Pratt Street Ale House

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.14/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This was our first stop on a visit to Baltimore for a Bachelor party. We were on our way to a ballgame at Camden Yards which is like 3 blocks away. There is a fair amount of "patio" seating but we strolled inside and grabbed a table near the bar. The bar is english pub decor and feel. Dark wood, wooden stools, breweriana scattered around. The bar is about 15 stools long with maybe 12 tap handles and 3!! hand pumps! Very cool to see that much cask brew.
Service was a little slow as no one came over to our table to see what we needed, and it wasnt jampacked either, but the bar was 5 feet away and the bartenders were cool.
The beers were on the mild side in terms of ABV, which is even more true to England. WE didnt try any food, but the menu was pub grub from across the pond, shepards pie, etc. I had a tasty dark mild ale, and also a nice porter. tasted a strong ale and some others. All beers were very enjoyable. Only drawback was plastic cups, but I think that was due to gameday. They do sell growlers which is always a bonus. This is a must stop if going to a game!

05-18-2006 21:36:19 | More by sulldaddy

marlinsfan4

Maryland

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

New to the city so have been checking out all the new beer places... this place popped up on a Living Social deal so decided to check it out.

Went on a Wednesday night, patio and outside were chock full of people, bar was mostly empty... hey I'm good with that. Service was really quick and pretty friendly, with a nice beer menu provided. There was something like 10 or so house drafts, 5 house seasonal drafts, a few macro drafts (yuengling, bud light, sam adams), and 3 beers on cask at the time. Big variety of beers, but a lot of them in the "good, not great" category... but everything from cherry beers to imperial stouts. Typical bar food menu with burgers and sandwiches from $10-15 with a heaping side of fries. Pints ranged from $5-6, not bad for being brewed in house and some of the beers nearing 10% ABV.

Kind of in a touristy location near Camden Yards and the convention center, but definitely worth checking out.

04-01-2012 04:25:37 | More by marlinsfan4

MrGossett

Florida

3.73/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

The cask ales at this place are AWESOME. I had the Oliver's Extra Special Bitter cask ale and the Oliver's Winter Wolf Scottish cask ale. Both were fabulous. They were running a special on Yelp, so I got the first pint for free when I checked in on Yelp.

I had a Crab Cake Sandwich which was okay. The bar was really busy right at 5pm, which means the locals love it. Indeed, I asked for a recommendation from the guy who writes BeerInBaltimore.com, and he said "you can't go wrong with Pratt Street Ale House."

03-14-2012 23:39:37 | More by MrGossett

hdf561

Virginia

3.3/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

This place has been staring me down for a few years.

Baltimore hosts Firehouse EXPO annually and I have been going for several years and always pass this place since it is right across from the convention center.

So finally we decided to hit it up for lunch. Overall it was not that bad, however the smell inside was so strong with the brewing being done on the premesis. It also made the inside very hot which was already a HOT baltimore day.

Overall the beers and food were average I hade the Blonde ale and it was good nothing special just a good beer. I also had the buffalo chicken sliders which again was good not great.

Overall I would go there again just not with kids.

01-08-2012 00:45:34 | More by hdf561

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Nice pub atmosphere with a sturdy tap selection where their English style, and seasonal brews shine.

Finally had a chance to make it to the Pratt Street Ale House after having had many of their nice brews elsewhere. Staff was polite and accommodating. We had informal lunch outside, which worked pretty well. We were a couple of families with kids and they were very child friendly with predictable if fair kid pub food. Inside the atmosphere was of a modern exposed brick pub, rather luminous, with a strong sports vibe, more so being the opening day of the NFL season and with the Ravens playing around the corner.

Nice tap selection, with a couple of perfunctory macros and other common choices to satisfy mainstream needs. Then a nice offering of their ales, most of them on tap, with a few nitrogenated, and the flagship selections of ESB and Extra ESB on cask, with a nice pick of seasonal rare offerings closing the menu.

