University of Beer

Fine selection of craft beers and decent bar atmosphere. However I was disappointed in the service. I felt neglected enough to were I don’t want to come back this bar. I was sitting at the bar and every time my glass was near empty the bartenders would take it away without offering me another drink. Nobody would tend to me as I was noticeably trying to get some attention. It was frustrating as the bartenders would tend to my friends sitting right next to me without problem but like I said I felt neglected. Not a pleasant experience and will not be coming back

Great beer selection no argument if I was commenting on beer it’s a 5, however, when I can order any burger on the menu and get a small side salad instead of fries except the guacamole burger, I have to ask why? When I asked the staff they couldn’t answer, they did what they should do and ask the manager. Awesome I am going to get a honest answer. Wrong. The staff member asked the manager who is busy writing a disciplinary notice about an employee is too busy to turn around and answer my question. But tells the staff member something which is related to me as that’s what the owner wants on that burger, doesn’t need my money. Really I mean you can’t turn around and tell me in person. I mean I’m standing right there? You can’t stop typing on the computer and talk to a guest who is standing 3 feet away. Wow. Beyond poor customer service out and outright rude. Sorry guys it will be a while before I am back and I’ll have to surrender my Unilocal dukedom for your place to another.
A quick aside on this. I would never post a negative review without speaking to management it’s cheap and unfair. Since they chose to do a written discipline of an employee instead of speaking to a guest with a question I guess I see where we rate.

One star because the bartender was rude! I am not the type of girl that drinks so therefore you will rarely catch me at a bar. atleast drinking alcohol. Anyways my friends and I came here because it was her birthday and she suggested i get a cider beer with her. okay, fine. came in around 10pm on ⁵⁄₂₄
Went to the bar and tried the berry burst before i got it. and it was cool. It wasnt strong at all (which i prefer bc i dont like alcohol). We ordered two drinks and this was where the bartender was disrespectful. He asked if the tab was gonna be closed or open. i kinda looked at my friend for like confirmation bc i was only gonna have one drink with her and i had to leave right after… soooo… i said closed please. He mustve looked at me like «wtf are you serious» and then have the audacity to say… «have you ever been to the bar. Should I check your ID again» in a rude ass voice. ALL BECAUSE i said i wanted to close my tab?!? Bc i was gonna leave after this one drink??? Horrible. Hes lucky i even tipped!!! I shouldnt had gave him a tip at all!
Anyways. It was a very HORRIBLE FIRST time experience.

Came here after visiting the location in Davis. This location is bigger. At first it felt as if it’s hard to get some service but once we got a seat the bartender help us and they have lots of cider on tap. I enjoyed the selection on cider very much!

Boyfriend and I ordered delivery. We were super excited for the food because it sounded amazing.
I can’t handle spicy foods, plain and simple. I decided to get the Bacon Avocado Cheese Burger and specifically put No Chipotle Mayo and No Onions. Boyfriend ordered Chicken Street Tacos with no Jalapeño Sauce or Guac.
Here is what we received:
–Burger slathered in chipotle mayo and onions.
–BEEF Street Tacos covered in Jalapeño sauce and Guac.
I can forgive the onions on my burger, it’s not hard to pick them out. The chipotle mayo however made the burger inedible for me. My boyfriends tacos weren’t even close to what he ordered. For the $ 33~ we spent, I would expect them to be able to follow simple instructions.
Basically, they completely messed up our order to the point that mine was inedible and my boyfriends wasn’t even what he ordered. NEVER going back. Waste of money and food.

