Lost Coast Brewery (Eureka, CA)

Lost Coast Brewery

7/1/13

After driving through the Avenue of Giants and up to Redwood National Forest, we headed down to Eureka to spend the night. We stayed at the historic Eureka Inn, a disappointment except that it was an easy walk home from the downtown breweries.

First stop of the evening was for dinner at Lost Coast Brewery. Order of lemon pepper parmesan fries were very tasty to tide us while trying a sampler tray of brews. The fruit beers like Raspberry Brown and Tangerine Wheat were all adequate but not very inspiring. The standard line up of beers were a level better, especially the hoppy ales. 8 Ball Stout and AlleyCat Amber were a step up from the fruit ales, but better were the Lost Coast Pale Ale with a soft hop nose over a sweet caramel back bone and the Indica IPA with a bold hop bite and a grassy, dry finish.

Fish taco

Lost Coast Tacos for dinner. Mine had a crisp, crunchy battered outside with a delicate white fish inside surrounded with a flour tortilla, shredded cabbage, lime sour cream and fresh pico de gallo. Ordered a draft of Great White Beer with my taco: spice on the tongue is complex and stimulating to drink; secret blend of Humboldt County herbs, according to the menu; light and refreshing with a lot of flavor. One of only two LC beers I've had before, it's light and refreshing with a light of flavor. Understated spiciness of the beer blends well with the bready and slightly fishy tacos. Gloria had the tofu version of the taco and liked it as well. A nice range of veggie options on the menu for being so far north, and we appreciated the choice.

Lost Coast is a family friendly restaurant, even on a Saturday night visit. Feels like a bar in my small hometown in Iowa but with a lot better beer. The slightly slow but friendly service with quick, honest recommendations. The rustic atmosphere that was loud but still pleasant to talk in. Overall, it's a place in which the beer is about what I expected and has a warm, welcoming feel that many locals seem to call home.