Thirsty Pagan Brewing

Thirsty Pagan BrewingThirsty Pagan Brewing
Thirsty Pagan BrewingThirsty Pagan Brewing
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

1615 Winter St
Superior, Wisconsin, 54880
United States

(715) 394-2500 | map
thirstypaganbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.61
Beers:
52
Ratings:
200
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.92
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
54
pDev:
13.27%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Josh012012:
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Rated by Josh012012 from Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

Oct 15, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by Needmorebeer312 from Washington

Aug 04, 2023
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Reviewed by Taybeh from Minnesota

3.61/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Love the vibe, but wasn't too impressed with the beer. Was early, around noon, on a January Sunday, so it was fairly quiet...food was okay and the service was friendly. Wouldn't come back for the beer, but might for the ambience.
Apr 13, 2020
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Reviewed by burlyb from Minnesota

3/5  rDev -23.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | food: 5
I don't usually write reviews, but it's worth noting the current state of the beer at Thirsty Pagan.

The Pagan has moved about a block away to a renovated old train station. I liked the intimate (yet run down) vibe of the old creamery building, but this is nice too - and has windows and daylight. Still, not as intimate and a pretty budget driven renovation (unfinished drywall, no trim in areas), but improved bathrooms.

The pizza is still the reason for a visit. It survived the move and is still the best deep dish around. Get the TPB. Service is always friendly and attentive. Forget about Pizza Luce's cardboard.

Unfortunately, their brewer left in '18 for a nearby new brewery and they went quite a while without their own beer until recently hiring a new brewer. While the beer names may be the same, the quality has gone way down. In general, the beer was never great and had lots of little flaws mainly attributed to attenuation, but it was drinkable. The current IPA's and pale ales are diacetyl bombs. Too malty for the styles and very under attenuated with signs of poor temp control for the yeast. I haven't been able to finish a beer on my last two visits. Also, no more berliners and sours (which were also hit and miss, but variety is nice).

Bottom line: go for the pizza, but until they get a new brewer or figure out their system, save your beer drinking for one of the many other breweries/brewpubs in the area.
Nov 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.94 by LXIXME from New Mexico

May 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.38 by MilwaukeeBeerMaker from Wisconsin

May 01, 2019
 
Rated: 3.88 by socon67 from New York

Nov 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4.81 by U2Chaser from North Dakota

Oct 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by DiggerDahl from North Dakota

Jul 27, 2018
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Reviewed by SD-Alefan from South Dakota

3.43/5  rDev -12.5%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4.25
The vibe is that of a brewpub and restaurant a little past its prime. A very cool old building but it's looking a little run down.
The quality of the beer is just OK. Nothing great, nothing glaringly wrong.
Service was good and friendly.
Selection during our visit was very limited with only 4 house brewed beers available. The selection was filled out with several guest taps.
The food is very good with top-notch pizza.
Jun 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.14 by HoistinBrews from Minnesota

Aug 28, 2017
 
Rated: 3.99 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Jul 31, 2017
 
Rated: 4.43 by BrewNoob1 from Minnesota

Jun 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.33 by CaeserTits from Michigan

Oct 30, 2016
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Reviewed by gatornation from Arizona

3.86/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
In Superior in a BLDG and area that could really be cool with many undeveloped abandoned and some what historic buildings are all around. Its old school inside and thats fine with me , service and food (pizza) is outstanding its dank and musty inside several different rooms had a dozen or so brews on tap which were good the star here is the pizza, this is a place i find myself going to every time im in Duluth, it has a certain charm to it and its beer description and artwork are neat.
Sep 26, 2016
 
Rated: 4.19 by SpAiReArGsEonNE from New Jersey

Aug 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.45 by tribeerguy70_3 from New Jersey

Oct 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.19 by sgttibbs from Minnesota

Oct 12, 2015
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Reviewed by d5001986 from Wisconsin

4.04/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
Finally made the stop in (has been on my agenda for a couple years now). The place is nothing fancy, but has a nice casual feel to it. One of the first things I noticed was the live music (which they have 7 days/week), so that was cool. There is ample seating - the bar of course, tables/booths in the main bar room as well as along a hallway and another room, and even some tables outdoors.

I ordered a couple pizzas and a flight of seasonal's/one-offs. The pizza was tasty. As for the beers, some were good, others not so much. The best of the flight was a spruce IPA and a BA Barleywine. Most of the offerings included were sours, none of which stood out as anything spectacular.

Overall the service was good and the servers friendly. Nice vibe, the kind of place I could probably hang out all evening and relax. The beer is kind of a mixed bag, but still fun to try them all (which is a pretty solid 15 or so offerings). For sure a fun and worthy stop.
Aug 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.33 by TooGood from Minnesota

Aug 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.01 by iRun2Beer from Minnesota

Jun 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.53 by BigAl18 from Minnesota

May 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by viers002 from Minnesota

Mar 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.94 by XmnwildX12 from Minnesota

Feb 23, 2015
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Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

3.44/5  rDev -12.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3
This is in what appears to be an old waterfront bar formerly frequented by longshoremen and sailors. The crowd is now hipper and more diverse but it still has that vibe. they feature 7 house beers, have a classic hand pump and a series of seasonal offerings - 16 tap handles in all. The food is pizza.
Jan 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.36 by lonewolfcry from Minnesota

