Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

 

Feels like a brewery staking its place in a new locale, but I was told the parking is a rough situation so I walked, interesting jaunt. The brewery itself is an open industrial space with woodsy furniture. Service is slow and not attentive, seemed reluctant to get beers for anyone who dared to approach the bar. The selection was smaller but the focus on belgian and old world styles works for me. The quality of the beer itself was pretty solid honestly, nothing to seek out especially but I get the vision of having these easy drinking brews by a beautiful lake in summer so it works for me

A short walk from the Convention Center area of downtown. Not a great neighborhood. Good looking tap room. I liked the section with Adirondack chairs with barrels for tables. I enjoyed all the beer that I tried. The service was okay. Selection was pretty good with a variety of styles.

 

 

This place is generic and bland. Coupled with a staff that is undertrained and lacks any response and you have Lakes and Legends. This is by far the worst brewery in the state and not work visiting.

Good luck finding street parking even during off peak times. You will have to pay before you even step foot inside the place. Not a wide beer selection. Not thrilled with the Witbier. Not a lot of Belgian qualities even though they brew a lot of Belgian styles. Large and spacious taproom with a large bar, Pint prices are about $1 per unit more than neighboring breweries.

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This is on the bottom floor of a condo building and it is near Loring Park and parking is a pain but it is worth it. The place tries to be dog friendly. the seating area is decent and they have long wooden tables for groups. It is on the edge of downtown so it gets a lot of people who work and shop downtown plus neighbors and beer lovers. the beer is innovative and good.

 

Nicely done brewhouse with wide open area, Lots of seats with bar and chalkboard to the rear and visible tanks and brewery operation to the right. Service was friendly and attentive ,the brew was mediocre +,had a good vibe and will return,parking, is limited so best to visit other watering holes and walk to this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this place is really cool, and they make really good beer. a big open space sort of layout, long bar, tons of seating, and an open view to the humble brew house. dim lighting, minimalist decor, and a keen focus on belgian style brewing, although there were some exceptions on the menu. they had about ten beers on, with several others in large format to go i liked the marigold strong ale, and i liked the cool for the summer cucumber beer, but all of them were tasty and well made, no duds at all on the list. the service was good, attentive and conversational, somewhat clued in on the beers, and quite genuine. i am surprised there wasnt more buzz around town about this little operation, i thought all the beers were creative and really well done, and their packaging is sharp too. a real easy place to kill a few hours, and a real easy place to get a little more tipsy than you planned on, as some of these belgian types can get quite strong. i loved my visit here, and am already looking forward to my return. i took some bottles to go too, so i am excited to dip into those, maybe this weekend...

 

Lakes & Legends is a really nice looking place. It is clear that a lot of money was invested into getting the atmosphere right. This is a nice change of pace from most start up breweries. The service is solid with the bartenders knowing the beers they serve well, and being able to describe them in detail. The beer, however, was hit and miss. I had a really nice braggot, and my friend had a better than average Belgian pale ale. The second beers we ordered were quite lack luster. The Belgian dark strong I had we watery thin with little flavor. It had no obvious brewing flaws. It was just dull. The IPA my friend had, on the other hand, was clearly under attenuated. He finished it, but I don't think I could have. Overall, I liked enough about the place to warrant another visit, but a while down the road after they've been open longer.

A block removed from Loring Park, this nifty space aligns itself with the principles of its beers: familiar yet just enough character to be distinctive. Brewery / taproom share a single large room, with high ceilings and huge windows on the two street-facing walls. Reclaimed barnwood bar, tables and accents combined with rusted iron light fixtures create a rustic aesthetic, stressed by blue grass music playing a kiss too loud on overhead speakers. Clean white subway tiles behind a long, farmhouse styled bar gives off an incredibly inviting kitchen vibe.

The service is fast with two ordering points, and the staff actually know the beer and are friendly to boot.

Had 10 beers on tap (11th was kicked when we arrived), and we sample five of them. They were all very clean and to style, and half of the offering was made with "farm to table" adjuncts like raspberries, wild rice, maple syrup or juniper berries. Brews with adjuncts were mostly memorable (saison with rosemary & juniper was fantastic), the others were rather middle of the road.

They have a massive "turf" rug adorned with a ton of adirondacks which was sweet. They also have a couple cornhole sets inside, which is even more sweet. They sell and fill glass growlers, have a bunch of swag for sale, have a couple water coolers for self-serving at the bar, offer sodas and cold press coffee, have a small menu of food made offsite for delivery, and do offer some outdoor seating along the sidewalk. Free street parking was easy to find, but there is a paid parking garage on the same block.

Kind of an odd location, but pleasantly surprised by the experience - worth checking out.

 

 

Right on LaSalle, lots of big windows, big open space with the brewing equipment in sight at the back, with a variety of kinds of seating, games, etc...beautiful reclaimed wood tables classes things up in a rustic exposed-brick-kind of way. Nice long bar. I dropped in late afternoon and it was quiet and very pleasant...good space for crowds, I'd imagine, too. Approx 10+ beers or so on tap, and good variety (within the Belgian focus). Quality-wise, I'd put them in the middle of the pack for the Cities, but they're filling a gap stylistically, which is nice...hopefully they'll continue to "dial it in." I'll definitely go back.

 

Not sure what it's like when this place is busy, but when it's quiet and you can sit at the bar and enjoy a flight, it's a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable experience. All of their beers are super clean, classic Belgian flavors. The whole place looks and feels new, and clean. I would gladly sit here over the average industrial complex garage brewpub. Really great place.