Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House

Just finished lunch at the Crooked Ewe. We had the pork tacos with the siracha sour cream and the brussel sprouts with tofu. Both were delicous. Our friends had the pad Thai which was much too spicy hot for their taste. The ‘What’s My Name’ Brown Ale was good but a bit too ‘hoppy’ for us.

Absolutely amazing hidden gem of South Bend. First of all the 2 beers I tasted were top notch. The amber ale, which is a difficult style to master in my opinion, was spot on with perfect caramel notes and delectable smoothness. The Turtle Tamer IPA was easily a 4.5÷5 which is high praise.
Secondly the food was very very good. With a small, targeted and eclectic menu, it was hard to go wrong. I really enjoy places with small menus that can focus on making each dish right. I tried the Cuban sandwich was a tad dry but had great flavor. I really loved the house pickles. I tried a bite of the burger too and wow was it an amazing bite. It practically melted in my mouth and exploded with flavor. I will definitely go back and order one for myself.
Lastly the atmosphere was pretty special. Sit at the classy stone bar and admire the river view. Our bartender was entertaining, friendly and never left us waiting. 5 stars!

Awesome atmosphere! Awesome server! Super Excellent food!!! Eclectic and modern menu and a great selection of craft beer :-)
My husband and I were in South Bend just for the weekend and we ate there two days in a row.

First time here. Amazing Gluten Free menu. The gluten reduced beer is excellent. They have gluten free bread as an option. Everything on the menu is gluten free except bread and beer. Ask for the gluten free bread option. The burger was amazing. In town for 2 nights. Might have to come back for night 2 and try the brisket. I feel like a human again. At a real restaurant and not having to dissect the menu for gluten free. I am not allergic to gluten, just an intolerance. So the gluten reduced beer doesn’t affect me. And it’s really good. Have I mentioned that the beer is really good?

The first question they asked when I walked in was not if I was 21, but if I was vegan. While I am a meat lover (I can’t give up the bacon!) I appreciated the unique menu selections.
Our server was very helpful in walking us through the menu and not shy to point out some of her top picks. I ordered a side of brussel sprouts and pork belly — and they were cooked to perfection.
Their beer menu was great, too. I was a little surprised to see so many dark beers this time of year, but they were good none the less.
Parking was a bit tricky — the lot tends to fill up quick on their property.

Very enjoyable selection of beer (good balance between different types too — some good IPA’s, Porters, Stouts, etc.). Nice view of the river and friendly service, but could work on the character/​vibe of the place a bit.
Update: after coming here several times, I’ve updated my review from 4 stars to 5 stars. The service is amazing and the food is delicious. Moreover, they’re extremely accommodating of dietary needs, intolerances, allergies, etc. the character really grew on me, and I keep coming back for the Wampus DIPA.

Was visiting from Cleveland had the brisket wife had the pork belly tacos food was excellent service was great and microbrews were awesome great job guys!!!

In South Bend on business and we decided to finish off the week with dinner at the Crooked Ewe. We were not disappointed!
First — parking… There just isn’t much on the property. However, they have a deal with the business next door on the corner and there are plenty of spaces. DO NOT PARK ACROSS THE STREET! There is a lot that looks like it’s been used for parking — it has but it has also been used for towing!
The restaurant has a nice, open and casual atmosphere. Chalk boards with specials and the current beer selection are all over the place.
The beer — I am not a drinker so this will be second-​hand… This is a micro craft brewery and my companions reported that the beer is excellent. There is a huge selection and, if you’re unsure, they’ll give you a nice sample to try.
The food — the restaurant has a unique menu. Familiar items but with a twist. The brisket was incredible. The Cubano sandwich was enjoyed by one of us and the sausage sampler was enjoyed by another.
Why only 4 stars? Remember I said I’m not a drinker? What I do enjoy is Club Soda — something about the bubbles, I guess… The bar does not have Club Soda. This is not difficult especially when you realize that they offer other sodas. Fix this small inconvenience and the Crooked Ewe will be 5 stars!

Chicken wings were basic but great. Cooked perfectly. Beer was amazing and inexpensive!!! The wendigo imperial stout is amazing. Strong but not in a way that makes you not want to drink it. The flavors were exactly what I want in an imperial stout. I had the Vurger for my main course! About as good as any vegan burger I have had before. Beany patties are always without some juicy veggies on there, and the carrots, cucumbers, and avocado made it a vegan delight. The homemade ketchup was very sweet and I asked for malt vinegar to make the fries even better. Ingredients were fresh and spot on, except the bun which was a bit dense for a burger. It was like an oversized whole dinner grain roll. Maybe some extra sauce would have brought it all home. The wait staff was super friendly and helpful. The ambience is casual but in that upscale hipster brewpub way. I highly recommend this establishment.

