Evil Czech Brewery

Over the weekend, I took a trip to my hometown of South Bend to visit my parents. Growing up in that area and then also going to college there, I've pretty much experienced most of the restaurants and bars the city has to offer. However, over the past few years South Bend has seen many new establishments pop up, one them being Evil Czech Brewery.

Evil Czech Brewery (ECB) is located in the building where my dad opened South Bend's first craft brewery/restaurant in the early 90s. While, I was too young to enjoy the beer, I have many fond memories of sitting in the bar eating cheeseburgers and nachos.

Mishawaka Brewing Company closed several years ago (my dad was way ahead of the craft beer game),and I was interested to see what the building looked like now. Especially, it has been well over a decade since I'd been inside. Not only did the outside look completely different, but the layout inside had also changed dramatically. Sadly, I did not take any of my own pictures of the inside.

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We went late Saturday afternoon and the bar was actually super crowded. ECB has an extensive menu - both beer and food. Their beer list is really clever - they listed the beers on playing cards, with the name and ABV/IBU info on the front and a description on the back. At one time, they have  around 18 beers on tap - it was hard to choose from all the options!

I ended up getting a flight, which comes with 5, 5oz. beers. I chose the White IPA, "White Reaper," the Belgian Dubbel, "John the One Eyed," the Cherry Stout, the American Pale Ale, and the Blonde Ale, "Blonde Czich." My favorites were the Belgian Dubbel and the Cherry Stout, which surprised me because I normally don't like Stouts. The White IPA was probably my least favorite, it somehow managed to taste hoppy and watery at the same time. My boyfriend ordered the Bobblehead American Wheat Ale, which was also a good and you can buy it in cans!

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The food menu was just as overwhelming, but I ultimately decided on the pork belly corn dogs. As a newbie to meat eating, this was perhaps not my best choice as I didn't realize that the pork belly would contain so much fat (not my favorite!), but the meaty parts were really good as was the outer cornmeal shell. My boyfriend got the pizza which he said was delicious and my mom ordered the veggie burger, which was also very good. The highlight of the meal for me was the french fries - which were both crispy yet had lots of potato.

I really enjoyed my experience at Evil Czech Brewery. While I will probably never eat pork belly again, I will definitely visit next time I'm in town.