Woodward Avenue Brewers

Woodward Avenue BrewersWoodward Avenue Brewers
Woodward Avenue BrewersWoodward Avenue Brewers
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

22646 Woodward Ave
Ferndale, Michigan, 48220
United States

(248) 546-3696 | map
thewabsite.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.48
Beers:
21
Ratings:
88
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.6
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
39
pDev:
14.72%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Doublicious:
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Rated by Doublicious from Michigan

4.28/5  rDev +18.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5

Dec 20, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.66 by midlifec from Michigan

Nov 25, 2018
 
Rated: 3.86 by Buck_Jones from Michigan

Apr 23, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by Jim67 from Michigan

Dec 27, 2017
 
Rated: 3.67 by MI_beerdrinker from Texas

Jun 20, 2017
 
Rated: 3.68 by moshea from Michigan

Apr 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.49 by GreatStoutman from Texas

Jul 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.89 by AndyEdgar from Illinois

Dec 16, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by n2492004 from Michigan

Oct 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.68 by Fahrn13 from Michigan

Jul 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.68 by NJB145 from Michigan

May 22, 2015
Photo of hardysf
Reviewed by hardysf from Michigan

3.4/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Good spicy bbq pizza. It was dead when we went in for lunch on a college football saturday. Pretty average brewpub. Cheap Growlers and Growler fills.
Mar 25, 2015
Photo of aboyd87
Reviewed by aboyd87 from Michigan

2.2/5  rDev -38.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 1 | service: 4 | selection: 1 | food: 3
Great service, atmosphere, and food; but the beer is unbelievably bad. I will give props to the hefeweizen though, the banana and yeast phenolics are top class.
Jan 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.08 by Samurai_Jesus4 from Michigan

Jan 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.35 by Brandonparrent from Michigan

Dec 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.4 by Readysethgo989 from Michigan

Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by mikediesel124 from Michigan

Dec 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by emilybeehagen from Michigan

Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jas45678 from Michigan

Nov 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by beornagain from Canada (ON)

Nov 08, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by wheezlelump from Michigan

Jul 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by CaptainFleeker from Illinois

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by DoctorFunkenstein from New York

Jun 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by tommy5 from Michigan

Jun 17, 2014
Photo of SportsandJorts
Reviewed by SportsandJorts from Virginia

3.41/5  rDev -5.3%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.25 | food: 3.75
Atmosphere. A pretty cool detroit and michigan themed place right on woodward in ferndale. nice and open space.

Quality: Not the best beers around but nothing that is offensive. you can get a good beer and have some good food here.

Service: decent no major problems but had to ask a few times for some stuff.

Selection: fairly small and not the most varied but not too bad. offer a few guest taps that are sometimes good.

Food: I was a little disappointed in the menu size, i think they cut back on some food, but pleased with the pizza i got.

Overall: not a must go by any means but a good place to check out. worth getting some food and grabbing a beer if you are around the area.
Apr 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by rkf1976 from Michigan

Jan 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by sternamagrapha7x from Michigan

Dec 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Stu_Grimson from Michigan

Dec 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Pog-Mo-Thoin from Michigan

Dec 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Danielr26 from Michigan

Nov 25, 2013
Photo of Kerrie
Reviewed by Kerrie from Michigan

4.05/5  rDev +12.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
I love this place. I work right behind it currently, but before that, my boyfriend and I had our first date here. I've never had a bad experience.

The atmosphere is nice, especially the outdoor seating. Before they open their outdoor seating for the year, however, they can open the garage doors downstairs (there are two levels) so there's still a breeze and it's similar to being outside without the sun in your eyes. The upstairs area is also nice and has a view of Woodward Avenue. As it's on that iconic road, the building it decorated with MI license plates, and even the menus have license plates as covers.

The quality and service are good. I've never had an issue with it being too slow, even on busy days (half-off food Mondays get quite busy).

The selection is fairly good, too. For beer, they tend to rotate about 6 of their own offerings and 3 guest taps (all MI guests). For food, they've got a wide variety of appetizers, pizzas, salads, sandwiches, etc. I've never had bad food here.

The value is great: most beers are only $4-5 a pint, and all WAB beer is just $2 on Sundays. They have a happy hour 4-7 PM on M-F that has half-off appetizers and $3 pints, too. Plus, as I mentioned before, half-off food Mondays. That's the day to go if you want dinner, but go Sunday if you just want pints.
May 09, 2013
Photo of hopsolutely
Reviewed by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)

3.83/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
A very pleasant surprise!

