I'm not disagreeing with the horrible service because I've been there to see and experience it. I was trying to point out that they still top the list in spite of no ratings for the past 18 months. I could have worded it better.
Founder's (current location and the original in the Brass Works building), Hill Farmstead, Monk's, Victory, Great Lakes, Prohibition Pig, and HopCat. If you count the Richmond site, Stone as well.
My understanding is they are "temporarily" closed. True or not, who the heck knows. Far as the pilgrimage, my work got me 95% of the way, figured I would check it off (this was 2016ish). I didn't have issues with service and enjoyed myself for the most part. That moves my total to 11 visited, 2 alternate locations. Definitely sad to see Revolution go, that was a great stop on the way to O'Hare.
Hmmm... I could have sworn I read about them closing some years back, but I'm clearly mistaken. They've always been a place I've wanted to visit.
Hmmm... had to go take look at my review again. I actually had pretty good service the night I visited, though maybe that was because it was fairly late on a week night. Beer quality was good, selection was good, and even the food was pretty good. Vibe/atmosphere was great. That being said, I can imagine the taproom gets crazy busy during Dark Lord Day and other special release events. I remember thinking at the time that it seemed Iike sort of an odd location for a brewery. I was a bit worn out from driving all day from Morgantown WV, so my perception might have been skewed a bit.
I forget this is a thing to do one here. Really wish i entered the places i have visited internationally. . . . And that you could log the best alley ways and rooftops to drink in in 'urban areas'
I forgot about the ownership change from last November. I think they were closed temporarily but it looks like the downtown GR location is open. They made a post on FB about GR restaurant week 4 days ago. If downtown is open, the other locations probably are too.
not a bad list - I got 8. But -- ProPig isn't even the best beer place in the center of Waterbury VT - that would be the BlackBack pub across the street!
1. I have been to 3 Floyds and Russian River. 2. Monk's Cafe, Hill Farmstead and Toronado are on my wish list as is ChurchKey (not on list). I would say Tree House however I have been to the one in Saratoga so I am sure I need to go to the original for the same thing 3. I am surprised 3 Floyds is #1, they do sell my go to beer though. And I am surprised Firestone Walker isn't on the list
There's only 2 reasons to go to Chico (unless one is a truck driver, which is how I found myself in Chico): SN and Silver Dollar Speedway for the sprint car races. The NC SN spot, there's lots of other reasons to go Asheville. Most of the others on the list are near-ish to population.
Chico is kind of in the middle of nowhere, which might be part of the problem. The nearest "big" city is Sacramento, which is roughly 90 miles south of it. You can get there from I-5, but even then it's a bit of a drive to get to Chico. It's worth the drive imho, but you do have to plan your day around a visit. It’s not someplace like the Toronado, where you can just drop by if you happen to be in the city. Also, most everything available at the SN taproom can be found elsewhere without much difficulty (unlike Hill Farmstead and Tree House, for example). So I can understand why more people haven't visited and reviewed it.
I just remember lots of complaints on here about bartenders who were, uh, distant at best. Mostly not really giving a flying F about serving you. Lots of complaints about the music (only metal, all the time), stories of folks being told to leave if they didn't like it. I might have put up with that 10-15 years ago if the beer was top shelf, but now? I don't think I'd put up with that for even a second.
I've seen 'em all except for Lagunitas & Hopcat. People asking why this one or that one aren't on the list. Consider, yes, it was a great bar, but it closed a long while ago, so it doesn't have 2 dozen years of reviewable love. Likewise, breweries used to be places where you could review the beer but not the establishment itself (I argued in support of this for a long time). There was a time when the tap room adventure was new. It was a cold empty factory space adjacent to the brewery (vibe hit), with people pouring who weren't so beer knowledgeable (service hit), didn't have all the mad one offs (selection hit), and served pretzels (food hit). My position was that the score of the brewery should be based on the overall of its beers and not THAT experience described above. Things changed. Taprooms because glorious, you started getting good smart beer savy people behind the sticks, selections became everything, we got a good food menu. Yeah, it wasn't always like that.
Yeah, I stopped by nearly 13 years ago, so I was a bit younger. Plus after 500 miles of driving, it was a treat to sit down someplace that had a nice beer selection and decent food. I do recall the bartender being a bit slow, but not to the point it annoyed me. It was an enjoyable stop. I'd definitely go back if I happened to be in the area and they were open. People complain about service at the Toronado all the time as well. I assume it's probably justified, but I've always had a good time there with superlative service. Maybe I'm just lucky (or really, really tolerant - LOL!).
I stopped by there in 2021 on the way home from Arlington Park. No food available, only a 'trail' from front door, pick to-go beer, look at possible other items to buy, pay and leave.
From the folks I've talked to, it seems to mostly be schtick with the Toronado's bartenders. Plus, when they had a Seattle outpost, it was a fine place to drink a beer.
