Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House

Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale HouseMoon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House
Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale HouseMoon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

74 Parker St
Gardner, Massachusetts, 01440
United States

(978) 669-0122 | map
moonhillbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.89
Beers:
31
Ratings:
82
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.06
Reviews:
30
Ratings:
43
pDev:
9.61%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Reagan1984:
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Reviewed by Reagan1984 from Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Stopped here for lunch on the way home from Stratton Mountain, VT today. First I have to say that I am really happy that I did make the stop and give this place another shot. About 6 months ago I was in Gardner on business and stopped by to consider picking up a growler. I tasted a few samples at the bar and decided not to pick up anything. Frankly, I must have been in a bad mood, as today the beers all tasted very good. Before deciding on a pint or two, I tried the sampler and was impressed with the consistency of their current line-up. I really enjoyed their Chair City Pale Ale & the Dave's Double (Doppelbock). These were the stand out beers in the selection. Also tried the Rocker Red, Chocolate Porter and Wicked Big Stout. All of these were also very nice.

Service was good, not great. When I called to see if they were open for lunch, the answer was very confusing. After asking several follow up questions, the answer given was that they were open (1pm) but on Sunday's you can only order off their dinner menu. Bottom line, they ARE open and the person on the phone should not have confused a customer.

We had the chicken nachos and also a Monterrey Chicken Sandwich. Both were very good. Standard pub fare with some classic New England selections. Decent selection.

If you are passing through the area, this is definitely worth a stop. The atmosphere was classic pub/brewery with lots of wood and the right lighting. Felt comfortable hanging around there. Beer was better than expected.. Well done folks.
Mar 27, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by atlbravsrno1 from Maine

May 22, 2022
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Reviewed by LeRose from Massachusetts

3.34/5  rDev -17.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.25
We stopped in on a Saturday on our way home from a New Hampshire vacation week.

Immediately greeted by the hostess and seated right away. Fairly busy for around two on a Saturday, but far from banged out. Rustic brick and wood decor, dated but clean and tidy seating in both the spacious "pub" side and the only slightly more formal dining room side. While it seems to be a "townie" kind of place, it never felt that way. Very welcoming. Off to a good start.

Our young server was seemingly pretty green compared to what we saw around us. While he was very attentive, he never explained much. There were specials, a lunch menu, a full menu, and a beer menu. A bit confusing, but other tables got a walkthrough. No big deal, I guess. We asked about a beer flight and he said there was a standard one of five beers. We asked if we could pick our own and he said yes. Great...we picked five. But the five we got, at least two were mixed up and one was obviously a beer we didn't order. I suspect we got the stock flight.

We had the calamari appetizer which was OK, heavily breaded, just a bit far from fresh. Really needed the garlic butter and pepper rings to help it out. The missus had the Hot Italian sandwich with the house chips and said it was good. I had a Mexican steak wrap that was flavorful, but quite soggy, good house cut fries. Not bad, not great.

Epic fail on the beers. We already questioned what was in the flight, no offer to double check nor to correct the one the waiter admitted was incorrect. Besides the blueberry sour we did not order, the only other beer we were sure of identifying was the Kolsch. Beers from Moon Hill were bland and flavorless, frankly difficult to tell one from the other. Even the blueberry sour was lacking flavor and interest. The Kolsch was crisp and clean, the best of the bunch. We thought we had diversified the styles to get a good idea of brewery range, but we aren't sure what we got and there was nothing differentiating. One was supposed to be a gose with strawberry and rhubarb...maybe the salt shaker passed by the tank, no strawberry or rhubarb. Right beer??? Regardless, whatever the beers were, they were less than satisfactory. And how hard is it to pour a flight and indicate which beer is which?

There were 18 beers on the menu list, all from Moon Hill. We did not see any guest taps, and the waiter told us the beer list at table was everything. True? Don't know. Should I have to carry out my own investigation in a beer place?

