Moon River Brewing Company

Moon River Brewing CompanyMoon River Brewing Company
Moon River Brewing CompanyMoon River Brewing Company
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

21 West Bay St.
Savannah, Georgia, 31401
United States

(912) 447-0943 | map
moonriverbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.67
Beers:
44
Ratings:
592
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.68
Reviews:
103
Ratings:
173
pDev:
17.12%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
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Ratings by Silenus:
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Reviewed by Silenus from Georgia

4.08/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Moon River Brewing has changed dramatically over the last five years since my last review. The beer selection has grown and they also now have a permanent German hefeweizen (and periodic Belgian) guest tap. The styles of beer have expanded and I am especially fond of the Slow-vannah Pale Ale and the Apparition British Best Bitter.

The food has also gotten much better. My favorite isn't even on the menu. Ask for a Bubba-dilla. It's juicy barbeque served up like a quesodilla.

The serving staff changes fairly regularly (not uncommon in a college town) but there are several Certified Cicerone Servers on staff and they keep beer knowledge following.

Moon River is still the only brewpub in Savannah but it well worth the visit to see what they have on tap!
Sep 07, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.82 by StrangerTides from New York

Yesterday at 02:12 AM
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Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
Definitely an old school vibe at this 90's era brewpub, bohemian touches with large colorful paintings and vintage minikegs above the front island bar. Seating for about 15-20 at the bar, but it was a big place that we didn't have time to explore much. There was a nice patio with a separate bar outside.

Beer selection was ok, they did deviate from the typical 90's brewpub styles a little bit. They had a wild BA witbier which was interesting, though too acetic. Märzen was good, so was the hoppy Yoga Pants, a "Southern-style Pale Ale".

Service at the bar was friendly and efficient. Not sure what all the low reviews are about, we had a good time and I had no expectations really. Worth a stop if downtown on Bay St.
Oct 04, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by Dschulte from Georgia

Jan 14, 2021
 
Rated: 4.16 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 17, 2020
 
Rated: 3.66 by Beer21 from Florida

Nov 02, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by puftdank from Illinois

Oct 10, 2019
 
Rated: 2.96 by Mike_Garber from Florida

Jul 04, 2019
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Reviewed by BigGold from Mississippi

4.28/5  rDev +16.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
The bar is set between the (windowed) brewery and a small dining room, and, except for the brewery and a few televisions over the bar and around, is reminiscent of a British businessmen’s pub.

Service at the bar was professional.

Selection is varied but not huge (8-10 taps), with 8-10 more guest beers: 1 or 2 local, most regional, and a few decent national and international selections. Pours of 12 and 18 ounces and German liters are available. Select bombers and growlers ($15/fill) are available for takeaway.

The menu is gastropub, which I didn’t try, but Moon River doesn’t get great food reviews.
Jan 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.36 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

Nov 12, 2018
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Reviewed by jjamadorphd from Florida

3.03/5  rDev -17.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5
A very nicely decorated and sizable brewery. Quite possibly the largest one I've visited to date...

Located in downtown Savannah, it's not much to see from the outside but it is a whole 'nuther experience on the inside. Richly decorated in wood and brass, your welcomed right off the bat with the bar near the entrance. There's seating all around and even more so outside making for one of the larger breweries I've visited so far.

Selection is a tad lacking for such a small locale and the beers we had - a wit, a farmhouse, and a porter where decent enough. I would had like my experience a bit more if the bartender were friendlier, otherwise it's a nice place to visit and witness for yourself.
Sep 23, 2018
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Reviewed by Cbdeaton from Georgia

1.56/5  rDev -57.6%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1.25 | service: 1 | selection: 2.75
Terrible service everyone was rude. Wouldn’t seat us because we weren’t eating. There were about 30 empty tables. Beer was just average. Would not recommend. Drove over an hour just to go here very disappointing.
Jun 27, 2018
 
Rated: 3.94 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

May 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.1 by coombski from Maine

Apr 26, 2018
 
Rated: 3.83 by orangesol from Pennsylvania

Mar 28, 2018
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Reviewed by DenverHopHead from Colorado

3.51/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.25 | selection: 3.5
Vibe - Brewery and restaurant located on Bay Street, 1 block back from the river front, so great location. During lunch on a Wednesday afternoon, the place was pretty busy. Plenty of seating in both the dining area and at and around the bar.
Quality - Tried a flight of the 7 beers they had on tap; nothing outstanding, but nothing dismal either.
Service - Hostest and waitress were very friendly, however, as the place became busier, our waitress basically disappeared.
Selection - Typically 8 options of their stuff, though one was not available at the time, and several guest beers. Enough variety to please everyone.
Food - we didn't eat, but looking at the menu there was the typical bar fare with some southern options thrown in.
Aug 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.29 by evanwoertz from California

Jul 10, 2017
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Reviewed by CarolinaCardinals from North Carolina

3.74/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.25
Stopped in today for lunch with Da Boss while enjoying the Savannah Hop On Hop Off tour.

