Figure 8 Brewing

drinkup88

Indiana

5/5  rDev +14.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

Their new brew pub is outstanding! The service was wonderful. Everyone working there did a fantastic job. Waitresses were smiling like crazy and it's a great thing when servers know and love their product. Their menu is small but right to the point, which it should be. I recommend the Summit and potato salad! The beers are great. I'm waiting for their hefa to come back on the menu but what they have now will be just fine!

I don't think they realized how busy it was going to be. I hope next year the expand even more. I'm going back real soon! Congrats!!

06-22-2012 14:51:38 | More by drinkup88

ElizabethCraig

Indiana

4.88/5  rDev +11.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

Figure 8 is indeed in a small building right now on the outside edge of town.

But, this brewery is definitely going places. You will not see anyone that has craft taps within any sort of driving distance in Indiana that doesn't consistently or occasionally feature Figure 8 beers.

There's a reason for that. They brew very good beers.

When you enter the taproom, on the left is a painting of the owner rock climbing. That's where the name of the brewery is from - it's a very basic and handy knot used in many things, but especially rock climbing. The taproom has 6 or 7 tables, a counter, and an Addams Family pinball machine in the corner. It's a modest facility right now, but we hear they're going to be moving to larger digs in the future.

The same tenacity and spirit of rock climbing is channeled into his beers. A wide range (11+?) is available at the tap room.

There's a little bit of food available here, but we've seen folks carry in food without any worries too. If you're trying one of the higher ABV beers, you may want a little cushion.

We've tried over 15+ beers from there, either on premises or at various bars around Indiana. From hoppy to malty to everything inbetween, they brew complex and high quality beers.

I'm excited about their beers - and excited to see what they offer in the future.

07-06-2011 19:47:52 | More by ElizabethCraig

beergirl82

Indiana

4.66/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

I took a trip to Valparaiso a while back and decided to stop in. I love the hottie serving the beer. It is refreshing to know they hire staff that are knowledgeable and friendly. He told me he use to brew/bartend at Brickworks. I knew I should have gone there before they closed.

I agree with MillRat that it reminds me of the old Two Brothers in Warrenville. I bought my first homebrewing kit there a million years ago. I never put those two together until I read his post. However, it did feel comfortable and maybe that is why.

Great service. Great beer. Nice little place, I just wish it was closer.

12-10-2011 04:01:38 | More by beergirl82

cadizkyguy

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Welcome, Figure 8 to the world of craft brewing. Great little place on the western edge of Valpo. Don't blink or you might pass it by (which I did). Really no more than a small room with a few tables and chairs out front of their brewery, F8's beers (currently five on tap - a baltic porter, imperial red, belgian honey lager, double pale ale and english brown nut ale) are enough to keep the place crowded on tasting days (5-8 pm Thursday and 1-5 pm Sat. & Sun.). You can buy growlers on Sundays, too, so it's a great destination for beer lovers.

05-07-2010 04:07:56 | More by cadizkyguy

alleykatking

Indiana

4.44/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

After tasting Figure 8's beers at Valpo Brewfest figure it was time to get over there.

A- Small little tasting room outside of the "brewery". One long bartop that seats five or six. Two tables that seat four and you pretty much have the tasting room. Addam's family pinball machine on one side of the room which might I add is a must for any brewery. Only complaint is the place filled up fast. Lucky for us we were some of the first in there.

Q- Quality of the beer is top knotch. You can tell that hard work is put into these beer. There are two offerings that are not my favorite but not bland by a long shot. It seems like when they have their groove working (which seems like all the time) they put out some fantastic beers.

S- Service was good. I didn't have to wait around to get a beer or hell I didn't have to get up a couple of times to get a beer. Was asked how the beer tasted with actual interest in what I had to say. Beer people actually caring about what beer people are wondering..what a concept!

S- Selection was their beer only. Good thing they make standout beers along with enough different styles to keep it fresh.

Overall I would say welcome to the world of craft beer Figure 8. Your prices are low and the beer is fantastic. I look forward to many years of growth and great beer from you guys!!