Overall, cool place and cool vibe, minus for service (sorry, kid...management needs to step up your training). Food was average pub food, beer was not very good.
Aug 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.9 by KMcGrath from Massachusetts

Nov 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4.58 by AndrewKiser from Massachusetts

Jun 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4.28 by thedaveofbeer from Massachusetts

Jun 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.99 by Resuin from Massachusetts

Mar 12, 2016
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Reviewed by Phillip13 from Massachusetts

4.81/5  rDev +18.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
A great brew pub in Central Mass. A fun place to hang out and drink good beer and eat good food. If you are in the area make sure you go you will enjoy yourself.
Jun 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.46 by Faxmesomehalibut from New Hampshire

Jun 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.18 by Dicers from California

Feb 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.21 by Rideguy64 from New Hampshire

Jan 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.23 by kettleandcask from New York

Dec 04, 2014
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Reviewed by ricknelson from Vermont

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%
Attended the Gardner Ale House Festival today and was not impressed with the beer selection. Plus in the street fest area you are confined to such a small area in which to drink your beer. They did not have enough servers. Lines though short, took too long to serve people. The beer prices and food prices however were very reasonable. Rude security people. If bought a growler they forced you walk a half a mile around the "No beer beyond this point" to get back to your car 100 yards away. This pissed us all off. Will not be going back or suggesting anyone else go.
Sep 28, 2014
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Reviewed by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

4.29/5  rDev +5.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Hopping little neighborhood brewpub on the main drag downtown. Long L-shaped bar to the right of the entry seats about 20 with some table opposite the bar about the rest of the room. 15 well-assorted beers on tap, I had the Facelift & and the Chair City, and both were very nice. Fast friendly bartender and tasty, reasonably priced food. A fun friendly place for a quick few and a bite.
Sep 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by JohnofUpton from Massachusetts

Aug 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by oriolesfan4 from Maryland

Jun 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by bcgeiman from Maryland

Apr 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by JKV96 from Massachusetts

Nov 17, 2013
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Reviewed by Ferris32 from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -7.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
First time there it was packed, but I got to drink a beer off tap while waiting to be seated and talked with a lovely old couple in there sixties waiting for a table and another growler re-fill. Pizza was great and the waitress was nice. The beer was good too.Definitely will go back.
Sep 27, 2013
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Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -26.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2
I really really wanted to like the Gardner Ale House. It is in a cute New England town. Nice brick outside, warm homestyle restaurant inside. It has local artists paintings on the along the restaurant walls. Plenty of huge tvs and dart boards adorn the bar area. Kudos to any microbrewery that contains dart boards. The lighting was warm and inviting. The biggest problem with the dining room layout is that there is a huge list of beers on the side wall chalkboard. However, from about half the seating area the chalkboard is hard if not impossible to see. Additionally unlike some breweries that print out a list of their beers for the table—Gardner does not. When I asked the waitress, she could only rattle off a handful but suggested to look at the board—uggh. She was helpful though in describing what certain beers tasted like and by getting free samples. Overall the service was marginally on the better side of ok.

I like the fact that Gardner has 12 taps and six are guest. I like that they tried some different styles. Kolsch, Alt-Bier, Imperial IPA were some of the beers represented. Great variety in styles. I always appreciate a microbrewery that offers more than the brown, stout, and ipa. I unfortunately was underwhelmed by each of the beers that I tried which also included a chocolate porter that I really had to search for the chocolate in. Some breweries seem to cater to my palette. Gardner does not.

The food menu looked glorious with several options from shrimp, the to steak tips, to veggie burgers. However much like the beer menu, it underwhelmed. I had a homemade soup with beer, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, and pasta. That was amazing—Panera quality or better—and I really like Panera soups. The French fries were also fairly good. However, my chicken teriyaki sandwich was bone dry and overcooked-even with the teriyaki sauce. The most disappointing part of the menu was my daughter’s meal. She ordered the mac and cheese kids meal. It came with the good fries, but it was Kraft macaroni and cheese. I do not go out to eat to buy Kraft food that has nothing done to it. It should have been noted that it was just Kraft from a box—or more home made. It makes me suspicious if nothing else about the rest of their menu—especially their children’s menu.

