Kern River Brewing Company

Isabella Blonde, my personal fav! The Santa Fe Egg Rolls and waffle fries are great and I’ve never had a bad burger there.

Stopped by on a Saturday night for dinner, they happened to be serving their world class beer Citra! The place was packed, we thought we were in for a long wait. We were seated within 10 minutes. The food came quickly and was great. I had the fish and chips, they were good and not greasy like a lot of places. My wife had a salad, she said it was good, if you are into that kind of thing! If you ever come and they are serving the Citra you have to try it. They have come a long way since we fist ate here.

A-​OK says it all. Good but not great. I would stop in again but there isn’t anything earth shattering about the brew.

I had the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, the meat itself was delicious. It was seasoned very well. It’s a larger portion than I was expecting, but I’m not complaining! Our waitress was very friendly and explained the beer sampler very well. It was a good experience and I can’t wait to go back. Loved their Espresso Stout. The brownie sundae was perfect.

I give three stars because the beer is so good. The food, however, continuously disappoints. It’s either not what is described or gives me food poisoning (From the last time I was here. Gross and avoidable. Salmonella sucks.) The jalapeño popper wrap was sickeningly sweet, fries were cold and we were unable to tell the difference from meat and copious amounts of bread in the tri tip sandwich. Wish the food was worth the trip here. Guess we will get beer here and dinner elsewhere in the future.

Yes it is that good. Supremely excellent beers from way out in BFE. Super cool drive if coming from Bakersfield though which is very much worth the time.
They are expanding their facility so time will tell if they can keep up the excellence. That being said for now it is one of those bucket list places in California along with Russian River and Sierra Nevada in Chico (RIP Alpine who after being bought out by Green Flash seemed to lose some of their character).

Always a place we stop at when we go to the river. The staff is friendly, beer is great and the food is good! Can’t wait to go back this summer it’s always nice to have a cold refreshing beer on a hot summer day!

Fun place, nice folks, enjoyed the fish and chips. Great place if you like to enjoy craft beers.

I’m not a big beer fan but I definitely come here for the food. I’ve tried their chicken wings, the chili, the zesty chicken ceasar sald and the Tuscan chicken salad. None have ever disappointed. The chili is delicious and does not disappoint! Whenever we are in the area we always stop by. The only thing I am not a fan of is the wait time. It is easy to be seated when you’re with a few people, but a large group took us about an hour to be seated.
The atmosphere is great. You have the locals that are hanging out and then the other people that are stopping by (bikers, hikers, fishers, etc). The staff is polite and do their best even though you can tell how busy they are.
I give it the Rosa seal of approval.

Don’t get out here much, but when I do, it’s a must!
Love the atmosphere. Good variety of Draft, IPA beers. Never disappointed with the food. Fried dill pickles are one of my favorites. If your in the Kernville area, stop by and enjoy.

Favorite destination when we go camping nearby. Always stop here to fill up our cooler with some bombers… our favorite is the Just Outstanding IPA. I also always try to convince my husband to stay for lunch or dinner (saves the trouble of cooking over a campfire).
Waffle fries are awesome! Garlic/​cheese or chili makes them even better. And dipped in their ranch… YUM. My husband loves their burgers. I usually go for a salad. Even the small house salad doesn’t disappoint.
Definitely the place to stop if you’re passing through town.

My Dad and I took a day trip up to Kernville because my Dad wanted to do a little kayaking. It’s a little more than a three hour drive for us so before we went to the river we stopped in here for a late lunch. My Dad said the wife of the guy who owns this restaurant is an Olympic kayaker, so that’s cool. From the outside the place kinda looks like a saloon and it’s pretty rustic inside. When we walked in there was a sign that said we could seat ourself, so we went outside to the patio since it was such a nice day out. The view out there was gorgeous.
For a couple minutes no one came out to give us menus or anything so my Dad went to go get a waiter. Our friendly waiter came and dropped off menus. We order our drinks first, I just got a Dr. Pepper. My Dad got an iced tea and their house ginger ale. Dad let me try some of the ginger ale, it was alright, nothing special. Once we got our drinks in order we ordered our food. We ended up getting fried pickles and a Big Daddy Burger, lettuce wrapped, all to share. The food didn’t take too long and it was a really nice day out on the patio. I could smell the food as it was being cooked.
When the food came out it came all together, just liked we asked. I tried the fried pickles first. They were super hot, probably right out of the fryer. The pickles were great, real crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was served with a really good ranch sauce, I liked the consistency of it, not too thick, but not watery. The burger was served in a metal bowl with two big pieces of lettuce, which was kinda weird and hard to eat. I had to eat my burger like a salad, with a fork and knife. The fried onion on the burger was good, it was just the jalapeño and bacon jam was super sweet. I thought it would be more of a savory thing. The burger itself was also kinda dry, made it hard to finish. The waffle fries it was served with were the best though. I normally don’t like waffle fries because they always turn out super starchy. These were very crisp and crunchy, they went really well with the leftover ranch sauce from the fried pickles. Overall the food was just alright.
Before we left I used the restroom and there is only two toilets. One for men and one for women. I can imagine there’s a huge line for the restroom when it gets crowded. I’m happy the place was almost empty when we went.
The food was ok, the service was good. I liked that our waiter didn’t hover, he only checked in on us once. He also made some conversation about kayaking and the owners of the restaurant with my Dad. This is a good place for cheap food and drink that will fill you up.