The server was eager and nice, but did not offer the special menu on time and we lost some time hitting regular stuff instead of the most intriguing offerings, both on the food front but more so on the beer one. Besides the cask ESB, which was truly notable, we tried the Draft Punk, and in particular the Sorachi Strongman Pale Ale, as well as the Juniper Batch 3500, which were quite stellar.

Food was pretty good pub fare, most everybody had a version of their burger, which were pretty pleasing, and also the crab-cake sandwich was had and apparently it was very tasty too.

All in all this worked great for our group. The beer experience was nice, including picking up a growler to take home. If you know Baltimore or want to really explore it there is plenty more to see and do outside of the tourist trap that is the Inner Harbor, but if you happen to be in that dynamic this is quite a jewel within walking distance of its core.

09-12-2011 16:11:04 | More by Daniellobo

clayrock81

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Went before a baseball game crowd showed up (there were fans starting to pour in as we were leaving) so there service was attentive and knowledgeable - only downside was that they were in shift change and for about 10 minutes my wife and I felt like we disappeared. Clean, trendy, roomy - it has the look of a city sports bar and you'll pay those prices. However, the brews they make are pretty good, they have other beers and a full bar for people not into micros and I was surprised at how well the food is (got wings and pizza). Def worth a stop in and trying both beer and food.

07-21-2011 16:01:16 | More by clayrock81

DoubleSimcoe

New York

3.75/5  rDev -5.8%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The Pratt Street Ale House sits right at the heart of the "touristiest" area of Baltimore, the annoying and cheesy Inner Harbor. Right across the Convention Center, no less.

Perhaps as a result, the atmosphere is pretty average... lots of tourists and light-beer drinkers. Didn't see much of the interior as we were seated outside. Nothing spectacular here.

Didn't try food but looked fairly boring. Your standard pub menu, with salads, soups, quesadillas and burgers.

Service was alright, a little slow because the place was jammed but fine.

The beer is the star here, of course! 17 house brews on taps and 3 casks, all from the Oliver Breweries brand and all English style. If you like that, you'll be in heaven. I'm not a fan of British ales so didn't much care for the selection (it is undeniably good, though).

They also sell growlers, which is a rarity in Baltimore/Maryland (due to legal issues and murky legislation).

Beers of interest... an 8% "Bishop Indulgence Stout" I'd like to try next time, "Hot Monkey Love Batch 2" (an Old Ale), "Channel Crossing Vol. 2" (an Abbey brown ale).

Some good stuff, then, at least in name. Because when you have the beers, you realize they are decent, maybe good, but not great. They won't make you feel like you gotta run back to Pratt Street to try them all. They are alright fine.

I had "The Barrel Full of Monkeys Challenge", with three monkeys:

* My Monkey's Got Wood (an American barleywine aged in American Oak)

* My Minkey's Got Wood (the same beer, aged in French Oak)

* Hot Monkey Love Batch #2 (a Strong Ale aged for three months)

I appreciate that Oliver/Pratt are brewing interesting beers beyond the IPA/Brown/Stout typical lineup. But I was not impressed by these monkeys. They were all too woodsy, too hot and fairly one-dimensional.

That plus the off-putting location makes this my least favorite stop in the Great Baltimore Beer Trail.

11-02-2010 16:26:24 | More by DoubleSimcoe

86sportster883

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Needed to kill an hour prior to the Stone T5 event at the Ale Wife, so I wandered down toward the Baltimore Convention Center and found the Pratt St. Ale House across the street. Since it was a beautiful afternoon, I sat out front and ordered a pint of cask conditioned Oliver's Best Bitter ($4.50) and the crab cake appetizer ($12.95). Outside, the music was mostly lame (when was the last time you heard, Little Willie Willie won't, go home, ...), flies swarmed my beer and the street traffic added an endless cacaphony of urban noise. That said, the early afternoon sidewalk scenery wasn't bad.

