7th Settlement Brewery

I've been visiting 7th Settlement since they first opened, but wanted to wait before doing a review. I feel like they are coming into their own as a restaurant and brewpub now that they've been open for a bit.

Atmosphere - The brewpub is located in an old mill and has a very cool converted mill feel. It is a long and skinny space with long, community tables down the middle and separated table seating in the back. There is a (very long) bar along one side wall and windows into the brew house on the opposite wall. It's just a cool community hang-out spot with no TVs.

Selection (beer) - There are about a dozen taps, about which 4 or 5 are usually filled by rotating in-house beers from 7th Settlement and One Love Brewery, which shares the brewhouse, but is operated by a separate brewer. The remaining taps usually have a variety of other local craft beers, which seem to change fairly regularly. One very cool option they have is that you can order a beer french-pressed with fresh hops (of your choosing) to extra hop your beer at your table. Very unique offering that gives you an interesting way to try/tailor beers with various hop profiles. Additionally, on Fridays, they tap a firkin of a unique varierty of one of their beers.

Selection (Food) - They have a fairly basic standard food menu and a daily, rotating blackboard menu, which is based on the ingredients they got in that day. They try to be a farm-to-table type of place, sourcing their food from many local farms. There is typically a couple meats, a couple fish, and desserts that change daily, as well as a rotating soup/chowder. They make everything in-house, all the way down to the condiments.

Quality/Value - I have liked most of the beers i've tried here so far. I will say that so far, they tend to stick to fairly straightforward styles. You won't find any crazy experimental or envelope-pushing beers here, (at least as of now). However, they have all been pretty true to style and enjoyable. As for the food, my wife and I both have loved most things we've tried, including the sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, salads, soups, (my wife loves their chowder), and others. My wife isn't even a beer drinker, but frequents it just for the food. Overall, their prices are pretty reasonable for what you get, though some of the daily rotating dishes seem to be a bit expensive for the portion size on occasion. The one downside is that sometimes the service can be slow.

Overall, we love this place and are glad to have it in Dover. A very welcome establishment for good food, drinks, and a cool space.

 

 

 

Got there just at opening on Saturday and there were people waiting for them to open. Nice list of all there beers. Nice menu for food. Tried a couple of different beers and had a great lunch. Plan on making a return stop next time were in Dover.

 

 

Came here a couple weeks ago. A long but fairly skinny place with a bar that runs for about half the distance. Plenty of seating available when we came for lunch. Nice high ceilings, their mug clubs are cleverly hung on some panels in front of the windows that are on pulleys with counterweights. Girlfriend appreciated the hook under the side table for her purse, some clever designs here.

They had 8 taps on at the moment, went with a sampler paddle of 6 and wasn't disappointed in any of them.

Food was good with fresh ingredients. I went with the Reuben sandwich, the bread was surprisingly not greasy or buttery like they tend to be most of the time, a healthier approach which is a nice change of pace. I'd have it again, I always judge a place on their Reuben. We split their potato dumplings which were some of the tastiest morsels ever, shame the portion size was small, could eat a whole pile of them for dinner!

Biggest complaint would likely be the parking situation that's out of their control. We got lucky to find parking on street and nearby. Since we don't know the area all that well, finding the nuggets of parking bliss would have been unlikely for us and could be a source of frustration for others not familiar with the area.

 

 

 

beer list has grown over past year. List now has a good mix of styles to please the majority. Food seems a bit inconsistent sometimes terrific other times mediocre.

 

I think it's better to view 7th Settlement as a gathering place for food and beer as opposed to a brewery. The owners, Dave and Josh, took a completely abandoned and rundown section of the Dover Mill and turned it into something really special. I grew up in Dover and have watched the city's ebb and flow of industry and restaurants for several decades. I think 7th Settlement is something the city has needed for a long time. This is a business that is community-focused, socially and environmentally conscious, and relaxing to visit. The atmosphere is warm, with a great sense of local history. Staff is friendly. Food is a little on the pricey side but I have never had a bad meal here. Lots of locally sourced ingredients. The beer snobs of the world might not be enamored with the beer selection, but I will say the beers have been getting better with every visit, especially the IPAs. Guest taps too, plus draft cider and wine. Full top-shelf bar. Highly recommended.

Nano brew. Not about the selection. Local food and their own brews. Definitely a favorite of ours.

 

 

 

 

Service was good, food was good, beer was ok. I thought it was pricey. Parking is nonexistent. I will go back, but only to watch for improvement in their beer.

I didn't think the beer was all that great, and there weren't many choices. I like the idea of the place though - organic and local foods. The chicken BLT I had was great. The service was fine.