Mugs Alehouse

Mugs AlehouseMugs Alehouse
Mugs AlehouseMugs Alehouse
Bar, Eatery

125 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, New York, 11211-2277
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.21
Reviews:
113
Ratings:
143
pDev:
9.98%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Crosling:
Photo of Crosling
Reviewed by Crosling from Colorado

4.14/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
A bar with some history, finally. It has been open for 14 years...just imagine the beers that have come in and out of this place. Lovely decor and a kind friendly barstaff and owner. I ended up talking beers with the owner for quite awhile, which eventually led to him giving me a 94-95 Old Foghorn (which actually showed very little oxidation, although I still would have preferred it fresh) and then he bought me a pint of Sierra Harvest. I ended up only paying $ 3.50 for the one pint of Brooklyn Smoked Porter and everything else was complimentary. Their selection wasn’t overly impressive, but quite nice for some good beer drinking. Would recommend this place, and it’s also a pretty easy walk to both Barcade and Spuyten Duyvil, even with a 50 pound backpack full of beer.
Mar 29, 2006
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.05 by CreightonSM from New York

Jan 03, 2019
 
Rated: 4.39 by EdwardAbbey from Washington

Nov 06, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Feb 01, 2017
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.59/5  rDev -14.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3
$8.50 for a soft pretzel? Only in NYC...

It's a good joint with decent service and well-kept draughts. Hill Farmstead brews are usually on at the same time as they are at Torst but are priced a few dollars lower.

I'd skip the food (though it isn't bad tasting) and bottles because the pricing is insane, but their selection of draught beers is good and the prices aren't bad for NYC. It's worth perusing their draft list on BeerMenus prior to visiting.

Vibe was quiet on a weekend afternoon, but I'm sure it gets busier on weekend nights - especially when the spillover crowd from Brooklyn Brewery comes in.

B (3.59)
Sep 17, 2016
 
Rated: 3.78 by Spreetaper from New York

Sep 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.16 by Gkruszewski from New York

Mar 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Dec 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.1 by lauad from New York

Sep 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.26 by bgold86 from New York

Aug 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.11 by smithj4 from New York

Jul 02, 2015
Photo of Gajo74
Reviewed by Gajo74 from New York

4.64/5  rDev +10.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25
One of my favorite places in the city. Great quality and selection both on tap and bottle. Food is basic pub fare(burgers, wing sect.) but is actually quite decent. Beer menu displayed digitally at bar. Cool old school bar feel. There are tvs for sports and a pinball machine. The crowd is cool and low key.( no frat boys) Spacious bar with two rooms, a long bar, plenty of tables and a patio in the back. The staff is friendly. Great place.
Jun 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.79 by tobelerone from New Jersey

May 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.46 by Eamonn-Cummings3 from New York

May 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.56 by WheelsPSU from New Jersey

Apr 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.45 by Phigg1102 from New York

Apr 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.44 by Jlabs from New York

Mar 26, 2015
Photo of AGust82
Reviewed by AGust82 from Connecticut

4.64/5  rDev +10.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Service is really great. Ber selection was impressive. Burgers were very good. I would go back without hesitation. Maine Lunch, Bell's Hopslam on tap, among many other notables.
Feb 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by markgugs from New Jersey

Jan 04, 2015
Photo of StoutBoi
Rated by StoutBoi from New York

4.13/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.75
Some of the taps are too warm. Had to go with a bottle to share last time.
What are we, in England?
Jan 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by elamb106 from New York

Dec 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by 2Xmd from New York

Nov 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by HaoleToYouToo from Hawaii

Oct 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by StephRai from New York

Sep 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by elephanteau from New York

Sep 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.4 by dangelop from New York

Aug 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Ant4711 from South Carolina

Jul 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Rachel_McCulley from Kansas

Jul 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by EnthusedAboutBeer from New Jersey

Jun 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Hunta03

Jun 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by DGSchmitt from New York

May 05, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by PopnLoads from Illinois

Mar 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by hoppymcgee from Maine

Feb 19, 2014
Photo of baakabak
Reviewed by baakabak from New York

3.95/5  rDev -6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Love Mug's.
Great, pretense free neighborhood bar with an ever changing draft list of quality bees and pretty awesome wings. Dark wood and dimly lit like any good bar should be. The pricing is certainly reasonable, especially when compared to some of the other places in Williamsburg.
The bartenders are all friendly and knowledgable. John rules.
Feb 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by shoretaxi from New Jersey

