Big Boiler Brewing

Hello again friends! Our second installment of The Butlers Eat food review blog is here! We asked what restaurant we should visit next, and the most popular choice was Big Boiler Brewing. To be totally up front, we had been here several years back and weren't looking forward to returning, haha. We tried to set our previous experience aside for this though, and we had a great time! Read on for our full review.

QUICK LOOK

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Category: Casual brewpub

Overall Satisfaction: 7.8 out of 10

Price Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Service Type: Dine-in and takeout

Food Selection: American brewpub fare

Alcoholic Selection: Draft beer brewed in-house, limited selection of Domestic bottles/cans, basic house Wine selection, Meads and Ciders. Full bar.

Non-alcoholic Selection: Soft drinks only, mocktails by request.

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Big Boiler Brewing is only a few years old, but has become a staple location in Lowell. The food menu is fairly standard for an American brewpub, with a decent variety of good-quality options. Located on the east side of downtown Lowell, it has its own parking lot and is an easy walk from other parking areas nearby. Named for the large boiler installed near the back end of their dining area, the brewpub exemplifies the west Michigan style of brewery atmosphere: a unique combination of cozy and industrial vibes.

We arrived close to 6:30pm on a Friday evening, and there was only bar seating available. After seating ourselves, the bartender quickly got us food and drink menus to look over. We noticed the very strategically-placed sound panels dampening the noise of the dining area, which would've been pretty significant for the size of the room.

Caitlin's Meal:

I quickly noticed there were no non-alcoholic beers or other options listed on any of the menus and turned my attention to the cocktails. Since we were at a brewery, I thought the beer cocktails would be worth a try. I ordered the Beermosa. This monstrosity was made with their Azaic IPA, Raspberry puree, and a splash of OJ. It was the most horrendous beer concoction I have ever tasted (and I like to try some weird stuff). I think it was the OJ that really killed it for me. But after I chugged that beermosa I ordered the Pomegranate Martini. At first it was very tart and sour, but the more I drank, the sweeter it tasted and it ended up being a delightful, yet simple cocktail. My last drink was a mead by Adesanya Mead and Microbrewery. It was called Tyfys and it was made with raspberry, marshmallow, blueberry, and vanilla. It was like heaven on the palate with its smooth mouthfeel and creamy taste. The specialty cocktail list was quite small, but it certainly had more variety than most brewpubs. In fact, that Big Boiler has liquor at all is actually kind of miraculous. I wanted to try the chocolate martini as well, but I could not pass up the Adesanya mead, and boy was it worth the sacrifice.

For our appetizers, we ordered the cheese curds and the spent grain bread and beer cheese. The cheese curds were probably not house made, but they were definitely delicious. They were almost a panko breading which made them a bit more crisp and light on the outside. They were perfect with their side of ranch. The bread and beer cheese was phenomenal. I don't care for many beer cheeses (cheeses? cheesi?) but this one definitely earns a slot in my top 5. The spent grain bread was otherworldly! It tasted a bit like a biscuit but with the lightness and crumble of a hefty cake. It paired perfectly with their beer cheese and we finished every last crumb. This app also came with a healthy serving of kettle chips which I didn't think went with the cheese at all, but were delicious on their own. Casey enjoyed them with the cheese though.

I really wanted the maple bacon burger for my entree, but Casey pointed out that you don't see mac and cheese as an entree in other Lowell restaurants. So I ordered the Honey BBQ Mac and Cheese for the blog. Thank you! I was very satisfied with this selection. This is mac with a house-made three cheese sauce, stacked with pulled pork, bacon, caramelized onion, BBQ sauce, and haystack onions. While the mac and cheese by itself was a bit bland, mixed all together this was a savory and flavorful dish. The size of this was more than I could eat in one sitting and had plenty to take home. I must admit too, when I reheated my leftovers, I drizzled it with Yum Yum Sauce and really kicked it up a notch in the flavor department. That was the extra help the bland mac needed. Overall, I was very satisfied with this for flavor, concept, and portion size. I don't always want a lot of leftovers, but this was the perfect meal for it.

All things considered, this was a delightful date night. I felt we were well attended to by our bartender, the food came out quickly and fresh, and the only thing I hated was that wretched abomination called Beermosa. Haha.

Casey's Meal:

I started my meal off with Big Boiler's Blueberry Wheat beer. Although it was a very tasty, slightly fruity wheat, and had a good blueberry aroma on first pour, there didn't seem to be a strong blueberry flavor at the start. The blueberry came in subtly on the finish though, making this beer very drinkable and not too sweet. My second beer was their Amber Ale. This is one of the better ambers I've drank: rich without being sweet, malty, and a touch bitter. Perfect formula for any amber ale, and it went down real easy.

After our appetizers (I've gotta emphasize again how good the spent grain bread was!), I got their "Legendary Reuben" with a house side salad. The house salad was good, and had nice rye croutons with it. Diced onions gave it a little extra kick. The Reuben wasn't very legendary at first bite, but I really enjoyed it by the time I finished eating, and had to take half home. The corned beef was piled high, and the kraut had some extra spiciness to it which I loved. Not too spicy, but just enough to stand out.

I finished the meal with their Chocolate Milk Stout (not pictured). Despite the name, it really wasn't too sweet. I felt it was pretty dry, but was definitely enjoyable, and a fine beer to end on.

Price Debate:

We both felt the drink prices were very standard, both cocktails and beer. The appetizers were also priced standard, although the beer cheese appetizer was definitely more bang for your buck than the cheese curds. We did have different reviews of our entree pricing though.

Caitlin was very happy with the price to portion size of the Honey BBQ Mac and Cheese. Having leftovers made this $15 entree nearly a two-person meal.

Casey wasn't overly pleased with the value of the Legendary Reuben, however. The sandwich itself wasn't very big for $13. Adding the side salad instead of chips put this up another $2.50, making this an almost $15 reuben meal. Other than a good amount of corned beef and some spicy kraut, this was too standard for that cost.

Final Thoughts:

Like we said at the beginning, our second time here was a very pleasant surprise. It was pretty busy but still had a chill atmosphere, and the bartender and servers didn't seem frantic about it. The quality and value of different items wasn't completely consistent, although we did both enjoy certain things a lot. Nothing really stood out as super special, but it was mostly all good. Excluding the Beermosa Cocktail that Caitlin is having nightmares about. Big Boiler seems like a great place to bring a group, as there's a good variety of both drinks and food. It's also open later than other bars in town, making it a good destination at almost any time of day. If you haven't been there, it's worth dropping in and trying it out!

Where should the Butlers eat next? Drop us a comment on our social media, and we'll have a new post next month!