Ebenezer's Restaurant & Pub

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.95/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I always imagined a time when I might be able to visit Ebenezer's and I was fortunate that this place was on the itinerary when fellow Ba's FooFaa and his wife Kristen and ffejherb invited me along on a roadtrip to Kate the great day. We decided to make this the first 'big' destination on the first day of the trip and were able to make the journey from PA even in inclement weather (we saw another vehicle that slid onto the edge of the road hanging with tires not in contact with the road). We found the place after first heading a little bit past the driveway.

We were eagerly anticipating the awesomeness that is Ebenezer's and strolled in to a fairly empty place wondering. We sat down and looked over the truly great tap list and perused the cooler checking out the interesting choices within. When we were seated and had ordered our first beers Foofaa mentioned that he wanted to meet Chris who came to our table in a matter of minutes and shortly after that offered to take him into the cellar. When he returned we were stunned by the fact that a gueuze from 1984 blended by Eylenbosch was going to be opened for us by Chris.

Chris was very much the host of the event that was tasting a beer that was over 25 years old - he explained the tradition of serving lambic in Belgium and carried out their wishes by carrying on the tradition which included 'washing' the glass and explained how you knew what type of bottle you were being treated too. I was captivated by the experience of sampling something put in the bottle and corked while I was only 11 years old - only the second time I have tasted anything with that type of age on it.

That alone was enough to give a 5 for service but later in the evening others gathered and the pub started to become more crowded. Chris explained in Belgium there is a tradtion that if you can't finish a bottle that you open at your table you are expected to share with the rest of the bar. We enjoyed some Cochonne Vapeur as a result and later bottles seemed to be appearing that I did not expect to have the experience of tasting. We were treated to an aged bottle of Three Philosophers, Mirror Mirror, The Dissident, Behemoth and this was in addition to the Brooklyn Sorachi Ace and Brother Adam's Braggot I already enjoyed.

I found the place to have the best possible atmospher for enjoying craft beer - like being invited into a bar in someone's house and less like a formal beer bar situation. The quality is high and I was hoping the experience would not have to end. I enjoyed the Burger with Chimay cheese and the other food looked equally delicious. I did not a lot since I was saving room for ...beer.

The value is great- -I could not have asked for a more enjoyable experience. The tastes, the sites and sharing with other craft beer lovers was a real treat, not to mention the hard to come by in PA beers we tried. I can only echo the sentiments of the others before me when I say that you will not be dissapointed at Ebenezer's Pub - it is obvious that craft beer is the passion of this establishment!

04-20-2010 17:06:15 | More by Slatetank

beyah

Maine

4.85/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Went there last night with my daughter, (early Fathers day gift) this place is in the middle of nowhere. Enjoyed a nice salad and a couple of dark Belgian beers. The draft list was amazing. If you have the chance go there, it's said to be the best beer pub in the world....only way to judge it is go there.

06-14-2013 23:34:29 | More by beyah

mbedard

New Hampshire

4.48/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4 | $$$

Managed to sneak out to Ebenezer's with my Brother-In-Law and my wife's Stepdad (our DD) last summer while we were vacationing in the area with our families. Once we found the place (no small task, man is it in the middle of nowhere!) we basically had the place to ourselves other than maybe one table having lunch on the deck. The bartender (Maryanne maybe?) was very friendly and helpful and was able to answer most of our questions. She said we really knew our stuff, and its a shame the owner wasn't there, or we could have talked shop and gotten "the tour".

We sampled a bunch of sours and tripels over the afternoon, and also enjoyed several orders of Frites, which were awesome. I really enjoyed the Petrus Aged Pale Ale and was happy to find a stash of it at the local beer store back home (go New England Wine and Spirits, Newburyport, MA!), and have been enjoying it regularly since.

We had a great afternoon, and even though we dropped a good chunk, we knew what we were in for going in -- quality beers that are hard to find anywhere and great pub food -- not to mention the fact that we all got T-Shirts to commemorate our visit.

