Sudwerk, Shmoodwerk.....

I went to Sudwerk in Davis the other night, which I have always looked forward to in the spring. I used to love sitting on the patio with a liter of beer and some fried food as the days get longer and the nights warmer. Lets just say that I don’t think I can look forward to this any more. Late last year, Sudwerk changed ownership and it seems the quality of food and beer has gone down ever since. Sudwerk was never known for incredible food, but it was good for what it was….glorified German pub food. I usually opted for your average fried pub food and was quite satisfied. Everything has changed… It used to be good for bar food, but even the hallmark of bar foods, hot wings and fries, has changed for the worse. I won’t take the time to describe the perfect hot wing, but I had to choke them down this time. The calamari is now served chewy and soggy. I can’t speak for the regular dinner items on the menu because I don’t dare order real entrees at a place that only knows how to make bar food, or used to. The new owners have tried to make the menu feature more fancy “California” cuisine, but if they can’t master the use of a deep fryer then I am hesitant to try any real cooking.
As for the ambiance and service, the patio is still nice but I think it might be hard to enjoy while the thug bouncers are pestering you to pay a cover charge as you finish dinner. I actually witnessed the bouncers harassing some diners to pay a cover charge for “dollar pint night” as they were trying to finish their dinner. The bouncers gave them ten minutes to finish up and leave or pay the cover to remain at their table. I guess freeing up a table to sell dollar beers to the frat boys is more important than letting people enjoy their poorly fried food.
As I mentioned before, the food was never anything to blog about even in the past, but the beer was usually great and a liter cost little more than a pint at other establishments. That doesn’t seem to be the case any more. I had intimate experience with their beer in the past when I went to brewing school in a room right above the brewery where we had beer piped up to the classroom for our enjoyment during lecture. The beer they are serving lately is old! Most people don’t realize that beer goes “stale.” This is why self respecting breweries date their beer and ensure that it never leaves refrigeration. One should always be wary of the discounted beer that is piled up outside of the refrigeration unit in stores. Heat, oxygen and time are beers worst enemy (like wine, except time my be beneficial or detrimental depending on the particular wine). Instead of dumping the old beer down the drain I suspect Sudwerk attempts to recover every penny of their cost.
Bottom line, In lieu of satisfying customers with friendly service, fine beers, and quality beer drinking appetizers, they seem to be more concerned with getting rid of their old beer, bullying out diners to make room for beer swilling college students, and pretending that they are something that they are not in the food department. I think I will be spending more time on the Little Prague patio when I want beer and apps……