Fitger's Brewhouse

mnfinnkidd

Minnesota

4.3/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Had a hard time finding the place to begin with. I walked into the tap room another bar in the complex. I was concerned because no one was there and the place kind of looked like a typical bar but the BT directed me to the right way to the brewhouse.

Walked into a nice lively place on a thursday afternoon. Handdrawn beer listing on the chalk boards with ABV and some S.G.'s . There was 11 different varieties to choose from. Decided to take a seat at the bar and ordered two Orange Blossom's. One for me, One for my gf. It was despended though a handpumped faucet. Something I'd never seen.

Overall it was a pleasant experience...

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Since my first visit in the summer of 2006. I've stopped at the brewhouse every time that I visit duluth. The adventure growler are a nice travel companion as we are usually doing something that would break glass while in duluth. The food in the place is excellent. Beer battered fries are definitely worth a try. The red stag burger is my favorite. Beer has always been great and they are not shy about samples. They do offer boots by request and they don't cost too much to get either. Overall my favorite place to drink beer at.

07-18-2010 06:30:54 | More by mnfinnkidd

CharlesDarwin

Rhode Island

4.33/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

This place is as near to beer heaven as one can be. The list of expertly crafted brews always on tap is long, with lots of diversity and always one brew to really write home about. Prices are fair for the quality. My only complaint is the lack of proper glasswear.

The food is great pub food (try the Wild Rice burger). The service is quick, friendly and warm. The ambience is classic. Growlers are available in glass or nalgene for $6 refills!

I nearly lived here during my time in Duluth and now I miss it dearly.

Hoops is a masterful brewer, with great innovation and execution. Their recent expanse has been nothing but successful and talking to him at festivals is great. The whole brewing crew are a real good bunch.

07-22-2006 17:52:02 | More by CharlesDarwin

zeff80

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I've visited this place several times during the Christmas holiday. This year I had extra time to make two trips to Fitger's. The beers have always been very good. Here's what they had on their menu this weekend: Bellsnickle Wheat Wine, Big Boat Oatmeal, El Nino IPA, Gale Force Cranberry Ale, Ginger Pale Ale, Heaven or Helles, Lighthouse Golden, Saaquatch, Starfire Pale Ale and the Witchtree ESB. I did not try the Wheat Wine and the Sasquatch was all gone. The food has always been very good. My California Chicken sandwich was okay but they really skimped on the guacamole. The atmosphere is pretty good. They are working on a retail store in the basement. Overall, Fitger's is a place that you shouldn't miss in Duluth.

Edit: Dec. 2008 - Retail store is done. Fridges have filled growlers and 750ml corked bottles.

12-30-2007 19:32:55 | More by zeff80

slander

New York

4.33/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Duluth on the lake. A good few hours ride up, gooder actually in that I didn't have to drive it. Over the hill, the little city there. In a big old building where a brewery once lived, a large multi floored complex we cannot easily navigate. Shops, eateries, other places not the brewpub, hallways, ramps, stairwells, fire poles, chutes, ladders...

A tight little place with an angled "U" shaped bar off to the left seating 10, though you wouldn't think so. Light wood with a foot place, and a wood overhang tracing the bar with tap selections & growler pricing on lower vertical slatings, some glassware shown above, and barrels and birdhouse atop. Most unusual, the tap set up; an upside down bar tower row of 11 taps suspended from the underside of the overhang (haven't seen that one before), the tap handles themselves looking like glass pot pipes that I must have seen on a TV documentary somewhere once, and a handpump dead up front. A small TV to the rear of the bar, and a kitchen in the behind the bar back there with a side service area and a vertical board above listing beer & boozings.

Block stone & brick exposed mostly, and some green plaster with vintage Fitger's beer signage. The front panel windows burgundy velvet curtained overlooking the mall hall. Blackboards lining above listing tap selections, wine, whiskey, scotch and growler pricing. Rows of guest tap handles mounted over the boards (strange, 'cause I don't think they pour guest beers), and some neons & bar towels up atop. Wood slat floorings with a tiled area around the bar. Upright & above giant red duct work, pillars & ceilings. Postcard plastered pillars throughout the room, including one behind the bar with a fit rack holding some booze. Big old Fit's pics, shirts displayed on one wall and hats horizontally lining the top of the far wall.

