Jackie O's Pub & Brewery

AwYeh

California

4.9/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Drove down to Jackie O's for the Feb. 5th Stout & Big Beer Fest/bottle release; my first time there, and I was in for a treat.

The atmosphere of the place is great (and if you go to a release, made even better by the friendly beer folks crawling all over the place, especially the ones from BA). It's divided up into two sides: the public house and what I believe is called the brewery side. The public house side was fantastic: lots of room to get around/fit people in, easy to talk in, and with an overall good vibe. The brewery side was nice as well, although with everything packed together a bit more.

The quality of everything was absolutely outstanding; I've touched on the building, etc. but the beer and the people were both OUTSTANDING. Considering the much larger than expected turnout for the Fest, every single person I spoke to was great, from the bar staff to Brad the brewmaster. I couldn't have hoped for anything better; by far the best bar experience I've ever had.

The beer selection might not ordinarily have 30+ (34?) beers on tap, but they went all out for the fest- easy 5 here. Such a huge variety of beers, even outside of the realms of stouts or big beers, that I could have drank well without so much as touching a black beer. The guest taps feature better selections than most bars would ever carry, but I had to skip over most of them to accommodate more Jackie O's beers- but really a win/win situation. If the normal tap list was only a quarter of what it was when I was there (which I'm confident it is more than), Jackie O's would still be a 4.5 in my book.

Didn't get a chance to try as much of their food as I would have liked... but what I did have was great. Props to them for using spent grain (and probably more by-products of the brewing process that I didn't hear about) in their bread products.

In short, I can't recommend Jackie O's enough- what a great place.

02-07-2011 06:03:34 | More by AwYeh

jisom123

Indiana

4.7/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

One of the best brew pubs this side of Narnia. Brad brews some of the best beer in the world and Arthur's staff aim to please. High quality brewpub food. Nice patio behind the bar. The entire bar is made of beautiful hardwood; the doors, signs, bar, floor, patio, bathroom, parlor, taps cheese boards, mirrors, glassware.

They host an anniversary party and Semi-annual release parties that are as much fun, if not more, than DLD-esque releases.

Jackie O's is located in a small wooded college town in the rolling appellation foothills of Athens Ohio.

Anyway, its worth the trip from Indianapolis.

12-05-2012 01:39:06 | More by jisom123

Cubmaster938

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev -10%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Not a complete college-town dive, but the interior is not much to look at. The food is reasonable, with some real highlights (especially the pizzas made with the spent grain crusts).

But you didn't come here for the food, or the atmosphere, you came for the beer.

You came to the right place. Jackie-O's features some of the best and most imaginative brews, pushing the style envelope in new and exciting ways with respect for both the brew and the customer. And while the in-house brews are always the big draw, they also regularly feature some wonderful guest taps.

Absolutely one of my favorite places to drink beer.

10-31-2012 00:42:41 | More by Cubmaster938

Flinty

Germany

2.73/5  rDev -37.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | $$$

As far as beer goes this place has a great selection. They always have at least 4 of their own beers on tap in addition to several guest beers. I am not sure about the bottles. I know they have a cooler full, but I've never ordered so I am not sure of the selection. Some of the beers are overpriced in my opinion, but they do happy hour, which makes it worth it. Half off drafts I think from 8-9 Mon-Thurs.

I must say almost every time I went there I had a delicious beer, but the service is awful. I've stood at the bar for ten minutes during the afternoon waiting for a drink because the bartenders find it more important to chat with people (extensively) rather than see if someone has been waited on. Ever since the new side opened up the customer service has plummeted. I remember going in and being treated much better before and I hate to say it, but it keeps me away. I enjoy a good brew, but good bartenders are also a big part of the experience.

I am a former student so I visited Jackie O's often. If it wasn't for the brew masters I can't imagine this place getting such a high rating.

07-10-2012 17:43:40 | More by Flinty

backfat

Indiana

4.95/5  rDev +12.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This was the best brewery experience I have had to date. Jeff(Alewatcher) and I decided to take an Ohio tour on a random weekend in January. We met up with Cam (Urbancaver) and lisa (lisomiso) after an amazing tasting the night before and headed to the icy city of Athens. We met the owner Arthur and the brewmaster Brad for a little impromptu tasting. tried some crianza helena, ice apparition, hogwash, etc. before we had to get out of their hair because they were about to host an 80 person tasting in that little bar. Let me just say that Brad is a cool dude. He is doing absolutely everything I would be doing if I ever opened up a brewpub. Tons of barrels downstairs, an amazing and experimental tap line up, great tasting events and bottle releases. Lots of variety on tap for such a small place with some great experimental (breakfast beer anyone?) We left the tasting room and went next door to the pub to get some food. I had a Reuben that used spent grain bread, and it was delicious. Brad met us later and gave us a full tour. He treated us like royalty even though he didn't know us, and let us try some of THE BEST sours I have had to date. watch out world cuz some fire is a-comin'. I have nothing but the utmost respect for this brewery that I knew nothing about weeks prior. With this kind of attitude towards beer and their customers, they will go a long way in the world of craft beer. I wish them nothing but success.

