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This bar always surprises me with having a solid time. I’ve only come in here late and not during happy hour, but you will still see beers for $5 or less. Whaaaat. Get out of here. Last weekend they had Two Roads Roadsmary’s Baby Pumpkin beer on tap in a 24 ounce glass for only five smackers. Other craft beers (huge list) most of them are $7 or less for a mug. Bartenders were awesome and bought us back a round. Free popcorn with both garlic and old baby seasonings. Hello dinner! If that doesn’t satisfy you enough they have cheap Zapps chips for sale and meat pie deals. I’ve missed out on the meat pies both times but they look great and have a variety from shepherd’s pie to pie stuffed with steak. These little meat pies come with a tin of pickles and are only $10 with the accompaniment of any beer on draft. Deal. This might just be one of my favorite places in Williamsburg.

Thistle Draftshop – Menu with Prices – 5210 Farm to Market 2920 Suite 100, Spring

I came in here because my friends were hosting their baby shower here. Yes, baby shower. Don’t judge! They had reserved a secluded area toward the back and they had some food catered by Thistle Draftshop (sliders, salad, chips/salsa/guac); and despite this being a bar, I was impressed by the quality of their food. When I tried the sliders, I was like “oh wow, this is actually pretty good”. My friends complimented the salsa, and I personally enjoyed the guac and the chips. Let’s talk about the chips. They sprinkled some seasoning on top of the chips that gave it a little kick and added to the flavor. I’m definitely a fan. As for drinks. They have beers. They have lots of beers. I mean, seriously, they have beers, beers, and then some more beers. If you like beers, you will like Thistle Draftshop. My only complaint about this place? It’s all the way out in Spring and not in Houston. Getting here will take me almost an hour so I can’t frequent this place. So all you Spring residents should rejoice the fact that there’s a cool-ass bar in your neighborhood. if you don’t feel like driving too far into town, THIS is the place to go.

Utepils Brewing – Menu with Prices – 225 Thomas Ave N #700, Minneapolis

I’ll probably get some s**** for this. I personally thought the beer was ok. Nothing about it was a “wow” factor. I did the flight because I’ve never had this beer and then from there went to individual beers. Maybe is all the beer people consume that its. It a thought but it’s an ok beer. Now I did try the dey Irish beer and yeah it wasn’t that great either. Most I’d the beers seriously felt like I was just trying beers from other breweries. The one beer I wanted to try was not available and I’m going to try and go back and get one. Over all the atmosphere is great, very spacious and enough room to walk around and not bump into anyone….but that’s about it. Now this is my opinion on the beer because I enjoy a good beer. I know so much goes into making a batch but maybe itll get better.

The Pie Chest – Menu with Prices – 119 Heather Heyer Way, Charlottesville

More like the Pie Treasure Chest! This place is gold. Once upon a Charlottesville day, I worked right nearby and would smell the fresh-baked scent of delicious sweet and savory pies wafting through the air on my walk into work. The smell was almost delicious enough to warrant a review in itself. Alas, if you stopped at the smell, you’d obviously be missing the best part. Those pies are tasty. I’ve had a large selection of their sweet pies, and while I’ve never met an apple pie that stands up to my mama’s, The Pie Chest makes a delicious one. The chocolate pies and pecan pies are also brilliant. I don’t think you can go wrong. I had some sort of pie with chocolate chips in it once which was so delicious; can’t remember what it was. But really, in my opinion, the shining stars are the savory pies. The mushroom, leek and gruyere was so satisfying; basically full of all the rich, warm flavors you could want and you definitely don’t miss the meat, even if you’re typically carnivorous, I promise! The other savory pie I’ve tried was chicken of some sort, but can’t remember the full title, but it was just as delicious. The Pie Chest is a great and concise option for lunch or dinner, and the quality definitely justifies the price, which isn’t extortionate but might seem expensive upon first glance. If you can justify pie for two courses, go savory and sweet, and kiss your worries goodbye. Mmm, so glad we’ve got a treasure like this in Cville.

IBU Brewery – Menu with Prices – 3703 Brewerton Rd, Syracuse

IBU is tucked away, if it weren’t for the sign, you’d probably miss it. Look for the Green building. This place has indoor cornhole, jumbo janga and tons of board games for you to play while you enjoy a beer. Their beer selection was limited, however, with several beers either fermenting or on slated to be on tap in the future. The bartender was very friendly, offering $2 4oz beers, $3 8oz, and $6 16oz. We liked the Cram Session pale ale a lot. They offered chips for a dollar, but free pretzels or popcorn is an easy welcomed improvement. Plan to come back in the future when there’s more beers on tap. Hopefully more IPAs!