A dozen booths and tables at various heights and of different shapes up front and to one side of the bar. On the other side sits a growler fridge sits in the corne, at the foot of a far room holding a ½ dozen tables and a free standing bar counter on center. On the near side, another room holding a ½ dozen tables & booths, with views on 2 fronts of the corner brew room; 2 rows high of wood lined brew kettles on one wall and fermenters in a row on the other. Through and out from there to a better weather exterior seating area with views not of the lake. And an upstairs perch, I will go see. 3 booths, 5 tables and seating for nearly a dozen on a forward bar counter.

Sampler is 7 beers on a paddle (Witch Tree ESB, pleasant, well balanced, nice bite, good bitterness; Lighthouse Golden, crisp, clean, light sweet maltiness, easy drinking; Undertow Pils, grainy, a little corny even, decent bite; Big Boat Oatmeal Stout, licorice, rich & roasty, big oatiness; Cherry Ale, most pie filling Wisconsin Redlike, very cherry, I do dig; Starfire Pale Ale, good floral hoppiness, nice bite; El Nino Double Hopped IPA, big beer, assertive hoppiness, does not suck), and the other 4 that didn't make the sampler but I wanted to include them in my afternoon so they wouldn't feel neglected (Stasz Summer Wheat, an American Wheat, easy enough; Herbst Lager, lightly sweet, a nice Vienna style lager; White Knight Wit Noir, a roasty, spicy black Wit; Blue Label Grand Reserve, Abbey Dubbel, big beer at 9.9%, sweet). Witch Tree ESB, Big Boat Oatmeal Stout, Cherry Ale, El Nino Double Hopped IPA, Herbst Lager & White Knight Wit Noir were my faves, though there really weren't any clunkers there.

Look, all I'm saying is I had a crazy good grilled Cajun tuna steak sandwich on some kind of phresh multi-grain roll of good, and something red pepper lemon mayolike running down my arms. Traded up the fries for a side salad of great viscosity; romaine with cucs & baby tomatoes, I know there were some sprouts somewhere there along the way. Sandwich win.

Service was good for the most part, Gail ran the room like a mad woman, seemingly the only one there. She left Witz sans beer at one point (for his sins) but then brought him beer and made it better. Playing decent tunes; I don't know what but it sounds Wilcoesque, some of it anyway. And as an oh, by the way, there's a little store downstairs where they sell brewery shwag and growlers, and really cool Jes Durfee glassworks stuff (wine stops and the like). Good food, very good beer. Well worth the hike up north. A great brew pub, superior even.

12-22-2009 05:36:49 | More by slander

gatornation

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

always stop here when in Duluth for brew ,food, the lake and the atmosphere, plenty of parking all around fitgers is on the north shore on LK superior its an older classic looking place with a mall inside a hotel specialty shops a growler shop and other retail food and clothing but what i come here for is the ever changing brews and the tried and true ones, the bar is always packed it is 2 levels but i seem to always stay by the small bar, thay offer flight of 7 brews or pints ive never been diisapointed by the brew, the food ,the service or the atmosphere , this is a destination and a must stop when on the north shore i always buy a growler when there and if it were closer to minneapolis i would drive there more often

12-11-2011 00:42:23 | More by gatornation

corcoranjc

Minnesota

4.35/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $

What a great place. I live in Minneapolis, and my wife and I get up to Duluth about once a year for conferences.

Every time we go to Duluth we hit Fitger's. The beer is wonderful and the spot is very comfortable and cool.

They always have a nice selection of brews on tap, a cask offering, and craft soda for the kids and non-drinkers.

The beer flight is a great value and option...7 beers (3 ouce pours) for 7 bux. Then, if you can catch happy hour you can get pints of your favorites for $3.75...

Great stuff. Also, they don't import out of Duluth, so it's a special treat...

05-04-2011 18:26:47 | More by corcoranjc

Sixpoint

New York

4.38/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4

What a great place.

I first visited this place by accident. I was on a fishing trip with my father in northern Wisconsin. It started pouring rain one day and we decided to take a day trip and go to Lake Superior. We ended up in Duluth, and soon afterwards, we were at Fitger's Brewhouse. What a score...


Housed in an awesome location overlooking Lake Superior, the atmosphere is great. The brewery is on sort of a balcony overlooking a bluff, and the dining room is adjacent. Not only does the bar have fresh beers on tap, but there is also live music on most weeknights.


I met both of the brewers while I was there. They were very friendly and accomodating, and they also let me have some of their fermenting beers right out of the taps.

When I was here, there were at least 10 different beers on tap, maybe more. Also, the lunch I had was pretty good, and our waitress was very friendly.


