Fitger's Brewhouse

morimech

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Was able to find the single seat left at the bar at 5pm on a Thursday. First beer was Trampled by Hops (hommage to the popular band from the area, Trampled by Turtles) hand-pulled. Why do brewers put their most hoppy beers on cask? It makes no sense. The beer did not benefit from this delivery method. I then switched to El Nino. What a fantastic IPA. I had the Pub burger and fries to eat. The burger was overcooked but otherwise was tasty. The fries were very good. Service varied from exceptional to incompetant. Luckily the stronger servers and bartenders saved the evening as the place got packed as the night wore on. The beer selection was varied with a style for just about everyone. Fantastic location and building. A lot of history throughout the old brewery complex. A must visit if you are in the area.

10-16-2010 17:17:47 | More by morimech

johanvond

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

My fience and I came here my the suggestion of her father, he's a "Ranger" with a love for Duluth and Fitger's. Well it's easy to say that I wasn't dissipointed. That's with the city or The Brewery. For those who don't know Fitgers is in a giant water front complex, that i got a little lost in. It was woth it though because the brewing equiptment and people working are highly visible along with some historical equiptment. Once you get to the resturant you can enjoy one of the fine brews. I got the ESB and Amanda had there Apricot Wheat. I wanted a cask ale but they recently ran out. The beers we had were fresh and well crafted. They were served promptly and poured well. We also had there Wild Rice VeggeBurger, wich is quite possably the best veggeburger We've ever had. It was Large and it didn't fall apart. It also tasted like wild rice soup, what else would you expect from Northern Minnesota.You can get it as is or pub style with grilled onions, mushrooms and a spicy sauce that supports but dosn't overwhelm the flavor of the burger. For all those veggetarrians out there they have a good amount of opitions. Deffinatly come here, the city is great as well.

08-14-2008 19:39:50 | More by johanvond

Redrover

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

As others have mentioned, Fitgers is housed in revitalized Fitgers Compound, which was once home to the original Fitgers brewery.

This brew pub boasts friendly service and a nice atmosphere. I was there on a Monday evening and the place was 3/4s full. They have some great old beer memorabilia scattered around the whole complex.

The actual bar is quite small and seats about 10 people. Plenty of tables upstairs and on the main floor. I’m guessing this is as much a food destination as it is a beer destination.

Speaking of the food, it is very tasty. Fresh & imaginative use of ingredients. I had the black bean burrito with grilled Ahi tuna. Very nice and it was served with some awesome salsa. The portions are large. Quality and quantity! They have a small open kitchen so you can see you grub being prepared.

They have a nice section of scotch and a nifty little wine list, but they really shine with the beer selection. I think they had 10 house beers to choose from, plus about 4 or 5 guest micro bottles. They also have growlers to go. Every beer I tried was solid and a few were very, very good.

I was glad I stayed at the attached Fitgers hotel. The rooms are very nice and the view of Lake Superior was awesome. Each room has a book with a history of the Brewery, nice touch!!

What a great place, I am already looking forward to my return!

08-01-2005 17:06:03 | More by Redrover

JeffKrenner

Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Review from a visit on 6/25/06.

A - Considering I was here early on a sunday afternoon, it was really hard to tell. Nice warm wood all around inside. Patio outside (where of course my wife wanted to sit).

Quality - Everything we had was good. Good beer, Nachos were huge and great. My burger was quite good.

Service - Service was pretty good considering we were the only two on the patio most of the visit. Never let a beer stand empty and food was pretty quick.

Selection - Great selection of brews, I think they had 8 on tap. Food was pretty much the normal brewpub fare with a few twists.

Food - Food was good and quick to come. Already said it in quality.

Value - Prices were reasonable. Beer sampler is a steal at 7 samples for $5.

Great place. Walk around and check out the breweries history scattered all about the building.

07-01-2006 14:01:40 | More by JeffKrenner

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped by for a birthday dinner as its the best beer place I've found in the Duluth area. They have a fairly high number of house brews available, around 10 including cask, and they're pretty much all delicious.