If you are visiting Kernville you must come to Kern brewery. Blue cheese hamburger, stout beer, ohhhh sooo tasty. Utterly everything on menu is delicious. Cute and cozy brewery. Kind staff.
They brew their own delicious beers.
Every-​time we camp on Kern River our big group must take a visit to this brewery.
And so must you!

(Drank/​Dined 05÷23÷15 SA @ 2:00pm): More than just delicious beer was being brewed along the Kern River; there were huge food portions at cheap prices!
Thanks to the trusty Unilocal app and a recommendation from our tubing instructor, my sister, youngest niece, my friend and I made our way to Kern River Brewing Company for some local drinks and grub. None of us frequented the area, so we wanted to make the most of the local businesses before we hit the road for an over two-​hour drive home. How would my first Unilocal review of a business in Kern County be?!
Just Outstanding IPA Beer ($ 4.50) — After a two-​hour drive and an afternoon tubing along the Kern River in the blazing sun, I knew a tall cold pint would hit the spot! This gentle amber-​colored brew with citrus hints and a light hoppy flavor with a lingering finish was more than «just outstanding»!
Fish & Chips with Waffle Fries ($ 10.25) — Five long golden strips of Isabella Blonde Beer battered cod fillets served with their house tartar sauce all on a bed of waffle fries lightly fried but still maintained a crispy outside while steaming moist on the inside was a pure treat to eat! The fish separated easily into pieces as you bit into it but didn’t fall apart. The portion size was enough for two! Easily a $ 15-​$ 20 entrée back in L.A., with was a damn bargain at this price and seriously considered ordering another to go!
Service — Judging by the long line and packed restaurant, this place was going off, and we knew we made the right decision. We made our way to the hostess station, gave our name, told it would be a 20 minute wait, and relaxed out on the front patio. We were eventually called and led through the restaurant to the back outdoor patio. Our drink orders were taken immediately and arrived just as quickly. However, there was lagtime until we placed our food order, and then another 15 minutes before we received our food. I babied my beer like no other! It took some time before our empty baskets were collected, and we had to ask for the check which I hated to do. I’d cut them some slack since the place was jammed-​pack, but you’ve been warned.
Parking (Free) — They had a small and tight private lot; luckily, someone had just pulled out as we pulled in. Otherwise, it was either a waiting game or possibly nearby street parking which meant a walk.
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — A mash-​up of a saloon, sports bar and a wood cabin, upon entering you immediately saw a slew of camping/​fishing memorabilia all over the place, a hodge-​podge of other oddities, and the requisite self-​promoted beer posters hung on the walls along with table-​toppers. Of course, there was a central medium-​sized bar with their own brews on tap. Both dining areas were crammed, so you had to get comfortable with your neighbors. The covered outdoor patio offered at least fresh air and street views which was always a better option, in my opinion. Plenty of natural lighting came through all the windows while electric lighting was also prevalent especially during the evening time. There were TVs EVERYWHERE while music played in the background.
Attire — Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, Kern River Brewing Company hit the spot and was well worth the wait, and I definitely would visit them again the next time I was in the area; however, I wouldn’t drive two hours out of my way just for them! I was familiar with their beers and liked them, so it was very cool to have actually dined and drank at «the source». They had a decent menu selection while the two items my sister and niece ordered looked good and were huge portions, too (my friend ordered the same thing as I did). Although the staff was very friendly, the service could’ve been better (maybe they were understaffed). I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (my portion of the bill was around $ 16.00 before tip). And, although they accepted credit cards, not mine of choice… AMEX! 4.0 STARS

I had the flight and none of the beers impressed me and there was two that was the same. As for the food, they were okay. Almost like bar food or can be similar to Bj’s. perhaps the high rating is because you can’t find a place like this in the area, Kernville.
If you’re traveling and need a place to rest and eat… I guess this place isn’t too bad.