I can see Gardner Ale House being a decent place to have a couple of homemade brews and watch a game. This certainly beats places that just serve BMC by a lot. If I was closer I could see myself playing darts there. However, as someone who lives a bit of a drive away, I just cannot see myself stopping there unless I was so famished that Gardner was the only place to get a non-McDonald’s meal. Perhaps it was an off day. I just was underwhelmed by the beer and a bit upset by the children’s menu. There are places that do small town brewery great—Edleweis in Alpine, Texas—Bear Brewing in Orono, Maine amongst countless others. I think Gardner could be great and has a lot of potential—it just is a miss for me.
Oct 17, 2011
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Reviewed by Hibernator from Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev -3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
Columbus Day Weekend 2011:

A weekend excursion to the Monadnock region yielded a couple of visits to Gardner Ale House this past weekend.

I had the chance to check out the bar on Friday as well as a return visit for lunch on Saturday. The atmosphere here is northern New England casual and comfortable with a long bar on the right side as you enter. Ample seating awaits in the back area.

Local artists' work decorates the walls in the dining area with a sizable crowd enjoying their food and drink. I noticed a few dart boards in the back. A great place to hang out and enjoy some local beer.

The beer selection was good, but I think there is plenty of untapped potential. I like Guest Taps, but would appreciate more of their beer offerings with a total of 12 taps available.

Selection included Summer's End, Chair City Pale, Facelift IPA, Oma's Altbier, Oktoberfest Lager and Chocolate Porter. Expect about 12 Guest Taps that included Wormtown Pro Am Porter & Weizenbock, Shipyard Pumpkinhead and crusty beers like Coors Light and Bud Light.

I tried the Chocolate Porter & Facelift IPA, both were very good with quality malts and a smooth drinkability.

The food here is special, they offer some creative and tasty dishes. However, I honestly thought the Buffalo Wings were subpar with a disappointing "extra hot" sauce. Don't be misled though, the wings were only a minor hiccup, the rest of the dishes sampled were really good. The Eggplant Parm Baguette was awesome.

I enjoyed this place, worth stopping by if in the area.
Oct 10, 2011
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Reviewed by BeerdedEric from New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I found out about this brewpub when I went to Wormtown Brewery. Ben told me about his collaboration he did with Gardner Ale and Steakhouse, which is the Dark Day Black IPA. When I went back to Wormtown, on their door they have the names of the brews with beer-ready-growlers on it, it mentions Gardner's Ale and Steakhouse under the Dark Day Black IPA.

I decided that is where I'm going to go for dinner with my girlfriend. It's only a half hour drive from Wormtown Brewery.

Gardner's Ale and Steak House doesn't have their own parking, we had to park on a metered parking street.

We walked up to the entrance and a bar greets you on the right side. Nice looking place for sure. We got seated at a table and our waitress came over relatively quick. She seemed real nice and didn't rush us in anyway.

The beer names were located on a chalk board on the wall instead of a menu; I found that a little odd. I think a menu with beer names is a good idea to have as well as the chalkboard. My first beer I ordered was the Facelift IPA which was really tasty.

I used the restroom and what a craphole (no pun intended); wires hanging from the ceiling, old looking beat up doors, it just didn't seem well kept at all. No big deal since the atmosphere makes up for it.

My food was really tasty. I got a steak sandwhich with sour dough bread with grilled mushrooms, onions, peppers and Swiss cheese. The steak wasn't rough or hard, cooked the way I asked. My girlfriend got a turkey burger which she didn't like too much. I thought hers tasted fine. Did it taste like a turkey burger? Not exactly; more like a BBQ pork and chicken flavor. Oh, well...

I ordered another beer, Face Off Double IPA; I liked it but I thought their Facelift IPA was better and more balanced. These were the only two beers I tried and both were really good.

I was definitely happy with my experience and even more happy about the bill, it was not expensive at all. I thought the bill was going to be closer to sixty and it was actually under fifty dollars. Cheap in cost but quality food; same with the beers. A lot of brewpubs jack up their beer prices and they don't even have quality beer. I'm glad this is not the case with Gardner Ale and Steakhouse.
Jul 11, 2011
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Reviewed by DrunkPagan from Rhode Island

4.55/5  rDev +12.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Holy carp, how have I never been to this place before? Seriously, I'm literally stunned. Just as a restaurant, this place is great. But the beer... This beer stunned me. I am not easily rendered speechless, just ask anyone I hang out with, but this beer... I think it was the Alt that had me so stunned that I couldn't think straight. It was so amazingly good, perfectly balanced, delicious, holding perfectly true to style and knocking all other contenders out of the way.

