The Malted Barley

Stopped her last Saturday about 5:00. Place is nice looking. Lots of wooden bar decor and a good mix of locals and tourists. Service was outstanding. Great recommendations on beer and food. Tap list was extensive with several Rhode Island local breweries being represented. I had a meatball pretzel sandwich and tried a few other sandwiches. The food was tasty, but the portions were small especially considering they were served with a small bag of chips as the side. The food seemed to be way overpriced for what we got. That said, I would certainly return for drinks if I were back in town. Excellent bar, overpriced food.

 

 

Had stopped here on a Friday for the first time - alone on the way home from work on a wonderful sunny afternoon. Probably like myself and 8 others about 2 in the afternoon. (Most people at the beach) Nicely done clean interior with cask on end of bar. Wonderful tap selection of cool brews. Had a JA IPL cask along with a very tasty pretzel sandwich with smoked turkey, avocado and sharp cheese.
Bartender was knowledgeable and friendly but just a tad distracted. Probably because the place was empty? Anyhow not much wrong with this if you love craft. Cool place. And I believe they are opening one in Providence which is close for me.

This is a great place with great beer. The food selection is pretty much just pretzels and pretzel sandwiches, but they are done extremely well. The pretzel sauces are also really good - mmm... Apricot butter. They do one cask a week but not always there :( Still, our regular go to place. Can't go wrong here.

Cool little place in a cool little town. Had quite a few interesting options on tap. About 20-25 tap lines and not sure about the bottles, although they did have a list in the beer menu. Service was exceptional, and for the most part, servers/bartenders knew what they were talking about.

Popped into The Malted Barley today for lunch and a brew. Got great service from the woman behind the bar. She was on top of everything and quite knowledgable, both about the beers on tap and the establishment's menu. The selection of beers was good. Of course, at this point in the game, I've seen better...but the selection wasn't greatly lacking. There was something for everyone and good local representation: Proclamation, Grey Sail. Now, I am not the world's biggest fan of pretzels. I will say, however, that everything I ate was awesome! I had the bratwurst pretzel sandwich for my meal, and that was the tits. If you happen to be in Westerly, do yourself a favor and eat at The Malted Barley.

 

 

I am just getting started with rating here on BA and I am trying to be honest with my ratings...but it's hard not to drop all 5s when rating The Malted Barley. I've been going here for a couple years and it's still my go to place when I want to get friends together for pretzels and beer! The Vibe is really good. Very open space with two floors (unless there's a private party downstairs). There's even an outdoor area when it's not freezing outside. The Quality of the food they offer is also top notch. And speaking of food we are talking pretzels. They go perfect with your beverage of choice. The servers are all awesome and personable.

Oh and the main reason we are all here...the beer. They have a continuously amazing beer selection. I can always find something new and exciting to try. They offer flights and usually have a beer on cask. There's even an amazing root beer for your DDs and non beer drinking friends. You will love this place.

Beer is good...got to sample a number due to attending with others. Food was amazing...both the bratwurst and especially the dessert. Great selection!

Store front restaurant/ beer bar on main drag in Westerly with an on-the-verge-of-a-dive-bar feel to it. Long bar to the left of the entry seats about 20 with a few tables and a separate dining area further back. About 40 nicely assorted beers on tap, good mix of local and not so local offerings, I had my first Pseudo Sue here. Staff is friendly and efficient. The pretzel centered menu was interesting, tasty, and reasonably priced.

 

 

 

 

Beers Good - Pretzels Great - Nice Location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wife and I went here on a Saturday night in November. We were there about 8:30 - 10.

The beer selection is excellent. 37 beers on tap by my count of the tap handles. A good variety with a fairly heavy leaning on seasonals. Strong showing on IPAs and stouts, as well. Had a cask of Grey Sail's red in addition to the 37 taps. We had 8 samples (all < or equal to $2) which is a great feature in a bar. Regular pints are generous pours but they hold you to 12 oz for higher ABV / rarer offerings.

Service was excellent. All the bartenders we dealt with knew what they were talking about. Owner Colin was particularly engaging and good to converse with.

All they have are pretzels and despite being full we had 2 and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Look forward to coming back next time we are in the area.

 

Slightly odd looking interior, with a mix of blue-collar warehouse and hipster/preppy coffee-shop. Overall very nice, though; while on the small side, there are plenty of spots to which you can retreat to have your own private conversation.

The beer selection is far and away the best in the area. A large selection of IPAs and DIPAs on tap; seasonals; stouts; et al. Something in excess of 20 taps, and a cask they change out weekly. Small but decent bottle selection. Most offerings are American craft, although they do get some craft imports.

The food is the funny part: they only offer pretzels. But oh, they're good! They have all kinds of pretzels, stuffed pretzels, and pretzel sandwiches. They also have a single soup option that is always fantastic.

Prices are very good: you pay what you'd expect for quality craft beer, and the pretzels are very inexpensive.

Edit: they have a beautiful - but very small - outside area, shaded by trees with a view of the river.

I try to come here every week; by far the best craft beer bar anywhere near.

 

Stopped in at 2:30 on a random Sunday afternoon and was surprised to see most of the tables occupied. Got a sunny spot in the back and pored over the beer menu. Great selection across all styles and states, and any draft beer can be ordered in one of three sizes. Most samplers were about $2 while most "pints" were $6-8. You could also order a barrel, which looked like a small barrel with a tap. Not sure of the ounces but it would be fun to share for a table.

