Max Lager's American Grill & Brewery

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -11.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

As I entered off of the street, I transited past a staircase to the second floor on the left side, and passed the m.d.s. on my way aft. The rectangular bar was to the immediate right once I passed the lobby and the brewhouse was to the immediate left. Further aft, to the left, was the dining area. Aft of the bar was the kitchen and I finally broke down and ate, opting for some of their B-B-Q.

The whole place had a very industrial feel, from the exposed brick and ducting to the stacked bags of malt to the cog wheel logo to the corrugated aluminum ringing the kitchen.

The food and beer were both passable and filling. I would have preferred more, but I can settle for less, especially when travelling.

02-13-2007 08:59:53 | More by woodychandler

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.64/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Reasonable pub in mid-town touristy area. Beer was so-so, and bartender, though just after luchtime, had no ideas of the beer. But staff was friendly, and young and assertive. They spend time of the hard stuff and wine, and from what I understand, the restaurant. Reasonable prices for the location. Interesting that they tried a barleywine, but they aim to not offend, as apposed to experimenting here. A bit of room, but felt crowded, even though the place was empty, compared to the Pub Store and 5 Seasons, and even Rock Bottom.

03-08-2006 02:18:47 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.22/5  rDev +17.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$

Stopped in here for dinner while I was out as I had remembered seeing the name on BA and thought there might be something worthwhile inside. Walked in and the place was fairly crowded, but sat down and ordered right away. Food was very good and the service was extremely quick. I was actually shocked by how fast the food came out. Pretty good selection of taps, including some IBA, which is just great as I had not had any in the longest time. Was in and out rather quickly which was cool with me as it gave me time to make a couple more stops before heading in. Overall a pretty respectable place to eat that has some good brew inside too. I would stop in here again for sure.

11-29-2007 00:29:32 | More by mikesgroove

dirtylou

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

downtown Atlanta - not a beer destination area, or a destination of any sorts really

on peachtree street - older brick building, fairly generic interior.

woodfired meat, brickoven pizzas - lots of buzzwords but just average quality

the tv situation was a bit dry in the main bar area.

the hopsplosion IPA was servicable but the oktoberfest and grand cru were just OK.

an OK hotel-district stop, good service, pretty decent food and average craft taps. We more or less stumbled upon this place and were reasonably content with the results.

09-24-2011 01:26:43 | More by dirtylou

Redrover

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I have been back several times since my original review. They have been offering a few more choices of hose beers and are doing a rotating session beer project which I like to see. They have also beefed-up their guest beer options. Last visit was week of 4-28-13.

+++

I was in Atlanta for work and hosted a small gathering at Max’s. It is a very nice 2-story brick building. There is a bar area upfront with lots of tables. On the main floor there is an area near the front door that contains some of the brewing equipment. Upstairs there is another dining area, a party space, pool tables and more aging tanks. I noticed they also have a 2 level beer garden/patio in the back. However, it was closed due to the weather.

The service was very friendly. The server could have been a bit quicker, but it is the south and I sometimes think that if that laid back attitude spread to the rest of the country, we would all be a little less stressed out.

They had 4 or 5 house beers on tap and one seasonal which they promptly ran out of. I would like to see a few more choices, but at least the beers were all more than passable.

The food was fine; we ended up having two orders of the tasty wings and other appetizers (Try theGeorgia Peanut Sticks) . I would have liked to try some of their smoked specialties, so I guess a return trip is in order.

The atmosphere was fun if a little laid back. It is a great place for conversation. I noticed three TVs, so we could keep up with the game. The long tables in the front bar area are great for groups. Not ranting, but I liked the fact that there was very few smokers and the bar seemed to have very good ventilation. Much easier to enjoy your beer when you can actually smell it!

All-in-all a nice place for a beer and a bite to eat. Very convenient location to downtown hotels. It is well worth a stop.

12-02-2004 18:47:06 | More by Redrover

shivtim

Georgia

2.98/5  rDev -17%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Finally stopped by Max Lager's during Atlanta Beer Week.
The inside is a hybrid-space, with a bar area right up front, a large dining area, and an upstairs. Large windows, brick, semi-industrial, mostly corporate but a little warmer... reminds me of a nice Rock Bottom. Bar was full of downtown office workers doing happy hour.

They had a decent little selection. The Hopsplosion IPA was not bad at all. Small but decent choice of bottles too from the likes of Terrapin, Dogfishhead, etc. Beer is probably a notch above a Gordon Biersch.

Service was agonizingly slow. I think they were under-staffed for the dinner shift. Had a wood-fired pizza, which was not bad at all.

05-19-2010 18:53:08 | More by shivtim

Loki

North Carolina

2.54/5  rDev -29.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 3.5 | selection: 2 | $$

Ok, this place is a little hard to review as I don't know whether to review this place as a brewery (which they claim to be) or a bar (which they seem to be better at)

Atmosphere: More restaurant than bar, and more chain, corporate, cold brewery than local brewpub.

I have to break up quality into two categories, one for their beers and one for their guest bottle list.

In-house beer Quality: Not good. Out of their Hopslosion IPA, I choose their St. Mungo 90 Shilling ale that seemed to be about 50 to 60 shillings shy. Menu say 9% but it was the weakest tasting, wateriest 90 Shilling ale I've ever had. What little malt backbone that it had was cloyingly sweet. Just not a good beer. Everything else seemed fairly boring and given the first results I didn't really want to try another.

