Fort Street Brewery

Francois

2.23/5  rDev -40.4%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 2.25 | service: 2 | selection: 2 | food: 2.25 | $$

I live downriver and was glad to see a brew pub opened here.
Have been going there off and on since it opened.
Getting more frustrated with this establishment. The food and beer are hit and miss, in my opinion. I get dis appointed when their beer and menu selection is deficient.
I brew my own beer, went to chef school in San Francisco and have worked in white table restaurants.
Our last visit was the last straw. When Doug sat us down, we asked for a "high top". He stated "REALLY". There was space and it was not busy. His next statement was, my wait staff will "bitch and moan" He reluctantly seated us where we requested to sit for a "cover" of four. Not a demanding request.
I said, Thank you for accommodating us. He had no response, and walked away, no eye contact.
This did effect my evening with my family and I unsubscribe to e-mails.
I will not return any time soon.
I hoped that they would have been more customer service focused.
I would have been reprimanded or fired for such behavior.
Get your shit together, Doug.

02-02-2013 23:57:25 | More by Francois

Jay43613

Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +14.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I love coming here. I have been several times now. There is an enormous beer variety and I have yet to try a bad one. All of the food that I have tried there so far is highly complimentary to the variety of beer that they serve. The service could use a little bit of a change in the happy direction, but I would still highly recommend Fort Street Brewery.

01-07-2013 18:12:06 | More by Jay43613

claminat420

Michigan

2.28/5  rDev -39%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 1 | food: 3 | $$

alright i didn't want to judge this place on my first time there which sucked so i went a few more times. out of four visits one was pretty good. the atmosphere is prolly the best attribute this place has. service is alright. i didn't see the wanna-be model b&tch workin the bar who likes to socialize more with other workers then get people drinks. but anywho service has been alright. went last night and was clearly disappointed. they only had four or five beers on tap which all to me are lame. my mom's bf tried a lincoln lager and said it tasted very skunky which isn't good. my gf tried the sarsaparilla (spelling?) and it tasted like a bud or bud light with the slightest bit of mug root beer poured into it. they had some other foo-foo beer which the owner/brewer loves to brew. food is a hit or miss. i went last time and got steak fajitas that were good. last night i ordered a burger medium and it came totally pink. i ordered a coke and it tasted funny. my gf and mother both tried it and told me to send it back. i also ordered a shot of makers and it was piss warm. my biggest beef with this place is the owner and brewer is a wanna-be ron jeffries from jolly pumpkin. it's hard for him to brew a solid beer and not add nutmeg and figs and b.s. to it. i don't wanna come off as an a$#hole but i'm good on this place. i'm calling this place to go under in two years. if not it's mostly staying alive as a restaurant and not as a brewery.

Example- purple gang and bag of hops were sold out. nothing crazy just solid brews. but if you want his b.s. juniper rye or something else with spices they'll have em for months on end.

01-21-2012 22:51:14 | More by claminat420

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

The Fort Street Brewery was located on a busy street outside of Detroit. The dinning area included numerous low tops, high tops, and bar stools...very big area. There were big screens and Michigan sports flags hanging from the ceiling. The quality was good, the food was ok, the servise was great. The selection for beer was good, but I thought the menu was lacking a little. There was no pizza on the kids menu and the adult fair was standard bar fare. The value was ok, $32 for adult meal, kids meal, kids drink, and a sampler platter.

11-12-2011 04:26:56 | More by WoodBrew

divineaudio

Michigan

3.33/5  rDev -11%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

atmosphere is not so great - a typical sports bar feel and a lot of open space makes the place loud inside, even with just a few patrons hanging around watching the game. has far too many tvs and they all have some sort of game on. when will brewery owners figure out that not everyone wants to watch sports while drinking their beer?

food selection was good, but the quality was no so hot. i ordered the chips and gooey cheese which was good until the cheese got cold, and then the kobe sliders which were pretty good except for the english muffin they used as a bun. too much bread and not enough burger.

beer selection was decent, 6 taps i think. i had a belgian bread stout and hops to burn dipa - see my reviews. a few bonus points for almost always having something special on tap.

our waiter was friendly and fielded our questions with ease.

price seems on par with the quality, but nothing here really blew my sock off. just another run of the mill local brewpub.

09-27-2011 03:29:23 | More by divineaudio

camil1mj

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

This is a good example of a local small brewery. The good:
-The fish and chips were good.
-I really liked Doug's Turbo Sarsaparilla. It is a root beer flavored beer.
-They also had a very well done bourbon barrel bock.
-Pricing was realistic. I got the beer sampler and it was $1 a beer.
-The had a large variety of beer on tap with some rotating small batch seasonals.
The bad:
-Our server was kind of slow, but in her defense it was a large group.
-They had a "garbage can" beer where they made beer with random ingredients. It was not so great.

05-16-2011 20:47:20 | More by camil1mj

goast8127

Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $

My first trip to Fort Street was the third in our once-a-month trips to local breweries we never or rarely visit.

We were impressed initially upon entering the building. It's a wide open space with plenty of seating, both high and low tops, and several televisions. There is a couple dartboards and a pool table. The TVs themselves were a bit substandard but I don't generally find myself visiting a brewery based on the quality of the television.

Being a Sunday, seats were readily available. Our server, Dawn greeted us promptly and gave us the rundown of what was available. Seemed to have an adequate knowledge of the beer.

Six beers were available on tap. The selection essentially matched what was listed on the web site. Descriptions of each were listed in the menu.

The beers themselves were just OK. Overall, the group's favorite was the mocha porter followed by Corktown Red. We were a little disapointed in the sarsparilla, but personally I think it should be served at a touch warmer temperature. The 6x6 was unique, and should be tasted last in any order of sampling. I feel it affected my opinions of some of the subsequent tastes.