Flying Pig Irish Pub – Menu with Prices – 3265 Brotherton Rd, Cincinnati

Great local place with friendly bartenders. They just got new owners and renovated the place and it’s an incredible upgrade. Remodeled interior and added nice windows. I think they are working on a patio which will be awesome. Great for all sports and usually run deals of some sort. Always deals for FC Cincinnati games. The owner really knows soccer so he’s great to talk to. He’s is open to ideas so anything people want, you should suggest. They have chips, pretzels and snacks, but you can bring in food to eat while you’re there. They also sometimes grill complementary hot dogs on weekends or for games. They have had a guy come BBQ great ribs too for cheap! Pretty large selection of craft beer and many on tap. Overall pretty awesome place to hang out and might be my new favorite local place. Nice to not have to pay $5+ for a beer…I’m looking at you Mad Tree.

Half Barrel Beer Project – Menu with Prices – 9650 Universal Blvd #143, Orlando

I was staying on I-Drive out by Disney for the weekend and discovered a new craft beer bar that I had not yet had an opportunity to check out, and man was it worth it to do so. The atmosphere was very laid back with plenty of seating options, and they even have a world map where you can pin where you are from. They have an expansive draft list including their own beers and guest beers, and everything on tap were high quality beers and a unique selection of beers you wouldn’t normally find on tap elsewhere. They also have a large selection of canned on bottled beers which can be enjoyed in the tap room or taken to go (beers taken to go are given a $1 or $2 discount depending on their tier). The staff (Wesley, Chad, and Anthony) were extremely friendly and we had a lot of fun chatting with them about different beers and about different breweries and craft beer bars in the area and the rest of the state. They were able to recommend several beers to try in the tap room, as well as a few we took home. I was very impressed with their own beers that I tried from them (including a NEIPA, an imperial stout, and a brown ale). I was also really enjoyed the guest sour beers they recommended for me to try. If you enjoy craft beer, and finding local places to go I definitely recommend checking out Half Barrel if you are in the Orlando area. I really enjoyed my time here and will be coming back next time I’m in town. Cheers!

Quick Time Espresso – Menu with Prices – 1515 112th St SE, Everett

I love that their coffee doesnt taste burnt like other places. Plus when they make my white chocolate americano, they completely stir everything. I notice a lot of coffee shops just throw the stuff in there and make u mix it. It doesnt matter who is working; the coffee is always consistently the same and made correct. Its just a bonus they are all kind and efficient!

Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Catering Menu with Prices 555 N Federal Hwy Unit 5, Boca Raton

Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Catering is simply terrific! One rainy night recently, I went there with Diane and her cousin, Gary. Everyone waits in line to place their order. The menus are available so that you can choose which offering sounds good to you while you are in line. Smoke only offers one beer, but it’s a good one. It’s called Shiner Bock. It’s a dark beer. I don’t usually like dark beers but this one is very good. Obviously, they should offer a choice of beers to go with their food. I ordered the pulled pork, Diane had the Brisket and Gary had the spare ribs (they were out of Baby Back Ribs). A few different BBQ sauces are available in the rear of the restaurant. The Carolina sauce is quite good as is the Original. The server brings your meal to the table that you select. We decided to eat outside at one of the covered tables. The meat arrives at your table with no sauce. You add your preferred sauce in the quantity and combination that you desire. I really enjoyed the Pulled Pork! It wasn’t fatty. It tasted wonderfully smoky and was very tender and beautiful! Just great! I had the Mac n Cheese and homemade potato chips for sides. The Mac n Cheese was fabulously creamy and cheesy. The chips were great as well, perfectly crisp and just salty enough. Smoke is extremely clean. The staff is very professional and they do their jobs efficiently and quickly. I am anxious to return to Smoke BBQ and try some of the other menu items. I had tastes of Diane’s brisket and Gary’s ribs. They were both outstanding. Good Luck to Smoke BBQ Restaurant & Catering!!!