I use a 5 tier system with each tier having 1 of the 5 stars:
TOTAL: 2 stars
Food/​beverage quality — No star
My wife’s tacos were terrible. They were so spicy and salty that she couldn’t tell which was the beef vs. chicken. The burger looked good, but after tasting was extremely dry and disappointing.
Service — No star
Hard to give a star here when they don’t really serve you — have to get food and drinks at bar. And for a place with full food menu on Saturday night they should have at least a cocktail runner. Service is more like a dive bar vs. restaurant.
Location — Full star
New building on 16^th — kinda hard to give any less than full star. The covered patio is nice too.
Price — Half star
Beers are between $ 6 — $ 8 for standard brews and some IPA’s. $ 8 is a bit pricy for a pint that’s not anything crazy like pliny the elder etc. Food is between $ 10 — $ 12. But based on my earlier comments, I wouldn’t touch that food even if it were free.
Atmosphere/​Cleanliness — Half star
Place was dead on Saturday night. Know its sports bar driven, but still based on location if they had better food and table service there’d probably be more people there. Plus, the bathroom hadn’t been cleaned or checked based on their tracker behind door in 4+ hours. Urine all over the floor. Beer menus are these electronic ipad kinda things wrapped in wood. Like to idea, but could only imagine how much germs and oils are on those dirty things. If beer changes often, just print paper everyday or write on wall like most places.
To sum up, I would pass on this place. If you want a cold beer and game, go to Firestone instead right up the street. Much better atmosphere and food is more than decent.

Went here on a very busy Saturday night. We were able to find a seat at the bar no problem and were helped right away.
They have a huge selection of beer from dark stouts to light blondes. We also tried their pig fries, amazing! The pork was so freakin good and they add a spicy sauce that gives it a perfect kick. Their burgers look amazing so I plan on trying that next time.
The service was great too! Even though they were crazy busy each time a bartender walked by they asked if we needed something.
They also have an outside patio that is calling my name this summer!

If you want to drink good craft beer this is a good place. Large selection of styles of beer available, national and local breweries, etc. Number of taps: 100.
If you want to eat and drink go elsewhere.
Wifey & I stopped in for lunch this week about 12:20pm. Only 7 people eating lunch. That should have been a sign. The uninterested host sat us at a table and mumbled something and ran back to the front. We sat at a table near 4 women on lunch from their state jobs. Their food looked good.
Wife ordered Sliders & Garlic Fries and I ordered a Turkey Club. Waiter/​bartender brings Wife’s sliders out and tells me my sandwich will be right up. Three, four, five, six minutes later and still no Turkey Club. By now I’m upset. Finally in minute seven he delivers my sandwich. He apologizes about the time issue, again.
I look down and the bread is hardly toasted, barely warm to the touch. I see a green tomato so I open up the sandwich to find all of the tomatoes to be a bit green, with one slice barely red and passable. Then I notice each half of the sandwich has three thin slices of turkey folded in half. One half of sandwich only had avocado on half of the half. SMH. The two things that made this weak effort passable was the bacon and garlic ailoli. As for the side of fries they were also sub par. Luke warm, not crisp but oily.
As I tore apart the sandwich and took photos my wife tells me the waiter is watching me. «Good, then he’ll know who left the ___“insert nasty adjective of you choice here“___ review on Unilocal.» So as I miserably eat my sandwich and enjoy the beer I ordered I notice the ladies near us are sending all of their bills back. The one young woman tells the waiter, «It’s Thursday so all local beers are $ 2 off.» He agrees and gets the manager to adjust all of there bills.
Wifey loved her sliders and garlic fries, FWIW.
Wife and I finish lunch and waiter drops bill off and apologizes again. I look at the bill and the local beer discount was not given. REALLY, he just had to do it for 4 women not but three minutes ago. What is going on here! I honestly believe it was a scam. I call him over and politely show him the mistake and he goes again to get the manager to fix it. Despite all of the things went wrong and i still left a 20% plus tip for the waiter.
As we leave we noticed the manager and host seated at a table near the front door. Neither one of them even looked up to say «thanks for coming» or «enjoy your day» or anything. As we got outside and on the sidewalk I told my wife, «I am never, ever, going to come here again. Too many other nice places to eat and drink in midtown.» And that is a long list with some wonderful beer lists and outstanding food.
Why can’t I add my photos? No link to add pics? Hmmmm… Will have to check back later.