Guest Bottle Quality list: Very good. From Victory Yakima Twilight to DFH 90 Min. to some Stone and many other great beers. But this place is a brewery right? What does it say about your beers if your guest bottle list beats most bars in the area?

Service: Good, not great. The bartender was not knowledgeable at all, except for what they were out of. Slow at times, but friendly enough.

I feel I need to review their selection like their quaility

In-house beer Selection: Poor; only five of their beers and they were out of one. Really, you're a brewery and you only have four beers available. You're not a new brewery and you only have four? Really??? I know homebrewers that keep more than four of their beers on tap!

Guest beer selection: Very good. Quality craft beers from around the country and the world. I quickly found many beers that I would have ordered; however, I wasn't there to get beers from other breweries.

Value: Well it wasn't expensive, but I didn't get anything i enjoyed so kind of a toss up.

Overall I have no reason to go back for their beers. That said I could see taking a diverse group here and being happy with the bottle list.

03-12-2010 13:49:40 | More by Loki

glid02

Georgia

3.73/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

My company moved offices temporarily and we're now just a few blocks away from this location. Needless to say I stopped in.

Atmosphere is nice. It's got an old-school feel to it with exposed brick everywhere. There's a bar on the immediate right upon entering with a bunch of tables in the back. Upstairs there are pool tables and brewing equipment. A few TV's dot the bar downstairs.

Quality is OK. The glassware selection is limited but appropriate for the most part and the temperature and head are at good levels.

Service is good. I've eaten there and saddled up to the bar and didn't have to wait long either time. I overheard the bartender giving the beer spiel (sp?) to fellow barflies and seemed to know what he was talking about.

Selection is solid - there are about eight local beers on-tap running the gamut of styles. I also saw a decent amonut of micro selections in bottles around the place as well, nothing special but a good selection nonetheless.

Food is good - I've only eaten there once but the chicken tenders and fries were solid if not spectacular.

Value is OK. It's a bit overpriced but given its location I can't say I'm terribly surprised.

Overall in Atlanta this certainly isn't up to the level of 5 Seasons but I'd prefer to go here as opposed to Gordon Biersch. Worth a stop if you're downtown as there's not much else available.

07-02-2010 03:14:05 | More by glid02

mynie

Indiana

2.8/5  rDev -22%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5 | $$$$

Spent a whole week in Atlanta and I didn't make it to Brickstore. Sigh... well, this place is right next to the hotel, might as well check it out.

The vibe is a little uppity but not pretentious. It just happens to be where upper middle class people go to drink. Unfortunately for me, residing as I do firmly in the bottom third of income earners, the beer prices were outrageous. Like, wow sort of outrageous. Like, I'd have to think twice about paying 7 bucks for a pint of a exemplary regular-strength beer, and asking me to do the same for decidedly middle of the road, unadventurous micro brews is sort of rude.

The staff was fine. The decor was woody and they had a nice porch upstairs where you could drink. Downtown Atlanta is a nice place, and it's nice to get to look at it while you drink.

But the beers, like I said, were nothing special. And the prices were insane. In a city where seemingly every bar has at least a handful of good craft beers on tap, you might not want to bother stopping here.

04-13-2011 18:04:25 | More by mynie

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

What a relief! After a six-hour drive into Atlanta and settling into our hotel near Centennial Park, I'm in desperate need for a couple beers and dinner. Luckily Max Lagers offers the only symblance of craft beer anywhere nearby. A quick four or five block brisk walk delivers us to the doorstep of a historic brick building that hugs the Peachtree Street sidewalk and anchors the corner of a transit city block in a relaxed urban setting. Regardless of the use of sneakers, it seems that parking wouldn't be a tough negotiation at all.

A quick show to our booth seating near both the bar and the picture windows to the street was met with a very kind waitress ready to take our orders. Though the service was a bit inconsistent with the pace of service, all orders arrived in good order.

The order of beers proceeded much quicker that I'd typically recommend through the Max Gold, Hopsplosion, Gimme Chocolate Bock, Imperial Mocha Oatmeal Stout, and finally the Gran Cru. With a dinner that started with an extremely savory spin/artichoke dip and a dinner of chicken, garlic, and pesto pizza; topped off with the fried cheesecake desert, the food and beer experience went very well.

Where all the beers were very cleanly fermented, I particularly liked the subdued carbonation and reasonable serving temperatures that gave an English impression to the beers and provided a very fond session. Recipe formulations revealed a few bright spots with the Hopsplosion and Max Gold, but a dry-roasty bite with the darker ales and the Gran Cru that will happily appease those with a sweet tooth. They also serve a Max Red, of which I didn't get around to trying, and a smattering of rotational beers per season and such. It seems that there's 5-7 beers on tap at our visit.

There's a somewhat uptight Applebee's-like quality to the restaurant that extends from the decor, to the scripted service, layout, and ambiance. The saving grace of exposed brick, rustic wooden and metal elements, higher quality of foods, and of course the in house made beers prompts a response of character and charm. The price tag is somewhat reflective of the added charm as we felt that most items were tilted toward the pricier side of quality.

We had a fine time with dinner and drinks, but next time, we'll rein in on the orders because of price consideration and overall staged quality that kept us from really relaxing (this certainly wasn't because of the lack of social lubrication). If in town, any Atlanta beer lovin' resident should give an evening to this brewpub. The same goes for anyone who's visiting the Centennial Park area. But Atlanta offers some better beer venues further up Peachtree or in Decatur for those visiting nearby areas to them.

09-21-2011 04:44:03 | More by BEERchitect