When I got to the Doppelbock, that was it, it was decided. It was the best flight of beer I've ever had. I knew these guys made good beer, I didn't know it was THAT good! If only it weren't two hours from where I live, I'd stop in all the time.

Honestly, I think the beer might be too good. The food's pretty good, and I'm totally NOT dissing the food, but it pales in comparison to the love and attention that went into the beer.
Apr 16, 2011
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Reviewed by BumpkinBrewer from Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The wife and I took a ride to Gardner for our Valentines Day dinner (Saturday night). There is plenty of parking out back. The atmosphere was quite quaint. There is alot of stained glass windows and the copper kettles out back looked great. We were seated in small somewhat isolated room towards the front, made for a nice quiet dinner. The service wasn't prompt but I wasn't in any rush. The beer selection was pretty vast for a brewpub, all kinds of styles. Plus they had guest taps from Goose Island, Narragansett, and Wachusett I believe. I had their DIPA and Imperial stout. Not overly impressive but they went well with my surf n' turf, a new york strip with baked scallops. The wife had the filet mignon and was very pleased. We will check this place out again in the future for sure.
Feb 15, 2011
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Reviewed by morebeergood from Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My brother has been telling me for a long time about how good the Sunday brunch is at the Gardner Ale House. So this past Sunday, we took a drive out there. The place is divided in two, with the bar to the right and the restaurant to the left. There are brew kettles on display in the back of the bar. The brunch buffet was amazing. For $16 pp, it was all you could eat. Waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and tons of breakfast food, plus prime rib, chicken, pasta, fish, potatoes, and tons of sides. There was also a pastry display and a chocolate dipping fountain. I had three plates of food. All very tasty. Our waitress was friendly and cleared off used plates quickly. They had 7 house beers on tap: Summer, Alt, IPA, Pale Ale, DIPA, Stout, and Chocolate Porter. They also have four guest taps: Bud Light, Coors Light, Wachusett Country Ale, and Harpoon 100 Barrel. I had a pint of the chocolate porter, which was good. For $50, we had two all-you-could-eats, a beer, and two sodas including tip. If this place was anywhere closer to Worcester or Boston, I could see us hanging out there more often. But for now, it will remain a great road-trip destination.
May 17, 2010
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Reviewed by steviec from Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
This is a cool little brew pub not far from my home. This place has a nice laid back atmosphere. The waitstaff isn't the fastest Ive seen but they're certainly friendly enough. Your best bet for getting served quickly is to sit at the bar. Although they don't have a giant selection of house brews, what they do have is pretty good stuff. My personal favorites were tha Naked Stout and The Chocolate Porter. The Face lift IPA is good too, nice and hoppy. They also have the best pizza in the area. If you're in the nieghborhood give this place a try.
Feb 27, 2010
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Reviewed by Billolick from New York

4.1/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Nice larger room with a seperate dining are, bar with dining tables as well and the brewery area in the rear. Long light wooden bar with some tubes to watch the game or whatever. Quite impressed with the beers, enjoyed a nice hoppy IPA, and tried a solid dopplebock, less impressed with the food. The fish sandwedge I had was middle of the road, fries soggy and limp. The pizza a table mate had looked to be of higher quality. Try the pizza. All in all a nice, comfortable and worthy place for a visit if in the area. Service was decent and hardworking, h/e the bartenders seemed kind of clueless. Our waitress seemed to be just holding it together, but she was friendly and attentive. I'd be here on a regular if I was local. The Brewer Dave is a super friendly kind of guy. He was informative and full of brewing info. Hey the guy is a disc golfer, so you gotta love that. They are making real beer, they are expanding and got give em much respect.
Feb 18, 2010
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Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

4.06/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Here's a local homebrew pub where it seems everyone knows everybody else's name. There's a mug club which encourages the regulars to come back. I was told by some of bar neighbors that the food is very good, including some excellent pizzas. On Fridays and Saturdays, they tap a cask-conditioned keg. And there is often live entertainment in the evening.

