"Work has been a bit more rough these past few weeks to the point that by the time Friday hit I needed a drink. It had been more than a month since I'd gone to a nearby establishment in the Village with a good friend and work colleague, during which we'd talked about going to Brew in the future. About midday we talked about it again and decided to go that night. Success drinks and food would cap off the week! Located on the corner of 11th Street and Jersey Ridge Road, Brew occupies a space that is both comfortable and convenient within the wider ecosystem of the Village of East Davenport. Its corner location makes it easy to access by foot from either the West or North. Though too cold for use in early March, the patio along Jersey Ridge Road is large and looks great with the ironwork fence and string lighting. A return visit is definitely in order when warmer months come back around. The ironwork is a feature that also speaks to the historic nature of the establishment. Prominently displayed along the Eastern facing facade of the building is an old sign for the building' s previous tenant Boyler's Blacksmith Shop and Ornamental Iron Works. Homage to the place's past use is also present throughout the interior, which is decorated in part with other signs, blacksmithing tools, and horseshoes. While the historic preservation is a great feature of the space, Brew also has many of the trappings of its current beer and gastropub owners. Signs and stickers of a variety of local craft beers dot the space. Available seating includes both bar and numerous high top tables in the interior. The ceiling area is open, with HVAC ductwork, steel supports, and conduit visible to any glancing upward. Lighting for the space is provided from a number of sources. Incandescent bulbs or bulbs made to have their appearance line the space in both fixtures attached to the numerous ceiling fans and those suspended separately from the ceiling. Accent strips provide additional lighting to the area behind the bar. The lighting is further augmented by a great choice of coloring in the space, as well. In particular, the red brick walls are unpainted or altered as such, while the ceiling is painted or otherwise colored black. This helps keep the lighting level lower. Further aiding in the overall comfort of the space is the ambient noise level. I'm usually a little wary of spaces with uncovered or un dampened ceiling plenums, which tend to amplify the music and chatter in the space to uncomfortable, cacophonous levels. This isn't an issue at Brew, however, owing to both the smaller overall occupancy of the interior and the music in the space kept to a lower level that people don't have to talk over. I appreciate this aspect of the space and am really glad it works. For food our group got a soft pretzel and bruschetta for appetizers, both of which were fabulous. The soft pretzel came with a few dips, including both a spicy mustard and raspberry mustard, both of which I enjoyed. For entrees, my friend and his wife split a vegetable flatbread, while I got a bowl of the coconut curry lentil soup. While I think I may have been partially lead to soup (they both mentioned it at least a dozen times) this ended up being a great choice. I like a good lentil soup, and this was enjoyable throughout the whole bowl. It was filling, well spiced, and left me satisfied when finished. Brew has a rotating variety of soups, so a return visit for more soup will also have to happen. This is easily one of my new favorite places, both in the Village of East Davenport and the Quad Cities area as a whole. More soups and pretzels are definitely in my future. Thanks, Brew!"
