Watch City Brewing Company

Dining out is our usual topic, but this time it's drinking out. As that TV ad says, it's all about the beer.

I worked in Waltham for 20 something years, and used to be a big fan of Watch City. Recently I went back there for a company reunion thing, and I just didn't get what might have happened to the place.

For me, the beer rules are simple. A good beer...

• ... is best served tongue freezing cold
• ... quenches your thirst
• ... leaves no aftertaste or sock on your tongue
• ... packs some punch, at 5% alcohol, or greater
• ... contains no vegetables, vegetable flavorings, or anything you might find stuck on a paper parasol in a chinese restaurant drink

The Watch City Brewing company is conveniently located right next to the Landmark Embassy Theatre on Moody Street in Waltham. If it didn't start to suck I would eat there more often.

The evening of our little reunion party, Watch City offered six varieties of brew. I tried five of them, and in desperation may have tried all six if I hadn't shut myself off later in the evening. The first the waiter recommended and called it a pale ale. Served in a 14-oz. snifter, it had a real kick to it at >10% alcohol content, but left an aftertaste like that of a red wine hangover and had little in common with other pale ales I've loved. Had to switch, so I asked my friend Peeto what he was drinking, trusting his taste. "Summer Ale", he said. I ordered one, unaware it was a lemon flavored summer ale.

"Lemon Ale" sounds too much like lemonade and sort of tastes like it too. That's what it tasted like... beer mixed with lemonade.

I don't remember the names of the rest of Watch City brews, since names didn't seem to mean much. Two were as bitter as aspirin and the last a tasteless stout.

Perhaps they're just trying to be overly trendy, or maybe they've lost their minds. Years ago I remember going there quite a few times and ordering the sampler of the five or six brews they had on tap on any given evening. I usually liked everything they would throw my way, few exceptions.

I won't even mention the $11 chicken parm sandwich, the dried-up and tough chicken burned on the bottom and served on a rock hard ciabatta roll barely bigger than my wallet. It looked a lot like my wallet. Came with seasoned crispy fries, but otherwise nada... no pickle, no slaw, no veggie matter of any kind, always better on your plate than in your beer.

The fries were good. If you go there, I recommend you load up on the fries.

Watch City Brewing Company 256 Moody Street Waltham, MA 02453 (781) 647-4000

Rating: A Dismal 2.0 out of 5.0 Over-refrigerated Tomato Salads