Amos Howard's Brew Pub

Amos Howard's Brew PubAmos Howard's Brew Pub
Amos Howard's Brew PubAmos Howard's Brew Pub
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

2828 West Highway 70
Hickory, North Carolina, 28602
United States

(828) 323-8753 | map
oldehickorybrewery.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.7
Beers:
13
Ratings:
66
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.08
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
20
pDev:
9.8%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by wcudwight:
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Reviewed by wcudwight from North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
The other reviews state the atmosphere well. Dank on the outside, but the barrels are unique and certainly add to the place inside. The barrels are from a winery in Valdese N.C. incase anyone was wondering. This is a beer first place as they don't even serve mixed drinks. A lady I was with was kind of dissapointed but I thought that was cool. The selection is good with ten taps that mostly served thier OHB brews and a very nice bottled selection. I noticed Old Crusty and the Imperial Pils from Rogue. They also had bottles from Ommegang. They just went up on their prices 3$ to 3.50 for a pint. 11.75 to 12 something for growlers. It still seems reasonable to me.
Overall this is a good, albiet unexpected place to go and have a pint
Oct 30, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by jbarry3000 from North Carolina

Jul 08, 2017
 
Rated: 4.48 by Ehernan9 from North Carolina

Jul 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.3 by ciderhead

Jul 03, 2015
Photo of BadaBeer
Reviewed by BadaBeer from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
Craft beer only. No liqueur.

Food is good and inexpensive. It's just pub food. Not a huge selection.

We sat in a huge barrel with a table inside. Which was awesome!

Recommended
Oct 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Mantooth from North Carolina

Apr 28, 2014
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Reviewed by JdoubleA from North Carolina

4.8/5  rDev +17.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
A - Could be better, but the regulars make up for it. Most are interesting to say the least. Deep craft beer discussions are just as welcome as BMC tv-starers. Usually sitting side by side, or directly in front of each other at the bar. Juke box is usually playing southern/classic rock mixed in with unique staff picks.

Q- I don't get "quality"? I'll just treat it like "overall".

S- I have never had a problem, although I do know most of the servers and I'm not really impatient.

S2 - Great drafts from OHB with a few rotating guest taps. Maybe 20 total taps? Fits in nicely with their 200+ bottle selection. Come in saturdays for half-off "stock your cellar" specials on selected beers.

F- Great. Probably best burger in town. Hit a cheeseburger up with some of their nuclear sauce and you are in for a treat. Definitely best wings in town. Go for the dry rub. All the sandwiches are nice, I like the chicken salad as a wrap. House salads are big. The pricier stuff like steaks and ribs are also nice.

V- Perfectly reasonable.
Feb 08, 2012
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Reviewed by rikatine from New York

5/5  rDev +22.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
We stopped here on our way to Asheville. We flew into Charlotte and rented a car to head to Asheville, and decided to stop here along the way. It was a very easy stop to find on the way to Asheville, and we are so glad we did.

We got there around noon on Saturday afternoon. It has a really unique and friendly atmosphere. Of course we were here to try the Olde Hickory beers, and we were not disappointed. The Death By Hops and Black Raven IPA turned out to be some of our favorites of the whole trip. Enjoyed the Pale Ale as well. They had a good selection of beer overall including other local beers and a large bottle selection. We knew we would have ample time to try other beers in Asheville, so we only tried the Olde Hickory here.

We ordered an app of the Cheese fries w/bacon. What a bargain, and it hit the spot.

We received very good service at the bar and conversation from the staff including a waitress that was just super friendly and really made it a great start to our vacation.

If you have a chance to stop here, I would recommend it. It is a restaurant too, so you could even sit at one of the cool barrel tables if you had the kids with you.
May 23, 2011
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Reviewed by ssuggs01 from North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3
This place is a great choice if your a fan of one of NC's best breweries Olde Hickory. This brewpub offers a great slection of pub food and a line up of over fifteen of thier seasonal and year round stuff and at a very reasonable price(I got a 20oz glass off death by hops for $5) and samples are just a dollar each for a 4oz pour. I was also very pleased to see alot of local beers and ORB in there cooler well after the release. Olde Hickory is doing great things with their specialty brews and colabs and i can only see them getting better. If your in the area or live in charlotte you gotta stop by this place. And the brewery and taphouse are all within about 5 minutes!!
Nov 17, 2010
Photo of beer2day
Reviewed by beer2day from North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
A little out of the way, but worth checking out. 19 (!) taps going, all with their beers.

Seating is nice, with all seats either in the barrels or in booths. The barrels really are worth the while if you are with kids. Bar area is kind of small, with room for only 20 or so sitting. Not a great place to catch a game on TV if that's what you are looking for.

Game room in the front with several old style video games and two dart boards.

Typical pub-style menu with salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Wings were good (Tiger style is very nice and oriental-spicy-hot). Wife's tuna steak salad was well prepared. Kid's menu was ok, but there are several things on the menu for the littler ones.