Cool, you’ don’t drink beer?!
I’ve been here a handful of times and my lack of beer consuming ways has never been an issue. I’m normally able to get a decent glass of house red here.
This last time however, the bartender thought it was cool to remind me I was at «University of Beer». No shit, Sherlock. This isn’t my first time here. I know you serve wine too. I asked for a glass of Cab Sav, which he said he didn’t sell. He then started to say we only carry two kinds «Cab and Chardonnay» Oh you do, huh? But we don’t have any right now. He obviously didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, which is fine… cause I guess to work at UOB you only need to care about beer.
So lame!
I do love that they have plenty of TVs and sports is always on them. I’ve caught a few SF Giants games here and some awesome soccer games on these TV’s. If sports and beer are your thing, then this is your place. Parking sucks, but that can be put in about 50 different Midtown Unilocal reviews, so I won’t even go into that detail.
The use iPad’s to show you their ever evolving list of beers and ciders (no wine though). They also hand you menus for food with your iPad. Don’t think you can steal these iPad’s they are bolted into a little holder that also slants, so you can read it easily. You cannot order from them, but you can pick your beer and order it by the connecting number. You have to order everything at the bar, with the likes of the bartender I previously mentioned. There are some servers who bring the food, but they don’t seem keen on helping you with additional things — they seem annoyed if you ask for water, utensils, ranch, or anything else to go with your meal. It’s really a little confusing, actually!
I’ve had a few burgers, a few apps, and the sliders. The food is always decent. You don’t go here for the food, but it is definitely a bonus. It’s really for the TV’s and the beer (the bartender wouldn’t want you to forget that part). The fries are really good, especially when ordered extra crispy/​well done! I’m of the mindset that the food is a little overpriced for what it is, but its the Grid, so I expect it.
I’ll still order wine, just to annoy the bartender!

Bro’s, tvs, beer, cider, sliders, tacos, puppies and cigarettes.

Ordered online from Grub Hub and food was delivered before the estimated delivery time… if you are in college and like beer food this place is probably a good spot for you. I was hungry and lazy so we ordered delivery.
Study Abroad Platter comes with a full order of 4 appetizers. Pot Stickers are probably premade and frozen from a store somewhere, nothing special. Calamari was delicious and comes with the tentacles which is my favorite. Chicken satay was just okay but the peanut sauce was good. All of the sauces are obviously homemade and delicious.
Now for the bad…
The asian fries should come with a warning… or at least put in bold capital letters that there are thai chilis on them. and be renamed fries from the hot fires of HELL!!! My BF took one bite and had the hiccups. at first I thought he was exaggerating, since there was obviously sriracha on the fries. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE SPICY, but I also want to be forwarned when I am about to shovel a fork full of thai chili in my mouth. Maybe they should switch to the red chilis instead of the green ones, since they look like green onions.
We also ordered a cowboy burger with waffle fries, but my mouth was on fire so I couldn’t enjoy it.

This is a fun place that has a nice beer selection and very good food. I came here with some friends back in February and everyone really enjoyed it here. The beer list is extensive and draft list is really good too (it’s very similar to World of Beer). The food is typical American bar food, but it’s done really well; I got an avocado bacon cheeseburger with the Asian fries, an amazing combination that I would highly recommend. Everyone else really liked their food as well and I would definitely come here again!

If you love watching sports, come to the University of Beer! Multiple screens, including one on the patio, had me constantly checking the Arizona vs. UCLA basketball game and NBA All Star weekend events at the same time.
In addition to 2 different kinds of stout (mine was mint chocolate, yumm), we had pulled pork sliders and garlic fries. Both were good, but the garlic fries were better than the sliders, which were a bit average, in my opinion. Our mouths were pretty potent afterward.
I want to come here again to get my NCAA and, soon, baseball fix. Looking forward to it.

