Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.

Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.
Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

441 Catawba Avenue
Put-In-Bay, Ohio, 43456
United States

(419) 285-4677 | map
putinbaybrewery.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3
Beers:
10
Ratings:
48
PLACE STATS
Average:
2.75
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
19
pDev:
29.45%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Dodo2step
Reviewed by Dodo2step from Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +42.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.25
V/A- Nice open space. There was a restaurant on one side and the other half there was a bar which is comely. It was a nice walk-right-in off the street feel and sit at a stool like we were in the Caribbean.

Q- food was delicious and delightful

S- very helpful. they ran out of the one stout and the waitress did everything she could to get me a crowler for friends back home and she did. very friendly and responsive.

Sel.-NIce lil selection and i got all 8 on a flight. 4 out 8 were pretty good. The strawberry basil was phenomenal.

F- great selection of food and our food was tasty.
Jul 08, 2018
Photo of Coho11
Rated by Coho11 from Ohio

4/5  rDev +45.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
It was a fun place.
Jul 05, 2018
 
Rated: 2.66 by chuckgietzen from Michigan

Jul 24, 2016
 
Rated: 2.29 by Meznard from Pennsylvania

Jul 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.44 by Hawkster316 from Michigan

Nov 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by WadeBridgman from Illinois

Jul 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by j_hollings13 from Ohio

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by kvnklingler from Ohio

Feb 10, 2014
Photo of Amberluvsbeer
Reviewed by Amberluvsbeer from Ohio

3.21/5  rDev +16.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.75
I love Put in Bay. It'as one of my favorite vacation places ever now. It's not a great place for beer exactly and this is the only brewery on the island as far as I know. I think the beers have been improving but I've only been going here for a year or two now, maybe 8 times total on weekends. It's a cool enough place. Nothing about the decoration is super cool but it's a nice little corner storefront on Catawba. Most of what's cool about the atmosphere is the surroundings really. The food is pretty good and the beer is probably about average quality. It's an improvement over BMC and they have a couple guest taps which is nice. Bottle selection is also not bad. Service kind of just depends. It's usually pretty good but sometimes they don't check on you very much. It is pretty cheap which is always a good thing.
Jul 03, 2013
Photo of rockridder
Reviewed by rockridder from Ohio

1.55/5  rDev -43.6%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 2 | selection: 2
I tried, i believe a Brown Ale, I really cannot remember what the name of the beer, but it was horrendous. I would have rather drank a light beer then that swill. I equate it to dirty water. There was no redeeming quality to that beer. I didn't stick around to try anything else, because we actually had to flag our waitress down with a 90% empty bar on a Saturday afternoon. Besides the brown ale they a couple summer beers which I didn't taste on tap that they brew in-house. If your are a beer lover, do not make this place a destination, go drink somewhere else on Put-n-Bay because the standard beers you find at the bars are just that much better!
Sep 12, 2011
Photo of lftwng4
Reviewed by lftwng4 from Ohio

2.95/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5
We went to PiB Brewery on a Friday afternoon, one week after Labor Day. This is the tail end of the season, although entertainment activity continues until the end of October. The bar was mostly empty, a few people, and a party of 6 or so came in at the end of our stay. A group in their late 40s-early 50s, I suppose, and I overheard one of them state their dislike of "fru-fru beers". PiB Brewery used to have a few guest taps, but those seemed to be gone. However, they did have a decent bottled selection. Prices are good for the island, I think it was $4 for a pint. The bar itself is kinda nice, long and narrow, not too big, tanks at the front, bar in the middle, tables at the back. Maybe an outdoor area? I heard it turns into a dance club in the evening, I gather it's for the younger crowd, and it always seems like there are mid-20s regulars in and out when we visit, maybe other workers on the island. We've eaten there several times, and it has always been very good. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the beer.
They usually offer around half a dozen of their own beers, a couple wheats, a pale ale, a stout or porter, I think they've had an amber and a pilsner, maybe the closest thing to a flagship beer is their watermelon wheat. My wife has enjoyed that in the past. And their beer has gone from tasting mediocre to bad. Most recently it was bad. Their wheat had a smoky taste to it, and was barely drinkable. After that one, I had no interest in staying any longer, if only to get a beer elsewhere to take that taste out of my mouth. They didn't have too many beers to choose from, which is understandable, as the season is winding down, but earlier this year, during the full swing of summer, their beer was sub-par as well. Which is unfortunate, as I would love to support this place, as I dig the idea of a small brewery on the island, but they need to step up their quality, consistency, and selection. I think it can be done, as the Kelley's Island Brewery does OK with their product, and they have a much smaller market.
I'll go back and give 'em a chance every year, as we tend to make it to the island a couple of times each season, but some changes have to take place, as they should and could be the dominant "craft beer bar" at PiB. Right now that title is held by Frosty's, as they seem to always have a half dozen micros on tap.

