The Distillery

 

In Savannah for a couple of days and decided to check out The Distillery based on the high recommendations herein. We walk in around lunch time and it is a traditional style bar with lots of oak and brass. There are a couple of bar flys but it tame. There is no hostess to ask about seating so we seat ourselves outside adjacent to another couple. A server comes out a couple of times to wait on the adjacent couple and pays us no attention. We wait 10 minutes and nothing. I go inside and ask if we are ok to sit outside and the person there says yes and someone will be with us. We wait another 10 minutes and bounce.

The following day we try it again. Mid afternoon this time and a much better greeting. We sit at the bar and are given a draft list and asked if we are going to order food. We say yes and are given a food menu. The draft menu is about 20 or so deep with current selections reflecting a tap takeover from Lagunitas however no Willetized or similar, just the run of the mill stuff. Nothing really local either. No worries, I go for a flight ($20 for 5 pours) which I write down only to find out that any beer $9 or over is not included in a flight. Well that left me with dog fish head and angry orchard options. We end up getting a brown shugga for $9 and some wings. The bartenders pretty much ignored us the rest of the time we were there.

The wings were good but kinda difficult to f up fried food. We finished up and headed over to Crystal Beer Parlor.

The service was crap, the beer selection crap, the atmosphere ok, and the bathroom was clean. Skip this place and try one of many others in town. Note every other place we hit in town had better service with nearly all of them letting us try tastes and giving us recommendations in styles and types.

 

I cannot speak highly enough of this bar. On our Savannah trip we frequented two of the local breweries and many bars. However, this stood out as the best experience. My wife, who is not a beer drinker wanted to return here. Their selection is great, but what really shines is their service. The hostess, server, and manager went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable...with a baby. Food came out hot and was great. Server was knowledgeable and quick to make suggestions and allow ample samplings. Yes, it may not be historic as some of the other venues, but it's worth checking out. Comparable to a World of Beer, however I've never had an experience this great at any World of Beer.

 

 

 

 

The vibe of the place was energetic but quieting down when I visited as it was after the main dinner service. I was enjoying the place until the grease fire in the kitchen set off the fire alarm - that lead to my leaving earlier than I had planned and visiting another spot in town.

Beers were well poured into proper glassware with a proper amount of head and a decent temperature.

Servers were friendly, personable, and attentive. Not too much in the way to beer knowledge being shared with me but I already knew what I wanted when they came to take my order and we did chat about other spots in Savannah that have good tap lists that I might have beers I had not seen before.

They had a very nice selection of local, regional, and national craft beers on tap with a good range of styles. Several IPAs and big stouts were available along with a handful of other styles which would likely have an option for just about anyone. Beers seemed to have turned over fairly quickly as I saw two kick and be replaced in my short visit on a Friday night.

 

Awesome place. Beautiful bar. Knowledgeable bartenders. Pretty standard bar food. This place DOES get the goods beer-wise. Craft beer week they have a ridiculous line up. All taps change everyday throughout the week, culminating in night of the beer geek on Friday night. Too bad I have to work.

We stopped in here on our most recent visit to Savannah. We really enjoyed the vibe of this place. It was dimly lit, with some historic charm in the building. The only reason I wanted to go here was for the tap list. The tap list is excellent and they have great selection of cans/bottles. But be careful when ordering an IPA/PA off the bottle/can list...it could potentially be somewhat dated! The service is pretty slow, and the food isn't anything to brag about either. We went back a 2nd night simply for the beer!

 

 

Had to give anyplace that has KBS &CBS and Terrapin Wake and Bake on tap a high score for selection. This place kills for stouts.

 

 

The Distillery might be my favorite place in Savannah. It's not old, so I guess it loses some points for that in such a historic town, but on the other hand it's not full of tourists (I, of course, am a tourist myself; I guess what I mean to say is that you won't have to wait to be seated like you would at the Crystal Beer Palace); and I really like the feel of the place. I like the exposed brick and the wood, and the barstools and the layout. I love the music they play and the silent movies that they've got running on the TVs. On top of that it doesn't hurt that they've got the best draft line-up in town!!! 21 taps that include a good showing of local beers (meaning everyone gets a shot, not just the best), and some quality nationals as well. I've never eaten there, I have to admit, but I can say that the food smells great!!! I'm gonna have to try one of their shrimp Po' Boys the next time I'm in (which will probably be next week)!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visited on a Monday around 7:30pm. Real quiet. Sat outside on a hot day.

This may be considered the best beer bar in Savannah, but it does not compare to many other bars across the country. It still may be your best option.

A - Five tables outside. What little I saw of inside seemed nice. Sort of a dark bar with lots of wood. 3.75

Q - They seem to serve in a proper glass, but those glasses were branded randomly (if that bothers you). Only ordered on tap beer as I was a little suspect of the turnover on the bottle menu. 4

Service – Was fine. Nice maybe a little slow. He could have sold me another beer but he waited to long and moved on. 3.75

S - Supposedly the best in savannah. If that is the case, then Ouch! Good but lacking. 10-15 on tap with another 50-75 in a bottle. A wide variety but little depth and few if any must haves. Drank a local Monday Night Bed Head (very good) and a Harpoon 100 Barrel Series #50 - Citra Victorious 3.75

F - You get what you pay for. It's good bar food but don't come with expectations for something more. 3.75

$ - As noted above you get what you pay for and I thought that it was good value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I worked here for almost a year. I loved every thing about the bar, and now I distribute beer to them. It's a gem, and the Volens have done an amazing job with the entire place. I go at least once a week and get a flight ($18), enjoy some fried pickles and pretzels. They also have a great craft liquor selection, but they flavor their own liquors in house too. The Pickle Bloody Mary is (seriously) the best in Savannah, and naturally, the top it with a stout beer.