Blue Star Brewing Company is just about everything a brew pub wants to be—visually. Most of the brewing process is on view, setting a tone of lab-coat efficiency in an otherwise historic/industrial brick envelope. BSBC, the only eats tenant of the arts-oriented Blue Star Arts Complex, is too laid back for white coats, but its beers are precise; the Belgian-style Wheatbread captures the citrusy aspects of the classic witbier to a “w.” Would that the menu followed suit.

Sadly, where it could be impeccably matched to the seasonal brews, the food is static and only serviceable. A bowl of green-chile based pulled pork, for example, comes across as pork in gravy. Surprisingly better is a plate of chicken-fried chicken utilizing locally sourced “all-natural” breast that’s moist and flavorful beneath its crunchy coating and cream gravy. Yes, there are burgers, sandwiches, and some token tacos, but nothing to make a beer wonk woozy with pairing pleasure.

So here’s the deal: check in on special occasions—say for an opening at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. Beer and art are hale companions, even if the beer and food need couples counseling.