You have to go through a serious drive to get to this place, but in the end I think its worth it, definitely makes for a nice day trip. However if you are at all sensitive to winding roads then you may need to pass on going here, the Kern River road that winds through the canyon is suuuuuper windy, and if having cars close to you on a two lane road makes you nervous, another reason you may have to investigate before you start making the drive.
The brewery itself is very nice, its a little on the small side but I don’t imagine the traffic would warrant it needing to be much bigger. This is a spot where locals and people in the area for outdoor activities all mingle at, seemed like there were equal proportions of both there.
The beer is all quite excellent, one of their IPA’s is very highly rated and if you don’t get there soon after they release it, you probably aren’t going to get a taste of it. If you are not sure what you will or won’t like they offer samplers at a reasonable price, and if you do know what you like, well they have several beers that are very god examples of their style.
I was also very surprise at how good the food was, I am used to the food at breweries here in Fresno which in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired. The food here however was quite good, we got an appetizer which sadly I can’t remember what it was, as well as the fish and chips, which was very good.
A very nice brewery, if you aren’t afraid of a bit of a drive its well worth your time to come and check it out!

This will be one of the shortest Unilocal reviews I have ever written.
Food 4 stars. Loved the jalapeño popper wrap.
Beer 5 stars (this is what really matters anyway) Hop Nookie was great, Gravity Check is the best session IPA I have ever tasted and I LOVE SHUTTLE BUNNY!!!
Hopefully I will someday get to score some of the seasonal and elusive Citra :)
Bottom Line: GO TO KRBC!!!

We decided to take a drive up to Kernville to hit the Kern River Brewing Company. Beautiful drive up the canyon to the place.
We shared the Jalapeño Popper Wrap with chicken, fried pickles and waffle fries. The jalapeño jam on the wrap was the hit of our food.
I had the triple IPA on tap. This was good enough I bought a growler of it to take home with me. My wife had the Session IPA which a big citrus undertone. Very easy to drink in the middle of the day… and yes, Mom drove us so we had a DD.
Atmoshere is a five. Beer is a four. Food is a three equalling a solid 4 in my book.
Also a large selction of swag for sale for those brewery collectors.

Again, another cliché 5 star review. The thing is, we came up here a few nights ago as a last hurrah before we move out of state. It’s one of our favorite date spots, and we couldn’t leave town without visiting one last time.
The service is always quick and polite, and the food is always exceptional. But, tonight I had a seasonal beer named Belgian Wit and as a Blue Moon lover, this Belgian gave it a huge run for its money. It was phenomenal. A citrus wheat beer that tasted almost creamy!
The jalapeño mozzarella cheese sticks were gotten than ever, just how we like them. The wings have amazing flavor, and the fish and chips are a staple we always get. They load you up with huge fish filets.
I am sad to say I don’t know when we will be back, because Nevada awaits, but we will be back as soon as we can!

Local craft brewery attempting a gastropub-​lite style in the Kern River Valley. Their Just Outstanding IPA is seriously just that. Tried the seasonal pumpkin ale and expected an overly-​sweet, synthetic-​flavored ‘beer’ akin to what Indian Wells does. Was very pleasantly surprised to find it was a natural medium-​bodied ale with a hint of warm spiciness, but no saccharine sweetness to report.
The food involves options like pulled pork tacos, beer battered fish and chips, fish tacos, and a few choices in the burger and chopped salad categories. The food is simple, fresh and tasty. It’s about quality not quantity, which is a good sign for any restaurant. Most meals are served up in metal baskets lined with paper, which saves them kitchen staff, time, and money I’m sure. I’m not a big fan of eating my food out of a lined basket, but it worked out alright for my fish and chips. Our charming waitress was bright, friendly, and welcomingly informative. The prices are between $ 8-​$ 12 per dish, and a flight of four beers is only $ 6.50. We got out of there for under $ 30 for two full meals and a flight of beer.
This place is a huge win for the area, especially for those of us who are used to LA gastropubs and don’t want to waste $ 30 a plate at overrated steak/​burger houses along the river (a-​HEM).