I had eaten, so I simply tried a sampler series of 5 four-ounce offerings. To my surprise, my bill was $4.50. The room is pretty standard stuff without much fanfare. It appears to be 20' x 60' with a barrier going down the length of the room to separate the bar from the restaurant.

The bartender was excellent--attentive without hovering. The beers were above average. This is an unpretentious place. It is very easy to become comfortable here.
Nov 14, 2009
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Reviewed by sholland119 from Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -12.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4.5
A good, potentially great brewpub.

We really liked the atmosphere of this place. A long bar on the right with a good sized dining room to the left and an exposed brick wall in between. Very cool and comfortable.

There were only 3 house beers on tap for our visit, which was quite disappointing. Guest tpas ranged from the nearly sublime (Mad Elf) to sports bar ridiculous (Coors Light AND Bud Light).

Service was just ok, falling just short of inattentive and well short of welcoming.

Food was really excellent. We had a tuna melt and mahi mahi sandwich, both well prepared as were the really tasty fries.

Glad we stopped for lunch, and glad it came fast so we could head out after one pint.

HV
Feb 16, 2009
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Reviewed by MyMagicalPants from Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
This is a great find in the middle of a town down on its luck. There is a beautiful, brick-walled, warm interior, with a separate bar area (with plenty of widescreen TV's) and a general dining room area. I tend to take a small table in the bar area.

The beers tend to be more of German/Bavarian recipes, which generally aren't my favorite. Lots more lagers than ales. There are standards on tap, and a large selection of seasonals. You can always get a sampler. My personal favorite there is the Naked Stout. It's not the best stout I've had, but it goes down real easily.

Better than the beer is the pizza! They're huge, properly cooked, with a solid thin crust and toppings galore! Try the Kitchen Sink.
Dec 18, 2008
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Reviewed by rousee from Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Recently hit this place on my way back from Vermont a few weeks ago. Its easy to find and quite accessible from route 2 which is the road I was on. It is basically in the center of town and it looks like the town itself is undergoing a bit of a renaissance as everything was being repaved and fixed up around the center of town where the GAH is located.

You walk in and it is mostly finished woods and a standard look and feel to it. The place is pretty big and they were extremely busy on this Sunday afternoon. I gotta say that considering there was only one bartender and how busy they were--he did a fabulous job. Pretty friendly fellow as well and he was the only guy working back there. The bar itself is quite large as it probably seats about 50.

I had read about these guys in one of the beeriodicals in relation to session beers and how many brewers were starting to do more of them since the double this and imperial that thing has been done quite extensively over the last couple years.

I started out with a sampler and all the beers were quite good. I had a Summers end, a pilsener, the hef, the wit, the altbier, the chair city pale ale and a vienna lager. There may have been a couple others too that I am forgetting. Regardless, I thought all the beers were quite well done, clean, and to style. The head brewer had worked for Red Hook before i was informed and I gotta say that Redhook's loss is Gardner ale house's gain. Very nice beers--nothing that is gonna blow you away or knock your socks off but very sessionable.

I got one of these cajun blackened burgers and I was worried it was gonna be over the top spicey and it was not--it was fantastic and Id love to have another one right now. I definitely liked this place a lot and will stop by again for sure if I amj traveling out that way. A fine brewpub and one of the better ones I have found in Massachusetts.
Sep 11, 2008
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Reviewed by WanderingFool from Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My first trip to the Gardner Ale House was on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The restaurant is split up into two main sections, one side with a long bar, tv's and tables and the other side is only table seating for casual dining. On the bar side the mash tun and boiler sit in the back of the room. Overall the decor is much like a British pub with dark wood and bare brick walls. It feels very inviting.

Sitting at the bar, my wife and I were quickly met by the bartender and served a couple of beers. On tap were about 12 different beers from a pilsner, IPA and wit to a chocolate porter and dry stout. Between the two of us we tried 6 beers. All were quite tasty and true to style. Our favorites were the chocolate porter and Summer's End Koelsch. The bar also offers 3 different sampler trays in case you want to try the beers but not drink full pints. There are also mixed drinks, wine and macro beers to accommodate any customers taste.

