Formerly called the Brew Pub, the Morgantown Brewing Company was known for making their own beers that tasted above average. However, my most recent visit this week has let me down some. Ever since they were taken over by new management a few years ago, their service and their specials suffered. The beer however, usually thrived. They have a good selection of beer from an IPA (which I will say now I probably won't talk about this kind of beer much) to a stout. I sampled their Kettle Brown Ale which according to their description is "A medium bodied, moderately hopped American Brown Ale featuring a chestnut hue, and light beige colored head. Notes of chocolate and toasted nuttiness throughout, finishing slightly dry." Awesome, sounds great, right? Yeah not so much. It made no real impression on me. When I switched to my second beer, the Old Morgantown Amber Ale, it was no better. A beer that is "a traditional American Amber Ale with a seductive auburn complexion. A mild caramel sweetness leads to an exquisite balancing act of malt and hops before a smooth and pleasantly floral and earthy ending." Once again, it sounded great on paper but once I started I (and some others with me) realized they were the same dark color and they were not very different in taste. Honestly, it tasted like a Yuengling. Now I love Yuengling but these beers were supposed to be completely different but I might have believed they pulled a fast one and put two kegs of Pottsville's best under the bar.
I switched gears after dinner, which by the way has gotten better even with the management change, and started drinking their porter. Now their website didn't have a description of it but it was your standard porter. It was supposed to have hints of chocolate and coffee flavors, it was good but the taste stuck with me. But the taste was neither chocolate or coffee, it was just a thick hoppy taste. I tasted it the whole way home after an hour and a half of sitting around at the bar after I was done. So the beer stayed with me for almost 4 hours. Water couldn't even wash it out. Some people like that but I prefer a beer that doesn't stay on my palate for so long.
Because I didn't drink all of the beers on tap I can't tell you what they're like but I'm sure some are good. I will say they had a 2 for 1 pint special on their beer so in a way, it was worth it. Maybe the next time I go down I'll get some different beers or try a sampler.
