Fitger's Brewhouse

tavernjef

Minnesota

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

Located in the Fitger's Hotel, a large, old, brown cobblestone building that used to be a full fledged brewery back in the day. It nears the outskirts of the main strip of downtown Duluth on Superior St. so its an easy find. The brewpub itself is in the buildings backyard area so no Lake view, bummer, it faces the back street and the interior halls of the hotel with patio seating on the sidewalk to enjoy the Lake Superior air, that is, when the traffic is low. The inside is large but cramped into an industrial space with a small bar and three separate eating areas, including a small upstairs area. The poles and posts that help hold up the ceiling, and seem to be in everyones way, have tons of goofy stickers, postcards, and photos plastered on them, some older photos from the old brewery are on available wall spaces, and there is exposed heating ducts and piping along the ceiling.
Relaxing, quaint, fun, lively and enjoyable atmosphere. Food menu is mostly burgers and sandwiches, a bit spendy for what ya get and is OK pub grub at best. They do like to pile on the blue corn chips though. The service is usually quick to get food and beverages, but laxes from tim to time depending on how busy it is.

Pretty darn nice brews are brewed at Fitger's, lots of changing seasonals here, the Big Boat Oatmeal Stout and El Nino IPA where ones that stuck out from the others I've had as for the regularly brewed offerings that stay on all the time. They keep 8 beers on tap with 3 or 4 seasonals rotating and 1 on cask. The casks are mainly used to make wine which they also make 8 different varieties of and change around yearly. The seasonal brews have come to gain much respect with me as they regularly keep em hoppy, clean, and very drinkable. Always a surprising new brew to be featured when I come here. I stop in here every chance I get while traveling through to destinations somewhere around the Lake Superior or North Woods region. Don't forget your growlers!

09-02-2003 22:17:30 | More by tavernjef

ndolover

Minnesota

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

The Brewhouse is located in the Fitger's complex. An old brick building located just off the lake. It is a mall, a hotel, a entertainment complex.

The quality of the beers is exceptional. I had a Schwartzviezen black wheat wine. It was crazy good. I also had an IPA and Oatmeal Stout.

The service is good and attentive, but don't expect too much as it is a Up Nort place, don't cha know.

I believe there were about 14 taps of different brews. A standard IPA and a list of different quafables. The did have a beer engine, but it was not online while I was there.

The food is very good for the veggie minded. I may be over selling the food, but I have never had a bad meal and I love the options.

Overall, this is the place to go in the Duluth area. The Thirsty Pagan is in WI, but if I only had one choice for beers in the Duluth area it would be Fitger's

03-30-2011 23:28:57 | More by ndolover

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

TastyTaste

Minnesota

4.63/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

In a building both old and industrial, like much of Duluth (one of the strangest and coolest cities in Minnesota), Fitgers is a very interesting brewpub. My only knock on this place is the size, but being as it was in a historical building, it is understandable.

The main room was dimlylit with a small bar area in the center and tables around. There was a top level, which I didn't go up to, and a room with a bunck of kettles off the main dining room. There were many beers on tap while I was there, all brewed by fitgers. I would guess 9 beers and one on cask. Too many for one visit. The tap handles were made of colorful handblown glass, looking like paraphenalia. The service was fast and friendly, prices were very reasonable, and the beer was delicious (I especially loved the Weizenbock, and the DIPA was good as well. I had a Bleu Cheese burger to eat, and it was fantastic (although they couldn't cook it medium-rare :-( ). All in all it is my second favorite brewpub in MN, right behing Town Hall. Good food, good beer, all around a great experience

06-20-2006 04:36:52 | More by TastyTaste

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

Ragingbull

California

4/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I stopped in here with my wife and two children on the way to Eagle Mountain in the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area. Therefore I will say family friendly. I was most impressed by the fact that the whole "mall" establishment/facility used to be a bigger brewing facility and now has a hotel, shops and the brewpub itself. I enjoy a historical flair in a brewpub. It was a cold and dreary early June day here in Minnesota and the atmosphere provided us a wonderful respite from travel and the elements. I had a sampler with my lunch and went "off the board" with a smoked trout wrap. I love fish but rarely order it at restaurants as I am often disappointed. I must say that I was not disappointed here. The nachos accompanying it made it a lunch, but with some fancier rice, couscous or the like it was dinner quality. Back to the beer. . . I made particular note of the Apricot wheat and Witchtree ESB. It seems more and more brewers are using apricot and this beer justified that move. All of the beers were solid even if some weren't my type. They had more than came in my sampler but I was on a schedule. Great place. I would really like to get back there sooner than later.

07-11-2008 01:56:56 | More by Ragingbull

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

mdwalsh

Iowa

4/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in after a few days on the Superior Hiking Trail needing a cold drink. I was alone and was seated by a waitress at a table near, but not at the bar, despite there being open seats at the bar. I hate sitting along at a table in a bar. I soon moved myself over to the bar. This place is a little heavy with regulars, and that impacts both the amount of attention one gets from the staff and also, I don't know, seems to make you feel a little less wanted.

The waitress I think knew her stuff. It's hard to tell if they don't know what they're talking about or they think you don't know what you're talking about, but her knowledge of beer was acceptable.

At the bar, the beer was good. It had good pressure, and the bartender knew his stuff. They had a broad selection of their own beers plus '10 Bigfoot. Nothing terribly exciting on the menu for beer, but nothing to avoid either.

I had a burger and fried, very simple but it did it's job.

I walked out with a growler and a tab slightly higher than I would have wanted it to be, but that's alright.

05-12-2010 03:17:57 | More by mdwalsh

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

citrusjim

Massachusetts

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

This place was a nice find in Duluth. I was there on business and staying down the road at the Raddison. On a Wednesday night, it was busy which is a good sign. The barroom is loud but there were families there. The beer selection was great with 8 or so taps going and one cask. I had the porter, the ESB and the oatmeal stout. All were excellent example of their style. My friend had a pale which was also good. I had a burger which was pretty good and had great fries. The service was great wich seems to be the vibe in Minnesotta. I will go back if I ever make it back to Duluth.

04-29-2007 12:29:28 | More by citrusjim