The menu had plenty to choose from, including burgers, steak tips, pulled pork, chicken, pizzas, pasta and dinner specials. Most entrees were under $20. Sandwiches and appetizers were under $10. I had the pulled pork sandwich made with a sweet sauce and fries. Very well done. My wife got one of their brick oven pizzas which was has a thin crust and is very tasty.

For dessert I had the chocolate porter and my wife ordered the stout. Unfortunately the keg kicked as the bartender poured the stout so gave my wife a half glass on the house. That was a nice surprise!

I don't find myself in the Gardner area very often, but when I do I will definitely be visiting the Gardner Ale House again. Great beer, food and service plus close to Rt. 2 make this a must visit for any beer lover.
Nov 26, 2007
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Reviewed by Yetiman420 from Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 5
My beer buddy and I made this the first stop on our trip from Hartford to Portsmouth and Portland. I've been to around 200 brewpubs in North America in my business and personal travels.

I was a bit worried when we got to the point like we felt like we were in the middle of no place on our way to the Gardner Ale House. How good could it be in the middle of nowhere? Well, the answer is very good.

It's located on a historic old main drag in a wonderful old building that used to be a fancy Italian restaurant. The bartender informed us the previous Italian restaurant invested in a wood fired pizza oven they decided to keep. Good idea. We had a meatball sausage pizza for $10 that was huge and WICKED!!!! We had a beer sampler and they were all excellent and I followed up with a full pale ale. Nice and Pac NW hoppy. This place is well worth the effort given it's remote location. One of the best brewpubs in New England.
Sep 23, 2007
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Reviewed by notown from Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
I finally made it back and I was not disappointed. They had an IPA on cask that was dry hopped with amarillo hops, it was outsanding.

The food was very good, and the appetizers were even better.

I was disappointed that they didn't have the porter on tap but you can't win them all.

The band was very good. The service was a bit slow but it was nice because I didn't feel rushed like in the chain restaurants. But I would have ended up having another beer or two had the server come by more frequently.

I highly reccomend the Gardner Ale house.
May 02, 2007
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Reviewed by bjohnson from Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Made the trip to the furniture capital of the world with a buddy for lunch today specifically to have lunch at the GAH. Located in the historic district of town, the red facing front sticks out like a sore thumb. Very easy to get to with parking across the street.

The place is extremely big. When you first walk in you're greeted by a long bar that sports about 18 chairs. 20 or so tables in the bar area with a large long dining hall adjacent to that with approx. 30-40 tables. Adjacent to that is another eating area and the kitchen. Very large to say the least--almost sports a "hall" like feel. Exposed brick walls with wood supports separate each area. An interesting touch to the walls. Bricks are removed systematically to make a window if you will, which opens the place up a bit more. The open brewhouse is located in the bar towards the back and next to the alcove where patrons can throw darts. Beamed ceilings also give the place some character and ambiance. Designer style lights hang from the ceilings. A couple of flat screen tv's in the bar are sure to be showing sports.

2 6 tap mushrooms (12 taps in all) dispense the pubs brew, plus a couple guest taps (bud and coors light is what I saw--gotta have something for the regulars...). On tap included an ipa, stout, hefe pils type deal, pale ale, and an alt. Chocolate porter had just kicked, which I was a bit unhappy about. Had the stout, ipa, and alt. All very tasty and fresh. Pints were relatively cheap clocking in at $3.75 with growler fills at $11 ($8 for a re-fill). Not a bad selection of brews on tap. Nothing "extreme", though I'd like to see one or two in the future. English style ales. Unfortunately headbrewer Dave was not around--great guy....chat with him awhile.

We sat at the bar and the waitress was friendly, talkative, attentive, and knowledgeable about the beers. Enjoyed nachos as an appetizer and the ale house steak sandwich for lunch, which was absolutely phenomenal. The other food the waitress was bringing patrons looked very well crafted too. Sandwiches were all well priced at about $8-10, with some more expensive entree options. There was also pizza on the menu--brick oven style.