Definitely check this place out. All of the beers were very tasty and I'm sure if you like quality you will feel your money was well spent.

12-05-2004 05:51:45 | More by Sixpoint

shadow1961

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I dropped by the Brewhouse, located in the historic Fitgers building yesterday for a drink and a bite to eat. I had last tried the place way back in the early 90's but somehow never made it back for another taste until this tuesday.

The first thing you need to know about the place is that Fitgers is a retail, hospitality, and hotel complex located in what was Fitgers, a gone-but not forgotten Minnesota brewery that went out of business in the late 70's. The sprawling building, located on the shore of Lake Superior, has long since been renovated and it is gorgeous. On the outside the familiar silhouette of the building is preserved- the smokestack with FITGERS painted on the side, and the bright red watertower that used to feed the copper brew kettles (one of which is preserved in the museum on-premises). The exterior is the dark brick typical of local architecture of that vintage, covered in engelman ivy, which is just now coming into it's fall colors. Inside, the building is of lighter red brick and dark old wood. It can be a little daunting getting around, but luckily there are "you are here" map kiosks located throughout the complex. As I said, there are many retail and other shops within, but my interest was the Brewhouse, which happens to be just inside the main entrance and to the right. There are large glass windows set into the hallway, where you can look at the stainless steel kettles and tanks. I was pleased to see that there were also wooden aging tanks. The brewmasters were hard at work within (there are several other clubs in the complex that use their beer as well). I think it's always a plus to be able to drink absolutely fresh beer and to see the actual people who made it. To the side of the brewhouse was the Brewhouse Bar. The decor is all dark wood and brick, very much like I imagine an English pub might be like- wooden columns all covered in placards and booths and tables off to the side in the restaurant side of the pub.
If you sit at the bar, as I chose to do, you can see into the kitchen area and watch the cooks at work. As it happens, one of them (Hi Jessy!) was an old acquaintance from Brainerd, so we visited a bit between orders.

The Brewhouse has 12 beers on tap at any one time- I imagine there are others that rotate in and out as well, but the active ones are displayed on several chalk boards- you can also get growlers of most of them as well, just ask your barman. I had the Big Boat Oatmeal Stout (6.6%), the Hair O' the Monk triple (10%), and the El Nino Double-Hopped IPA (7%). All were good and fit into their respective styles, though I was particularly taken by the wonderful apricot and grapefruit nose of the IPA. Also, even though they were all just 10 oz pours, I was slightly bent- but that's what a lack of sleep an an empty stomach will do for you. Luckily, the Brewhouse has a big menu- with a bewildering selection of the usual bar food and appetizers, as well as a surprisingly large veggie menu. Jessy made me a chicken sandwich with chutney and blue chips. Tasty. All told, with 3 pours, dinner, a growler, and a ten dollar tip, it came out to about forty bucks- a bargain.

To really get the most out of the Brewhouse, plan on getting a room there as well. As it happens, there are several big music festivals and other events in Duluth- it seems like just the place for a short vacation.

09-05-2007 23:27:07 | More by shadow1961

mnstorm99

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Walking in this place has a small bar with tables all around, unfortunately it is a little stuffy in there, but then wheather at the bar or at a table I have always received good service. Those nice servers then bring me whatever wonderful beer I ordered, some of the best beers you can get at a brewpub. The Hoops brothers know what they are doing (head brewers here and at Minneapolis Town Hall). There is always an IPA to choose from as well as some maltier offerings and sometimes even an extreme beer of some sort. They are not afraid to experiment and for that we win. The food has always been good and worth the money you spend on it.

04-16-2008 18:44:21 | More by mnstorm99

objectivemonkey

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

I had no idea that Fitger's is such a large place. Well, the complex is large, but the brew house is a little more compact. Housed in the remnants of the old Fitger's brewery, its housed on the land locked side, so no Lake Superior views (not good planning, imo). But the place is pretty sweet. Entering, the bar to the left, some general dining ahead and to the right, we (coworker and I) sat up in the loft, at the table with comfy upholstered seats. There was a chalkboard with the beers listed by ABV, and we had several between us, with plenty more available. There were a variety of beers, all pretty good, some better than average, none a knock out, but all were quite good. Service was nice, attractive, attentive, mostly knowledgeable about the beer. I had a bacon BBQ burger, which was pretty stock for pub food. The beer was cheap, the food a little pricier. All in all, I'd most definitely visit any time I'm in Duluth, and am glad to see them whenever they make it down for beer festivals.

02-27-2009 03:35:37 | More by objectivemonkey