The Casual Pint Huntsville – Menu with Prices – 2 Off Broadway St NW, Huntsville

Review was for To-Go beer only. Walked in on a Monday night and it was quite busy. They had a nice selection of room temp beer and create your own six packs of misc canned beers. There were almost too many beers to choose from to figure out what I wanted. I wish they were organized by location or type of beer. Crest your own six packs was a little confusing. Wish they offered more help or had better pricing. At $5 a single can your six pack is $30 but then I believe it’s a 40% off your total six pack when you take it to go. Pricing seemed high to me, esp if you only wants 3-4 beers, you end up paying the single can price. Good selection of draft beer too. If I’m back in Huntsville I’ll probably check it out again as I like to try the local beers and I now know what I’m getting into. Cheers!

The Thirsty Topher – Menu with Prices – 601 Virginia Dr, Orlando

Sweet little neighborhood pub. Lots of local brews to choose from. Bartender, big Rick, was very helpful. He gave great recommendations. Service was excellent. I wanted to beers, but only wanted to have one beer. He allowed me to have half of each beer. That was perfect. It’s a little warm inside, they’re not running their air-conditioning low or they don’t have any. It looks like there’s a cute little patio outside. There is a small parking lot behind, so you don’t have to park on the street. They have draft beers and bottled beers and canned beers. So there’s something for everyone. The inside decor is really neat. The bar is live edge wood, so beautiful. Casual place to drop by and have a beer or two with friends. I’ll be back to try something else from their dark beers selection. But I did enjoy the putting and the 10 fiddy.

Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company Beer Garden – Menu with Prices – 745 Fulton St, Fresno

This place is a hodgepodge of sorts. It is completely enclosed by iron bars and security. The one bouncer when we first came in was super friendly and welcoming but then it slowly trickled downhill from there. There is a fairly large beer selection which is a plus but the staff is less than helpful and don’t seem to really know about the beers they offer. It seems like more of a concession stand. Walking toward the back, there is another smaller bar (didn’t go over to that one) and about 5 food vendors. The food didn’t appeal to me but others seemed to be enjoying them. There was a mediocre dj playing oddly mixed music that did nothing to help the atmosphere. There are also a few large games placed around the facility. This place is extremely kid friendly and there were many. I even saw an older gentleman drop an entire Michelada on a baby in a stroller. Now on to what we were really there for. The beer. My husband had the Summer Vibes lager and I had the Dublin Blues Nitro stout. He liked his beer enough and mine was ok but pretty underwhelming. Also, our beer was served in a plastic cup… if you want to show off the flavors of your beers, a nice, appropriate glass for the type of beer served is a must. This again points to this place being more of a concession stand than a brewery. We certainly didn’t try enough beers to really get a good sense of the tastes as we decided to leave just as a ton of families showed up. Let’s recap: Customer service: 5/10 Beer: 5/10 Food choice/availability: 7/10 DJ: 2/10 Ambience: 5/10 All in all, this place is ok but I don’t think we will be coming back.

Alma Mader Brewing – Menu with Prices – 2635 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City

Alma Mader has quickly rose to being one of my top 3 favorite breweries in the city. They have consistently been putting out some of the best quality beers, especially their Pilsners and their IPA’s. Space: I’m not a fan of the taproom, it just feels bland and sterile to me with the white walls and decor. The parking situation can be lacking as well. Although they have off-street parking, it is set up in such a way that can be cumbersome for larger vehicles to navigate. Finally, the smell…. I’m sure the issue is they were storing their spent grain in the building so a few times I have been at the brewery there has been a distinct rotting grain aroma, which can be extremely pungent and disgusting. The last time I was at the taproom I didn’t smell the odor so I’m hoping that means they figured out a better way to deal with the spent grain. Beer: The beer here is hands down a cut above anything else being put out in the city. I would say they are more focused on the hoppier sides of things with a majority of their beers on tap being variations of pale ales, IPA’s and Double IPA’s, but they have some other options on the lighter side like Pilsners and Kolschs as well as some darker porters. They have done lots of collaboration beers with other breweries throughout the midwest so you get to try some beers brewed with breweries that may not distribute to this area. Food: I don’t think I’ve seen food or snacks for sale at the brewery, but you are able to bring in outside food which is always a good option. Overall: I know I was very critical on the actual space, but the beer is SOOOOOO good that I’m able to look past those issues and still give this brewery 5 stars. If you love good beer, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS PLACE!