We only ordered the soft pretzels, which were good but tough to do wrong.

We were very impressed by the prices. The highest pint was $5 with most between $3 and $4.

Overall the place was decent. It's not close enough to home for me to make regular trips but I'd recommend it to somebody in the area.

04-17-2011 23:47:09 | More by goast8127

beerguru15

Michigan

4.18/5  rDev +11.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I typically hit this brewery during the down time between the Morning and Afternoon practice for the Detroit Lions during the summer.

When walking into the brewery, you're presented w/ a considered size of tables and plenty of bar space. Behind the bar you'll find your mixed drinks, plus vats that seem to circle around.

So far the quality of the beer has been quite well. Yesterday I ended up having a Belgian Imperial IPA, and being someone who doesn't drink that much IPA it as quite enjoyable. I've also had a good Pale ale and their regular Lincoln Lager there also.

The few times I've been there I've been presented with excellent service. Yesterday the bartender presented me with a rundown on their beers, and made suggestions pertaining to her own liking and ones that may fit my pallet. This is something I look for in a brewery, plus the overall attentiveness and way of handing an order

The selection wasn't bad, there are usually 6 beers on tap I believe with a cask ale that is tapped every thursday. The beer selection doesn't really have a "in between" regarding Alcohol content, as some of the beers are low 4% all the way to 10% Though I do have to say that they do have a decent selection of beers that aren't normal and are constantly rotating taps

The food has been excellent the few times I've been there. They have food such as sandwiches & Burgers, to Steak and Fish, a little of everything. I got the phily steak last year and this year a build your own sandwich, both were excellent.

Which leads to your value..the food was greatly priced, especially 5.50 for a Burger..the beer was so so priced..but basically the higher the ABV the more you paid

Overall I find this place to be enjoyable and is a annual stop when making the trip down to see the Lions practice. I recommend all in going there and look forward to attending this place in the future

08-10-2010 05:28:34 | More by beerguru15

ahking

Michigan

3.79/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $

A gem in Lincoln Park. This brewpub is simple and serves very good beer. I have not tried the food, but service at the bar on a weekday evening was great.

High ceilings and simple decor of retro Detroit beer signs and other liquor drinks on the wall.

Lots of tables and bar seats available and 7 or 8 tv's tuned to sports or trivia.

This is a place for working folk who like a great beer at the end of the day as well as beer lovers.

I enjoyed the beers and the easy going atmosphere here on my first visit and hope to be in the area again with friends to enjoy the food with some very tasty beers.

12-23-2009 23:59:45 | More by ahking

ILikeGoodCider

California

4.22/5  rDev +12.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $

Enjoyed this experience tonight (Monday, 03.30.09) with my future Brother-in-law.

This is the brewpub other brewpubs aspire to be...

OK, that was a little exaggerated. Alas, this particular brewpub does what many others lack - quality beers COMBINED with quality "everything else."

A - Expansive, spacious, [insert other synonyms here]. TVs with sports (and texas hold'em on Mondays) abound. A projection screen with a hockey game (not Wings) at the center. Four or five groups of regulars scattered around the place. For a Monday, post-St. Paddy's day, I'd have to give a major thumb's up to holding a local crowd so dense & varied.

Q - As for the beer, both my buddy & I got the sampler (six 5 oz'ers) to start - since we are "virgins" here. On the row were "Lincoln Lager," "Purple Gang Pilsner," "Corktown Red," "Hearth Ale," "Stimulus Ale" & "Beernormous." Shortly before we left, I was able to sample Doug's Turbo Sarsaparilla.

Besides the Lager, which is what it is, all were B- or better. The Stimulus is an Imperial Saison by definition, but the IBU at serving was a 77, so it was a delight. And Beernormous is an Imperial Stout - also a crowd pleaser (and by crowd, I mean both me & my drinking mate lauded it's quality. Any way you slice it, Doug is a master & well-read on the intricacies of brewing.

Food = B+

Please try a sandwich on the Pretzel bread. I had Turkey & Pepperjack on it. Well-done. And the fries were lightly seasoned & CRISPY!

Ser - Our bartender was very nice, knowledgeable & helpful. She explained the brews quite well & was well-informed of upcoming cask tappings (check the website - a new cask every Thursday, including what seems to be a recurring trend of "Build a Beer" -- love the double entendre there -- where the group that shows gets to choose the ingredients).

Sel - Something for everyone. I gave them a 3.5, but then bumped up to to a 4.0 after Doug pulled a new cask of the Turbo Sarsaparilla for us. Try it - boozy Root Beer. If you love Root Beer - 5.0, if you hate Root Beer, 1.0. It's that good (or not).

F - See quality (sorry I got excited).

V - Pints cost $3.00-$4.00. Pints. All day, every day. And they were $0.50 cheaper on Monday. AND they have other specials. Sorry if that' more like a $$ in Michigan, but I live in CA now, and the only $ there is Thunderbird & Boone's...

I fell in such love, I bought two t-shirts (which really shouldn't clue you in, because I'm a sucker for supporting local beer-makers). But, my future brother-in-law brought home a growler (WITH A GROWLER COOZY, no less!!! - no, really check it out: http://www.fortstreetbeer.com/fort_street_006.htm) and he isn't a man to invest in a "one-time" growler, so kudos to Doug!

Sorry for the novel, but top-notch brewpubs with local brewers who take the time to study at places like Siebel deserve appropriate notoriety.

Thanks Doug, I'll see you in June!

Chris S.

03-31-2009 04:06:42 | More by ILikeGoodCider