September 5, 2009
Bent River is right around the corner from the Bierstube and across the street from a vintage candy store, making this my favorite block in the Quad Cities. Bartender and wait staff are very knowledgeable. In addition to the taps, they have a fine collection of bottled beer from other places. Didn’t eat here, but the food going by looked tasty. Sit at the bar if you want a running commentary on beer by the local fans, some of whom live immediately above the brewpub.

August 1, 2009
During the summer when I’m home in the QC, I go here at least once a week. The place is quite small, not that well kept, and the bathrooms are disgusting, but the beer is pretty good, and they have good deals on the right nights. Tuesdays are 2.50 pint nights, and Mon-Thurs you can get $3 food baskets - so go on a Tuesday for dinner and you’re set! In addition to having several of their own beers on tap, they always keep 1-2 guest taps on hand, and they also have a nice bottle selection if you get bored, though they can be quite expensive. The selection is nice, though, with good breweries and several imperial stouts, douple IPAs, etc.

February 1, 2009
5.25 for four eight ounce samplers, sign me up. What a deal. Food was pretty good too, like those tempura-like battered fries. Pretty small shop with people drinking large mugs of beer and tunes pumping out of the jukebox. They didn’t have much on tap, and nothing like the list advertised on their website. Speaking of their website – besides not updating the list anytime in the near recent past, there’s no mention of hours anywhere and I had to try calling them numerous times to see if they were open on a Sunday. Nice selections of bottles in case the stuff the had on tap isn’t your thing. The guest offerings were pretty good with FFF Robert de Bruce, Dark Horse Crooked Tree and something Rogue. Not real impressed with the beers but points for trying some odd styles that got me to choose Moline when my wife said let’s take a day trip to some brew pubs.

September 5, 2008
It often depends on what time of day you are visiting Bent River. On a Friday/Sat night, it’s incredibly loud with a live band playing in a small area. On those nights, service can be kinda slow, especially with food. On an afternoon or early evening, service, food, ambiance is great. It has a cozy/homey feel and would be a great place for a casual meal. By far though, their beer outweighs any negatives. I am willing to wait on a Fri/Sat night for a pint of Uncommon Stout (brewed with espresso) anytime.

January 9, 2008 [ Updated August 27, 2008 ]
Get the Cuban Burger... awesome stuff... A fantastic brewpub that has a local clientele and a casual, almost house party atmosphere at night. Two visits in a week because the food was good enough to bring us back, and there were more than a few interesting/seasonal beers: Jingle Java Stout, Jalapeno Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Uncommon Stout, Schwarzbier, pale ale, honey porter... and most of these were really nice, garnering scores in the mid to high 3s. In the front door you see a long bar that stretches the length of the room, and a seating/pub-type area to the left, a larger room with space up front for the bands that frequently play here. Service was nice, and the food was excellent for a pub, with buffalo burgers and pork tenderloin sandwiches that would fall under the category really tasty pub eats. So good I went back for a second visit, and I’ll definitely visit again whenever I’m through the area.

October 23, 2007
Liked this place alot. My wifes family lives here so we are around at least once a year. Last year was my first visit there but wont be my last. Kind of place i could see hanging out at on a regular basis if i lived here.

August 5, 2007
Saturday afternoon visit. Somewhat "scruffy" looking, but in no way offensive. A simple bar and brewery type place. ie. This is what we do, sit down and have a brew! Big line-up of brews. Only two lagers, but both were well done and the ales I tried were also quite good. A neighborhood type brew pub that I wish I had. I would be here all the time. One negative is that they ran out of growlers. A return visit will be made.

June 27, 2007
Visted on a Sunday at noon. The place was empty except for the bartender, the cook, and us. They had about a dozen beers on tap, and they sold samplers in fours. The place was okay looking, as it looked like they probably had a busy Saturday night. It also has a beer garden which looks like it would be a fun place to hang out on a Friday or Saturday night. The burgers were awesome, as I had a patty melt and my friend loved his burger as well. The beers were all good, drinkable at the very worst. If driving through the Quad Cities on I-80, not a bad place to stop if your looking for a large and decent-tasting selection of beer.

May 2, 2007
Small-ish brewpub located in old downtown. Has sort of a retro vibe, with lots of tie-dye and dredlocks. Beer’s are generally prettty good, with one guest tap and a nice selection of bottles. Somewhat surprising that they don’t have a cask-conditioned pull. Food is decent pub fare. Service can be spotty, as they often seem to be understaffed. Would benefit from a more active management. Live music on the weekend.

January 7, 2007
Only eaten here once but the food was good. Beer isn’t always consistent, but you can usually find a couple good ones on tap. The dry hopped pale ale is your best bet IMO. $11 growlers, $7 refills. They’ll only fill Bent River Growlers though. Service is usually a bit sub par. Bartender was stoned one time, a couple others have just not seemed to care very much. The fridge at the end of the bar is usually well stocked with some interesting and sometimes hard to find beers. You’ll pay more for the bottles there than in a normal beer store, but it’s still a nice touch.