Made the trek here solely to re-sample the vanilla porter trialed yesterday at the Detroit Fall Beer Festival. Was delighted to find an extensive menu, reasonably priced, in a delightfully well lit and comfortable room on the second floor overlooking Woodward Avenue. Enjoyed the background music of old REM tunes and the service was both efficient and knowledgeable. Only negative comment would be the lack of a beer sampling option. Given a choice, will definitely return!
Oct 23, 2011
Photo of adams82
Reviewed by adams82 from Michigan

3.6/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3
Stopped by for the first time a few days ago after a trip to The Detroit Zoo.

We sat in "the lounge", with the two garage style doors open on this particularly warm late summer afternoon and admired the "Detroit style" decor; license plates littered the walls rather than paneling, wall paper or tile. Pretty cool. It was pretty dead, there was only one other table was occupied (it was Tuesday afternoon...) but I'm really glad that we stopped in.

I had three beers during this visit (The Hefeweizen, Pale Ale and Ruby Lager) and I thought that all three were well crafted, highly enjoyable and true to style. The Hefe is served in a 20oz glass rather than a pint. Win.

The wife and I shared a flat bread pizza, which was good, but not great... I'm giving the food a "3", but to be fair, we only sampled the one item. I'd like to be a little more adventurous next time when it comes to the food, even though the menu seemed to be "standard" brewery fare.

The selection is bittersweet. I like and lament the fact that there aren't 45 beers to choose from (unlike a few other local brew pubs). This makes my decision on what to start with, and get next simple, but there's not much to build on. No IPA at the time of my visit, no seasonal in house brews, two similar guest taps (both were imported Oktoberfest styles), and the cream ale and porter are on the menu twice: Cream Ale just and Cream Ale w/ Raspberry, Porter just and Porter w/ Vanilla.

Otherwise, our server was attentive (yes, it was slow, but I've been in some places where slow business = slow service...) and the prices were very reasonable. $4 pints ($5 for the XL Hefe). Our bill was around $20.00. Not bad for three craft beers with lunch.

I will defiantly go back soon. The WAB seems like a great alternative to the pricier Royal Oak breweries that are just a stones throw away, and the quality (at least the beer) is just as good, even if the variety is not.
Sep 23, 2011
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Reviewed by warmstorage from California

4/5  rDev +11.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
Wow -- I almost wonder from the other reviews if I went to some other place. I'm really glad I took the reviews with a grain of salt and went here anyway: I had a very different experience than most others.

I went in this afternoon for a couple early afternoon beers, and was very happy.

The atmosphere was great for what I wanted: quiet, with lots of sidewalk seating both on Woodward and the side street, and my choice of tables where I could sit and see my bike. Before May 1, when all smoking was banned in Michigan bars, I can believe that it would have been really smoky inside, but it's fine now, with no residual smell that I could detect.

The beer I had was quite good: I liked the vanilla porter well enough to get two, and the organic IPA I sampled (a current seasonal) was good for its style (east coast IPA.)

The service was excellent: prompt, available, helpful, but didn't hover, and was fine with the fact that I had already eaten, and occupied a four top table with only beer as my companion. They were generous with samples, including a guest pyment from B. Nektar Meadery, also in Ferndale (Wildberry Pyment, which was tasty but way thick, and which they recommend drinking on ice with a splash of soda water.)

For my first (free) samples, the bartender gladly brought out the IPA, the vanilla porter, and the guest pyment. The other server was happy to later bring out a sample of fruit vodka (root beer flavored, which was tasty, and bizarrely non-alcoholic tasting) and, without my asking, a sample of their other fruit vodka (some sort of red fruit flavor, just weird.) I have been a server and bartender, and get that service can vary dramatically from shift to shift, month to month, but they were great.

The selection was fine: six house brews currently available (blonde, amber lager, porter, vanilla porter, IPA, and hefe) as well as Dogfish Festina Peche. No, it's not the most adventurous selection ever, but fine for a relatively small operation.

Price point was good, at $4 per beer (with no tax, or tax included, not sure which) which is slightly cheaper than the other brewpubs and beer bars I've been to in Detroit in the last week.

I didn't try the food, but probably will eat tomorrow morning at the Emory, their sister restaurant across the street.