Ok, Ok, lets not get too excited about this place. The name is University of Beer but in my experience the staff could use some time back in beer school. I’m no beer snob… ok maybe a little, but when I ask what a generic question a place like university of beer they should be able to answer it.
Everyone seems to love the tablet ordering system which I found more kitschy than anything it didn’t add to my experience.
The atmosphere felt like a really bad sports bar. Like something your uncle who insists he is hip and with it would put together in his garage.
They do have a large beer selection but I wasn’t blown away. I think there are far better places to enjoy a beer than this location.

Not my first time here, but finally writing a review.
Came here Friday night, and surprisingly it was not as packed as all the other times I came here! Got here around 9 and left around 1130, but there was still some open tables. Guess the rain got to people?
Anyway, they card you when you walk in. They have over 100 types of beer & they always change their selection! I like cider, and they have a decent selection of it too. Last night I decided to go big w/​a 10.5% cider called bad apple along with a new leinenkugel shandy called cranberry ginger. Both were so good!
You don’t wait at the bar too long for service. They’re usually pretty good at getting to you. You also order food at the bar. I enjoy their plain fries. Used to like the Asian Fries & the fries with pulled pork, but they’re pretty spicy.
They also have board games if you wanted to play that, but when I come here it’s mainly to socialize.
Parking is tough. This area of parking always takes me about 15 mins to find parking. You can find more parking near 14^th street, but not by much.
Overall this place is cool. I think I would enjoy it more if I was into drinking more often.

On 12/​23/​2015, I decided to come to this library of beer called, University of Beer.” Since it’s earned KCRA’s A-​List this year, I was in awe! The atmosphere is quite enjoyable and comforting, so I can feel like I was dining in at a mini Firestone Public House in Downtown! The concept is very contemporary made filled with various of taps from local to national and HDTVs hanging on the top wall. I like the idea to have menus electronically directly from their iPads! What a great idea to save paper!
The bartenders and the cookers are doing a great job for making the customers like me a friendly environment! No cons at all!
For the beer choice, I ordered a local brewery ale of Bike Dog’s Mango Mosaic. So far, that beer tasted very good! It has the stronger flavor of that ale especially the Mango flavors on it which it’s naturally made. Not a bad drink at all.
There’s some surface street parking available, so park there if you can. Otherwise, you can ride a bike, walk, or use public transportation easier without the hassles.
In the end, University of Beer is the coolest bar ever made in the Downtown/​Midtown neighborhood! Perfect for friends gatherings and happy hour pleasures! A well, worthy visit! My rating: 4 solid stars.

It was love at first flight.
My first impression was of what a wonderful neighborhood feel it has. There is an «L» shaped bar with a hundred different taps lining the walls behind. Enough tables fill the center of the room to lend plenty of seating without losing the small intimate neighborhood ambience. Plenty of windows let in light and give you a great view of the other businesses lining 16^th Street. It just feels wonderfully comfortable and inviting.
University of Beer has these great little electronic pads with all of their beers and food listed. They are extremely user friendly to even old timers such as myself. If you let one of the bartenders know you are interested in a flight, they will give you a pen and a piece of paper to list your beer selection. You can get a four beer flight for eight dollars or an eight beer flight for sixteen. I would recommend the four beer flight if you are a light weight like me. Each beer is five ounces and they can have pretty high alcohol contents.
The place you really want to be is at the bar. Once you have placed your flight itinerary, they bring them to you in these great wooden holders and place them in the order that you listed them from left to right on a little frosted strip along the back of the bar so they stay cold while you are drinking them.
I am not much of a night person. My favorite time to drink beer is in the late afternoon and University of Beer seems like the perfect place for that. All of the bartenders I have come in contact with have been friendly and very helpful. I can’t wait to continue my new love affair.