19 beers on tap. 7 year-rounds (Table Rock Pale and Hickory Stick Stout stand out) and 12 seasonals (Schwartz was nice). 4 large coolers of bottles with no bmc spotted. At least 100 bottles to choose from. The only downside to their brews that I noticed were that many were lacking in the aroma department. Otherwise, they were nice.

Growlers sold as well.
Apr 19, 2009
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Reviewed by ncvbc from North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
A nice, more relaxed atmosphere compared to Taproom. A bit smaller and less crowded most of the time. I like the barrels that you can sit in. They're pretty big and provide a bit more privacy than your typical booth. Good food and the beer isn't expensive at all. Not too many beers on tap, just seven or so of theirs and maybe a guest beer here and there. A decent bottled selection. You can also stop in here for growler fills at a pretty good price, which is a big plus. If I don't want a crowd, I'll take this place over Taproom, otherwise I'll go there for the better selection.
Jan 26, 2009
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Reviewed by ChemistBrewer from North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Atmosphere: Is pretty cool. Wooden barrels everywhere. Not loud at all def in comparison to there other place The Olde Hickory Taproom. Nice Juke box in the corner. Clientel are typically laid back people who like good beer. The owners of the brewery are usally there weekend evenings they are very friendly.

Quality: All draft beer is fresh OHB beer from their brewery downtown. They have a very impressive bottled selection for a town the size of Hickory. Have growlers too.

Service: The service at the bar is great! The bartender that is always there in the evening is very attentive and is johny on the spot with a refill or whatever you might need. So id recomend siting at the bar. The wait staff is above average.

Selection: Pretty good draft. Great bottles (100 or so id have to say).

Food: Typical Pub fare but its nice stuff. Tastes fresh. Great salads and vegetarian items to choose from.

Value: All draft pours are actual pints no 12o.z. and is resonable price, so is the food.
Jun 03, 2008
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Reviewed by russpowell from Arkansas

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3
Visited again 6/29/09: Bumping up the quality score droping the food score, Variety & quality of food has slipped a bit, however the beer is tating much better!

Visited this when I was home on vacation. Last time I was here it was under old management. I have mutiple reviews of beers they do once I get to my notes.

Atmospherewise: Love the wooden barrels & brewania. Place could've used some cleaning atttention (to include the brewery). There are a few games stuck in the corner near the entrance, this was huge draw for young'uns

Beer quality used to better across the board, not sure what happend. Used to love the ruby red lager (no longer the case) Thumbs up for the summer ale, stout, & warning ipa& crawdad red. Thumbs down on the scottish ale & rudy red lager. The brown mountian light was okay.

Top notch service.

Selection-wise 9 beers on tap, they sometimes do cask I was told. There was a pretty good micro/import bottle selection, never got to it. Nice variety across the beer spectrum

Food's pretty good. I reccomend the wings & burgers. A little variety wouldn't hurt

Place has great value for $ & they do growlers. I won't claim this place to be a great brewpub. But it's either this or the taphouse if your looking for quality or variety in the hickory area. I reccomend it as a good place to go if you're not driving more than 30-40 miles off your route
Aug 07, 2006
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Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Amos Howard's is a breeze to find once I figured out it was on US70 instead of US321. From I-40 head North on 321 and then West on US70 and look to the right for the brewpub.

The inside is filled with booths and old wine barrels. They ask if you desire to sit in a booth or a barrel. I opted for a booth which gave me entirely too much time to look around (note to self - ask for a barrel next time). The walls and ceiling were, kinda dirty. A coat of paint or a damp cloth would have helped get rid of the dust, or some filters on the air conditioner return.

The decor was kinda cool however. Old beer lights and beer signs, mostly of American Lagers, some of which are still around and some that are gone the way of the DoDo. The service was good and attentive and somewhat rushed. She attended to every detail, but almost seemed like her section may have been too big. The food, as with the one downtown, was pretty darn good. The selection seemed good as well, but I didn't delve too deep into what lurked in bottles.

I'll go back, now that I know where it is located, and to sit in a barrel.
Jul 20, 2006
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Reviewed by rodrot from North Carolina

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
This is a cool little brewpub right off of highway 70, close to the Burke county line. I started visiting here way back in the mid-90's right after they first opened and were only serving guest beers because the house brews were still in the tanks! The place has a very homey feel with lots of wood and those big barrels that you can sit in. I've noticed that locals tend to hang out here a lot and that I usually see the same folks at the bar every time I visit, which is usually in the afternoon before the dinner crowd arrives. The house beers are quite good. My favorite is the Hickory Stick Stout and Table Rock Pale Ale(an IPA). The night I visited they also had the new Warning IPA which is the brewery's first >6% beer. I sampled it and it was OK. Nothing to knock your socks off. They also have a massive selection of bottled beers. The food is quite good with large portions of everything from sandwiches to wings, burgers and the like. If you want to visit a true local pub, this is it.
Mar 02, 2006
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Reviewed by SaCkErZ9 from South Carolina

4.34/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
As one walks in the front door, a huge oak barrel or fermenting barrel is the doorway through which one walks to the bar area. I thought was a nice little touch on the joint.

