Father John's Microbrewery

Well, this place is certainly unique, My first time drinking beer in a church. I love the decor, pews for seats, beer list served in a hymnal, the truly medieval bathroom door. There were 9 beers on tap during my visit, all reasonably priced. Service was friendly enough. The food is pricey, but pretty damned tasty. Overall it's a bit unusual and a place worth a visit.

The main attraction here is the eclectic medieval décor and the outstanding food. The beer is very hit or miss (I had a wonderful oatmeal stout the last time I was there), but try everything and you will find a winner. They are always experimenting and I gotta give them props for that! Try this place out if you're in the neighborhood!

Nice religious themed brewpub with good beer and food.

 

 

 

 

This was stop #11 (and sadly the last stop) for my wife and I on a 9-day East Coast pub crawl and a family visit. This brewery is located in the basement of an old brick church that is located just a couple blocks west off the downtown retail area. This was the last day of our trip and we located this place to be near where our homeward drive would take us at lunchtime. It was a unique experience to have chosen this place because of the church basement pub setting and its interior design features, as well as the pluses and minuses of the beer and food.

Here is a place where the food definitely outshines the beer, but our evaluation of the beers produced a scoring result that is not as negative as some previous BA reviews sounded. Without question, the food is top notch, and some of the beers are not bad at all, and a few are notable. Hopefully that means that the beers are improving, which means that this will be a truly positive dining experience in the future.

There were 16 beers available so we ordered a full sampler to be able to try them all. Out of the 16 beers, we scored 7 as being average or better for their respective style. The most notable beers were the Dirty Monk Dopplebock, the Heaven & Earth Citrus Wheat, and Magdalene’s Maibock. Some beers were just weak tasting, some can be said to have design flaws (too much jalapeno heat in the IPA), and some had apparent brewing flaws (the Scotch Ale tasted of strong alcohol).

It would have been interesting to be here for the dinner menu. Now that we know which beers are very tasty, a dinner entrée paired with one of the best beers would make a truly memorable experience. Actually, just sitting at the bar in this surrounding and enjoying selected beers would make for a great experience. Hey, it’s not bad at all for being a brewery that is located in the basement of an old church.

I visited Father Johns on a muggy Thursday evening during the summer of 2014.

A: We arrived around 5:30pm, a little "early" for the dinner crowd so the place was quite empty. However, as we were leaving it was starting to get packed. The decor and atmosphere was that of an upscale bar. As other reviewers mentioned, the brewpub is in the basement of a church built in 1895. It has this cool medieval religious feel to it. (Not one religion in particular)

Q: This was a little hit or miss. The beer was ok at best. I had the local favorite Sister Golden Hair, which I thought would be a golden ale. Much to my surprise it was more of an amber that was overly sweet and lacked any real structure. A friend of mine's beer at least had some structure to it, but still tasted off. My girlfriends beer had a excellent toasty/nutty flavor to it, but again was overly sweet. As a note, there were no styles mentioned. A few of them had some details on the ingredients used and a whimsical description but nothing overly glaring as to what exactly you were ordering.

S: Service was outstanding. You could tell the waiter thoroughly enjoyed his job and believed in the every aspect of the business. He was attentive to our needs and didn't mess anything up. He was however a little quick on the gun. We hadn't but sat down and handed us the draft list and he was already asking us what we would like to drink. (I can't dock much for this, as in a typical bar I would put this as a plus)

S: Selection is decent at around 12taps. However, as mentioned above, it's hard to discern what you're ordering and a few things we attempted to order they were out of. That seems to be a point where many new brewpubs fail. If you're out of something, 86 it off the menu's. They do sell tasters, pint and growlers at a reasonable price.

F: The food was above average. Everything sounded delicious. Two of us ordered the Naked Monk, a simple Bison burger. The burger was over cooked for how I asked, which left it a bit dry. Although, still very tasty. (Local Bison, local produce, etc.)

V: The prices seemed to be scattered, but i'm guessing that's due to home grown vs. shipped in. Some things were adequately priced while others were on the high side. Our bill for 3 people came to around $47 before tip. (2x Burgers, 1x Taco's and 3 pints)

All in all, i like the decor and the food. The beer leaves much to be desired. The one other thing that confused me is the fact that they didn't have a single Stoney Ridge Wine on the Wine list. There is a decent winery less than 5miles up the road and yet you don't have any of their wine on your menu... really?! At any rate, get a real brewer in here that knows what they're doing and this would be one of the coolest spots in NW Ohio.

First off, this is one of the most interesting brewpubs I have been to in the midwest. Located in the basement of an 1890's church the vibe is most certainly medieval castle crossed with something from Monty Python. Stone walls, unique handmade tables, and a giant stone cross shaped bar are just a few of the highlights. There is even an old (now empty of course) crypt in one room. Really unique vibe.

Food is also well above brewpub standards. Everything served is handcrafted and well thought out. They have a lunch, dinner, and on Saturday, brunch menu. Sushi, sandwiches, stuffed french toast (fantastic), and dinnertime meals are served. Fresh ingredients are used, the Bison comes from an Angola, IN farm, they also have an 8 acre garden somewhere. Can't wait to try some more of their food.

Sadly, the weakest link is the beer. It is not bad, far from it, but as a previous reviewer pointed out, they all seem pretty "safe". The ones I tried (5 or 6, the wife drove) were all nicely done, but none of them knocked my socks off. They were, however, solid. Hopefully at some point they will become as adventurous with their beer as they are with their food and decor.

Beers were $5 a pint, growlers were available, $15 a fill , food was reasonably priced all things considered. Service was stellar, the bartender gave us a tour of the entire church.

Can't wait to return.

 

Father John's is a brewpub, b.o.p., bar, restaurant, and performance space located southwest of the William County Courthouse. We entered from the north side, and weren't 100% sure which way to go. Go down to the basement for the brewpub.

It's obvious, they've spent a lot of time decorating the basement. Religious symbols and pieces of former churches are everywhere from the lights to the seats. It's almost a medieval cathedral or castle atmosphere, but still lively and warm.

The menu changes daily. Bison is a specialty of the house, along with many locally sourced produce. It's not your standard bar food. Father John's kitchen is aiming higher. I commend them for that. (and my salmon was delicious) Seafood is definitely highlighted. Bison burgers and steaks looked quite good, too.

Service was friendly. The hostess enthusiastically told us about the business and seated us promptly. The bartender (just a little away from our seats) was jovial and entertaining to listen to. Our server, well she was nice, but slow. I'm not sure if she was trying way too hard not to rush us, or couldn't multi-task.

I did a beer sampler. My main criticism is that the beers were too restrained. (especially the IPA) There are plenty of choices, and all I tried were well made. Now take the restrictor plates off and rev that engine.

I plan on returning. It's a cool place with great potential.