I hope I can get back up there soon, but its a bit of a hike from here. If only Eb's was closer to the MA/NH/ME border, or opened a sister spot in Portsmouth we'd be all set. Cheers!

05-29-2013 18:44:21 | More by mbedard

rjp217

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.75 | $$$

Went here on Memorial Day weekend as I am fortunate enough to have a camp only about an hour from Ebenezer's. This place is pretty awesome. It's off the beaten bath, hanging on the side of a municipal golf course, so random. You could easily drive by the place and never even know it existed. You walk in and there's a screened in porch area with plenty of seating with heaters and cool beer signs and pictures. It was a little cool out so we grabbed a table inside. We ended up making reservations because we went on Saturday night so I would recommend doing the same. The selection is the reason to come here. Amazing. Obviously catered more to the belgium fans but they have a pretty good variety of imports and domestics. The menu had about 25 drafts and then maybe 15 bottle selections, varying in age and size. I also noticed that the coolers behind the bar had a bunch of stuff not on the menu with prices attached. I am not sure how that works but I would assume you could get mostly anything if you asked nicely. The 40 or so available was more than enough for me and things I wanted to try. The service was really good. We had a new waitress but she was really going out of her way to be attentive. The food was the big surprise here. I had one of the better fish and chips that i've ever had. Huge portions. We racked up quite a tab for 4 people but for the quality of beers we were having, I can't complain. The owner, Chris, was circulating amongst the crowd and it just seems like a really cool overall atmosphere. Being less than an hour from here, I really need to take advantage of a midweek visit and sit at the bar, maybe get lucky enough for a cellar tour. Super enjoyable and just awesome that someone appreciates beer as much as I do in this area. Will go back repeatedly.

05-28-2013 14:25:19 | More by rjp217

BeTheBall

Massachusetts

4.83/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went there this past weekend from souht of Boston for my birthday. Got there first for lunch on Saturday. The place is filled with great beer paraphenalia, and loved that! Small but cozy bar with maybe 10 seats, a few tables in the bar area, and a larger room with more tables for larger parties, looking out on a Donald Ross course!
It was kind of slow, so my wife and I sat at the bar. Had very helpful and attentive service from the waitress/bartender upon arrival; she made us feel right at home. Chris, the owner was also around, and I had told him a week before I was coming, so he guessed correctly and we talked lots about his place, beer, and life. I drank a couple of Belgian ales and ate the Killer Chicken sandwich for lunch. Great sandwich, and great beer. I was extremely fortunate to also get a tour of Chri's cellar, which was a humbling and incredible experience. I can't imagine that there is anywhere in the world quite like it. All I can say is WOW!
Took a few hour break and returned for dinner, and more drinks. Drank a couple of bottles of Schneider Aventinus from 2007 and 2008 that were amazing, along with a couple of Belgians that were very good. I had the Sausage Fest for dinner and was very pleased. It was tasty and huge, a perfect coimbination. Later in the evening as the place thinned out a little and it was just the two waitresses/bartenders running the whole place, frankly it wasn't easy to get their attention at the bar seats, but I would go back in a heartbeat.
We drove 3.5 hours each way basically to go to a pub, and I am very, very happy that I did it. I honestly can't wait to do it again. I loved everything about the place; well the service toward the end could have been better, but it didn't spoil the experience.
I highly suggest getting to Ebenezer's, a must, must journey for any serious beer lover. We also stayed the night at the Old Saco Inn, which was lovely and also very pleasant. Thanks Chris!

04-08-2013 15:08:05 | More by BeTheBall

klc17111

Pennsylvania

4.98/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $

My Husband and I, after years of discussing going to Lovell to experience Ebenezer's, finally went in February 2013. We frequented this Pub 3 out of 4 nights...What can I say but we felt like we were visiting family every time we walked in! The last night we walked in the door and the waitress even said -"YEAY! they are here!" How many places make you feel like that? Beer Selection was amazing- I found the owners, Chris and Jen, to be friendly and helpful. We even were invited to the "basement" for a tour of the rare beers- which was in itself amazing. Chris is the most knowledgable beer head i ever met! Food was excellent... never disappointed. We even had "our seats" at the end of the bar. We will definitely be back .. make sure you visit this Pub in the most beautiful setting...Backwoods Maine .. the way Life should be!

