The Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing Company

The Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing CompanyThe Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing Company
The Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing CompanyThe Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing Company
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

1 S Main St
Waterbury, Vermont, 05676-1856
United States

(802) 244-7827 | map
waterburyreservoir.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.91
Beers:
17
Ratings:
91
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.39
Reviews:
60
Ratings:
196
pDev:
8.2%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Flashy:
Photo of Flashy
Rated by Flashy from Vermont

4.75/5  rDev +8.2%

Aug 28, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of edthehead
Reviewed by edthehead from Maryland

4/5  rDev -8.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
Fabulous taproom and casual dining in the heart of the iconic beer town of Waterbury VT. Big selection of local craft beer and better than most pub food. And plenty of other similar spots in town if you want to mix it up a little.
Mar 25, 2023
Photo of KP7
Reviewed by KP7 from Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Good bar fare at really reasonable prices. Along with that is a nice tap list with some good local selection. Definitely a place to hit up if you're in the area.
Jan 21, 2023
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

4.4/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
What I had: Shed Mountain Ale, Hill Farmstead Edward, Green Flash Hop Odyssey Black IPA, and Lawson’s Finest Spring Fever Session IPA on tap, Alchemist Heady Topper out of the can, Vermont Meatloaf Dinner, Pulled Pork Tacos and several Chimney Creek Sauvignon Blancs for the lady.
What I liked: Outstanding draught list, beautiful dark wood bar, extremely friendly service (bartender even bought us a round), tasty fare, beer-infused food menu, welcoming patrons. An absolute first class beer bar and restaurant.
What I disliked: On our second visit the place was so busy that we weren’t able to get seats, and the service suffered due to the craziness, but we still enjoyed our drinks.
Would I go back? Definitely.
Overall Rating: 88
Jan 29, 2020
Photo of GratefulBeerGuy
Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

4.46/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
After spending about a week in the Waterbury/Stowe/Burlington beer Mecca area, my brother who lives in Waterbury suggest this spot and an excellent little pub directly across the street. The tap selection is extensive and so is the can/bottle choices. Good quality pub food, but the real kicker was when I found out that this is actually "Big Tree" brewing! It started at this pub, and during my travels, hitting all of the top spots: Alchemist, Lawson's, BBC etc. The Big Tree and Barnum collaboration called Lotus IPA was my favorite brew pour for the entire week. Just a high time overall.
Jul 29, 2019
Photo of SomethingClever
Reviewed by SomethingClever from Ohio

4.85/5  rDev +10.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Nice place to eat with a killer tap list. Fairly loud and crowded for a Thursday at 5:30.the beer is the real star here with a tap list that rivals the blackback pub across the street. The food was ok I got the poutine which has never been a favorite of mine and this time was no exception. Service was great as was the beer. I’d come back to this place in a heartbeat.
Oct 05, 2018
Photo of keith40
Reviewed by keith40 from Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Vibe was busy, noisy and everyone seemed to know each other. Clean, lots of wood, rustic and marker plates. Service was excellent. 37 draft craft beers available many of which were local. The list even included KBS. Excellent pub food. This place was our favorite on our Vermont Beercation.
Apr 20, 2018
 
Rated: 4.58 by Mattybuchs from Vermont

Nov 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4.11 by Eddiehop from Texas

Sep 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.51 by philbe311 from Pennsylvania

Aug 07, 2017
 
Rated: 3.83 by DanGeo from Michigan

Jul 26, 2017
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

4.15/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
As far as beer bars in Waterbury, it's this place, Blackback or the BlueStone are usually my 3 recommendations. Their beers are pretty good, the guest taps they get are pretty legit. Yes, to Heady, Focal, S.O.S. and Super Session, but be warned that they don't always keep a whole lot of it and will run out on those 4 beers I just mentioned. They do get a fair amount of rotating HF in here. Bands will come in and play in the evenings which make it a bit louder. I go back when I can when I'm in Waterbury.
Jun 21, 2017
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.5/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
Stopped by for dinner after a long drive over from Portland Maine today.

The Reservoir seems like a fairly small location, especially when you walk in and see the small front area and small bar. However, the back dining area and back bar are sizeable, which was a very good thing on the Saturday we stopped in (as the place was pretty much packed the entire time I/we was there). There's a nice informal, relaxed vibe to this place, with a couple of large, flat screen TV's over the bar area. This is great place to hang out with a couple of beer and a snack.

In terms of beer, the pub advertises 39 beers on tap, and based on what I saw on the menu, that seemed about right. The flip side also lists a number of bottle selections as well, but given what I saw on the taplsit, I gave it no more than passing glance. Selection was excellent, mostly focused on local breweries, and including multiple selections from HF and Lawson's. There was also the excellent bone-a-fide pale ale from Boneyard in Bend Oregon, which came as a complete shock to me. In any event, that gives you an idea how good the tap list is here. Luckily, there are all kinds of great places to grab a beer in Waterbury, or I'd likely spend all my time here.