Update-9/07/12:
Spent a couple days on the island, went to the brewery many times. Their beer has improved slightly, with a Rye IPA being my favorite offering. Not the best by any stretch, but drinkable. The wife had a Watermelon Wheat, and it tasted like a Jolly Rancher had been put in it. Very artificial, sweet taste, but still an improvement over past years. Additionally, they had Hippie I.P.A. and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap. Food was good, as always. Service was kinda strange, like all the staff kinda regarded you as outsiders(which I guess we were) and were stand-offish, almost to the point of being rude. But to their credit, they did warm up to us as they saw us every day. Don't think they do the dance club thing any more, but they did open up a large room next to the old bar that was open at the street side and made for nice people watching and a pleasant breeze. Also seemed to be a low number of douchebags in the place, which is always nice, as the other bars tend to be fraught with the d-bag crowd.
Sep 14, 2010
Photo of OWSLEY069
Reviewed by OWSLEY069 from Pennsylvania

2.7/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 2 | food: 4.5
Went in on a Wednesday night. Other than me, there were five, early 20's kids drinking Bud Light Lime, whatever. Anyway, nice bar, kind of an open floor decor. Service was lacking. I understand, you don't know or care about the beer, you just thought it would be fun to work at a brewery as a bartender. I felt like I was bothering her to get a beer. I think the selection was okay, catering more to newbies and tourists. I will admit that the pizza there was outstanding. Might go back for the pizza, but the place was not anything that great.
Jul 23, 2010
Photo of brewdlyhooked13
Reviewed by brewdlyhooked13 from Ohio

2.9/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
We took our first trip to PIB as a last gasp of summer for our two boys, aged 9 and 6. We went to the brewery on a Monday afternoon so as to avoid a crowd. We were the only ones in the bar, so our service was okay, but nothing special.

Though they had the South Bass Stout on tap along with the summer ale, the pump on the summer ale was broken, so that beer was out of commission. The missus had an Alexander Keith and I tried the stout. Hers was better though it's good to see them attempt a style with some teeth.

The kids had the 'Fun Fry Basket' with cheese sticks, fries and chicken fries, all pretty decent. We had a pepperoni pizza which was decent, along with some nachos (a little on the small side as far as serving size goes), and wings, which were pretty tasty.

I might go back but there are bars like Odd Fellows that I didn't get to see that I'd probable give preference to. Side note - even for a Monday afternoon, there was a gal that came through and ordered a shot in a quest to visit all 11 island bars and drink something at each. That's the basic mentality of many patrons here, but hopefully I get to sample their craft brews another time, and hopefully they are improving with each effort.
Aug 20, 2008
Photo of ltjska04
Reviewed by ltjska04 from Kentucky

2.21/5  rDev -19.6%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 2
On a recent trip to PIB my friends and I decided to try out this brew pub on a Saturday night to watch Michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal. Half the building is a souvenir shop (but it's not part of the brewery). The actual brewpub part is pretty narrow, with some of the brewing apparatus visible through a glass wall at the entrance. The beer selections are over the bar on two chalkboards: one has "guest" taps (only 4 to choose from) and the other has the house brews (a Summer Beer, Irish Red Ale, and South Bass Stout). I went with the stout and was pretty disappointed. It was very thin tasting without much of anything going on. The summer beer wasn't any better. After Phelp's race the back of the brewpub came alive with a dance floor and a projection TV that was too blurry to even watch. I don't enjoy drinking bland beer, much less while club music is pounding in my ears. My friends weren't into it either, so we left for Odd Fellows. I just had to try the brewery but even with low expectations it was pretty disappointing.
Aug 18, 2008
Photo of telefrog
Reviewed by telefrog from Ohio

1.78/5  rDev -35.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3
I refuse to be a beer snob, but this was probably the worst tasting beer from a "craft" brewery I have ever had. I couldn't even finish my tasting. They had three beers on tap-- a summer ale, a red, and a porter. Each beer tasted very similar-- no hop or malt character, and had a very strange aftertaste. It almost tasted spoiled-- like something had gone wrong in the brewing process, or bacteria had infiltrated the beer lines. Maybe it's the water? I ordered an Anchor Steam to wash out the taste in my mouth. So if there is a saving grace to this place, it's that they do have a few other decent beer selections to choose from.