Short Story–
Drinks– Beer was good, wine served in a coffee cup
Dinner– Out of their signature dish (brisket) fries– mushy
Prices– Very reasonable
Atmosphere– Industrial; hipster
service-​good
Long story:
This is a fun place, and it is always refreshing to get something new in the area. The bartenders were friendly, but the bar was understaffed. Even though it was very crowded, we did get a seat at the bar nice sized bar that overlooks the river.
They have a great menu, but as mentioned they were out of the brisket. I had a ½ salad that was awesome. My dinner was heavy with mushy fries. It was not that great. I had the pulled brisket which wasn’t pulled; it was more like chunks. My husband had the ewe burger, and it was delicious.
Most of the servers, if not all, were typical but authentic hipsters including their attitude. I don’t mean that in a bad way, they just have a certain persona. Our waitress was sharp and direct and the bartenders friendly.
I see some people complained about the price, but come on, it’s not McDonalds. I thought the prices were very reasonable.
I would like to go back and try the food again.

Great brisket served up on a slab of wood, you can even ask for a cut with less fat if you desire.
I had a few beers but the one that stood out for me was the Wampus monster ipa. 9% hell ya!
The place is right on the river so I guess you could boat up if you were floating nearby. Nice selection of menu options with some tasty brews, go there now.

Nice Chicago style atmosphere, and tasty beers. Excellent menu.
Full regular and vegan menus, which isn’t easy to find in this area. Everything I’ve had off both menus– always delicious. Wedge salad wasn’t iceberg, which is a nice change. Bahn Mi (sausage sandwich) was excellent. The menu does rotate seasonally. There’s a lot of pride in the food here, and it shows. Definately the South Bend brewery to take people to, if they’re in from out of town.
The view from the bar is of the St. Joe River; entertaining if you’re by yourself. Staff is always outgoing, every time I’ve been here. Tends to be more fine dining servers than brewery nerds, but I have yet to ask a question about the beer or food that they didn’t know the answer to.
I generally like lighter beers– fruited or sours. They do have a sour and cider selection that rotates too, if you don’t like beer. This is one of the few places that I prefer the dark beers over the lights.

I ate the ewe tso and it was phenomenal. The menu is slightly confusing so I asked the bartender what to get. He told me eats this about twice a week so I decided to give a try without really knowing much about it. Fell in love with the first bite. Could not believe that cauliflower could taste so good. The kimchi rice was also delicious. The beers were great as well. They have a great selection and all the beers I tried were delicious. The service was great as well. The bartender was kind and informative; answered all of my questions in depth.
The only con about this place is the parking. It took us three tries to come here. The parking lot next to the restaurant fills up quickly and because the weather was so terrible the first two times we came, we couldn’t park in the parking lot across the street because it is not paved and was too muddy. Try to avoid getting to the restaurant around 630 – 830 on a weekend and you should be fine. This probably isn’t a problem in the summer time when the other parking space is open.

Crooked Ewe earns just above 4.5 stars, based on two visits.
First visit was for dinner. I got the Oatmeal Stout and the Ewe Burger, both of which were awesome. The burger was like nothing I’ve eaten before, and I’ve consumed quite a few burgers in my time. Everything appeared to be made from scratch, even the ketchup! I tried a bit of the brisket that my friend got, which was equally delicious. Service was solid, not too overbearing. We were lucky to get parking close by.
Second visit was today for lunch. We went in not realizing they had a separate brunch menu, but it was full of things that sounded awesome. I ordered the brisket benedict, which featured sourdough, brisket, poached eggs and a bbq hollandaise. It was perfect except the ‘fries’ that came alone were some sort of battered potato wedges, which tasted a little off. I tried a bit of the «doughfulle» that my girlfriend got, which was clearly a mix between a waffle and a donut. IT WAS TO DIE FOR. Seriously if you try one thing for brunch here, try this.
Overall the food is awesome, with a fair price point, and average service. I would recommend it (I already have been actually).
Warnings: Over 21 at the moment (even for brunch) and parking can be tricky on busy nights.

Been here twice now, not disappointed. If you like ketchup for fries, which I don’t, but they don’t have straight ketchup. It’s mixed with like banana pepper juice or similar. The Ewe So or So Ewe was extremely good. My husband really enjoyed the brisket, both times we were here. We also had pickle spears and chicken wings. The chicken wings are not breaded but smoked. Yummy!

Vegans re-​joice! Huge props to them and their entire menu dedicated to Vegans. Huge move forward for our area. … and hey, even my non-​veg friends have dabbled in their veg food and they enjoy it also. And from what I’ve seen by the blank stare in my carnivore friends eyes when they eat the «regular people» food… it’s damn good.
Love what they’ve got going on here. Nice view of the river, bright inside for lunch. Food served on wooden blocks.
Only thing I would say… don’t bring your non-​adventurous ones here. Ewe seems to do things their way and that’s about it. Coffee comes in a french-​press only, they don’t have Iced Tea, their lemonade is carbonated and has hops added (Delicious!), soda only in bottles… lot’s of little details that I love. But if the person you’re with is not as open minded they’re stuck! I however love it.
Sorbets were delicious as well.
Acoustics are quite loud… we went with a group of 8 for lunch and it was alright but even then it was hard to have a conversation with the folks across the table. I can only imagine what it would be like at night.