The bar area has a pretty weird setup, though. The area behind the bar is straight, meaning there are no breaks in the countertop or esses or anything. The front of the bar, where patrons are greeted, is another story. There are lots of zig-zags whereby they have people sitting two by two, facing another couple, and another two couples behind. Makes for very awkward bar scene. If the bar is running east and west, the tables or seating areas are running north and south, perpindicular to the bar. So one must turn 90 degrees either way to see the bar, instead of having to turn 0 degrees. Picture the shape of Pi. Line up five Pi's left to right, and that is the bar area in a nutshell. Ouch, my neck hurts just thinking of it. Very crowded at the bar area too. But its different so I give them extra points for that.

I was there at about 1120 on a Tuesday afternoon so nobody else was there and service was commendable. Took a growler of IPA home with me. Bartender was free to offer opinions on the beers. They also have a pretty nice selection of bottled beers. These bottles of beer are on special each night of the week. I would like them to put their own beers on special.

Didnt have food, just the old liquid lunch. Enjoyable experience. Will probably go back (depending on how my growler of IPA tastes).
Jan 10, 2006
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Reviewed by Enola from North Carolina

3.79/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4
This may be one of the most unique places around. You sit in barrels. We saw a great band here last Sat night at the Halloween party. They have a good selection of beer. Most OHB beers on tap as well as a lot of bottles. Kind of a small place but not too cramped. This is also the place to get your OHB growlers. I will return to this place on occasion. I sat in one of the barrels and I must say it was pretty cool. They also have regular booths if you don't want to be confined a bit or have a large group. The barrels will only hold about 3-4 people.
Nov 09, 2005
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Reviewed by blitz134 from California

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
From the outside of this place it doesn't seem like it would be anything except a macro-haven. Luckily I had beerfly'd this place and stopped by as I was going through Hickory for an early dinner.

I can't say much about the atmosphere, like I said it appeared to be a macro serving place. Its a little dark and dank, but not in the english pub kinda way. I could see this place getting really smoky in the evenings. An interesting point was the large barrels that had been turned into seating booths.

Service was good. The guy at the bar was attentive but didn't stop by too much. Selection was pretty good actually, especially for NC. They had about 10+ taps with about 7 of those dedicated to Olde Hickory beers and about 4 dedicated to some other micros such as blackthorne (thats the only I remember). A nice bottle selection focusing on NC beers. Old Hickory beers were 3 bucks a pint.

Food was good and reasonably priced. If you want something quick the bbq sandwich was good.

Overall a good stop if you want to try the Old Hickory beers, but don't go in expecting a new cutting edge beer bar atmosphere.
Jul 05, 2005
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Reviewed by Backer2004 from North Carolina

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Okay, this is one of the last places to find a Brewpub as good at Olde Hickory. Nestled on the outskirts of the city, the place sits next to practically nothing on the side of the road. I imagine many people who have lived in Hickory, NC their whole life even realize it's there.

Once you make it inside, the place is rather impressive. Mixed in with 80's video games, darts, and a touch screen juke box is the famous barrels to eat in. Definitely choose the barrel instead of a table but watch your head.

I ordered the 4 - 4 ounce sampler of the Hefe, Red, Stout, and Pilsner (four other choices were available as well). Also had about 100 bottles available at reaosnable prices. Also got the Portabellor Strips for an appetizer which were fantastic. Angus Burger good as well.

If you're in Hickory or driving down I-40, it's definitely worth the effort ot seek the place out.
Jun 12, 2005
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Reviewed by inebrius from Michigan

3.56/5  rDev -12.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4
Olde Hickory Tap Room downtown location in Union Square.

Anyplace serving a brie and apple plate has to be fairly decent, right?

Wood, typical dark-stained pub style bar and walls. Easy going on an early Wednesday evening. Approx. eight Hickory brews on tap and a dozen guests of varying quality--mostly decent to good. The Piedmont Pilsener was unremarkable, undoubtedly brewed for the greener beer palates, while Hickory Stick Stout was in the realm of tastier beer. Plenty of whiskey and wine for other people. Our server was aloof and indifferent.

Uninspiring really, I'm glad it was there when I was but not sure I would go out of my way for it. If I had been there on a Sunday when live jazz is the norm my perception may have been quite different. Dude I was with tells me the grilled portabello sandwich is wonderful. Maybe next time.
Mar 13, 2004
Amos Howard's Brew Pub in Hickory, NC
Brewery rating: 3.7 out of 5 with 66 ratings