The food was OK (we shared a reuben and a veggie pizza), and the pub itself wasn't terrible. Service was bad, in part because they were very busy. The waitress wasn't friendly.

Looking at other reviews, the track record looks pretty consistent over three years. I don't recommend going to this place. Save your money and grab a good beer at Odd Fellow's or Frosty's.
Aug 10, 2008
Photo of GimpyCane
Reviewed by GimpyCane from Florida

1.8/5  rDev -34.5%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 2 | service: 1.5 | selection: 2
Visit Put-in-bay with my wife over the weekend and was told by the locals of the great brewery in town. Yeah, whatever. The place was nothing to brag about. The service was the worst I've experienced in a long while. Young, dum, bartender who had attitude and no idea about their brews. We went ahead and ordered their sampler and it turn out to be a mistake. The IPA was watery and sort of bland, the nut brown was just brown and they had no stout (which was on display). We did not stick around long and crossed the street to Frosty's and bought some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Great Lakes. Next time we visit Put-in Bay, we'll just enjoy drinking draft Guinness Stouts at the pier.
Oct 09, 2006
Photo of thanatos2948
Reviewed by thanatos2948 from Colorado

2.2/5  rDev -20%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 1.5 | food: 1.5
Found this place on trip to put-in-bay with some college buddies. If I didn't know better I would haver really enjoyed the place. The atmosphere is exactly what you would expect of a small brewpub. Nice bar, brick walls, seating area where they have small concerts at night featuring local island musicians. The bartender was friendly but knew nothing about the beer. At such a place on a small island you would think you might run into the brewmaster but no such luck. I tried the brown and the IPA. Both beers were extremely bad. After a couple beers I had to make my way to Frosty's for some Great Lakes.
Sep 30, 2006
Photo of WVbeergeek
Reviewed by WVbeergeek from West Virginia

1.93/5  rDev -29.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 1 | service: 3 | selection: 1
Spent a day this summer up at Put-in-Bay where we stumbled upon this little brewpub. It had everything a small brewpub should have all wooden bar, somewhat bohemian customers, nice looking brewing equipment in view from the bar. However I sampled their three house brews the wheat, nut brown, and IPA all were terrible pretty much undrinkable if your going to visit this little island I suggest drinking at Frosty's where they had Great Lakes Dortmunder on draft along with Ed. Fitz, Burning River, Elliot Ness, and Holy Moses bottles. Really a disappointment can't hate on the service that bad they offered me samples, they were college kids working their summer jobs however the beer was terrible. We didn't stick around to eat after trying the beer selection.
Feb 24, 2006
Photo of zerk
Reviewed by zerk from California

1.96/5  rDev -28.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 1.5 | service: 3 | selection: 1
My wife and I took a trip to Northern Ohio, and spent a day on South Bass Island (Put-In-Bay.) One thing I was looking forward to was that I would get a chance to go to a new brewery... Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.

For those who have never been, Put-In-Bay is an island which is kind of like an ongoing spring break throughout the summer. I dont' know why I would have expected to find a decent brewery there... but I did. I can't begin to explain how big of a dissapointment this brewery was.

First of all, they only have 3 of their own beers on tap. Their beers included a Wheat, a Nut Brown Ale, and an IPA. Other taps were mostly macro, and outnumbered the house beers 2-1.

The one beer I sampled was the "IPA"... which reminded me of a Bass with a Jolly Rancher dropped in. It had very little bitterness or hoppiness, and a very artificial sweetness... almost like hard candy.

The atmosphere of the bar is fine, as are the bartenders, but if you want a decent beer in Put-In-Bay, go to one of the many bars serving Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold. It's much better than what you'll find at the Put-In-Bay Brewing Co.
Jul 07, 2004
Brewery At The Bay / Put-In-Bay Brewing Co. in Put-In-Bay, OH
Brewery rating: 3 out of 5 with 48 ratings