Williamsburg AleWerks

Eriktheipaman

Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +26.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

First time visit and had a great experience. Booked a tour a few online so it would all be set up. The tour was only my girlfriend and I with the tour guide. It was very one on one which added to the flair of the brewery. He showed us their set up and explained how they brew and their specific set up.

The shop is small but to be expected. They do growler fills that seemed very affordable ($7-10 I think?) They also had some of their seasonal releases available in bombers, as well as singles of all the other beers.

The employees were extremely friendly and made for an all around good experience.

01-08-2012 21:04:39 | More by Eriktheipaman

Chaney

District of Columbia

2.75/5  rDev -23.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I've been here many times. As a matter of fact, the pic here on BA is one that I contributed. Cheers!

My wife and I came here this past weekend in conjunction with Busch Gardens Howl O Scream.

Located in an industrial park.... which isn't surprising.

Atmosphere: Typical small brewery atmosphere: Taps to the back, with many brews on tap for that day. The room is small, yet serviceable, with all of the stuff in the Alewerks arsenal on tap here.

Quality: Some of their beers are great, especially the pumpkin (one of the best!), coffee stout, Cafe Royale, and Bourbon Barrel Porter.

Service: This is where the place really sucked. I called early in the day and asked about the availability of the pumpkin ale. The phone proctor told me that there was a case left and she was very confident in her assertion. However, once we got there, it was different story. She told me earlier that the forklift was broken, they had more pumpkin ale in the back, and that they would make sure that they took care of us. Once we got there though, it was a different story. The woman who took my call was there, waited on us, and seemed to have contempt for both me and my wife and played it off like we should have known better. After ignoring us around every corner, she asserted herself again by saying in a very sassy tone, "The forklift is broken and there is nothing we can do." She passed us off to another employee who was equally as crass and unhelpful. It would have been cool to get something along the lines of "I'm sorry.... we made a mistake and the Pumpkin ale is out our reach."

Selection: Nice! I dig their beers overall. When my wife and I were there, they had all the fall stuff on tap and available for purchase... except the pumpkin ale.

Value. The Service sucked... and we both can't get over that. However, we bought a case of pumpkin here last year and we were both happy with the price of stuff here. Additionally, I think it's a bit odd that they charge was cardboard drink coasters.

10-12-2011 04:40:12 | More by Chaney

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.26/5  rDev -9.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | $$

During a recent family vacation to the Williamsburg area, we dropped by this little micro-brewery for a short afternoon diversion before an early dinner. The place is located in a small industrial park, and definitely has the 'grown from homebrew' feel about it. The Alewerks is not a brewpub; it is a storefront and a micro-brewery. Still, on a weekday afternoon, the place was hopping with visitors. A colorfully candid guy gave the tour, introducing us to the brewer along the way. The tour cost a few dollars, which was reasonable for a 1.5 hour tour and tasting. They provided coloring books for our kids, while the parents got to tour the brewery. It was interesting to see the small direct-fired infusion system (seemed unusual to see this system, as opposed to steam). The brewery is certainly small, and a manual operation. It's a true craft brewery. The staff was knowledgeable, and the beer was clean and well-made. However, the selection seems to be geared to local taverns and everyday distribution. There was not much that was edgy or interesting...there were about six beers, all of which were English-style mid-range ales. Still, they were all flavorful and well-crafted. This is a nice place, worth an hour or two for a short, beery respite while visiting the local historic and amusement sites.

06-25-2011 01:32:45 | More by Suds

bgildea

Virginia

3.86/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $

Williamsburg AleWerks is a fairly small brewery located in Williamsburg, VA. The brewery offers tours, tastings, and growler fills, but does not serve food. AleWerks makes for an ejoyable short detour if you are in the Williamsburg area.

Atmosphere: The atmoshpere of the brewery was pretty light and cheery. The staff serving the tasters were realatively young and the guys giving the tours were more of the grizzled old vet types. The tasting room is pretty small and is strictly beer, no food.

Quality: The quality of the beer was great. There were no issues with taste or freshness. I noticed that two tours that occured during my visit managed to kick a couple of the kegs, so the beer was being changed rather quickly.

Service: The service in the tasting room was polite and friendly. The bartender who was doing the tastings had a decent knowledge of the beer he was pouring and offered some insight into the beers. The one downside is that he didn't really pour us too much into our tasting glasses. The brewery tour was a little long-winded but overall enjoyable. The tour guide could have perked up a little, but I'll let it slide because he was an older gentleman.

Selection: The brewery had 6 beers on tap during the tasting. 5 of the beers were also available by 6 pack. The other beer was not, and was only available at local bars, which was VERY dissapointing considering that I found it to be the best beer by far (Brown Ale name was Olde Something... cant remember exactly). The brewery also has 2 beers that they sell by the 22 oz which they recommend cellaring for 3 years. I picked up a couple of these, and will let you know how they are in 2013.

Food: No food is served here.

Value: The value is pretty inexpensive. The tasting was $3 for 6 beers, albeit that the pours were on the lighter side. The brew tour was $6 which also included a tasting. Mix and match 6 packs sold for $9. Overall, the prices were pretty cheap to reasonable.

Overall: Overall I had a good time at AleWerks. It's a small place, and the tasting won't take long, so I'd recommend popping in for a quick taste if you're in the WIlliamsburg area. My only regret was not getting a chance to taste their bourbon porter, which I'm sure I would have loved.

Beer Favorites: Brown Ale, and Washington Porter (which happens to be available at the local amusement park Busch Gardens... kind of ironic, but also a pleasant surprise.)

05-23-2011 14:17:27 | More by bgildea