Lane County's wealth of beer continues to grow, with new breweries starting to sprout up in the smaller outlying towns. Veneta's got Plough Monday, and now Cottage Grove has its own brewpub in Hard Knocks.
Located on Main St in the historic downtown area, Hard Knocks lives up to its name. The building itself looks industry-hewn - beige, made of sheet metal, with a gravel parking lot.
The interior is mostly wood, with concrete floors, tons of open space, and high-beamed ceilings. The brewing equipment is near the kitchens, behind a chain-link fence.
The food is unpretentious, featuring standard pub fare: sandwiches, salads, fried sides, and pizza. Hard Knocks distinguishes itself by preparing almost everything in-house. What I've tasted has been better than average, and usually more inventive. There's a weekday happy hour running from 3-6, with $3.50 pints and $3 vodka wells, along with several small plates.
Nate Sampson, formerly with Rogue's Eugene City Brewery, heads the brewing operation here, which is still getting underway. During my visit, only one house beer was on tap - Riveter, an imperial red ale.
Of course, as a brewpub, the only real question that matters is: how's the beer? Being Cottage Grove's only brewery, Hard Knocks probably doesn't have to make great (or even good) beer to be successful, but the Riveter was excellent - sweet, malty, and strong, with a good dose of hops to balance out. For a 9% ale, the alcohol is well-hidden, and the beer is extremely drinkable, almost dangerously so.
If Nate and the Hard Knocks crew can keep making beer as good as the Riveter, and keep the food standards up to match, I have no doubt they'll be wildly successful. Hard Knocks is already worth a drive to see. I recommend checking them out soon!
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