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4.2/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4

Visiting PR for a wine tasting event with the relatives, and took a break from the wine to visit this place.

Really impressed by the size and layout of the brewery, and liked the tasting room as well. As you come inside and meander over to the left, there's a good size wrap around bar (holding roughly seats I think), with a smattering of tables and chairs as well. Was here fairly early on a Friday afternoon, but there was still a fair size crowd enjoying the cool, well air conditioned, dark ambiance of the place, along with the 6 or 7 flat screen TV's on the wall. Service was a bit slow at first (to the point I was starting to get annoyed), but when I was finally served, it was pretty outstanding. The staff was knowledgeable and engaging, and when I expressed an interest in the Fortem IPA (only available in cans unfortunately), the bartender pour me a sample of a can he happened to have open.

In terms of the beer, I think there were roughly 20 FW beers on tap, along with cans to go of different items. The tap selection consisted of around 7 of the low abv., core beers (DBA, 31, Union Jack, etc.), and then a variety of limited release beer and BA stuff. Got a sample of the adversus and Generation one, along with the feral one, the hefe and the 20 anniversary beer. I was not impressed with the feral one and remain convinced that this is just not FW's strong suit. However, the IPA's were all outstanding (including the fortem), and the XX and hefe were both quite excellent.

Didn't try the food here, but what I saw looked pretty good. This place is definitely worth a pit stop any time I'm in the area from now on.

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4.79/5  rDev +16.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4

4.2/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25

4.45/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25

4.04/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75

4.39/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5

4.48/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5

4.31/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25

4.38/5  rDev +6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

4.28/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4

5/5  rDev +21.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5

4.4/5  rDev +6.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5

4.55/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25

Large bar area with plenty of tables. Did not have anything to eat. Classic rock played on the "radio". Very attentive and knowledgeable bartenders. They serve flights as well as beer for tasting and by the glass. Growler fills available also. Delicious year round beers on tap, as well as seasonal releases only available in the Taproom. Can't wait to go back!

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4.09/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4

4.73/5  rDev +14.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25

Large restaurant space. Full selection of Firestone beers plus some local extra specials. Enjoyed two different pizzas from the menu - on a return visit I would just get one pizza for two people. Beer selection was the Velvet Merlin oatmeal stout - not too heavy.

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4.18/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25

4.05/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75

Visited 04/16 after a disappointing visit at Barrelworks

Had dinner at the taproom, our server Sonya was awesome and friendly. My fiance had the ribs which she loved. I had the NY Strp ordered medium came out well (did not send it back or complain) Sonya found out it was my bday and we were visiting from AZ after finding out we drove out to pick up Parabola and they were out, plus our less than stellar visit to Barrelworks, she had the manager came out with a bag containing a bottle of Parabola and a bunch of FW stickers. Very nice touch and made up for the Barrelworks visit a little.

Beer list contained pretty much their everyday offerings and would be nice if they had at least the most recent Vintage series release on draft at the taproom. Also a bit disappointing that the visitors center closes so early (6pm) on the weekends.

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4.35/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5

4.16/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25

Split from the main campus, the big bar and restaurant require a trip across the street from this joint.

Taproom is still in the polished metal vibe, like most of the stuff there. No rhyme or reason to some of the pricing structure in the gift shop. Good book selection. Seems like a friendlier vibe, more intimate here (not as good as barrelworks though).

I'm surprised I don't hear more about the FW stuff, perhaps its the way they put CA last on bottle distributions.

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4.45/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4

4.5/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4

4.41/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25

The Taproom is a solid brewpub experience. The decor is industrial with a lot of stainless steel and natural wood. The bar area has a number of TV screens for sporting events. The staff is friendly and prompt. The food is good. I've only eaten here a few times, so I'm not familiar with all of the options. The pizza was OK. The seared Ahi Tuna (dinner menu) was very good. The Bratwurst Mac and Cheese (lunch menu) was phenomenal. Especially paired with the Nitro Merlin Milk Stout. A great salty sweet combo!

The beer selections are mostly your standard FW options. Besides that, they do offer one seasonal, one nitro, one Library, and one Barrelworks beer on tap. This is rotating, so it just depends on what is in season. You do typically get a better selection of nonstandard offerings at the visitors center located across the street.

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4.16/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5

It's a bit tough for me to show my full opinion through these review categories so I'll elaborate here.

Firestone in general and definitely the taproom come off as very upscale and elegant. Maybe a bit too much. It feels a bit stuck up, kinda like you could get in trouble for laughing a bit too loud. The food is all very good, but can be a bit pricey. The beer is also quite tasty, but I wish they would make their beverage menus more up to date and informative. When I stopped in 3 of the Taproom exclusives listed weren't available and the menu simply said to ask the server about which rotating beers were available with no pricing or size options in sight. When told what available was I was sad to learn that a couple of beers that were available in 3 oz pours in the visitors center that I wanted more of (Why only 3 oz pours? Why? So frustrating!) were not on tap here. Oh well...

Overall, it's a nice place with some very good beer, but it caters to a different demographic than I'm used to. Bring your $ and you will have a good time.

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