Sprague Farm & Brew Works

merc7186

New York

2.75/5  rDev -14.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 2 | $$$

I have been to Sprague Farms several times over the past couple of years but have never reviewed it until now.

A: Beerhalla (their beer hall) is an awesome place. It is an old dairy barn converted into a small yet cool beer hall. Everything inside id hand carved wood and is one of the more impressive places to enjoy a pint.

Q: The quality of their beer used to be pretty decent, not it seems to be barely tolderable. It seems like over the past year the beer is either watered down or they have cut way back on the ingredients. Disappointing.

S: Average at best.

S: They had 2 IPAs, Scotch, Porter, 2 Wheat Ale, and an Amber. They also offer wine from around the area too (but those were somewhat bad too, but better than the beer).

F: I had probably the cheapest bavarian pretzel with 'beer cheese' that became the butt of a joke all night. And for $3, it was extremely disappointing.

V: All beers are served in either a sampler or a 12oz mason jar. The beers were 4/5 bucks each...for the kind of money (and size), it better be semi decent and it wasnt.

Overall, this was my third visit to Sprague Farms and probably my last...the beer is forgetfull and not worth the drive from Buffalo IMO....thankfully, we hit the Blue Canoe before hand so it wasnt a total waste of a trip.

02-04-2012 22:42:21 | More by merc7186

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +23.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.75 | $$

Sprague Farms is a nice brewery located in a woodsy area outside of Meadville known as Venango. The building is really awesome. Its an old barn and they built a newer building which is their beer hall. They also do a lot of Wood working and wood carving outside the brewery. Pretty cool stuff. Great atmosphere.

The building inside has room for sitting and has a little stage for music acts. The newer beer hall is twice the size of the old farm house with a bigger stage.

It is a cool atmosphere and the head brewer / bartenders are always willing to talk with you and are super friendly. Cool place.

05-10-2013 00:07:24 | More by tommyguz

drperry11

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +21.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Located in a rural town in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Sprague Farm and Brew Works is fantastic in terms of atmosphere. Upon entering the establishment there is a huge tinsel beer mug sign that is attached to Sprague's silo. I find Sprague's great for a warm summer evening as the barn can get really warm during these months. The scenery is great, last year my friends and I were on the back deck and saw 3 or 4 whitetail deer which reminds me why I love being in this area. The barn contains a very rustic look with old beer signs and a comfy area to sit. They also have bands on certain weekends.

The beer is reasonably priced at $4 for a pint, but the selection is not vast. I think their menu contains 5 or 6 beers in all. They also serve wine, which I know nothing about the selection or quality of. The food is restricted to cheese and meat trays and other appetizers and small sandwiches. They have been expanding the kitchen but as far as I know, do not offer dinner type selections.

Sprague's atmosphere supplemented with a warm NW Pennsylvania night and good friends have value that far exceeds their price of pints and not so huge selection. If I was to have a friend from school ask me to take them to get beers, Sprague's Farm and Brew works is where I would take them without a doubt.

01-11-2012 18:36:39 | More by drperry11

thrillofthebeer

Pennsylvania

1.25/5  rDev -61.3%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 2 | food: 1 | $$$

Have been there several times since it opened, going downhill fast. Beers have gone from average/good to poor. Cloudy, thin & cheap tasting, as if quality isn't important anymore. The atmosphere there has turned into something akin to a Hillbilly Family Reunion. If you are not friends or family of the owners then you get the stare down when you walk it and a real cold shoulder when it comes to service. They are only open Thurs-Sat 4-9 pm so it has turned into more of a "private drinking party" for the owners and their groupies. Regular customers are not important anymore. The music is now limited to the Bands which are personal friends/family of the owners (Brian & Minnie Sprague). Save your money and go elsewhere.

01-11-2012 04:20:12 | More by thrillofthebeer

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +27.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Located in Venango, the town in Crawford County not in Venango the county which is located a short distance to the southeast....confusing to the ignorant!

Located in a restored and renovated barn on the Sprauge's 60 acre farm this building is a tribute to ingenuity, creativity and the skills of folks who know how to use their hands and minds to create!

Large space inside this vaulted ceiling barn with unique tables down the center the bar and kitchen area along the one wall with the rather large stage tucked into one corner. An inviting "smoking lounge" area is secluded in the corner opposite the stage.

The Sprague's offer a large number of interesting and attractive glassware for sale. From 8 ounce, old fashioned milk glasses, to handled half-gallon milk jugs to German flip top growlers.

Six hand crafted beers were available and while this usually warrants a 3 from me I bumped the score up a half point due to the location and the fact that Brian is a one man brewing machine. Prices were very reasonable with pints being $3 ($4 for the IPA) and a cool sample platter served in mini mason jars that was 6 beers for $7.

Food was limited but enough to keep you satiated. A couple of sandwich, wrap choices, numerous side items and unlimited free hot popcorn. We had some munchies ordering half dozen oyster shooters, being raw oysters in a shot glass with lime juice and hot sauce. Also, we had an order of the mini-kabobs, which turned out to be small skewers of summer sausage, cheese cubes, olives, topped with a hot cherry pepper.

Being a friendly and talkative group I feel we almost always receive good service....well, Minnie and Brian went above and beyond. What I assumed would be a visit of an hour or so turned out to be a 2+ hour stay! From enjoying the beers on tap, to grabbing a bite to eat, to a personal tour of the brewery works to cracking open a 40+ old pony bottle of Koehler Jack that Brian has nearly a full case of....collecting the bottles and they just happened to be full! It didn't smell very good but amazingly tasted like a light vanilla cream soda!

We left as the band was setting up for the night and it looked like a good, floor stomping time was about to occur. Sadly, we had to get to Erie for the beginning of a conference. Just before leaving and saying our good-byes we saw some plans for their outdoor beer garden (they now have a small deck) and pavilion it looks like it will be awesome. I am sure we will be back to the farm to enjoy!

05-18-2010 12:59:27 | More by Deuane

Kolsch

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Stopped here on our way up to the 2009 Erie Brew Fest. It was also their grand opening of the Bierhalla, which now classifies them as a brewpub on BA.

Atmosphere: Large half moon barn opening with wooden trusses across the ceiling. Very rustic looking but very new as well. Wood carvings throughout and recommend walking around to see everything. Very nice indeed.

Quality/Selection: They had roughly 7 beers for the grand opening. They had a Pale, IPA, Wit, Dunkle, Porter, Brown & Scottish Ale when we were there. Had a plastic cup of the Porter, Brown and Dunkleweizen. The Porter was the standout amoung them. Excellent example of a Coffer Porter. The Dunkleweizen was good as well but the Brown was mediocre at best.

Food: Did get a Pulled Pork sandwich since that was the only offering that day. They will offer food but the menu will be very limited.

Service: Here is where things fell apart. Since this was a Grand Opening, they were charging $5/beer in a plastic cup. I thought this was steep and a bit greedy considering the regular price is $3/pint according to the sign at the bar. I understand this was a grand opening but a better way would have been to charge a "Cover" and keep the regular price for beer. Also, I did initially receive a hard time when I asked for a sample. The guy seemed irritated about this and said they don't normally do that. If I am spending $5 for a plastic cup of beer, then I damn well want to try it before I buy it.

Value: Since the regular price is $3/pint that is very reasonable & cheap. Growler prices were a bit steep though at $15. Better off buying 4 beers and pouring into your growler.

Overall: I really liked the place, though I was a bit turned off by the Grand Opening. If I am ever up this way again, I will edit my review if warranted.

07-29-2009 12:54:28 | More by Kolsch