This past Friday night, Mark and I ventured to the newly opened LoDa Biergarten. The location has been home to two past favorites: Picklefish (another location is still kicking) and Hopjacks (Pensacola, FL), both of which offered some delicious pizza.

As the name suggests, LoDa Biergarten is a German bar and restaurant. While they have a fairly well-rounded, yet small, menu, the beers are the main attraction, with over 75 draft and 100 bottled brews.

“Biergarten” is sort of a misnomer, as there is no courtyard or garden (there are a few small benches/tables just outside the entrance). I believe the intended location did have an outdoor area, but when Hopjacks closed and freed up a more central location, the owners couldn’t pass it up. The interior, however, is more authentic with its wooden picnic-like tables, brewery signs, and massive collection of beer steins.

One thing I immediately noticed was the cleanliness and brightness of the venue. Both Picklefish and Hopjacks were filthy. Sometimes, a less-than-pristine environment adds to a favorite restaurant’s charm (no, really, it does!), but old smoke stains and “blackened” pizza ovens were definitely turn-offs.

For my first beer, I chose Good People Bearded Lady. I really enjoy their IPA, but this simple wheat didn’t wow me. I prefer the citrus undertones of Abita Wheat, but I do think Bearded Lady would be a refreshing choice for a day at the beach.

Since our waitress couldn’t offer a recommendation or much information on the beers, Mark began with a Weihenstephan original ale.

The menu offers beer cheese soup, house-made pretzels, fried dill pickles, chicken wings, guacamole hummus (interesting!), and a few other items for appetizers. For entrées, one can choose from a variety of sandwiches: one of the brätwursts of the day, a hamburger and black bean burger, a classic rueben, egg salad, and chicken salad. There’s also a basic garden salad and trio plate, with chicken, egg, and tuna salad.

Feeling traditional, we both opted for the beer brätwurst. Potato chips are the standard side dish, though one can “upgrade” to onion rings, potato salad, red cabbage, or “ripple chips.” When I requested cabbage, the waitress told me—with a confused look—they didn’t have cabbage, so I settled for chips, assuming they had run out. Mark opted for onion rings, and ordered another beer, Goose Island IPA.

The bräts were tender and flavorful; they were served on a brioche bun, topped with pleasantly tangy sauerkraut that had almost a lemony flavor. I wish they’d sliced the sausage in half to cover more of the bun, but I enjoyed the sandwich, nonetheless. Mark felt the same about the brät, but he wasn’t impressed with the onion rings, which tasted frozen rather than fresh.

We ordered additional beers toward the end of our meal. Though our waitress couldn’t tell us what the seasonal offerings were, we took our chances, with Mark ordering the NOLA seasonal (a stout) and I, the Back Forty rotational, which tasted eerily similar to one of their year-round brews, Truckstop Honey.

Just when we’d finished our food and were waiting for the check, our waitress decided to take her break outside. While this was slightly annoying (we were planning to see a movie across the street, which inadvertently sold out), I won’t fault her too much, since the environment is more bar than restaurant. It’s more of a place to kick back over a few beers, rather than quickly dine.

In short, the brätwursts were tender and delicious, and while service wasn’t awesome (I’ll assume that they’re just working out the “new business kinks”), I’m sure we’ll return. Impressively, there are quite a few beers on their menu that we’ve never even heard of, let alone tried, and I’d like to try the beer cheese soup in the future.