Mud Run Beer Co.

 

great little small town brewery. friendly staff. cool space to eat and drink. Nice mix of beers on draft. One notable thing is that almost every single beer was around or below 5%. Well made beers with nothing that was mind blowing. Food was really excellent, I had smoked chicken with the smoky garlic bbq sauce it was great. The homemade coleslaw was excellent. Smoked mac and cheese was not very smoky, but it did have a nice cheesy flavor that was not bland and they snuck in some bacon as well. Sweet potato fries were perfectly done. Will return for sure. Cool place.

Mud Run recently opened in the small town of Stockton, pop. 1900. Judging by the packed house on a Saturday night, it was sorely needed. It's located just south of Highway 20, about half an hour west of Freeport. Nice place to stop and break up the drive. The space is fairly clean and minimal, from the front door you can peer down into the brewery from an open window. Inside, there is a bar to the left with a couple tv's, and a kitchen past that. Down the hall past the restrooms is another small seating area with a roll down door, and a sizable patio out back. Parking available in back too across the alley.

They were packed and trying to keep up with the crowd, though we were able to order beer & food fairly quickly. The kitchen was backed up so it took awhile to get food, but there was plenty of beer to stay occupied. 10 beers on the list, only one had run out. Our server chatted with us a bit when it was slow, but didn't get a chance to ask about the brewery. The local boomer table next to us made a snide comment because I returned our glasses & baskets when going in to order at the bar. Whatever, there wasn’t table service.

Beer selection was good for a new brewery, a combo of traditional and experimental styles. Nothing too wild but all were drinkable and worth a try. Standout was the Carbon Arc Irish dry stout, probably the best one I can remember having. Their Fall seasonal Smash-O'Lantern was good too, as well as the brown ale, IPA, single hop Eldorado blonde, Märzen, coconut stout, and light lager.

Food was a highlight, they smoke their own BBQ, and the brisket nachos were great. Sides were pretty good, the sweet potato fries were nice and crispy, and the pretzel sticks were homemade and great too.

Overall a very worthwhile detour off of Highway 20. Also in town, I recommend Stella's for breakfast and Mac & Cheese Antiques across the street.