Skagit River Brewery partie Dux

Second chance for the SRB. We wanted to give the restaurant another go to see if the consistency in their food, beer and service. If you haven't read the first blog post please view here before continuing on. We went for lunch on a Saturday afternoon and ate on the deck outside. The atmosphere was quiet and low-key. 

Our first stop was the beer sampler. We decided to go with the Scullers IPA, the Black Jack Lager, the Jenny Scottish Ale and the Farm-to-Market Ale. The Black Jack was full-bodied with a bold, strong flavor and a dry finish. The Scottish Ale was creamy with a malty flavor and dry finish. Both beers were good choices for full-glass pours. The IPA I found to be a well-balanced beer with a hop nose, mildly bitter flavor and dry finish. This was my favorite of the samples and quite possibly my favorite IPA. The Farm-to-Market Ale was a good balance of hop to malt and finished dry but had the “rubber hose” aftertaste that many of the micro-breweries tend to suffer from on their lighter beers.

Our lunch selections consisted of the Wood-fired Reuben, the Brewhouse Pulled Pork and (off the kids menu) the Quesadilla with sour cream, salsa and olives. We were most excited for the salsa but were quickly disappointed with the spicy condiment as it lacked in flavor and freshness. It in no way lived up to or resembled the fantastic salsa we enjoyed the first time. However the Quesadilla was perfectly crispy and cheesy with good flavor.

The Reuben is one of the best sandwiches ever created. I have only found one Reuben that I can say is the best I have ever had and this was not it. The sandwich itself met all of the correct criteria for a successful Reuben attempt with a good meat ratio, melted Swiss, tangy Russian and sweet kraut but the bread, although a tasty marble rye, fell short. The bread did not hold up to the juice from the corned beef and ended up being a soggy mush that disintegrate in my hands. I would still order it if I were in the mood for a Reuben but I would be prepared for a bit of a mess.

The Pulled Pork sandwich was a fine representation of slow-cooked sloppy meat in a bun. The meat was tender and melted in the mouth with each bite. The sauce was tangy with a bit of heat, and had a smoke element to it that was a bit over-powering at times. The coleslaw (on its own carried too much mayo) was a much needed component of the sandwich to cut the smoke flavor of the sauce.

We also shared a small side-salad that was adequate. Fresh greens, red onions and black olives with crunchy croutons and Parmesan cheese. Not much to go wrong there.

Overall I think the Skagit River Brewery is a great place to go when you are in Mount Vernon. Their beers are tasty and different enough from the Bellinghamster's brews that it is worth the stop. I feel that their food is still in the development stage and with time will hopefully become great pub-fare.