Roundhouse Brewery — Restaurant in Nisswa

46 North wild rice ale 6.2- Only have had a few wild rice beers and mostly they've been browns so this was a surprise being slightly hazy straw color. Does smell slightly of cooked brown/wild rice. I almost get a pepper flavor, nothing spicy, just pepper plant. That gets then supersede by cooked rice. Makes me think of ancient beer, not sure what I even mean but I imagine beer centuries ago tasting like this. Very unique to me.

Night shift coffee stout 6.5- Dark and lovely, smells like a mild chocolate cold brew. Coffee taste is gentle without being too bitter which then melds into the chocolate. The finishing note is a cup of coffee that has now become lukewarm with 1% chocolate, because you were greedy and wanted all the chocolate upfront.

Crow wing cream ale 5.5- Smells of wheat and almost heff. Could use more cream but still a nice easy go to beer.

Ms. Galena mango lime sour 5.4- Bubbly gold, that smells like it says of mango sour. Don't know if I can pick up the lime. Well the lime comes through the most, don't really get mango flavor.

Old Betsy brown ale 5.6- A lighter toned amber/brown. Smells of fresh wood placed in molasses. Darker flavor for a brown. Not to sweet or malty.

Empire builder imperial Stout 10- Smells boozy but that's just the 10% talking. This is a great imperial stout that could be cellared for a bit to bring even a stronger dark fruit aspect to it. Not overly boozy, very good.

Lunch Bucket 5.4- Slight orange copper color. Actually smells like a PBJ sandwich with the actually white bread with it. It actually tastes like the smell too. Faint wonder bread flavor mixed with more peanut than jelly. A good choice for someone who's scared of the idea of PBJ beer. Licking the inside of my mouth for the rich peanut butter flavor. Do wish it had a bit more jelly aspect though.

Asked about bombers with the server and I with another patron discussed it. The server almost went on a defensive aspect of saying, well I've been here a while and never heard of that. Was a weird forceful engagement the rest of the time here. Followed by the menu presented to me had marked off beers and then people next to me ordered that beer and got it…. Checked with a group next to me, two completely different menus. Sill bought a glass because the beer was great, service, could use a...

Where to start with Roundhouse? They have axe throwing lanes in the upper part of the building. There are TONS of tables on the patio! Seriously there is more seating outside than there is inside. Inside seating includes an upper pavilion. They have a kitchen. And it is amazing. The brisket bowl with green beans and potatoes was better than some I've had at a menu restaurant. Roundhouse also has a large beer menu! When the beer tender told me to make a flight of 4 or 6 I was slightly confused until I actually looked at the menu! A few beers of almost any style imaginable. Hard teas, sours, IPA, light beers. Seriously, out of 6 samples, only one was not my jam. All of the beer was solid. Crushable, you might say. Even the key lime pie sour was well balanced and delicious. Well worth the stop when you're in Nisswa. Also, I cannot rave enough about Emmerson. She was friendly, knowledgeable and engaging. But she also was great with talking with my kids. They have been talking non stop about going back. I wish I could give Roundhouse more than 5 stars.

Edit: My wife wanted to stop for a Tea Time for lunch on our way home after our vacation. We had just as much fun the second time as the first. And Evan was superb! We will definitely be making trips up just...

So here's a nuanced review of Roundhouse: decent, but not great. The beer is consistently...okay. I've never had a beer here that really got better than perhaps a B+. And I've been going there for 7-8 years. The space is nice, and having bands there in the summer and the outdoor patio is good. You can skip the food: very mediocre. Burgers are definitely store-bought frozen patties, dense and flavorless. Nachos are sub-par, and they make you add on standard nacho fixings like onions and tomatoes. The "fish and chips" - and why call it fish and chips when it's really fish nuggets with a choice of potato chips or fries, when fish and chips MEANS fish fillets and fries (which are "chips" to the English where this dish originated) - are small, overcooked, and not great. The fish tacos have the smallest amount of fish possible, and are almost average.

Therefore: come for an okay beer in the summer and enjoy the atmosphere, but don't expect greatness. I'm rounding up from a 3.5 because Google doesn't let me give the...