Glenn’s Creek Brewery opened less than a year ago in the highly visible location at the corner of Euclid Avenue and High Street, the former spot for Buddy’s Grille, and, to avoid any confusion, has since had to rebrand itself as Glenn’s Creek Beer Exchange, since there isn’t an actual brewery on the premises. At the moment, the owners are in the process of installing a microbrewery in Woodford County, which will ultimately supply this Chevy Chase restaurant with a line of original craft beers.
Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any beer at Glenn’s Creek Beer Exchange, there’s plenty of it: good beer, imported beer, domestic beer, beer that doesn’t even taste like beer (such as the Belgian lambic ales) – available in bottles and on a line of rotating taps. Along with the restaurant’s food menu, they provide a drink menu, where their hefty selection of brews are arranged by state domestically and by country internationally. Along with beers, they also have a number of unique martini and cocktail concoctions (such as the “New” Old Fashioned, which used cherry-infused Woodford Reserve and peach slices).
The owners of Glenn’s Creek – its name taken from a vital waterway to early bourbon production just outside of Versailles – have given the restaurant a bit of a rustic feel, with reclaimed barn wood fashioned as tabletops at some booths and pieces of bourbon
barrels working their way into the decor. The restaurant’s open layout helps serve the casual atmosphere and can allow for restaurant-wide programming, which my guest and I encountered on a recent Monday evening as we sat down for dinner amid a relaxed round of bar trivia.
The menu also reflects the tone of Glenn’s Creek, with the food decidedly skewing in the direction of American pub fare. There are a number of appetizers, such as Buffalo wings, fried dill pickle spears, fried calamari and shrimp, and a few dips, as well as a handful of specialty pizzas. They have quite a few burger and sandwich selections (including an interesting sounding West 6th IPA beer battered pork loin sandwich) and a few traditional entree selections.
For starters we ordered some buffalo chicken wings ($8; other sauces are available) and some crispy fried calamari and shrimp (which were very crispy indeed; $9). For our dinner selections, my guest honed in on the All Saints Pasta (a cajun pasta dish; $13) and I went with a half-rack of smoked ribs ($10). The food was what you might expect from an establishment that puts a great emphasis on their bar and beer selections: how good you think the food is is probably a factor of how many high-percentage brews you’ve thrown back.
Our bill, prior to tipping, came to $70, and included two cocktails, two craft beers, two appetizers and two entrees, which I thought was a little pricey, but then, adult beverages have a way of doing that to my bill.
Glenn’s Creek hosts a weekly brunch from 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, complete with a “build your own” Bloody Mary bar and bottomless mimosas.
Glenn’s Creek Beer Exchange
854 E. High St.
(859) 317-9219
www.gcbbeer.com
11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Mon. - Sun.
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Brunch Sat. - Sun.