03-08-2012 15:01:52 | More by backfat

rodney4130

Kentucky

3.9/5  rDev -11.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Is it awful if I say that I think Jackie O's is a bit overrated? Yeah, it's a cool bar in a town that's overrun with BMC sports bars. And, yeah, they've got some good beers, but honestly, I've had better at brewpubs that aren't held in such high regard.

Best we had all night was Chocolate Love on nitro. Really delicious. Others, like the Firefly Amber were just standard, and the Rye IPA had no real notes of rye at all. The Scottish Ale, while smooth and easy to drink, was not one of the better examples of the style, especially when they've got Robert the Bruce as a guest tap. I liked it, and I'll be back when I'm in Athens, but I really don't get the hype over this place.

We didn't eat there, but everything looked to be of high quality as I saw it coming out.

Took awhile to get beers, but it was a Friday night in Athens. It's to be expected and I wasn't bothered by it.

02-25-2012 22:26:23 | More by rodney4130

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.95/5  rDev +12.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I wasn't sure what to expect when we rolled into JO's, but any slight inclination towards any expectations was more than exceeded.

Never have I been treated to such hospitality. Art and Brad were awesome-- very friendly and laid back, with a clear love of the beer world and a strong appreciation of their customers and fans.

Brad especially deserves some serious praise. He is one of the friendliest people I've ever met in the industry. He talked to us for what seemed like hours, gave us special pours of some great beers, answered a ton of my questions, and personally gave us a tour.

I ordered the pizza for lunch-- it was quite good, though the spent-grain dough became rather noticeable as I got to my last couple slices.

Some beers were better than others, but I'll be honest-- even if I felt all the beers were sub-par, I'd still come back here.
We all had an amazing experience at Jackie O's, and I not only highly recommend it, I'm thinking already about a return visit.

01-22-2012 21:22:43 | More by AleWatcher

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Basing this review on my visit during the 12/2011 bottle release...

Jackie O's has two different entrances...a brewery side and a pub side. Both are connected via a large, multi-level deck around the back. Each side has similar decor...rustic wood, barrel tables, natural finishes. The pub side has a large stage up front with a long bar running down the right side of the building. The brewery side has some brewing equipment up front with a large, horseshoe shaped bar toward the rear.

I cannot say what the tap list is like during everyday happenings, but during the bottle releases, it is simply amazing! Each side had something different on draft...somewhere in the neighborhood of 30+ selections available...unreal! Each offering was of high quality, even if it was a style I was not fond of, the beer was brewed with excellent craftsmanship.

I had breakfast and lunch there...and the food was very good/great.

I would highly recommend stopping by here...I would love to stop by during a regular old Wednesday night to see how different things are...and I will modify my review accordingly.

12-06-2011 21:15:48 | More by mgbickel

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

4.58/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $

I went to the December 2011 bottle release this past weekend. We spent time in both the tap house and the brewery. The tap house is a quite large bar with a stage, pool tables, and plenty of seating. Nice, but nothing too special. The brewery area has much more character and I very much enjoyed spending time in there.

The tap list was unbelievable. I wasn't able to try everything I wanted despite the 4oz pours and spending a total of probably 10 hours in the pub over Friday and Saturday. All reasonably priced, too. I'm not sure what the tap list is usually like, but I was extremely impressed with what they had, even for such a large event. Over 40 beers on tap including many American Wild Ales, RISs, and other beers beer geeks love to drink.

The service was for the most part very impressive. While not everyone was extremely knowledgeable, there is a large percentage that is and they were over the top nice during a very hectic event. They handled it unbelievably. Brad particularly impressed me. As others have said, he has this unbelievable ability to remember everyone. He obviously cares about the customers. Art was also quite accommodating.

I had two different pizzas and corned beef hash over the two days. All were excellent.

Jackie O's impressed me for sure. I will certainly be back.

12-05-2011 04:16:11 | More by coreyfmcdonald

seeswo

Ohio

4.95/5  rDev +12.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $

Jackie O's is one of the best places I have been for beer tasting and a beer release. The food is great, the beer is amazing, the staff is incredibly friendly and attentive, and the whole place is extremely cheap. It is basically exactly what you would want your local brew pub to be. In addition, they really know how to run a release, which just makes everything even better.

Brad Clark is the brewer who is both really talented and humble. He also has this uncanny knack of remembering your name, which is impressive. Give him a heads up if you are coming through and spend a few minutes with him - if he's got a little time, you won't be disappointed.

I have been to a ton of places (I don't review most) and this is easily the best place to go for a release weekend.

12-04-2011 22:09:49 | More by seeswo