11-20-2010 22:14:29 | More by alleykatking

JABarber

Florida

4.3/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Went in on a Tuesday afternoon. My rating on the food is based on just an appetizer. Was killing time before dinner, so I didn't want to load up.

Great selection of beers. Something for everyone from a light Belgian lager @ 4% to a black barleywine @ 11+%.

Additionally, you can order 2, 6, 8, 12 & 16 ounce sizes (no pints of the highest ABV beers). And they have bombers and growlers for takeout. A great example of a nano brewery that is growing but not sacrificing the beer to rush the growth.

03-14-2013 18:55:04 | More by JABarber

Stoutlad

Indiana

4.28/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I've been picking growlers and running out, partly due to my wife not being a fan of beer.
I finally convinced her to have dinner there on a Friday night. We both enjoyed it very much.
The room is small but tables are a comfortable distance apart. The service was fast and excellent. Our server was friendly and knowledgable. My next beer was always on its way before I finished the current one. If you want to try all their beers probably should not do it a pint at a time. They offer a lot of sizes for that reason. We both loved the flatlander appetizer and the potato salad was really good. I know you don't go to a place for potato salad but it was remarkable. The Raven Tor brat was very good, made locally with their oatmeal stout as an ingredient. My wife and I had a pleasant experience and intend to make this a date night location even though we live 30 miles away.

All the beers I sampled were very good, but then I already knew that from my take out orders. What really made the night was the atmosphere in the room. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. All the staff were pleasant and seemed genuinely happy to be there. My only complaint is that the room is loud but I know Figure 8 is aware of it because I read this on their website or somewhere official.
They have musicians at special times and I want to try to catch one of those evenings.

Figure 8 Brewery & restaraunt is an excellent way to have some quality beer and good food with a date or friends. I highly recommend it.

09-04-2012 22:05:10 | More by Stoutlad

MillRat

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Nice to see a town in desperate need of a craft brewery get one. Obviously a new operation putting the focus on the beer where it belongs. A good selection of various beer styles, most craft beerieans will find several products to their liking. The draft lines have been expanded to about 10 or 12, even if the front "tasting room" and the "menu" are minimalist exercises. Only one person serving the brews to both the tasting room denizens and the take-out customers, but she handled both efficiently and knew the brews very well. Vibe reminds me a good bit of the old Two Brothers place in Warrenville, where the front of the brewery was a homebrew shop. It's all about the beer, and there's nothing wrong with that. Lots of potential here.

06-25-2011 02:26:24 | More by MillRat

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev -6.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | $

I stopped here and it appeared they were closed. Stopped out to take a picture of the place when someone came out as asked what I was doing. I mentioned I was on a beercation from Wisconsin. Then in an awesome measure of kindness let me in. I got a sampler of beers and liked the Ro Shampo... even gave me a few coasters with the company name on them and the beer. You could tell this place was in its formitive stages. The small tasting room would not do much for atmosphere as well as the whole mallness of the decor, and it would be nice to have a bigger line up to try (although as I said it he was nice enough to let me try any at all). In a nutshell a very small brewery just starting out missing the ammenties of a larger more established one that makes good beer. This place has promise.

01-13-2011 05:23:25 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

htomsirveaux

Texas

3.88/5  rDev -11.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

Stopped in here with Phil on 25 May 2011 around 1800.

Very tiny place in a strip mall that seems like it would be easy to miss. The tasting room is the first 200 sq ft of the brewery. Two four tops and a bar at the window facing the parking lot seats six. A pinball machine sat silent in the corner. Growlers and bottles to go.

Eleven beers on tap to try. Between the two of us we tried them all in two samplers. Jumbo Love (black barleywine) and Devil's Drip (tripel) were the two best we had. The Snake Pro was quite a bit better on tap then the bottle I had a month or so ago.

Food is minimal to the point of being almost non existent. Large pretzel sticks on the table, a couple of items you can order. We stuck with the pretzels.

05-27-2011 02:18:49 | More by htomsirveaux