The service and food was pretty good, though at some times our food and drinks came really quickly and other times they didn't. I enjoyed the black bean burrito with tuna. I recommend that or the wild rice burger.

Overall, this place reminds of Town Hall Brewery of Minneapolis. I've heard the brewer is Mike Hoops's (of TH) brother. The El Nino IPA is the one must-have for hop heads. Everything else is an excellent example of their style for the most part.

05-30-2007 00:14:28 | More by tempest

ryantupy

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Fitger's Brewhouse is an essential stop for anyone in the area.

This Brewhouse is a great cozy place to grab a bite to eat and a beer. The nice thing is they always feature qunique beers and constantly rotate offerings. Growlers are affordable but many times they do not offer all the available beers in growlers. Also they pre-fill growlers so some times you will receive a growler that was filled a week ago. Other than that it wonderful place to stop for lunch or diner. The service is good and staf is very knowledable about the beer.

The food is mostly your standard brew pub food offerings. With that said they have some unique menu items and almost all of the food is reasonably priced and tastes good.

02-17-2008 22:35:14 | More by ryantupy

tewaris

Minnesota

4.22/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Fitger's was highly recommended as a must visit beer destination in Duluth, where I was last weekend for a fall colors trip with 3 others. Hungry from the drive, we all headed directly to the place.

It was busy, as one would expect in a beautiful city on a Sunday afternoon and we had to wait for about 10 minutes. We were promptly attended to and the dining room had a nice casual restaurant like vibe to it, which is good because nobody in my party except me wanted to get a beer.

Service was a little slow but that was because of peak load. The beers I had were good, and El Nino IPA was exceptional!

The food was great and the vegetarian options were really good. Two of my friends ordered vegetarian burritos and had a hard time finishing them because they were HUGE. My pub style wild rice burger was delicious too. So was my girlfriend's olive burger.

I strongly recommend this place for great atmosphere, great beer, and delicious food. The museum in the same building looked interesting and the shore of Lake Superior is easily accessible for a post lunch/dinner walk.

I will go to Fitger's again!

10-02-2010 00:31:25 | More by tewaris

slyke

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I visit Fitger's Brewhouse every time I get up to Duluth. This is another place I can't believe it took this long for me to review.

Atmosphere is great with a mix of dark wood and natural stone walls in the cozy bar and interior dining spaces. Service is decent, but can occasionally leave something to be desired.

Beers are very good, with 8-10 selections available at any one time; my favorites are the El Nino IPA and the Big Boat Oatmeal Stout.

Food is very good and shows some imagination. Overall, the Fitger's Brewhouse experience is not to be missed.

09-17-2006 21:14:34 | More by slyke

lhaqq

California

4.28/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Been here a few times and always have enjoyed it. Perched beautifully overlooking Lake Superior. I go to their sister brewery, Town Hall, pretty often. This is a somewhat quite and secluded counterpart. In terms of beer selection, I tend to favor the latter over Fitger's. But Fitger's has a better food selection than Town Hall. One of the times I went was with a good friend who is vegetarian, and they even had a decent enough selection to make her happy. The inside is warmly decorated and inviting.

12-27-2008 19:16:51 | More by lhaqq

kbaker91

Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Spent the weekend in Duluth with my wife, so we made our way to Fitgers a couple of times. Have been there several times in the past.

The Brewhouse is in the Fitgers complex on the shoreline of Lake Superior in Downtown Duluth. The place itself is a little small, which means it can get crowded at lunch or dinner time. It would have been nice if the brewhouse was on the other (lake) side of the hall, perhaps with a patio overlooking the Lake.

The service was fine, with young and attractive twenty-somethings answering questions and providing quick service.

The food is decent, a little better than average bar food done well.

The beer that the Brewhouse produces is excellent. I had a pilsner, an IPA, and a belgian strong ale. All were tremendous. We made sure we picked up a couple of growlers for our return to the Cities.

Prices were fair.

Overall, this place is a must-visit for anyone traveling to or through Duluth.

08-07-2011 21:43:32 | More by kbaker91