Side A Brewing - Public House

Stopped by on a drive through La Grande after a beer weekend in Portland. Light industrial space in town converted to brewpub. Looks half finished. Central table though is about 50 ft long and made from single slabs of wood, pretty cool. 9 taps on running the gamut of styles. Average through and through, but its the only game in town. Food available. Patio out back. Good setvice.

Downtown, in the same general area of Eastern Oregon University. This is an old brick building, with character. Very high ceiling, lots of wood. They have and do a good job on some of their German style beers. The Altbier is good and their black lager is really a revelation. To me, black lager is usually mediocre and as a result, I've grown to pass on this beer style, when available, and tastes like a watered down porter. This one - The Fifth Horseman, is just plain good and is the best version of this beer style that I've had.

had a blast here, once we finally got in. its right downtown in this neat historic area, small town usa for sure, its set up in an old firehouse and is a pretty expansive space, a line out the door on a weeknight when we rolled up. they were super disorganized and even confused it seemed, people had been waiting more than an hour, but the place wasnt full, maybe understaffed or not quite sure about pandemic protocols or whatever, but nobody seemed to know how long it would take and we ended up waiting north of 45 minutes, and as nice as everyone was, the service was pretty shaky here as well, perhaps some training is in order, but they were doing their best and very kind, its tough on the service industry right now. we sat in the dining area next to a couple of old firetrucks, really a pretty neat atmosphere, the bar is on the other side but it was lively in the room we were in too. they had everything on scan code menus, a strong selection of beers with a mess of light lagers and hoppy stuff, even a sour, good diversity. we liked a couple of the beers a whole lot, their pale and their hazy were both excellent, the lagers ranged from decent to pretty rough, and the sour had great flavor but was woefully flat, so they are capable of homeruns, but definitely are a bit hit or miss on quality overall right now. the food here was really good, like awesomely good, they have a house made veggie burger to rival any, great fries, and good salads, among other scratch options, really made the experience for us. if they get their service figured out this would be an automatic stop every time through, it ended up being worth the wait, and it seems like they are going places. a unique brewpub experience here with the fire history too. worth checking out.

A neat brewpub in Le Grande (the only one in town I believe) that is totally worth visiting and a fun destination if you're travelling down I-84 from the coast towards Idaho. I like the vibe of a place that is chill and attached right to the brewing facility. People are friendly and the servers are helpful, there is always a good selection of Side A brews from light to dark, hoppy to malty, Belgian to German, American, and barrel-aged options. All of the brews I've tried are good quality, and the food is good-to-very-good I would say for a brewpub. Recommended!