One way to tell the mark of a good brewery is how much free stuff you get. Even better — how much free stuff is just given to you without asking. Now, we aren’t talking about shopping bags full of t-shirts or growlers full of beer, but just little things like samples, coasters, stickers, etc. Not only is this good marketing for the brewery but it also earns easy brownie points with the customer. And, it is this kind of attention to the customer that makes Union Corners Brewery a place to go back to.

Throughout our time sitting at the bar, the bartender/owner would bring, unprompted, 5oz. pours of different things on tap he was excited about, including their JCB Coffee Roaster nitro cold brew and a double-dry hopped dark IPA on guest tap from Capital Brewery. He was also quick to throw coasters and stickers our way without us even having to ask.

The tap room was simple but very effective in what it was trying to accomplish. It held an industrial-chic vibe with polished concrete, a solid dark wood bar, metal piping, and Edison bulbs. Overall, pretty standard for what you see in breweries today, but it was done well.

It also happened to be brew day at Union Corners the afternoon we were there. Since the brew room is just off from the tap room, we could see the brew kettle steaming from the mash and were surrounded by the sweet smell of wort.

One drawback to the tasting room were the TVs that displayed the tap list. Out of 24 taps, there were only a handful of house brews, and these were interspersed among the guest taps, making it difficult to pick out which beers were Union Corners and which weren’t. It would have been much easier if all of the Union Corners taps were listed consecutively before the guests.

Another drawback is the location. There is a lot of construction around the brewery, and parking is limited to odd “back-in” slanted spots. I’ve never seen this before, but the street parking consisted of slanted parking to the right hand side with spots slanted towards oncoming traffic, making a person back in to the spot. This was not a major issue, just odd.

Now it’s time to get to the numbers…

Beer Name: “New Phone, Who Dis?” Hoppy Blonde

Beer Style: Blonde Ale

Flavor Characteristics: Light malt, hint of butterscotch, hop bitterness and citrus notes without the strength of an IPA or bite of a Pale Ale. Would liken it to a lighter “blonde” pale ale.

Drinkability: High to moderate drinkability. It’s a lighter beer, so it goes down easy, but the hoppy characters could get a little in the way on a hot day like the one we had.

Rating from 1 to 5 Hops: 4 Hops

Atmosphere: 4 — Furnishings and bar done well. Clearly going for the clean industrial look. Almost Nordic in its Ikea-esc simplicity. Done tastefully, though.

Service: 4.5 — Attentive, generous on the samples, knowledgable

Vibes: 3.5 — Solid late 2000s indie playlist on the jukebox. Taproom’s clean industrial look means there isn’t much of a “cozy,” warm vibe that some taprooms can pull off. Lacked an artistic touch.

Post-up Worthy: 3.5 — We spent a couple of enjoyable hours here, but it didn’t have the vibes to make it a place where you really want to settle in and watch movies all afternoon.

Overall: 4 Hops