I should note that the tap list isn't kept entirely up to date on the website, so keep that in mind if you're planning a visit. I was pleasantly surprised to see Stone Enjoy By and Brooklyn Blast. There should be enough here to keep anyone happy, although there isn't a ton of Belgian offerings (which I was happy about). Several pages of bottles too, but many of them are large-format so be prepared for sticker shock.

All food items are pretzel-based. We had an asiago pretzel with spinach & artichoke dipping sauce and it was delicious- warm right out of the oven. All sandwiches are served on pretzel bread too, both the BLT and turkey were fantastic.

Decor is fairly simple and goes with the down-to-earth vibe. Long bar along the left side with plenty of tall and short tables throughout. There is another set of bar seats in the back. A refreshing lack of breweriana shows off the exposed beam & brick interior. I didn't see the downstairs room but the outside patio looks fantastic and would be the best summer seats in town. Crowd included kids and seniors and everything in between; in fact my table included babies of eight weeks and six months, and I still felt right at home. I wish I lived closer but I will definitely be back.

Great little place in westerly that's fairly new. Nice amount of taps along the back wall of the bar and the bartender is always engaging, helpful and knowledgable. I try to stop in anytime I'm in the area and always enjoy going. Had a few beers last time I was there including trinity dry Irish stout which was put in place of Guinness and it was a delicious dry stout, far better than Guinness. Best beer bar in town, no question.

This a a great place to have a drink, a small meal and to meet up with friends in downtown Westerly. It's been open for about a year, and it has maintained it's quality and simple approach to good beer and food coupled with a great and welcoming atmosphere. The Barley is owed by a young couple, Steph and Colin, and their exuberant and happy approach is evident throughout your experience at the bar.
My only criticism, is really my personal beer preferences. The Barley relies heavily on seasonal beer (a good thing) but in the summer that means lots of fruit and wheat beer, and I'm just not a fan of those sytles. I don't like adjuncts, spices, fruit or wheat in my beer. I'm a fan of the Reinheitsgebot... I like water, barley, hops and yeast in about any configuration when it comes to beir.
Congrats to the Barley!!! Prost!

The Malted Barley is a fantastic little find in the middle of downtown Westerly. My wife and I went down there on a misty night to have a couple of pints and maybe a bite to eat.

The beer selection is fantastic. They were having a Founder's Brewing Pint Night, so I've got another beer glass to add to my all-too-large-already collection.

While the beer menu wasn't huge, it had a lot of quality brews in there with at least three of my personal top five in there. The prices were a bit high, but on the flipside of that, these are not cheap brews.
They don't have much for food, just these gourmet stuffed pretzels that are baked awesome. It's an odd choice for food offerings, but I really can't argue with something that good.

Suffice to say, I'll be going back whenever I can.

I've been to this place a ton of times so I feel I can write an accurate review. It's located in the trendy, downtown area of Westerly, RI just over the border from CT. This is important because they have a good amount of beers that RI gets but CT does not. They have had Ithaca Flower Power on tap every time I have gone, which is reason enough to visit. Some standout beers on tap they have/have had in the past, besides Flower Power, are, Bear Republic Racer 5, Southern Tier 2XIPA, Old Rasputin, Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet, Sixpoint Sweet Action, Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, Arrogant Bastard, and Rogue Brutal Bitter. With the amount of beers on tap there are usually at least 3 or 4 beers you want to drink. There are some bottles (and cans) of Pretty Things, Clown Shoes, Sixpoint Bengali Tiger and some others. You can also get samplers of beers. The food, while limited, is very good. Not a place you could really eat a dinner since the food consists of different pretzels or pretzel sandwiches. I've never gone at peak hours on a Friday or Saturday night, but even during the afternoon it is sometimes tough to get a spot at the bar. Everyone is very friendly and the owner and his wife are there practically everyday and are very helpful.

Lots of taps. respectable bottle list. No mass market beer. Knowledgeable staff. Nice atmosphere. Biggest drawback: no food to speak of. They have a pretzel "theme". A pretzel is just not enough to offset the alcohol for me and a pretzel sandwich is just not my thing. I did find a beer by a regional brewery I hadn't heard of (clown shoes) and another beer I hadn't tried from a regional brewery I like (left hand). I was thrilled to find such a great beer selection in southern rhode island. Rt

Been here twice and have walked out very pleased both times. Didn't go during peak hours so I don't know what the scene is like at 10 pm on a Friday/Saturday night, both of our trips have been on a Saturday afternoon when the weather is nice so the bar has been relatively empty. The owner, Colin was behind the bar for my last trip - he couldn't be any nicer or helpful. All the staff members have great beer knowledge and are quick to just let you taste it and decide for yourself. Have a really good selection on tap as well as bottles. (I would guess they have about 30-35 taps plus one for wine and one for root beer)

I should have taken note of what I have ordered while there, as far as I remember:

Sixpoint Bengali Tiger as well as the Sweet Action (both in cans)
Jack D'Or
Ithaca Flower Power
Sawtooth
BBC River Ale

Also, order the freshly baked pretzels if you want a snack - they are awesome. We had the salted, asiago & parm and the mozzarella stuffed..all excellent.

I would go here every weekend if it weren't an hour and a half away....guess you could say I have a man crush on this place.