I'm really mystified by all the hating on the place. It's not mindblowing, and I wouldn't go way out of my way for it, but next time I happen to be in Ferndale, I will happily go back.
Jun 26, 2010
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Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

2.55/5  rDev -29.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4
In town for the weekend told I had to check this place out. Wish I didn't. Big open spaces huge, bar, sport centric but in general pretty plain. The tables are annoying because the chairs have super low backs making them hard to sit in. The food was good bar food, above average. The brews suck. They are all generic watery and boring. They have no clue what they are doing. These beers are clearly tailored to drinkers who don't know much. Its a slight step above a macro brew and that's who they cater too. About 8 beers by them, 2 guest taps. Avoid this place.
May 30, 2010
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Reviewed by SaucyA from Michigan

3.15/5  rDev -12.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
I like the WAB for a party, or a get-together. It's a nice "meeting" spot, but the beer is sub-par save for a couple gems.

It's got an upstairs bar overlooking ferndale, with a pool table, photobooth and other fun things to do. Lots of exposed brick, it's a definite "hipster" vibe. The crowd tends to be twenty-somethings that are all either art-crowd or eccentric folks. It's a good feel.

There's also an outdoor area that's wicked in the summertime.

The beer is something to be overlooked. They have a good porter and once and a while have a good guest tap, but to be honest there's much better beer to be found next door at the Emory, which strangely has the same owners as the WAB.

They hardly have any beers on tap at the WAB and when they do they're mediocre at best. I honestly only drink the porter or guest tap.

The food is actually really really good, and the service is warm and friendly, especially when they're not packed.

Sunday's are cheap pints, I recommend going if you have a couple bucks to spend and are in the mood to people watch.
Feb 18, 2008
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Reviewed by ahking from Michigan

3.43/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5
I was surprised at how busy WAB was on a Sunday night. The crowd upstairs was a mid-twenties hipster type who seems to enjoy decent beer. Tables on multiple levels and nice brick walls make the atmosphere of this place awesome. Lighting was a little too low but the place was not overly loud for a converstion. I was dissappointed at the selection of beers on tap. Two porters (regular and vanilla), a blonde, pale ale, and a raspberry wheat. For me, I prefer a little more variety (and Stoney Creek is the only vanilla porter I'll drink).
Jan 04, 2005
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Reviewed by putnam from Michigan

2.79/5  rDev -22.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3
The frame of the sky was exceeded by wide, straight lines of cloud lit orange and red. One of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. Now, into the beer joint.
The theme here is “pure Detroit” garage. A garage door retracted to include sidewalk seating. The menu was bound between two automobile license plates. The crowd – young. Sideburns are apparently still in style for the boys. I guess it IS the best way to establish gender ID without admitting the idiosyncrasies of full beard growth. But to my eyes there was too much sameness here, both among the patrons and staff. They could all be in the same grade at the same racially homogenous school for all I know. Welcome to Detroit and its suburbs.
I say this partly in an effort to explain why the barkeep and I did not connect. I asked about a beer sampler and she stated that there was no such thing. And while she may have answered truthfully my question about her favorite of the beers, the fact that it happened to be a Hefe Weizen, and happened, apparently, only to come in the largest sized glass available, made it a choice that couldn’t have been less suited to my stated goal. Well it was loud in there. We didn’t have the luxury of fine-tuning my selection. So I struggled through my 20 ounces of flattish, cellar-temperature, malty Hefe while educating myself about the actual choices for small portions of beer in this establishment. Apparently, as I learned from the menu, everything OTHER than the Hefe was available in “halves”, or, 7.5 oz. sizes. Would have been nice to know that earlier. The menu claimed the porter to be the signature style. A punishing, bitter licorice bomb, but appropriate to the ethos of the place. I drank it to the bottom and left $0.75 next to the half-full Hefe. Or was it half-empty?
Jun 28, 2004
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Reviewed by inebrius from Michigan

3.8/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Many fond memories of the "WAB" where you'll find an eclectic mix of folks gathered for good beer and food. Jukebox is one of the best, ever! Enjoy the hustle and bustle of downtown Ferndale from your second story window seat or, when the weather is good, the outdoor cafe. Try the Custom Porter and Turkey Chili; top notch.
Sep 06, 2002
Woodward Avenue Brewers in Ferndale, MI
Brewery rating: 3.48 out of 5 with 88 ratings