DeadBeach Brewery — Restaurant in El Paso

Of the Texas breweries I’ve been to, this one stands out. Way cool vibe, though there are under tones of hipster, but not enough to trigger my inner old fart’s desire to start slapping the man-buns off trust fund wannabes (My inexcusable hipster intolerance, stems from hailing from west Los Angeles).

I am not a “flavored” beer guy, but their 5 Points Apricot Amber was all but sublime, and paired well with thier Cannibal Tacos, a crazily savory egg and smoked euro sausage offering, which belays judgement if you haven’t actually tried it.

I would have never even given the 5 Point Apricot Amber a thought if it wasn’t for their delicious Coconut Brown Bonnie Ale. I must confess I did not try the non coconut version of the Brown Bonnie, but in my defense my liver is somehow older than my own AARP card carrying ass, and yes, even when beer is involved, discretion is the better part of valor.

My least favorite beer style is the over abused, over hopped IPA’s. One of the brewers happened to be standing next to me chatting with the staff, so I asked what was the starting IBU of their Deadbeach IPA. Happily the answer was an initial 54 IBU, so by that time my warm fuzzy buzz let me get out of my own way and I actually enjoyed a pint of IPA. Something that hasn’t happened in quite a while.

If I had a criticism of any of the beers I enjoyed there, I would say that their Abuela (Grand Mother) Imperial Stout was so finely balanced that neither the chocolate, or coffee tones asserted themselves, leaving me nothing to hang my hat on other then the shockingly (flavor wise) 8.9 ABV. Who knew grannie was a Ninja trained, stone faced baby killer? That beer forced me to reevaluate my long ago memories of my own Abuela’s gentle visage, doling out albondigas servings.

If you happen to find yourself in El Paso, run, don’t walk to the Deadbeach Brewery, the artistry of the taps alone...

For the life of the brewery, we have always enjoyed dead beach. The old location was never known for its food, because it was third party food trucks, so let’s get this out in the open, it was mostly the beer that made the calling. Since the move to Durazno from Durango, the joint ventured into the food business. I’m glad the beer business boomed to allow the local expansion. The new territory of food service hasn’t been the best experience as of lately. On recent visits it’s has been a confluence of factors and variables that made the dining experience sub-par. For breakfast we ordered a chicken sandwich that was 80%batter 20% chicken but 100% oil soaked. The feeling of biting into an oil sponge was the most unappetizing experience. No amount of beer, or other drink rid the feeling of oil on the lips. And yesterday, for lunch, the sausage bites were served with an almost ice cold bbq sauce defeating the whole purpose of the appetizer. Secondly shoestring fries were not drained where again the same oil drenched experience reared its head. Lastly, the lounge-y approach is great for a drinking only scene, but if you’re to offer food, kick up the lighting, it makes a big difference and trust me it won’t ruin the ambiance. There’s a big difference between being on top of your table and addressing the needs of the eaters/drinker as opposed to seemingly pushing them out and wanting to clear dishes while people are still eating from them. The easy chill feeling the room conveyed was quickly robbed away by a rushing sever offering the check while people still ate and drank. Oh before I forget….db?….get that...

I wasted two weeks of my time going through the interview process. I had to call and find out they turned me down. I would have never known if I would have never called. This is the most unprofessional I’ve ever been treated and I will make sure to tell everybody I know to boycott them for how they run a business. I know this is a very popular spot in El Paso. I greatly enjoyed my first visit so I had asked for a potential bartender position. My first interview was with Pedro and it went great. I called a few days after inquiring of whether I had moved on to the second interview or not and he said I did so that lifted my spirits. I waited a whole week to interview with Shea. When I interviewed with her she said it was also a “fun” interview. When I called the next day to inquire about what the next step would be she said they didn’t go with me because some random, former bartender who had left had returned for her job. Most unprofessional people I’ve ever met. This may just seem like a temper tantrum but when you’re carless and they schedule you for 10am interviews, I have to wake up several hours earlier just to get to the bus to get downtown. I live in Socorro so I was putting in my effort to show them I meant business but after two full weeks of waiting it was a slap in the face when I was given the ridiculous excuse as to why they didn’t hire me. Pedro and Shea are the worst managers ever and I’ve dealt with...