Dec 21, 2014
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Reviewed by MilwaukeeCrusher from Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
Did a sampler and beers were OK to good, tried an appetizer which to was OK and satisfactory for a neighborhood pub, but not a destination for an advanced beer geek. Still worth a stop if in area.
Nov 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by jarrgal from North Dakota

Aug 23, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Simonh from Wisconsin

Aug 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.22 by Z_Anderson_0406 from Minnesota

Jun 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Nick_V from Wisconsin

Jun 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.99 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Jan 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by BeardedAllen from Minnesota

Nov 16, 2013
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Reviewed by joe1510 from Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
Stopped in on a beautifully warm late September day and after seeing pictures online I was initially disappointed with the replacement of the glass block windows and brick facade with stucko. Upon entering you're greeted by a hallway with old beer memorabilia everywhere. The larger dining/seating area is off to your immediate left while the bar is down the hall and to the left. Overall, the seating area is quite large when taking both rooms into consideration. There's so many old, local brewery signs (in nearly perfect condition) that this place is like a Northern WIsconsin/Minnesota brewing museum. One side of the room with the bar has an old Miller High Life painting on the wall that looks like it's been there for 50 years while the other side sports an old wood bar loaded with swag and glassware.

It was Oktoberfest time so the seasonal menu was German heavy; Berliner Weisse with a raspberry syrup option, Oktoberfest, Helles, Bohemian Pils, another German style I can't remember, a blonde sour, and White Winter Hard Cider. All that on top of their standard line; amber, pale, roasty schwarz, and an IPA. The schwarz was also on cask with vanilla and coffee. The cask schwarz, and IPA were very good, the sour (Casey Batch 001) and Berliner were solid, and the Oktoberfest was a standout. The service was friendly and helpful. Growlers were available of all the beers on tap.

I loved this place. The old local vibe was awesome and it seemed well worn like it's the weekend hangout for people around town which is always nice to see. I'd recommend stopping if in the surrounding area if just to check out the vibe alone. I went around lunchtime but I'm guessing a lot of fun could be had on a Friday night.
Oct 01, 2013
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Reviewed by tersena from Wisconsin

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
We had a fabulous time 8/15/13. Two of the staff who waited on us were more than hospitable; they were personable and added to "the adventure". One charming man delighted my 83 yr old auntie and made her feel special. I loved it. Our waiter understood beer, asking the right questions of my sweet auntie to enable him to bring her two samples of which she loved both. Outstanding beer. Our waiter did the same with the menu, asking the right questions he helped us make excellent choices. The food, unique, flavorful and definitely calls us to return.
Aug 16, 2013
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Reviewed by jera1350 from Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Decided to try this place out on a beer trip to Duluth. I have to admit that I really love the atmosphere of this place, but it's not for everyone. It's literally like walking into an old 50's/60's auto shop that has a bar and tables and chairs plunked down inside. Old vintage beer signs, rustic unfixed bricks and old furniture. Kind of guys garage bar. It is a bit cold feeling, but it's cool and unique with history.

The other people with me brought up the point that the beers all felt thin and watered down. I had to admit that too. Not sure what the deal is, but the body and carbonation lacked in all of the beers we tried. They were not bad and we still enjoyed most of the beers we had. Just not of the highest quality.

Good service, but not great. Could have been a little more friendly and less serious.

They had about ten of their own beers on tap, so a very wide array of beers.

Didn't try the food, but everyone else in the joint was getting the deep dish pizzas. Looks to be what they are known for food wise.

This place isn't necessarily a destination, but if in the area, it is worth checking out as it's just over the bridge from Duluth.
Dec 29, 2011
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Reviewed by morimech from Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Must be the one drinking establishment in Wisconsin that does not open until 4pm. Arrived for happy hour that runs from 4-6. Beers were $3.50 a pint. They had 7 beers on-tap and one repeated on the hand pull. The beers were a little better than average. I enjoyed them more than the previous few reviewers. The selection was not that varied however. Several locals came in and got growler refills and pizza to go. The pizza looked good but I did not try any. I had a pretzel and thought it was very good. The mustard could of used a little more bite though. Service was really good as the waitresses and bartender seemed to be at the top of their game. The building and the surrounding area is not the most handsome, but I would hardly call it a dive. A dive bar is the one down the block to the east. Inside has plenty of beer memorabillia with a huge mural of the Miller girl on the crescent moon on one wall that looked like it had been there for a very long time. Their merchandise looked cool and I was tempted to buy a $15 T-shirt.
Oct 16, 2010
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Reviewed by tewaris from Minnesota

2.95/5  rDev -24.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | food: 3
This was our dinner destination on the Duluth trip and after lunch at Fitger's, my expectations were high. However, the first impression was disappointing. The place had the look of a cheap bar and not a craft beer brewpub; it's NOT a BA place for sure.

One of my buddies was surprised that someone had actually recommended this place. The beer selection was tiny but that's not my main issue: the beers we ordered looked awful (a murky Schwarzbier and a cider with no carbonation whatsoever) and weren't very good in other respects either.

The pizza that they seem to be proud of was ordinary, but not bad.

The best part was the service. Our waitress was prompt and attentive. While the prices were average, this one didn't seem worth what we spent. Not recommended.
Oct 02, 2010
Thirsty Pagan Brewing in Superior, WI
Brewery rating: 3.61 out of 5 with 200 ratings