River City Brewing Co.

zeff80

Missouri

3.68/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

This is a nice brewpub in the Old Town district of Wichita. Built in an old warehouse, it has a very cool brewpub atmosphere. Tons of seating for dining and a good sized bar area. The beers are pretty good. I've never had a bad one. Service is very pleasant and quick to help. The wait staff is knowledgeable about their brews. They never have alot of different beers on tap and what they do have is rarely adventurous. I think they are catering to the clientele that is not ready for big, high gravity brews. The food is good but fairly typical for a brewpub. There's nothing on the menu that will jump out at you. I like River City. It is a good option in a part of the country that doesn't have many great beer options.

09-11-2010 18:27:23 | More by zeff80

ndolover

Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -7.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

This brewpub located is located dowtown. In an area that has seen a resurgence. The old brick building has spartan decorations. The brewing equipment is the star here.

They had a couple interesting beers on tap. Of note, was the S.M.A.S.H. (single malt single hop) beer. Golden Promise and Citra were on the menu that night. The beers were well executed, but could use some work.

The service seemed to be an issue. Having all drinks poured by one bartender seemed to be the issue.

The food was average brewpub fare...and so is the vibe.

Overall, this would be a great place if you lived in the area, as choices are limited. An out of town guest might want this as number 3 on the list.

11-04-2011 00:11:27 | More by ndolover

BeerZack

North Carolina

3.43/5  rDev -3.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Cool location in an old building in the "Old Town" area downtown. The menu says some of the building materials are original or repurposed which adds to the ambience, but still feels a little too mainstream/run o the mill.
The house beer lineup was pretty standard also, they had 2 special/seasonal brews in addition to their regs. Nothing really stood out, but the single malt/single hop special beer they had on was nicely balanced.
Service was average. Can't really complain, but there were multiple waitresses serving the smallish bar area and they still weren't overly attentive.
Full food menu, but very regular standard fare. Menu itself is cluttered and hard to navigate. The story about the history is great, but needs to be broken up or displayed differently. The beer descriptions are mostly fluff and don't include any details on abv, ibu, og, etc.
This place could be awesome if it was updated a bit and broke out of its "1990s beer stylings".

10-07-2011 02:30:47 | More by BeerZack

claytong

Vermont

3.3/5  rDev -7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$$

atmosphere - so seemed a bit obnoxious for my liking. such a sign hung up next to me "definition of a nancy boy: someone who twirls his beer in a snifter". you wouldnt even get that sort of macho bullshit in texas.

quality - so all of the two beers i tried were decent but neither were very flavorful or bold.

service - guy was nice, seemed a bit odd for the direction as he was pierced ears and acted somewhat feminine. he was quick, got my fish and chips and beer within 10 minutes which was nice as i was just driving through and trying to get home quick.

selection - there normal line up is unspectacular, their seasonals looked nice but the two of the three i had were just mediocre.

food - fish and chips was huge and delicious.

value - the food was excellent value but 2.50 for a sample is ridiculous. especially when we are talking a 5% beer. i get bigger samples at avery at 10% for a buck and theyre amazing.

dont really recommend stopping here, wish i wouldve stopped at a good tap house instead.

06-18-2011 18:03:33 | More by claytong

tedsox31

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

Went here for dinner. The brewpub is situated in the Old Town district of Wichita, in an older brick building with two levels. The inside is a typical bar, with lots of tvs, seating, and loud music.

The quality of the beer was fine, decently brewed but not spectacular. I tried both the Lemongrass and the IPA, and while both were fine, they had nothing to make them stand out.

The service was good, very attentive and made sure glasses were full and plates were cleared/brought in a reasonable amount of time.

The selection was okay, not much to speak of; there were six beers on tap, and the menu had little variety.

Food was also average. It was decent, but had little to make it stand out.

Overall, this is a fine place to go for dinner, just don't expect anything spectacular. I believe that this is a place to take people looking to get into beer, but not really a place where you'll find creative off-the-wall brews or food.

06-14-2011 20:45:36 | More by tedsox31

hopstradamus

Kansas

3.7/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

The atmosphere here is exactly what I expect from a brewery of this size. The building itself is an old brick warehouse fitted with old wood furnishings and a bar that look like they belong there. The brewery itself has recently been remodeled and renovated bringing the whole place more up to date.

Their normal everyday beers are decent with no glaring deficiencies and they are clearly brewed for the masses. They accurately represent the style without taking any chances. The better beers are brewed as seasonals and are often saved back for their annual anniversary party.

I have never been disappointed by the service here. The staff is friendly and helpful and the brewer Dan is often around to help answer questions.

The beer selection is less than stellar with their 5 regular beers and 1 seasonal normally available. I wish they would bring in a rotating guest tap and bring some beers we don't usually see to this area.

The food is very good but most everything is the usual pub fare.

08-30-2010 02:44:49 | More by hopstradamus

citrusjim

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

Was here on business and stopped in for a beer while we figured out dinner. We ended up eating here. The place was busy for a weeknight due to the Billy Joel concert. We sat at the bar and were served by a very loud bartender. She seemed to always be yelling. It's kind of a loud place. Without the house brews, it seems like a BMC joint. I had the stout and it was very good. My friend had the wheat and she liked it. We sat at a table for dinner and I had a burger. It was fine. The menu is kind of chain like. Not bad though. I would not seek this place out if I were in town again. We went to a wine bar the following night where I enjoyed Saison Dupont on tap...In Wichita! There are better places for sure.

03-31-2010 12:10:34 | More by citrusjim

kneids

Kansas

2.54/5  rDev -28.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3 | $$

I was born and raised in Wichita, but I never made it to this place until recently. I had just never heard anyone really say anything good about it. I decided to try it one night so my girlfriend and I sat at the bar and got a sampler. The place is actually kind of cool. It is located inside an old brick warehouse in old town. There is a nightclub directly above the restaurant that made the place pretty noisy.
The bartender insisted on giving me a description of the beer, and he basically told me exactly what was written on the inside of the menu. He also told me, "the red tastes like a fat tire, the brown tastes like a newcastle, and the stout tastes like a guinness." Their beers tasted nothing like the beers he mentioned. The red had no flavor to it, and the brown and the stout had the same bitter, coffee aftertaste. The IPA lacked hops and tasted pretty much the same as the wheat. The seasonal beer was the Razzberry Wheat which I had no interest in trying. Overall I was pretty disappointed.

08-18-2009 01:20:57 | More by kneids

morimech

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +11.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped by a weekday evening. Hotter than hell outside so this was a nice oasis. Large bar and a large seating area. Sat at the bar and ordered their brown ale. I thought the brown was excellant. Also had the red but was less impressed with that. The bartender was very friendly and chatty. She gave a couple of guys crap for ordering Bud Light by saying, "You do know you are in a brewpub." I thought the food was also very good. The crowd seemed to be a mixture of local families and wayward travelers like myself.

06-27-2009 19:58:26 | More by morimech

jpwalz

California

4.58/5  rDev +29%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $

Fifth or sixth visit here and everything gets better. Prices are insane. Their "Bigass" beers for 3-bucks are under-priced. Had their Red(very balanced - great combo of malt and hops),IPA(not a West Coast IPA but hops are there) and ESB(must have watched a dozen locals order and enjoyt) and for the region are top notch. Food menu is a meat-lovers wet dream(staring at my pie - bacon, sausage, Tataka, amongst others) and attentive staff is second-to-none. This spot is amazing, and as I mentioned, gets better every visit.Can't imagine any beer advocate not stopping by when visiting Kansas. Very nice spot.

05-27-2009 21:56:13 | More by jpwalz