Fox River Brewing Company

May 14, 2008
I can’t believe I haven’t rated this place before today, considering that I live about ten minutes away. The ambiance is typical chain-style restaurant but with a few tanks thrown in for effect. It’s pretty much a big, open, warehouse at one end of the mall..nothing like the rest of the mall. The last time I ate there, the service was a bit lacking. However, in their defense, I can only imagine that employee turn over is fairly high. Apparently training is not the management’s strong suit. Selection was average but at least it was all their own beers. Food was good but had a ways to go to equal great. Again, typical chain-style. As someone said in an earlier view, there’s nothing wrong with the beers but they certainly have been dumbed down. The idea behind this is that EVERYONE who eats there will find something they find unoffensive. You don’t know how badly I WANTED to like the beer. The chocolate Stout was ’ok’. I’d probably order it again but only because none of their other beers has ever done anything for me. Overall, I can’t give them a very high score, simply because I feel they are severely underachieving. With the location, they are in a prime position to awaken people to great craft beer but I suppose they could be considered something of a gateway. Too bad for me. If this place rocked, I’d be spending my daughter’s college fund here.

January 8, 2008
This is a worthy stop if you’re in the Appleton area and you need decent-to-good brewpub food and a wet beer. The location is in the Fox River Mall, so there is adjacent shopping. I enjoyed the food, and the beers ranged from below-average to about average as far as brewpubs go. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to stop here, but if I’m close, I’ll probably stop in.

October 25, 2007
This place was cool the first time I was in there, which was about 2005. I was in there for lunch about a month ago and, while the food was pretty good and the beer above average, the service was terrible. The soda my on-her-way-to-work friend had was flat, and it took forever to get served and then for them to deliver the food. Today, I find out (via http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/APC03/71025141/1979) that the FRBC is no longer even at the mall it’s another Fratello’s Restaurant. Supposedly they’re still serving the beer though.

July 31, 2007
I swear I’ll never set foot in this place again. Their beer selection is okay but all of the styles are dumbed down so your average joe can "enjoy" all of their styles. The service is lacking as my wife ended up waiting 8 minutes before we were given our drinks. Their beer lacks any head, carbonation or body. And the burger I had featured a hollandaise sauce that dripped off my burger when I went to pick it up. The bread was also dry and lacked any texture. The place is an pen concept however you feel cramped in the place even when it’s not busy. If you are in Appleton, skip this place and go to Stone Cellar instead.

October 9, 2006
Visited on July 8th, 2006. Standard Brewery and Restarant in a in the mall in Appleton. Was visiting friends and they selected this place over couple of others. At the table was a placemat with all the standard brew for the place on it with descriptions. Used that to write notes on the beers I drank on that day. Had 12oz bottles of thier beers by the checkout so good opportunity to try them all from a place. Staff was friendly and food was good. I guess if you want a full beer instead of the tyicical sampler try they have the bottled beer to buy on the way out the door.

September 30, 2005
Pretty big, clean brewery/ restaurant in Fox River Mall. Good selection of food on menu. Good portion and great meal. Plenty of their beers on tap, able to take a growler or 6 pack with you BEFORE 9 PM, which was my mistake. Overall, a good place, but I felt that it sort of lacked "the intimate brewpub feeling". It was more commercialized, being in a mall and everything.

August 19, 2005
Nice place in Fox River Mall, pretty large. They didn’t seem to do much interesting brews, but its a good place to stop when in Appleton, or passing by on US-41.

June 26, 2005
Decent beers, great service. Inexpensive too, just $3.25 for a 20oz or $2.25 for a 10oz.

June 15, 2005
In the Fox River Mall. Nice beer selection with very good food, and great service by the local U. of W. coeds.

June 13, 2005
I visited the Mall location, I would call it a TGI Brewery. Big shiny fermenters, lots of glass windows...trying to be trendy. I didn’t have any food, just sampled a beer while waiting for my wife to shop. Overall I just wasn’t that impressed. It was better than shopping in the mall though!