A good place in north central Mass. to be a regular at. The area needed a good brewpub and they got it. I'll definitely be back at some point. Good food and good beer--a great combination.
Apr 14, 2007
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Reviewed by sethmeister from New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Tried the Gardner Ale house for the first time today with my wife, my folks, and my brother and his girlfriend.

Surprisingly good food for a brewpub. Definitely not just pub grub. We had quesadillas for appetizer and split a couple of pizzas (recommend the mediterranean) for lunch.

Got to meet Dave, the brewer. Hell of a cool fellow. He gave us a tour and pulled us a pint of a new brew (Vienna Lager) he's working on. He even had Beer Advocate magazines near the bar!

Most importantly the beer is quite good. At the moment they've got a Kolsch (Summer's End), an American Pale Ale (Chair City Pale), an altbier (Oma's Altbier), an IPA (Facelift), a dry Irish stout (Naked Stout), and a Chocolate Porter. Standouts in my opinion are the Chocolate Porter which is a delicious roasted nuts and bitter chocolate beer and the Chair City Pale which is a well-hopped APA. Their Naked Stout is a crisp dry stout and a perfect session beer at 3.9% ABV.

If you're anywhere near Gardner definitely swing into the Ale House.
Apr 01, 2007
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Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire

3.88/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
This brewery is only 16.5 miles from my girlfriends parent's house in New Ipswich New Hampshire. This Brewery has been open for less then a year.

Located in downtown Gardner, very easy to find and is easily one of the best looking buildings in the downtown area. Plenty of space inside, much bigger than I had imagined. It has three sections, the bar area which includes the two brewing tanks which are very visible from the large bar area which can easily seat 25 to 30 people not including the tables that are located within that area. Then there's the dining area, very spread-out and spacious; the third is the wide-open kitchen, you have total visible access to the kitchen which looks like a very orderly enviroment and very free-flowing, these sections are only divided by old-style brick walls that have windo's and seperations that allows the entire place to gel together.

They had six of their own beers on tap and a few "standard" beers and special guest beers you had to inquire about. My first sample was the newest beer on-tap, the Chocolate Porter. Very impressed with this Porter, I highly enjoyed this brew. I ordered the Coconut shrimp and crab cakes as appetizers and the Hawaiian Chicken sandwich as my main dish. The Hawaiian sandwich was excellent, maybe the best sandwich I've had in a while, the appetizer's were o.k. I washed this all down with the Facelift IPA, which was a really good, clean and fruity brew.

Overall, very impressed. It has a very professional yet comfotable atmoshere with plenty of space and good food with decent brews. Nice job Gardner.
Mar 29, 2007
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Reviewed by TrickKnee from Connecticut

4.78/5  rDev +17.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
After a great day of skiing at Wachusett decided to give Gardner a shot, and the only thing I have to say is I now have a new place to hit after I am done skiing. Hit this little spot with my buddy around 1:30 and there was no wait which is great but a travesty at the same time because I could see myself being a frequent visitor if I did not live 75 miles away. Atmosphere was great with great woods and brickwork. Brewhouse was right there on the side of the bar. Did the sample platter with the Kolsh, Alt, Ipa, Doppelbock, and Pale Ale. ALl were great but the Doppelbock came to me as the winner. Very reasonably priced especially when compared with the prices at the mountain. For two sample platter an order of chicken tenders(which were great) and a big ass burger(which my buddy said was the best he had ever had) the bill came to around $24. Great service and quality and the waitstaff consisted of great looking women(which i feel should be added to the overall scoring of an establishment). I cant wait to go back.
Great Job Gardner, all the best of Luck!!!!
Feb 22, 2007
Photo of Bierman9
Reviewed by Bierman9 from New Hampshire

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Stopped in again on 06MAR10 for a solo lunch... Solid service this time was had at the bar, and the Pulled Pork was top-shelf. The Imperial Stout was quite good. DBock was also on, but I was in an RIS mood... Gardner ALe House is a hidden gem in central MA! Prosit!