Vibe was good, dark on the inside with a classic English bar feel. Cask engine was available. Damp basement smell in the back. I believe 8 or so house beers available along with a number of regionals as well.

Quality of the beer was better than average. The IPAs were not executed quite to style but were serviceable. Da Boss had the pale which was good from her perspective.

Service was very prompt and good although she did not seem to have much beyond a general understanding of the beer.

Selection was decent as described above.

Food was very good. I had the Creole dish which was outstanding and Da Boss had the slider special and said the roast beef was very good.

Overall a good food stop where one can quench their thirst.
Jun 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Satorn from Florida

May 08, 2017
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Rated by Hopbooze from Georgia

4.78/5  rDev +29.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.25
You know I can get Growlers to go
Mar 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.34 by StevenMilligan from Florida

Mar 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.66 by Rdc67 from Kentucky

Oct 15, 2016
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Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +6.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3.25 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.25 | food: 4.5
Vibe is amazing. Feels like an old brick building with old time furnishings. Place is haunted and that adds to the coolness factor for me. I spent most of my time waiting and watching for supernatural happenings and that made me pay lots of attention to the overall vibe. Food was excellent. The nachos had average but were a huge portion that was extra cheesy. Comfort food at its finest..not healthy, but heavenly. The chicken and sausage creole was about the best version of a dish that I have had several versions of...really top notch. Our waitress was very knowledgable about the beers and the area. She humored us with our questions about beers and hauntings. The beer had ten varieties and while some were good, most were average to above average. Overall, this was an excellent drinking and dining experience, I just wish I could rave a bit more about the actual beer here.
Jul 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.23 by Graham19840 from Florida

May 25, 2016
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Reviewed by mwar from Kentucky

2.86/5  rDev -22.3%
vibe: 2.75 | quality: 2.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 2
I preface this review by saying the roof top bar and outdoor seating were closed due to weather. We tried the porter and brown ale. Both were subpar, though not bad. Had one and moved on. The place seemed older and a little dingy. Not too crowded at 5:00 on a Friday. Sat at the bar and received excellent service. $4 and $5 for 18 oz.....nice value!
Apr 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.44 by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.84 by garyloveman from Massachusetts

Mar 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.81 by bcm75 from Illinois

Feb 04, 2016
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Reviewed by MacMalt from New Jersey

3.91/5  rDev +6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
This is a brewery in the heart of Savannah that brews a number of pretty good beers. It has a lively and fun vibe. The menu is not extensive, and features mostly pub style fare, but the burgers are good. This place is reputedly haunted, which adds to the ambience and overall experience. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting Savannah.
Jan 31, 2016
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Reviewed by dbrauneis from North Carolina

3.65/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.5
The place was busy on this Sunday after Christmas early evening with lots of groups of people - there was a fairly long line to be seated indoors (and since the weather was beautiful) we chose to sit outside in the beer garden. There was a fairly wide ranging demographic when I visited with millennials, families, and baby boomers all present. There was music playing and football showing but it was not too noisy to carry on a conversation.

Beers were well poured and served in proper glassware at a decent temperature and with a proper amount of head. Beers were served promptly.

The service was pretty good though for some reason they were out of a number of items (probably one third of the entire menu). The waiter was attentive and brought out the food promptly as well as the drinks and was diligent in refilling the waters.

They had a pretty good range of styles for the house beers and an interesting selection of local/regional/national crafts on tap as well.

Food was decent, not great. Maybe my impressions would have been better of the food had my first two choices from the menu been available.
Dec 28, 2015
 
Rated: 5 by MasterRigger from North Carolina

Dec 27, 2015
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Reviewed by amano_h from Oregon

3.71/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.5
Local breweries that churn out fresh beers by the barrel right in the neighborhood is a dream come true for any beer enthusiast. Whereas Moon River Brewing Company has its hearts set in the right place, they fall short in executing said idea to standard.

