84 Aleworks Brewing & Tavern

Tavern is laid out like typical bar/ restaurant with U-shaped bar that seats about 25 and separate dining area in adjacent room. about 20 beers on tap, 5 house and 15 guest, nice variety of local choices. The house beer I tried was mediocre. I did not try the food.

I haven’t done a place review in a while, but this place’s 4/5 rating convinced me to go there, and I feel that it is way way off.

I was digging the vibe of the place at first, as I walked in to the bar area and it was mellow, on the darker side, wooden, and focused around a big draft system with a great selection on the chalkboards. The hostess gave us some attitude when we said we didn’t have a reservation, but it wasn’t even 6 and there were tables open the whole time we were there. Our waitress was a nice older lady, but she was rushing around like they gave her too many tables to handle, so service was on the slow side.

Great list of mostly-New England brews, but they brew their own beer, so I started with a sampler of those. It’s been a long time since I’ve had multiple commercial beers this bad, so I really hope they just started and these are test batches. The pale ale was buttery, the dubbel was sweet with low carbonation, and the IPA had larger chunks of hop leaves floating in it than I’ve ever seen served, including cask beers. After doing my best to drink those, I wanted something familiar and drinkable, so I went with one of my all-time favorites, Allagash White. Stadium-pour, stale, and sizzly. Not what that beer is brewed to be. If they can’t serve their beer right, why do great companies like Allagash trust them with specialties?

The food, unfortunately, was also surprisingly bad. The mushroom appetizer was soggy, the fried cauliflower was only saved by the dipping sauce, and the Mac and cheese looked pretty good but didn’t taste better than something out of a box. Even looking at the side salad/garnish on the plates, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was cafeteria-quality food.

It’s a shame, because the vibe was pretty good and there were some real good people here, but the food is not good, and the awesome beer menu is completely wasted because of the bad quality.

Nice clean restaurant with pretty good service as they seemed to be "real" with you and not that "fake" happy attitude you sometimes see in a fair amount of places (yes, I had a long winded chat with one of the locals here and he bragged that he's been all around the world and said that you'll never find friendlier service anywhere else for a beer bar). Me, I liked this place and figured I'd entertain this guy by listening to him. Food was damn good! Baked macaroni and cheese skillet with a Captain’s Daughter (GS), well, what’s not to like.

Nice interior, with a dining area that could pass for modern, family, or casual, depending on your mood, and a separate bar with a very nice horseshoe setup.

The tap list is very nice, with tons of craft, many local options, and some really nice offerings.

The food is excellent, and the prices are reasonable. Situated in downtown Westerly, this place has some competition, but with everything they have to offer, they're well worth the trip.

Great surprise in downtown westerly. The tavern is a dual offering, with a smallish pub area and large more formal dining section. At least twenty brews on tap, many more in bottle, with the mass produced swill available only in bottle form---with exception of stella artois. Good selection of both local and national craft on tap, with a few imported thrown in. Happy hour from 3-6 offers a selection of $4 beers, but a nice range of better beers are included in that--on cask the local Cottrell Mystic Bridge Mosaic IPA, and Rogue Beard Beer. There is also a very nice $4-8 happy hour food menu. Our experience was excellent, getting an appetizer, a burger and a chicken sandwich, and six drafts for less than seventy dollars including tip. While the malted barley across the street has a little bit more on tap, and bitchin stuffed pretzels, the barley is expensive, with anything over 6% abv usually only 12 oz pours, with many only 10oz pours...and averaging about $8 per pour. Ill be back to the 84 Tavern...i just wish it was the Track 84!

Sometimes called by its former location as "84 Tavern on High Street." Nice broad bar with plenty of room per patron. Nice variety of taps, as well as bottles. Had some unique pours as well as the local brews. I visited late afternoon off-season. Two very knowlegable tenders who took my preferences and matched a couple of droughts like pros. Some nice lasses next to me ate and enjoyed the variety of apps. Can see it being tough to park on season. Two TVs with sports on. A definite pearl despite a deceiving exterior. I don't often visit the town but have now found a "go-to" spot. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

Stopped in on a Saturday afternoon. Sat at the bar. Beer selection ranged from great (Goose Island BCS in May!)to Stella for beginners and Bud light bottles. Very relaxed atmosphere.Food menu was good but small .Sandwiches we ordered were good but fries were super soft. Bartender was very attentive and friendly. Overall would go back, if local.

 

I didn't think of this place as a beer bar, but after I saw it listed right after a visit, I decided I should review it. We came here on reccomendation from some of my parents local friends, who said this was their favorite spot to eat.

For beer, I ordered a bottle of Hennepin for a very good price of $10. The beer list was pretty solid, with a few tap options and a small bottle list that covered some good ground for what it was going for. The food was a little dissapointing, but not terrible. I had some bbq rib sticks, which were a bit fatty with a bland bbq sauce. I also had a bacon hamburger, which was dry and tasted like a big Friendly's burger. The bite of a BBQ chicken pizza I had was not bad, and had a lot of chicken on it. The prices were very good, with big portions and some good food specials. That wouldn't be enought to bring me back here, but might make it worth checking out if your looking for beer in the area.

As far as beer goes, it has something for everyone. It has the Heineken for the guy who wants something cold to guzzle down, and it has a decent (for southern RI) selection of on-tap and bottled craft brews, some being local. The atmosphere is awkwardly caught between "nice night out", and "grab a brew and watch the game". You generally dress business casual and can often catch live acoustic music, but it can also be very loud with flighty service.

As far as food goes, it's great. The kitchen is open to the dining room, which can at times make a meal go awry because of smokiness, but that is not a common occurance. The bar and lounge area get the same menu as the dining room.