Jan 23, 2014
Photo of GJ40
Reviewed by GJ40 from North Carolina

4/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
A great neighborhood pub. I stopped in on a nice Sunday evening so the windows were open to the street and the crowd was lively but reasonable. The draft selection is great. I had an Ithaca Flower Power which was fresh and fantastic. A truly authentic local!
Sep 23, 2013
Photo of drewone
Reviewed by drewone from California

3.03/5  rDev -28%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3 | service: 3.25 | selection: 2.75
Stopped in on my way to Torst. Fine atmosphere, pretty bar-ish. While looking at the list was approached by a sever letting us know that all tables were served by servers - ok fine.

Was very underwhelmed by the tap list, nothing that I had to try, ended up leaving. Hard to compare with so many other establishment that are making an effort to have varied tap list. Perhaps I am missing something.
Aug 22, 2013
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.23/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.75
Vibe: Mugs has been serving up craft beers since Williamsburg became one of the "in" places to live in Brooklyn and continues to serve as a neighborhood bar with a great beer selection. True to its name, they have a large collection of mugs hanging around the walls in the front room. It can get pretty crowded during their annual festivals such as the Split Thy Skull or Belgium 2 Brooklyn but isn't that bad during other times, especially since they have a back room with tables and an outdoor seating area. I really like how they still have a pinball machine and cater to a few regular customers that always seem to be sitting at the bar.

Quality: Beers are served at the correct temperature in the proper glassware.

Service: The bartenders seem to be very knowledgeable about the beers that are currently available. Sometimes the bar can get crowded but this is a good place to get a table and order some food as the waitresses are able to bring beers back from the bar a lot quicker. The wait staff is very friendly.

Selection: With nearly 30 beers on-tap and one on cask, this bar has a pretty good selection of beers. A couple of beers are usually permanently featured on-tap such as Guinness, Hoegaarden, Lindemans Framboise, and Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier but there are enough other taps to provide a selection of new beers. They also offer a "Sweet Hoe," which is a mixture of Lindemans Framboise and Hoegaarden. If you want to try interesting selections, come here for one of their festivals when they'll have about 20+ beers available on Saturday and another 20+ different beers available on Sunday.

Food: I've eaten food here on countless occasions and was never disappointed. The standard types of appetizers are available if you are looking for something to munch on and you can't go wrong with a burger or a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. They also have a basic weekend brunch menu with choices such as omelettes and a breakfast burrito. The best food selection is available during dinner when a couple of daily specials are available.

Value: Prices for beers and food are quite reasonable, especially when you consider that the draft beers come in 20 oz. pours. They also have a beer of the week special.
Jul 08, 2013
Photo of socon67
Reviewed by socon67 from New York

4.46/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5
Went here after visiting Brooklyn Brewery.

A - Place had activity. A couple tv's showed the World Baseball Classic. Nice relaxed feel.

Q - Plenty of well maintained taps. Glassware was appropriate. All offerings wer enoted on a chalkboard easily to see.

Ser - Bartenders were prompt and knowledgeable.

Sel - About 15 taps from what I could see and a great mix of imports and domestics plus some limited stuff. I had Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer and it was really good.

Food - Didn't have but what I saw people eating looked good.

Value - Compred to other places I went to the prices were better for what you got.

Honestly, this place should be the #1 craft destination in Brooklyn. I will find a way back here even though I'm not normally in Brooklyn much.
Mar 10, 2013
Photo of DanTheBeerMan
Reviewed by DanTheBeerMan from New York

4.85/5  rDev +15.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
This is the absolute best bar in Williamsburg , Excellent selection of taps that is constantly rotated, and service that is unmatched. This bar provides a much needed escape from the hipster dominated bars which line Bedford ave. The prices are very reasonable, and the service is always prompt. This is the kind of bar you can walk into on a Saturday night, and the place is never overcrowded. In addition, the food from the kitchen is excellent and is served until pretty late. If you are in Williamsburg, this is the only bar you need to make a stop in for a great night out.
Dec 13, 2012
Mugs Alehouse in Brooklyn, NY
Place rating: 4.21 out of 5 with 143 ratings