First of all, their beers are disappointing at best. Their IPAs seem to share common notes of pine and resin, but seem to retain hops very poorly despite (and this is despite drinking it fresh straight from the brewery.) I had a lot of hope for their Slowvannah, which didn't have enough body or mouthfeel to qualify as an American Pale Ale but too much punch to call a "Session Ale." I actually wanted to try the Slowvannah dry-hopped with Citra, which had been on cask, but the waiter informed me that they had sold out a few weeks back. I took two sips each of their porter and their stout and wish I never had; the stout didn't have too much going on despite coming out of the tap pitch black, and other than a slight cinnamon, I couldn't taste any kind of discernible flavors from the Porter. The most palatable out of the selection was surprisingly their lager/pilsner, which to my surprise tasted like a decent IPL.

The food here is also calculatingly unsatisfying; the pesto oysters were as disgusting as it sounded, the salmon oscar was decisively dry, and the haricots verts was basically bland boiled string peas.

Contrary to previous reviews however, Moon River Brewing Company's only saving grace for us was the excellent customer service. The waiter (I wish I could remember his name) was very friendly, demonstrated great general knowledge of beer and seemed very enthusiastic about the beers he was serving us, and gave us frequent updates on our food/beers and was courteous at every turn. I also enjoyed a brief conversation with said waiter about Moon River's brewing schedule and beers after ordering the tasting wheel (which included every beer MRBC had to offer outside of the two that I really wanted to try) which made me wonder if the other yelpers that made their way here had all come in on an off night.

Whereas the beer and the food isn't spectacular, MRBC did provide a pleasant environment for our party of 6 to kick back a few drinks and catch up on each others' lives. If you do swing by here, be sure to order the tasting wheel--for ten dollars it's an absolute steal.
Sep 15, 2015
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Reviewed by CalebM from Florida

3.75/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Came by already full of local beer on a trip to Savannah. Had a flight, which featured a good handful of seasonal/guest beers. Nothing on that hand that was out of this world, but some interesting flavors worth checking out. Worth stopping by just for the Swamp Fox IPA. Also, the beer wasn't served cold, which was OK I guess--we'll call it "almost cold." Service was good, and I want more Swamp Fox!
Aug 25, 2015
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Reviewed by aleckpa from North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Came here on a recent visit to Savannah. We sat out on the beer garden. It was a beautiful evening, albeit hot and humid! I ordered a flight. A flight consists of all 9 of their beers. The only downfall of this was by the time i got to the 6th one, they were getting quite warm due to the heat and humidity outside. The beer was alright. Nothing bad, nothing outstanding. I did like how they had "guest beers" on tap though. I think it gives a good option for people to explore other GA beers. The service was a little slow, but that's because it was the bartender service the entire beer garden. Eventually, they got him some help and it improved. I didn't have the food, so can't comment on that. I'd go back next time I'm in Savannah.
Aug 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by jloomis from Florida

Jul 24, 2015
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Reviewed by Hayden34 from Georgia

4.31/5  rDev +17.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Stopped at Moon River on St. Patrick's Day and while the place was obviously packed from wall-to-wall, the service was still excellent. The bartender even made time to chat with me about one of the beers I asked about (Swamp Fox IPA). The food was great for bar food and the selection was decent as well. I'll definitely be visiting Moon River again on my next trip to Savannah.
Jul 14, 2015
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Reviewed by ottobon100 from Virginia

1.61/5  rDev -56.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 1 | service: 1.75 | selection: 2
First microbrewery I have visited that served their beers warm (at least 55-60F). I was told "that is the way they serve beer in Europe". Having lived in Europe for six years I can tell you that isn't true. It isn't served ice cold but it definitely isn't served warm. Maybe the owner needs to go there. Too bad.
Jun 29, 2015
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Reviewed by Dreizhen from District of Columbia

3.88/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Stopped by here for dinner on a recent tour of the South with a friend. Not a bad place to visit if you're in Savannah, though I wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out. Nice local spot with growler fills and a decent selection of beer styles for a small brewery. Food's better than average bar food with a slight coastal touch from various shrimp options. Had a flight of their beers to sample them all and was pretty happy with the experience. It did seem rather odd that they leave out their highest gravity beer from the flight, though, since they have a spot for it on the flight try. Anyways, if you're looking for something local and don't want to drop $35 on seafood at the tourist-targeted restaurants, this is a fun alternative.
Jun 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by Openwyd from Florida

Jun 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.84 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

May 31, 2015
Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah, GA
Brewery rating: 3.67 out of 5 with 592 ratings