03-19-2013 16:34:40 | More by klc17111

handpullme

Pennsylvania

4.98/5  rDev +4.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

My wife Karen and I made the pilgrimage from Pennsylvania to Lovell, Maine last week, with the main reason being to visit Ebenezer's obviously. There's not a lot else in Lovell really, other than the typical gorgeous scenery you expect to find in Maine. It was well worth the trip. We went to Ebenezer's 3 of the 4 nights we were there, with one much needed dry night that involved no alcohol. The beer selection is amazing, and even if you're an experienced Belgian drinker, you're likely to find at least a few on tap you've never had. As for the bottles, basically if there's something you'd like to try, just ask Chris or Jen and there's a good chance they'll have it. I was thrilled to finally be able to try Portsmouth's Kate the Great the first night we were there. Chris also gave us a tour of the beer cellar, which was worth the trip by itself. The owner of the #1 beer bar in the world giving us a personal tour...definitely cool. I had an incredible beer on tap called "My Blueberry Nightmare", an Italian blueberry sour stout (more sour than stout) that went down way too easily for something that was 11% and $10/glass. In addition to the beer, the food is absolutely top-notch. The first night, I had by far the best coconut shrimp dish I've ever had, and Karen had an excellent pizza that was obviously hand-tossed. Our second night, she had a cheesesteak she says is the best she's ever had, which is impressive considering we usually make several trips to Philadelphia per year. Overall, just an amazing experience that I hope to repeat someday.

02-27-2013 01:51:13 | More by handpullme

ThePorterSorter

New York

5/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I visited Ebenezer's pub in the middle of the week during winter (...yeah it's closed week days during winter months). However, Chris, who just happened to be there for a quick photo shoot, shakes my hand and starts pouring free beers for myself and the photographer. After an hour drinking/conversing about beer, Chris's ridiculous draught list, and the bar's incredibly rare bottles (2004 Damon or a Geuze van't kasteel anybody?), I get an invite into his private cellar for the purpose of mule-ing some bottles to VT for Shaun Hill (my next stop - and yes, they were successfully delivered). Even though I only spent an hour at this bar, I got the most fulfilling bar experience I could ever expect. The fridge is packed with insane choices and the draught list is both experimental and well curated. I would have loved to try the food, but that can wait until I return this summer.
Make the trip out to Lovell, it's a different world of beer and I'm certain you'll be a customer for life.

02-07-2013 22:52:45 | More by ThePorterSorter

jderosia603

New Hampshire

4.7/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Had lunch and a few beers here on vacation a few weeks ago. The drive there was definitely worth it. The draft list was incredible and I had the opportunity to try some unbelievable beers you'd never find anywhere else. Our food was really good as well. Overall, a great experience that definitely lived up to the "best beer bar in America" accolades.

01-20-2013 12:39:17 | More by jderosia603

bgfresh

4/5  rDev -16.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

A friend at work showed me an article in Beer Connoisseur Magazine. My wife is from Portland, ME and returns every year. So, I talked her in to making the trip from OOB to Lovell. The place had a very good feel. However, I think our waitress was a manager. She ripped into 3 employees 10 feet from our table for several minutes. I was not impressed as it was inappropriate to treat the girls like that. At the very least, take them in the back where customers cannot see that. Also, their website advertised Black Albert and Chimay Doree. I really wanted to try them as I'm a huge fan of Chimay and Black Albert was brewed specifically for Ebenezer's. I was disappointed that my first two orders were unavailable. In fact, the wait staff manager stated that she had never heard of Chimay Doree. She did suggest the sister beer of Black Albert, Out Black. It was very good and a great recommendation. Next year we are going to the sister pub, Lion's Pride. Overall, I would definitely go back and recommend to anyone. I ate the Chimay Burger and it was incredible.

11-10-2012 03:01:28 | More by bgfresh