Crooked Ewe’s menu is the most interesting and creative one I’ve ever seen at a brewery. I had the Chicory & Oak salad and the Ewe Tso. Both were phenomenal. My friend who was with me also got the Ewe Tso and was in agreement that this is one of the best entrees we’ve ever had. It’s a meat-​free version of general Tso’s with cauliflower and kimchi. The texture was great and the kimchi gave it just the right amount of heat. I would recommend it to anyone, not just veggies.
The other two friends I was with ordered dishes with the brisket and raved about them. Clean plates all around! We shared the peach brulee and smoked pear for dessert, very good and interesting combination of flavors and textures.
So, I was at a brewery and haven’t mentioned the ale! We got a flight and sampled them all… each of us had a favorite and the IPA was liked by all four of us.
This location is awesome, right on the St. Joe River! It’s popular too so the parking can be a bit messy, there is a private lot and then some overflow across the street (but crossing feels a bit like Frogger). The buzz about Ewe was not misplaced! It’s great to see the folks from Fiddler’s creating another legendary South Bend restaurant. It helps that they have an outstanding head chef and a great brewmaster.

We stopped by the Crooked Ewe late on Saturday evening and the place was pretty packed. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Despite the fact that they were packed, none of the staff seemed overly stressed and everything still looked clean and put together.
As I sat down and took a look at all the industrial décor, I was reallllly excited to try a few new brews, but sadly they were out of most of them! That goes to show the exciting promise for this new brew house in our area.
I had the Vital IPA and it was very citrusy with a surprisingly smooth finish. I would definitely drink it again. As for food, I was’t too hungry so my husband and I shared a burger. I LOVED the unique garnishes. There was a fruit roll up type thing on it (like fruit leather? I’m not sure what exactly its called!) which I loved because it gave the burger such a unique twist. It also had an orange sauce that I need to be sure and ask about next time I’m there. I was a little disappointed in the fries (french fries are my guilty pleasure) because they were mushy and a little cold. However, I’m sure its due to our late night visit. The french fries were served with a house made ketchup. It was sweet and spicy. I liked that twist as well.
Only one other slightly disappointing thing is the noise level. It is SUPER LOUD in there… but I think it is mostly because there aren’t any decorations on the walls. It makes it very echo-​y and hard to carry a conversation with whoever you’re dining with. But it seems to be an easy fix. I will definitely be back to try out more things and can’t wait to give some more stars as the business works out a few kinks :)

My husband and I finally had the chance to check out Crooked Ewe on a Sunday evening. We purchased a mug club membership as part of the Kickstarter campaign so we received our mugs, tshirts, membership card and first pint for free.
The place was crowded and we were really hoping for a seat at the bar overlooking the river, but ended up stuck at a tiny table in the corner.
First things first, the place is LOUD! Even stuck in a corner, it was hard to have a conversation — they definitely need to do something!
Our server was fantastic — friendly and very knowledgeable when it came to the food and beers. We ordered a flight to start. The beers were good, but nothing spectacular. My favorite was the Belgian Blonde — bright and crisp.
We ordered the Crooked fries to start ($ 1 off for mug club members). You have your choice of a dipping sauces — a roasted red pepper aoili, peppadew catsup, sweet miso and a pebre which is a spicy Chilean condiment. We couldn’t decide so we went with all 4 for an extra $ 1.50. They were all great — fresh and unique, but the pebre was our favorite. The miso had an interesting coconut flavor. The aoili had a great smokiness and the catsup had a little kick with a great vinegar flavor from the peppers.
The serving of fries was huge so we ended up just sharing the burger. The burger was seasoned well and served medium (probably closer to medium well). It was topped with a homemade fruit leather, the roasted red pepper aoili, lettuce and tomato (and the catsup!).
Since we already had fries, we opted for the brussel sprouts with pork belly as the side. We love brussel sprouts and these were just ok — a little more seasoning, acidity (apple cider vinegar) and a little less cooking time would do wonders.
We will definitely be back — looking forward to the deck and family dining room opening!

In town visiting family this past weekend and after driving around Lincoln Way for some time trying to find a place to catch a very late dinner, we happened by Crooked Ewe. The name has Brewery in it, so just from that I was sold.
We walked in expecting to get a table for 2 immediately, but it was actually a 30 min wait at 9:30! But, no complaining here. If there’s a wait this late, must be good. To pass time, we ordered a few beers at the bar, me — the wheat and the bf — the amber.
The wheat was more along the lines of a tripel, but the amber was really good!
When we sat down at our table, our waitress was very nice and super attentive. We got the Cast Iron Burger and the Brisket Burger. Both were fantastic. The fruit leather on the Cast Iron was a twist and the brisket on the Brisket burger was very tender (but maybe just a tad too salty). Overall, very impressed with both.
For dessert we had the chocolate chip bread pudding. OMG amazing.
For everything (2 beers, 2 burgers and dessert) we paid around $ 40 prior to tip. It was a steal!!!
Will definitely be coming back when we’re in town again.