*** *** ***

Hit Gardner today (20JAN07) with Alewife for lunch.... Got there about 145pm... no wait. Long room straight ahead, with a cool bar on the right, with nice, light wood behind the bar. Tables on the left and brew-kettles to the rear. Went into a middle room towards the left, again long from front to back, with plenty of tables on each side and in the middle. Another room was to the far left, with the kitchen on the left side and more tables at the front of the room near the windows. Lots of exposed brickwork and old, worn, dark wood. Antique style lamps hang on all the walls, and there's a cool, tin-type ceiling above you. Nice looking place!! Our server was solid, though not exceptional. Took a powder for a bit between our 1st and 2nd biers.... but all-in-all, pretty good. They had the kolsch, alt, IPA, stout and apple-ale on. Just out of the Winter lager, and the DBock is about 3 weeks away. The Alt was decent, and the IPA solid in the English style. Food was quite plentiful. Nacho platter was enormous, with very tasty chips, gobs of oozing cheese and biting jalapenos. Our burger and chicken sammich were well put together, and the hand-cut fries were a nice touch, though they could have been crispier. We both concur, definitely worth another visit, especially when the DBock is on.

Prosit!!

overall: 4.05
atmosphere: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

151
Jan 20, 2007
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Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +17%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
Stopped in on a somewhat spur of the moment trip, how often do you have 70 degree January weekends to drive around and enjoy New England?

Atmosphere - Entrance is into a long deep bar room, with stools and the bar along the right, tables along the left, and brew kettle at the back of the room. Long deep room parallel to the left was the dining room, looked nice through the open space "windows" in the interior brick wall between the two rooms, and the window from the street, but we ate in the bar. (We being my wife and almost 3 year old daughter.) Rooms are high-ceilinged, in the Boston Billiards warehouse-turned-restaurant style, with brick walls and stained woodwork. Air was filled with the scents of brewing, how can you really go wrong with that?

Quality/Service/Food - Food was great, however, I'll be the first to qualify this with the fact that we are pub-grub type people, take that as you will. Between the family, we had and enjoyed the Cheddar & Ale Soup (delicious, my daughter says), side salad (fresh looking and well presented), Hawaiian Chicken sandwich (without onions and peppers, as ordered), Children's pasta (a few items available off-menu, upon request) and BBQ Smokehouse pizza (thin crust, maybe a bit overdone, but gladly took home the leftovers for tomorrow, so not much wrong there). Was with an empty glass for a bit before I had my final brew, but to be fair our waitress seemed to be busy with tables in both rooms, and she had touched base but was delayed in getting back to us. Had multiple growlers filled, which my wife said seemed to cause a bit of a ruckus since 3 were "foreign" as far as she saw behind my back at the bar. But all were filled with no argument that I saw, although this may have been due to the fact that they were out of empty GAH growlers to sell. Best to call first on this, your mileage may vary.

Selection - Upon first blush seems like a limited on-tap menu, but they actually seem to have a lot of avenues covered. We found Summer's End (Kolsch), Facelift IPA, Oma's Altbier, Snow Slaker Winter Lager, Naked Stout, and William Tell's Apple Ale available. Also on-tap were Bud Light and Coors Light. I assume this is because every business has to make business-beneficial decisions, even if I find it a somewhat disappointing comment on clientele. Nevertheless, had the sample (which did not include the Apple Ale), and was very pleased with all the product. Found the smooth, easy-drinking brews that I had first discovered at the GIBK/Providence to be in complete force. Yum.

Value - Got all the food noted above, a sampler, two pints, a soda, and 4 growler fills, for $77, not including tip. Hardly seems like you could go wrong with that. Growler fills were $8/ea with growler return. Note that growlers came with somewhat loose caps, including one that was fizzing beer as it was delivered to our table. Tighten for your safety, and the safety of your car's upholstery.

Also worth noting that directions via Google from brewpub website were dead on, even had us on the correct side of the road for our on-street parking that was right in front of the brewpub. Maybe we just had our stars crossed, but this was agreat experience today, from beginning to end. Hope this one continues to thrive.
Jan 07, 2007
Moon Hill Brewing Co. / Gardner Ale House in Gardner, MA
Brewery rating: 3.89 out of 5 with 82 ratings