Coasters Pub | The Beachside Resident

By: Tobin Bennison

Article Category: Restaurant Review Leave a Comment

In much of polite society, it’s considered somewhat rubeish to order beer with your meal.

Among the wine drinking sophisticates who rule as the equally reviled and exalted archons of taste, the celestial clink of fine stemware is the only admissible sonic accompaniment for any repast. The convivial clang of tankards, on the other hand, is the sound of the help downstairs or the laborers without, tucking into platefuls of spuds with disgraceful, animalistic abandon. To many, beer drinkers are unrefined boors, more concerned with their guts than their brains, and the food they consume isn’t fit for livestock.

But in all probability, when people of the future are implanted with time-release food capsules at birth, they’ll illustrate the “Eating” entry in their history books with Pieter Breughel’s “Peasant Wedding” and not, let’s say, “The Last Supper.” That celebrated painting of a colorful, chaotic feast pares two of our greatest needs down to its bare essentials and tells us more about ourselves than we often care to admit. The fact is, we like beer — and we like the food that goes with it. Like old, tattered blankets, they comfort us, and after a goodly amount, they tuck us in bed with warm, paternal pats of their hands.

It’s surprising, then, when we find a beer that’s a bit out of the ordinary, one that exhibits as much personality as a stuffy petite syrah. It’s even more surprising to find it served under the same roof with some fresh and very tasty food that offers both simple sustenance and brow-raising delight. It’s a downright shock to discover that we have such a place beachside in Coasters Pub.

For beer aficionados, there are more than a few meccas on the endless quest for sudsy salvation, not the least of which is Belgium, whose breweries and estaminets, by some reckonings, outnumber its inhabitants. The Belgians take their beer very seriously and pride themselves with having created some of the greatest masterpieces in the beverage world. Situated as it is between France and Germany, Belgium takes the best of both worlds to marry refinement with earthly pleasure. Taking their cue from this unassuming culture, new Coasters owners Dave and Wendy Swartz and Joe and Shannon Baun have recently taken over the once German-centric pub and turned it into a veritable United Nations of beer, making Coasters Pub the newest stop on every beer lover’s pilgrimage.

For 20 years the family-friendly Coasters has been a beloved spot for locals looking for a cozy, welcoming relief from the workaday world. Not only do they come for the hospitable atmosphere and wonderful food, but for the prospect of having their horizons broadened by a hard-to-find Corsendonk brewed by cowled monks working off a medieval recipe. But while Belgian beer is well-represented at Coasters, it’s not their stubborn focus.

Around the time Coasters first opened its doors in 1988, American brewers were turning themselves on to the European tradition of creating beers capable of exuding deep individuality and multi-faceted flavors. Since that time, America, and indeed the world, has experienced a resurgence in artisanal brewing techniques, and the Swartz and Baun families are dedicated to exposing customers to the best examples of craft beers from all over the world.

There are over 127 beers on Coasters’ ever-growing menu, 37 of which are offered on draught. This leaves 90 different bottles to choose from, and any beer geek will approve of the well-chosen selection. Pacific Northwestern beer stalwarts will be pleased to find Rogue and Lost Coast, as well as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap, and locals will praise the inclusion of Holy Mackerel, brewed in Melbourne. Favorites like Orange Blossom Pilsner and Blue Moon make appearances, along with a mind-addling roster of porters, stouts, hefewiezens, dopplebocks, lambics, English nut browns, bitters, lagers, märzens, and special seasonal concoctions.

But despite all the beautifully dizzying beer-ness flowing throughout the place, Coasters is simply an excellent place for a meal. Each of their fresh, made-to-order dishes compliment a wide range of beers and stand on their own as some of the best casual food in town. Favorites include their generous 1/2-lb. burgers (hand-patted and charbroiled to your specification) served on a kaiser roll with a wide choice of topping options, delicious wings (which can be baked or fried and prepared with no less than 8 types of sauce), French dip sandwiches, Reubens, and our favorite, beef on wick — a large stack of hot roast beef with melted Swiss cheese and horseradish sauce on a salted kaiser bun.

Even if Coasters served only pitchers of — gasp — Pabst Blue Ribbon, they’d be worth visiting for their food. Choose from hot soups, homemade chili, fresh heaping salads (including a broiled 1/2-lb. mahi filet over Caesar), deli-worthy cold sandwiches (like turkey, roast beef, and Italian clubs), and incredible hot sandwiches. Along with a great fish sandwich (made with either pollock or mahi broiled Key West or spicy Cajun style), you’ll find bratwurst subs, meatball subs, fish and chips, chicken parmesan, and chicken cordon bleu sandwiches, all of which come with your choice of potato salad, cole slaw, or beer-battered fries. A long list of appetizers will keep nibblers happy, and children are catered to with several options.

And so an open invitation exists to all the insufferable oenophiles and beer-doubters out there: Come with me to Coasters and sup from my goblet of St. Bernardus Abt. 12. And help yourself to a bite of my burger and fries, by all means. Just don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

And, um, you have a bit of mustard on your turtleneck…

Coasters Pub is located at 917-A E. Eau Gallie Bvd., in the southernmost corner of the Wal-Mart Plaza, where Eau Gallie meets A1A. The non-smoking, fully-equipped bar is now open Mondays from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to Midnight, and Sundays from Noon to 9 p.m. Last month saw the inception of their live music program featuring great local music each Friday night at 9 p.m. Friday, July 11th features music by Greg and Brian, and Derek, of Derek & The Slammers, plays solo on Saturday, July 12th. Saturday, July 19th sees the pub’s first beer tasting; they’ll be selling tickets inside for a chance to taste over 50 of their beers. Call (321) 799-BREW for more details. You can also look forward to their Pub Stumpers Trivia nights each Monday from 7 p.m. to 9p.m. Their Happy Hour, held each day from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. offers some great specials. Enjoy 13 televisions (4 of which are big screens) showing all your favorite sporting events, take-out service, and a great kids’ menu. Coasters also provides free wi-fi service to its customers; enjoy food and drink while trying to get work done on your laptop. Visit them online to view their extensive beer list and sign up for their informative newsletter at www.coastersbrewpub.com

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