Second Salem Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Whitewater

Sadly, MEH! Family went here in the winter but I had a cold so everything had no flavor that night so while we were in Whitewater Saturday we decided to give it another go. Sadly, the same impression came through. Hubby & I came in for a mid afternoon lunch, about 2:30/3 ish. Place wasn't busy. He ordered the Beast of Bray Road Amber Ale and I had unsweetened iced tea. The tea tasted like it was the garbage reconsituted from a concentrate and not fresh brewed. Hubby, a micro brew enthusiast said the beer tasted burned and like someone's bad mix home brew and far from what he expected. Ordered the Greek nachos and they were alright. Not a whole lot of meat but nice topping assortment though the watery sauce was not what tzatziki sauce should present as. Looked more like whey from the top of yogurt than a creamy sauce but it tasted OK.

Hubby and I both ordered the beer cheese soup and he the garlic parmesan wings and I the pulled pork sliders. The first thing I noticed about the soup was it was very salty. I don't add extra sodium to food so this was a bit overwhelming and honestly, the only flavor. No taste of beer or creaminess of cheese. After straining through the soup determined it had ham in it. What should have been a blend of good cheese, beer and ham had no flavor other than being salty. Again disappointing for a bowl that is $4.50. My pork sliders were pulled pork topped with carmelized bacon and onions. Oh good. This should have some flavor. Picked up a piece of bacon that slipped out and there was sweetness and saltiness showing that the sandwiches could redeem the meal. NOPE. Once you bit into the sandwich it was generic flavors. The carmelized bacon was lost in the bland pork and bun. Adding the few leaves of field greens/lettuce didn't help. Hubby had the garlic parmesan wings and again...what seasoning. There was sauce on the slightly mummified baked wings but was it garlic, alfredo, bechemel, or hollandaise? No way to tell just blah.

The kicker is nothing was bad. It was just ok and for a $64 with tip lunch it should have been much better. Defrosted a $4 package of garlic parmesan wings I had in my freezer from the Pig for today's Packer game. They had far more garlic flavor than those we paid $11.50 ish for at SSBC. Unless I hear of some major changes, I don't think we'll be back. I can stop at the University cafeteria or some local SYSCO supplied diner for bland flavorless food and save myself $40-$50.

Maybe the food tastes good to those who have already anesthetized their taste buds with the foul brew but if you haven't, it's not...

We thought any place featuring a Witch motif would be able to offer vegan/vegetarian fare...why those two go together, I don't know. I don't think witches are noted for eating vegan, but I believe Wiccans are generally understanding, compassionate people so we took a chance. Superb Hummus Platter! In fact, I'd go as far as saying it was the best Hummus Platter I've ever seen. Not just a small bowl of hummus with pita slices around it.  A HUGE plate of hummus with an even larger plate of assorted marinated veggies for dipping. Then they had Beyond Burgers on the menu...um...YES! The burgers come with lettuce, tomato and avocado, but no ketchup or mustard or pickle. Fries were good. Our lone vegetarian ordered the Margherita Flatbread and it was quite large, definitely meant for sharing amongst 2 or more people and he said it was super duper good. But it had cheese on it, so he had to eat the whole thing. And he did. My salad had the best balsamic dressing I've ever had because it wasn't sweet. I hate sweet dressings, and this was perfect. It was a giant salad and I cleaned that plate. One of us ordered the brussels sprouts and she said they were delicious. Beers were good too. The glasses had their cool witch logo on it, and one in our group left with a t-shirt from the place. The only knock I have against this place is that their tables are made with pipes that are placed at just the right position for you to bang your knees into as you sit down. Our waitress was vegan! So I didn't have to spend a lot of time explaining stuff - she understood immediately what our needs were, and she was attentive and so nice. We ordered so much food that our bill was over $100 for three of...

The food and service at this place is phenomenal. My whole family enjoyed. I loved the theme of the place and their beer list looks really amazing, with plenty of variety for all kinds of taste preferences.

And then... i ordered a flight and actually tasted the beer. My God. Their entire brewhouse very clearly has a bacterial infection either in their tap lines or in their fermenter. Every single beer had the same rancid taste of horrible gym socks. I was almost able to finish 5oz of the black IPA, as it's roasty flavors somewhat hid the acrid awfulness. The other two IPAs and the radler were so rancid, I couldn't get past two sips.

I am a brewer myself, and have many many friends that home brew. We've all made mistakes and gotten infections. But all of us would be ashamed to even let someone taste beer this bad. You just dump it, clean your systems, and start over. I'm aghast that the head brewer and management here are even trying to serve this to the public.

After getting over my shock, i looked around and everyone clearly knows. All the locals were drinking liquor, and of the 4 other tables that ordered beer, I saw not one single person finish theirs.

Customers considering visiting: Pretend it's a restaurant with no beer. Enjoy the food, and order a cocktail if you must imbibe. You'll have a good time.

Second Salem Managment: Clean your brewhouse for the love of god. Don't serve beer you wouldn't drink yourself. I know that dumping entire batches really sucks for your bottom line. But it can't be worse than ruining your entire brand and reputation. I only came to your restaurant because of your beer list, and I feel...