Mathews Brewing Company

This is a hard to review spot because I think I was there at a really off time. The bartender was hung over and the place was empty.

In addition to being empty, it just screamed basic industrial-area brewery/taproom. It also seems like music is the first priority at their front-of-house location and beer is an afterthought. Tasting the beers is the true test there, though.

And the beers were OK. What brought me in was that they advertise cask beers, and sure enough they had 2 on the day I visited, one of which was a brown ale that was pretty good. I was surprised that it was not served in an english pint glass (it was in a mug, instead) .. followed this up with a draft pour of the imperial brown, which was bitter and solventy.

I was really at a loss here, because I allotted a good amount of time to visiting here and was pretty much good to go after a pint and a sample. The cask beer really did not speak to the ethos, the vibe, the overall spectrum of mathews' beer styles, or any sort of classic beery enthusiasm.

The guy who helped me was nice, even through the hangover.

Everyone who came through while I was there (and there weren't many) were all there to get the last dregs of a coconut-infused vanilla cream ale that had debuted the night prior. That's more the kind of place this is.

Mathews' is located in it own building with large indoor and outdoor space. Outside there was a stage for bands to come and play. Inside there were plenty of tables and some bar seating. The quality of the beer was above average. The service was good except for one gal that was pissing and moaning about 3 hours of sleep and she was a bit cranky. There is plenty of different beers to select from so everyone should find something they like. It is a must visit for sure.