Joe The Wizard’s UYE Strikes GOLD with BEER!
SITREP
Big props to Joe K. (aka «The Wizard») for somehow fitting in a UYE this busy Christmas week. And honestly, at first it didn’t look like anyone would show!
* Partly because Joe first scheduled the event from 3:30 AM to 5:00 AM, and even the most hardcore of us, including David O. and myself, would be far far unlikely to be remain up that late until the wee hours of the morning!
* But even after changing the time to the PM, it was still hard for most of us to get off work that early (IF we were in fact already *stuck* working that day).
But as *LUCK* would have it, some of us WERE able to make our escape to the University of Beer (UOB) for a fantastic, lively — if short-​lived — Happy Hour of Golden Amber Fun!
THE SETUP
If UOB were actually giving out degrees, then I WOULD taken every single academic course (of beer flights) so I could graduate!
After all the taste tests, I settled in on a pint of the New Helvetia Belgian Lager — OUTSTANDING! Cool, refreshing, not too heavy, not too hoppy, but just the way I love a lager to be.
YEEPS
It was nice to hang out with my fellow Unilocalers Joe and William L., as well as meet new Unilocalers Nicky and Jack. It was truly a fun energy as we were all sharing Holiday plans that are beginning to gear up in earnest!
THE LOWDOWN
All in all, a great hour of fun & refreshment to herald in the end of the year Holidays with good «spirits» and fun times!

I’m on the hunt for a beer that I would like. I’m honestly not a huge beer person, but we decided to check this out. And possibly find something I like. We tried a flight of 8 for about $ 15-​$ 16.
Service was quick. There’s so many options to choose from. A bit overwhelming. Especially for someone that is not familiar with beer. But anyways. They also provide a couple of board games, which is pretty cool.
But overall — I would come back. If you know someone that loves beer or someone that wants to try out/​learn about beer. This is the spot to go to.

In the words of Pitbull and Chris Brown:
«Oh my my, lookin’ for a good good time
Don’t deny, the way you wanna feel tonight
And have a little f-​u-​n FUN»
Maybe that song’s in my head right now because I was just blasting it from my Amazon playlist… but it’s really all I could think of during my first experience at UofB. FUN!
Now, I was a bit trepadacious after seeing some negative reviews of this place from some cherished fellow Unilocalers. However, I had an expired Groupon burning a hole in my pocket, so I was basically like have a $ 12-​off coupon. So we figured, why not?
Apparently, one HUGE difference in my experience is that we came on a holiday Saturday afternoon (as opposed to a crazy Friday night after payday). Regardless, coming to a downtown restaurant for lunch on a Saturday affords the ability to pick from several open tables, and get chummy with your server. Ours happened to be Richard (maybe he was a manager, given the button-​down shirt and the tie), who was awesome. So nice and accommodating to us UofB virgins. I like how they save trees by having the beer menu, due to its constant rotation of offerings, is an electronic menu, not paper. Well done!
Richard offered us up samples of what we thought we’d like, and then brought us out our designated «winners»…Celtic Red ($ 6.50) for the hubby, and Hop & Scott 2 Town cider ($ 5.50) for me… yummy on both! Cool and refreshing on a warm 4^th of July!
For food choices, I liked what the menu had to offer, and narrowed my choice down to the Drunken Pig Nachos ($ 6.75)…soooo good! Pulled pork over french fries with bacon bits and sour cream. Apparently sensing that I am the biggest heat wuss in the world, Richard recommended having the spicy jalapeño sauce on the side, which was brilliant for both my nachos and hubby’s chicken tacos, because that stuff was HOT! Tears to my eyes, hot! Gads! Good call, Richard!
Hubby’s chicken tacos ($ 7.95) were a resounding success as well, with the jalapeño death sauce on the side as well.
All in all, though my Unilocal compratiots may have had a less-​than-​stellar experience on their visit, ours was nothing but great, and I know we’ll be back. If for nothing else, we got the UofB punchcard with four notches used on this visit… only six more, and free appetizer… WOOT! Again, thanks to the awesome Richard for clueing us in on the punchcard and starting ours off with those four hole punches. :)
Well, they have some kind of 10% lunch discount for State workers, so that will mos’ def’ my hubby and his cheap State-​worked buddies in there (no offense meant because I’m a State worker too and just about as «bargain driven» as the rest of my Unilocal peeps!).
And, honestly, everything was great, so we see no reason NOT to return! Y’all should give this place a try (or another try). It’s great :)