In terms of service and food, both were also excellent. Our server was outstanding; she was quick, knowledgeable and engaging. When my wife asked for assistance in making a dinner choice (lot of excellent food options on the menu), she was quick and decisive, with no wish-washy vacillating. She recommended the house meatloaf, which as it turned out, was indeed excellent. I got the venison hunter's pie, which was also quite good. Portions were sizeable (my wife will be eating meatloaf for lunch again tomorrow), and the quality was across the board quite good (got the truffle fries as an appetizer, which were also very good).

This place was great. I only wish we had more time so we could stop by again (but alas, we're leaving after tomorrow). This place is recommended.
Apr 09, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by StoutLover14 from Illinois

Dec 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by smartassboiler from Illinois

Sep 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.91 by coz from Illinois

Aug 19, 2016
Photo of Abbbp
Reviewed by Abbbp from Texas

4.18/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4
Of the big 3 must to do bars, i'd say this is the newest looking one, proper spacing, and a notable location. Easy to get to once you park somewhere, but the selection wasn't quite as strong as i'd liked.
Aug 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.11 by GreenMind from Pennsylvania

Jul 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.22 by puftdank from Illinois

Jul 26, 2016
 
Rated: 4.59 by SweetChicken from Massachusetts

Jun 27, 2016
Photo of jhavs
Reviewed by jhavs from New York

4.1/5  rDev -6.6%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
A good place, the vibe is a bit boisterous when crowded. A little run-down and dusty due to constant crowds. Mix of beer tourists and locals. Food is pub style menu. Decent burgers, pretty varied selection. You should be able to find something you will like.

Beer list is good. Their house beers are decent, but with many other great selections its hard to order them first.

They offer flights of selected brews. Some of the best options are not part of the flight options. They update their taplist online pretty regularly.

Lots of options in the area for good beer and good food. This one is decent, but my choice only if I can't get a seat at BB, PP, etc.
Jun 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.33 by MilaMila from Massachusetts

May 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by ScottP from New Hampshire

May 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4.58 by JMUbrewz from Virginia

Mar 29, 2016
Photo of SpoiledInVT
Reviewed by SpoiledInVT from Vermont

4.15/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
An ENORMOUS tap list of Hill, Lawsons, Fiddlehead, Lost Nation, Zero Gravity, and all things Vermont. Constantly rotating through, along with a pretty sizeable bottle/can list including the ever sought after, highly overrated Heady and Focal. The back bar is a great place to kick back and unwind, while rubbing elbows with beer elitists, beercationers, locals, and VT hill-folk. Eclectic. Sometimes some live music, otherwise great tunes playing always. This is the place you want to go in Waterbury. Oh, and the bartenders are quite rude, and seem to hate the fact that you're there.
Mar 27, 2016
Photo of Yetiman420
Reviewed by Yetiman420 from Ohio

4.87/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
Had Sunday lunch next door at the (crowded) Pig. They were out of Focal Banger so we stopped in here. Boy, what a surprise. Not only do they have the most taps (38) in the state, they had the best tap list of the beer bars we visited on our two day beer/brewery tour (Mule, Farmhouse, Pig).

I liked the fact that it was mostly locals including a huge group of families headed off to a girls soccer game. They had all the great VT beers plus bottles of Crooked Stave (CO) which could have kept me here for hours had I not had to drive back to Killington.

Sat at the bar and chatted up a local who entertained us with "back in the day" stories of VT beer and The Alchemist.
Make sure to go to the back of the bar to check out the Heady Topper pool table light. Only in Waterbury.
Mar 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.23 by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

Feb 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.23 by WesM63 from Ohio

Feb 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.89 by zotzot from Vermont

Jan 16, 2016
Photo of IckyT2012
Reviewed by IckyT2012 from Florida

4.69/5  rDev +6.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
My favorite of the Waterbury bars. This place as big and lively. The beer menu is outstanding, with all of the big names you come to the area looking to try. I met several very friendly bartenders and customers here. If you want an active spot in the town, this is your place.
Dec 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.29 by Brian29 from Ohio

Dec 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.43 by indianabeerman from Indiana

Oct 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.15 by scxcrunner from Massachusetts

Oct 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.23 by sunofneurot from New York

Oct 14, 2015
Photo of coldriver
Reviewed by coldriver from Texas

4.48/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
Went here on night one of our two night stay at the Old Stagecoach Inn. Despite being Saturday night the place wasn't particularly crowded, perhaps because of the September tourist lull between summer and leaf season. Fantastic tap list of course - Hill Farmstead, Lawsons, and a host of other Vermont selections, but we loved the food as well. The poutine in particular was awesome, as was the salmon. We went to Prohibition Pig the next night which was wonderful as well, but overall we preferred Reservoir as Pig was crowded with spotty service.
Oct 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by 4DAloveofSTOUT from Illinois

Sep 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.33 by Ajlvt from Washington

Sep 01, 2015
Photo of garyloveman
Rated by garyloveman from Massachusetts

4.31/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Wow, what a tap list.
Aug 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.58 by dailyminefield from North Carolina

Aug 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by bostonbeans from Massachusetts

Aug 15, 2015
The Reservoir / Big Tree Brewing Company in Waterbury, VT
Brewery rating: 3.91 out of 5 with 91 ratings