I will be hitting Providence for a long weekend in a couple of weeks. Any intel on the best breweries and/or spots for craft beer is appreciated. Cheers!
"Must try breweries": Tilted Barn, Long Live Beerworks, Buttonwoods Brewery, Proclamation Visit the Island Brewer's Guild if you want an assortment of beers from their contract brewing clients. Places to eat that are worth a damn (not necessarily all beer) - Figidini, Bayberry Beer Hall, Harry's Burger Bar, Los Andes, Pizza J's, Al Forno
All good suggestions, but I honestly wouldn't bother making the trek to Tilted Barn to wait in line if you're only in RI for the weekend. If you've had good hazy IPAs before, you won't be missing out on much. If you're staying downtown, other spots to check out include: The Eddy (cool cocktail spot, also with beer), The Dorrance (more of a fancy cocktail spot, if you're traveling with a wife/GF), The Malted Barley (beer & food), Rogue Island (beer & food), The Grange (if you or someone in the party is a vegetarian, also a good tap list), The Red Fez (divey place, cheap beer and good food, will definitely show off some local PVD color), and The Avery (a great spot for cocktails/whiskey after hitting Long Live Beer). Others will suggest Julians, I say save a few bucks and go elsewhere.
Go to Durk's BBQ. Not only is the BBQ really good, their beer list is very well-curated. Always have Curieux on tap. Had Christmas Bomb (I think it was Christmas) when I was there. 30 draft lines, 100 whiskeys, and a great cocktail list. This should be your move. Co-sign on The Eddy too.
I'm visiting Providence this week as well. Checking out Proclamation and Long Live tomorrow - my local colleagues speak highly of all of them. Was also told to check out Isle Brewers Guild in Pawtucket. And to look out for Lord Hobo's Boom Sauce and Grey Sail Captain's Daughter. Last night I hit Wild Colonial Tavern and they had Lawson's Sip of Sunshine. Then went to Harry's Burger Bar (OG) and was stunned to see that they had Founders CBS on draft. Good night for the Providence beer scene. Happy beer'ing.
Seconding Malted Barley for a decent place to stop. Not the best tap list in the universe, and the service leaves something to be desired, but I've been surprised about what they've had on tap there in the past (KBS / BCBS), and they're downtown if you're walking around.
Above pretty much covers it. Just a few other potential places to look into based on mood: Ogie's Trailer Park, not much of a taplist but a big list of all canned beer, atmosphere is 50s/60s lounge with the titular "trailers" around the edges. Same general neighborhood as Bayberry, Pizza J and Long Live. Another place in the neighborhood I haven't made it to but heard good things about is Bucktown. If you want any beer to go, Nikki's Liquors at North Main St/Branch Ave intersection is one of if not the best shop in RI. If you are looking for brunch during the weekend, Rogue Island mentioned above is the spot. Or if you want to visit the Tree House of donut spots PVDonuts often has a line out the door. So long as they don't do a special collab the wait is usually reasonable. Big brioche-style donuts. (They seriously released a super bowl collab donut with Bucktown which was topped with buffalo chicken, mac&cheese and a fingerling potato.)
Everything above makes sense, but if you're looking for pizza and craft beer, Flatbread is amazing for both. Durks BBQ is right around the corner too
Agree with the other post - Tilted Barn is great but not worth the time in my opinion. You can get the top shelf hazy IPAs at Proclamation, Buttonwoods and Long Live. Long Live is in a great spot as Bayberry Beer Hall is right around the corner.
Haven't been yet, but heard great things about Rebelle Bagels. Also, if you're near Brown Univ. at all, check out the crepe place off Thayer St. My favorite hangover spot, if a bit hard to find.
Bayberry all the way. Love that place. If you get the chance head down to Proclamation. Bolt Coffee in the Dean is my favorite coffee. The Eddy is dope but not really for beer. Rebelle Bagels is a fantastic suggestion. Their Lox is top notch. Ken's Ramen is my last suggestion. Bring Cash.
I tried Long Live a couple weeks ago fairly soon after open (wed I think) and it was jam packed, with a line snaking through their tiny space. Had to cut bait on that and leave. Was mine a fluky experience, or is there any good advice about when to go?
It is a small place so it can be packed time to time, that said my guess based on timing is this was their 2nd anniversary and probably the 2nd ann'y can release so that was the worst possible time for space issues. I dropped in this past Saturday just after opening for a can release and there was maybe a line of 10-15 which dissipated within a half hour to where I could get a refill draft no problem. If there is no can release things can vary but more often then not lines are minimal.
Update - went to Long Live last night. The All Seeing Eye is one of the best beers I've ever had. The others were excellent too. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Also checked out Proclamation, which was very good.
I was lurking around this thread since I was going up to Tree House and Trillium for my birthday weekend this weekend and wanted to stop at some breweries in the Providence area as well - I've only ever been to Tilted Barn once and have not been able to make it back there due to time limitations. Just want to thank all the suggestions since I stopped at Long Live and Buttonwoods - along with Proclamation which I have been trying to go to for a while also. Long Live is simply awesome. Got there right when they opened Friday and had All Seeing Eye. I was so impressed with this brew that I had 2 pours and a growler to go to share with my friends back home. Also tried the cask of Attitude, Better Things - both were solid. Buttonwoods was also great - had a chance to talk to the head brewer/owner(?).
when long live beer works does a can release on Thursdays, what's the line typically like at opening (4pm)?
Varies a lot, but expect 10-12 people waiting on a light day, 30-40 and growing on a bad day. It gets further complicated and slowed down by the people filling growlers at the same time or sitting at the bar and getting pours. Although, if you're there early enough to score your cans and still be among the first to get a seat at the bar and get pours/fills without re-entering a line, that's the way to go! Sometimes they have two stations set up, one for cards and cans only, and the other at the bar for any service/cash. Otherwise, people line up to go to the end of the bar for either cans or fills.
