Big Rig Brewery

When hockey player Chris Philips played in the junior league in Alberta, his nickname was Big Rig, because he was as big as an oil rig. He played his entire NHL career with our Ottawa Senators. On retirement, he invested in the Big Rig Brewery. I was there for a return visit a few days ago. They have expanded to several other locations in the areas. They no longer brew on premises here at the mother ship, but the beers and food are the same. They only sell their stuff, so don't go expecting to find a Bud Light. Food: the biggest chicken wings I have ever seen. The ususal bar stuff, nachos, burgs, pizzza, etc. Service is excellent, the place is large, not too noisy, and well tended. They have the cleanest washroom I have seen in this city. Prices are in keeping with the competitors. I will be back.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice enough place. Sound profile is loud due to all of the hardness of the floor/ceiling/furniture. Not a lot of beer selection as they only serve their own, so usually about 6-8 choices, although on my last trip that seemed to be on the rise and there were around 10 and of different varieties and styles. Some better than others. Food is above average. Their sweet potato fries are some of the best I have ever had. Their pizzas, especially their Big Rig pizza, and Buffalo Chicken pizza are both some of the best in the region. Service is hit and miss. Had good trips, then others where the wrong beers were given to the wrong people at our table, and a beer that had gone off was sent back after a couple of sips and still showed up on the bill. I have seen a steady rise in the overall quality of the place though and that keeps me coming back.

 

A great pub with an excellent selection of beers. They have several rotating seasonals and about six regulars, including a red, brown, IPA, wheat IPA and a stout. The atmosphere is a little sterile for my liking, but good setup with plenty of seating. Lots of dark wood, but the ceiling looks like a warehouse. The lighting was a bit bright. Overall the selection and service make up for the shortcoming in atmosphere. There is also a store where you can get growlers of their beer and merchandise.

We always make a stop on the way by to grab a growler and would definitely go back to at again

 

Huge airy space in Ottawa's west-end, close to, well, IKEA.

Experience waiting to be seated is perhaps understandably bumpy given how new the place is. Waitress asks us if we need a table for two... oddly skipping over the 2 couples in front of us. Then, when she goes to get our menus we're asked if we need a table by two more servers. It's immediately clear that this place has WAY too many wait staff at the moment. Not sure if it's a training thing or what, but there is literally a congo line of wait staff wrapped around the restaurant, none of whom are positive about what's actually going on... and I'm not trying to be mean, they're all quite nice and earnest.

Restaurant is all greys and browns with exposed ducts and faux-wood columns. A dozen or so flat screen tvs suggest sportsbar, but the walls are all bare. Would have expected kitschy hockey stuff... kind of missed it surprisingly enough. The bar side looks a bit cosier, but lacks the view of the impressive brewery on the east side.

Out of the IPA and Red a week after opening, not shocked. The Red was good when I had it from a friend's growler, but would have liked to have tried the IPA. Ordered a sampler that conveniently covered their other offerings (gold, brown, stout, hefe seasonal). $7.50 for four six ounce samples, which isn't horrible. That said, I was a bit peeved when the glasses arrived with a good ounce missing from each one. The beers themselves were quite good. Not the most challenging styles, but each one is quality. Brown and stout are loaded with flavour, the hefe has some interesting notes to it, and the gold has a good grainy malt that makes it worth ordering. I shouldn't be too shocked, the brewmaster is, after all, from the legendary Spinnikers, but still, who knows what you'll get from a brewpub owned by a hockey player. I believe this is the first place in Ottawa to have self-serve taps at a table, but didn't give it a try on this trip.

Food was not out of this world. I had the chicken and avocado sandwich, which was pleasant. Nice big meaty breast in a, er, "parmesan" crust. Side salad was not my favourite, cough syrup vinagrette I think. Wife's burger arrived late after they mixed her "Philly onion burger" up with the "Philly cheese steak". They should get their money back from their menu consultant. Burger wasn't worth ordering again, though the beer ketchup that were served with the fries was pretty interesting.

Overall, go here for the beer, and maybe some bar snacks. Have some patience with the dozens of wait staff who seem to be trying hard to figure things out.