Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Rock Bottom Brewery Review
Over the weekend I had a chance to visit the Rock Bottom brewery at the King of Prussia Mall located in a Philadelphia suburb. The web site claims it’s the largest retail shopping mall in the United States. I suppose the claim is based on acreage as the Mall of America has more stores. The King of Prussia Mall is larger than some country towns. It easily dwarfs Gardner, Montana and West Yellowstone, Wyoming. Although the brewery is accessible from inside the mall, the interior quickly makes it easy to forget that you are in a retail metropolis.
Six of us arrived around 6 pm last Saturday to a 15 min. wait in the main seating area and opted for immediate seating near the bar. Seven beers on tap and a decent pub menu ensured a pleasant dinner. They offer the usual assortment of bar grub including hamburgers and quesadillas. Vegetarians might enjoy the soft pretzels. Pasta is available as well. Their mahi-mahi came with a few too many capers for my taste, but they are easily removed. Every microbrew I’ve been to has calamari on the menu and Rock Bottom was no exception. Naturally, we had to order it. The quality of the calamari is usually a good indicator of the quality of the restaurant arm of the brewery. The breading was light and crisp, but I prefer calamari with just a dusting. Parmesan was an unexpected, but welcome addition.
As there were people with differing palates at the table we order a beer sampler. Each of the beer drinkers at the table found at least one agreeable offering. I was sure to try each one in turn:
Rock Bottom is worth a stop if you happen to be in the area. The prices were reasonable and the brews respectable.
Till Next Time,
- John
Six of us arrived around 6 pm last Saturday to a 15 min. wait in the main seating area and opted for immediate seating near the bar. Seven beers on tap and a decent pub menu ensured a pleasant dinner. They offer the usual assortment of bar grub including hamburgers and quesadillas. Vegetarians might enjoy the soft pretzels. Pasta is available as well. Their mahi-mahi came with a few too many capers for my taste, but they are easily removed. Every microbrew I’ve been to has calamari on the menu and Rock Bottom was no exception. Naturally, we had to order it. The quality of the calamari is usually a good indicator of the quality of the restaurant arm of the brewery. The breading was light and crisp, but I prefer calamari with just a dusting. Parmesan was an unexpected, but welcome addition.
As there were people with differing palates at the table we order a beer sampler. Each of the beer drinkers at the table found at least one agreeable offering. I was sure to try each one in turn:
- Lumpy Dog Lager – A good lawn mower beer. BMC (Bud-Miller-Coors) fans would like this one although it’s not as fizzy as the big three.
- Munich Gold – More character than the Lumpy Dog. It went well with the mahi-mahi.
- Double Barrel IPA – People who don’t like hops did not like this one.
- North Star Amber – Strong malt notes with balanced hops. Would go well with a burger or steak.
- Rotating Dark Beer (Coffee Stout) – As a policy the brewery has at least one dark beer on tap at all times. The roasted grains came through perhaps too strongly. It had a very mild coffee finish. Of the seven samples, this was the only one to remain on the table unfinished.
- Wit Beer – an English style wheat beer. It was a bit milder than a Hoegaarden, but pleasing nonetheless.
- British ESB – Somewhat less hoppy than a traditional British ESB, like Fuller’s, but just as much malt.
Rock Bottom is worth a stop if you happen to be in the area. The prices were reasonable and the brews respectable.
Till Next Time,
- John
# posted by John @ 6:51 AM 