Always on tap: Pagen Porter (English-style Porter), Ironman Pale, Blond Ale, 3 Lions Ale (a strong English-style Brown), Amber Ale, Summer light, Dark Horse (an English style mild) and Irish Red.

Oliver Breweries' Seasonal Ales included Jacob's Summer Celebration (amber ale, 8.8%), Bishop's Indulgence (stout, 8%), and two different versions of Hot Monkey Love (a 10% ale brewed with honey).

Guest beers included Yuengling, Stella Artois, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Guinness and Bud Light.

On cask: Oliver's Best Bitter (ok, but just a little thin), Oliver's ESB (smooth, flavorful and delicious) and the Dark Horse.

On nitro: Bishop's Brerakfast (oatmeal stout), Coventry Cream and 3 Spices Ale (described as an English-style Golden ale).

10-06-2010 17:12:09 | More by 86sportster883

gabrielsyme

Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +15.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

This place isn't anything out of this world, yet I can't help but love it. They specialize in English beers, which is totally my thing. Lots of good session otpions around ~4.5%, normally about 12-15 of their beers (they also have other brewers, and macros). And all the beers are $4.50 a pint. The food is typical American BAr/TGIFriday's, but decent portions and quality. I like sitting outside. It has never been too crowded when I was there. If you're in B-more and Brewer's Art makes you feel poor, hit this place up.

05-29-2010 02:50:19 | More by gabrielsyme

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped by here for the first time since this place morphed into the Alehouse from its previous incarnation as the Wharf Rat. I have to say the new owners have done a nice job cleaning the place up, while keeping the sort of faux Brittish pub vibe. The place is not all that large, but the owners make the most of the space they have. There is an upstairs and downstairs dining area, with a decent size bar area in both locations (the upstairs bar is more modest in size and doesn't have quite the number of tap handles you see at the larger downstairs bar). There is also a large size patio area, which was in full use the day I was here. The place now has a considerable number of flat screen TV's for those who want to watch a sporting event with their pint.

Back in the days when this was the Wharf Rat, I typically could expect to see something like 10 or 12 Oliver brewing beers on tap, with several on cask. However, the day I was there I think the pub boasted close to 30 beers, with a decent number of guest beers in addition to their own strong line-up of Oliver beers. In addition, on this particular day there were another 11 or 12 beers on firkin for the ale festival. The alehouse also had what appeared to be a decent selection of bottled beer, but with the tap list they have, it's hard to imagine why I'd want to go with anything bottled.

I have to say that I've always been a fan of the beers from Oliver brewing, and I thought the quality was better then ever the other day. Hot Monkey Love and the Bishop's Indulgence were the standouts on this particular day, with the oak aged 3 lions decent.

As for the food, it's fine for what it is. We tried some nachos, wings, fries and a turkey club, all of which were decent and competently made. Don't expect a gourmet dining experience here, and I think most people will be satisfied with the food here. Prices are the norm for food in this area (nachos and wings both going for around $8 or $9). Service was good I thought. There was a considerable crowd, but the server did his best to make sure our orders were taken and food delivered promptly. My impression is that they could tell you the basics about any of the beers currently on tap, but not much more then that.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Pratt Street Ale House, and would probably stop by here on a fairly regular basis except for one problem. The location. The alehouse is located in the inner harbor area, nearby to Camden Yards, M&T Bank stadium (home of the Ravens), and all the inner harbor tourist stuff. As a result, traffic is often miserable and parking can be expensive. There are all kinds of lots nearby, but near as I can tell, none of them offer any deals or discounts on the weekends, and I've yet to encounter any bar, restaurant or store that will validate parking (Pratt Street Alehouse doesn't either). As a result, it may well be another few years before I ever stop by here again. A shame, but I just have a difficult time tolerating the nonsense and expense that goes with visiting the inner harbor (and so the alehouse).

03-21-2010 13:59:15 | More by johnmichaelsen