Allentown Brew Works

beerhawk

Pennsylvania

4.83/5  rDev +24.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This place is massive!!! Man I can not get over how big it is. Four floors all together and I was told that there are two floors that are not even developed yet. It has to be one of the biggest Brew Pubs in PA or maybe even the US.

When you first walk in you see the serving tanks right away. When you look up you have the fermenters hanging over your head in an atrium opening.

The Main bar has a cool lighted bar top that is very NY in style. The whole place looks like it should be located in NY or Vegas. Amazing that the Fegley Family took the risk of opening this pub in a struggling city. They certainly are sending the message that Allentown is changing for the better. What an undertaking and my hats off to them.

The basement holds a lounge called Silk. They feature over 100 world beers. The second floor is called High Gravity and rightly so sells 'big' beers. The third floor is a banquet room called the Hamilton room and is used for weddings and big party functions.

There is plenty of free parking on the street or in a surface lot right across the street at night time. Plus there is a parking deck free at nights and I am told free parking behind the pub day and night.

The atmosphere is great. The pulled pork and beer cheese soup were just as good as their Bethlehem location. The menu here seemed to offer more items than the other location but the portions and quality were equally as good.

If you are in the Allentown area visiting Dorney Park with the family, don't miss this place. They are kid friendly like most brew pubs.

The Porter is one of the best I have ever had. Try that or the Pig Pen Pils which I think is named in honor of the new AAA phillies team the Iron Pigs that will be playing right down the street at a new stadium called coca-cola park.

I'll be back again for sure and may even make it a baseball trip with friends!

03-24-2008 08:19:43 | More by beerhawk

bigflatsbeerman

New York

4.79/5  rDev +23.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75 | $$

Went here with my wife and daughter who was checking out a college in the area. We all thought the food was very good, the service was excellent and my IPA and my wife's Wit beer were great. I would definitely recommend this place. It seemed like a very vibrant part of the community.

Editorial: I have been seeking out brew pubs when I'm out of town for the last 10-12 years. We have never been to one that did not have good food (I hope I don't jinx it).

02-03-2013 03:12:16 | More by bigflatsbeerman

Scheity

New York

4.45/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

It's a spin-off of the Brew Works already thriving in Bethlehem, PA, complete with the same steel town motif -- Bethlehem Steel was the #2 American Steel producer for most of the 20th century -- but with a touch more sophistication.

The building, set in downtown Allentown, is divided into three parts. The main floor is the dining area, a deep room that seems to disappear from sight when you enter the building, although you can make out an assortment of flat-screen TVs looming over the softly lit bar area. Terrace seating for dining curves along the outline of the room, as patrons can look down on other patron's bald spots.

Take an elevator or the stairs to the upper level, called "High Gravity," to reveal a smaller bar, which the staff admitted was mostly spill-over space. Nothing spectacular. Not even high-gravity beers.

But the real winner is the downstairs bar, called Silk. Reminiscent of the Steelgarten on the bottom floor of the Bethlehem Works -- instituted to provide a haven for those seeking a bit more class and, with that, other single adults -- it features a lone pool table and a marble bar with your prototypical lounge-style music in the background. Coltrane, Davis, easier-listening Wilco, et al. Couches line the back wall, promoting an even more loungy feel.

We'll see as the place grows in popularity what kind of identities the rooms develop.

My favorite part about Silk, though, had nothing to do with decor...if it did, this place would blow. (I hope most everybody skipped the first part...I felt like I had some obligation to provide a scene setting) The glory of the bar is the fridge, which features more than 100 bottled craft beers from all around the world, America to Guyana to Germany. The menu illuminates each beer with well-constructed and extraordinarily knowledgeable analyses that don't just make generalizations on the style of beer -- my buddy didn't talk to us for 15 minutes because he was studying it. Each bottle gets its own treatment, just like it deserves. It's even more impressive to me because a great deal of breweries are reticent to acknowledge that other beers exist, using a business-by-coercion, funnel-our-customers mentality. This place, though, promotes beer awareness (isn't that the point of all of this?), clearly trying to propagate the abounding love of the beverage that it already possesses.

Now onto the real important stuff -- its own beers. You could, after all, go to a good beer store to stock up on foreign crafts. When we were there, a few days before its grand opening on Father's Day 2007, eight beers on tap.
--Pale Ale -- ok, a bit under-hopped
--Amber Lager -- Insinuations of Yuengling, the local passion
--Hop Explosion -- Not underhopped. Delicious, though with a bit of an astringent mouthfeel.
--Pilsner -- The weakest offering. Few hops, very watery and over-carbonated. Like it was brewed to rein in the business of those who ask "What's the beer that's most like Bud Light?" If so, successful.
--Porter -- One of the best porters I've ever had. Served on carbo-tap, but still exquisitely smooth. Not overpoweringly bitter, allowing the dark malt to come through and coax you into it. Really nice.
--Berliner Weisse -- Lot of lactic acid, creamy and bitter and quite refreshing. Can also be served with some raspberry flavoring and some other one I can't remember.

I forget the other two. Check them out yourselves.

Each one of the beers, if I remember, was less than $4. A flight of six 5.5-ounce beers was only $8.50. Worth it.

The personable and knowledgable staff told us that the brewer not only designs and brews all the beers, but set up all the tap lines and everything. Way cool.

So if this review seems effusively positive (and it does), it's because this establishment is a place that aims at one of the most important goals in the Lehigh Valley it calls home: The Revitalization of Allentown. A town beset with decay after industry evaporated in the Valley, Allentown's struggled to recover. But slowly, some good things have begun to foment in the downtown area as local developers/philanthropists have finally poured in money with some sort of direction instead of just randomly throwing it around.

So have an altruistic pint and smile. And repeat.

06-16-2007 23:39:13 | More by Scheity

acurtis

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Allentown Brew Works is great. It is a solid 45 min drive for me and ...
Food: ...the pretzels are worth it alone. They are amazing and I don't even really like pretzels. The cheese steak is also the best I've had and I've had many, including the top rated ones in Philly. Burgers are also excellent, I like the Melter.
Beer: The beer is very good with about 8 - 12 brews on tap from serving tanks. Growlers to go and there are also a few 750ml bottles for take home (usually these beers are only on tap once a year for a short time when bottled.) There is also a large selection of other imports and local bottles. I refill my growler just about every visit.
Service: I have sat the bar 3 times and had 2 different tenders, they were both very good. I've sat at tables inside and outside, each time the wait staff was different but always good. This has become one of my favorite destinations and I've been visiting at least twice a month. I have never had a hard time finding a parking spot in front but there are not many spots. I always go for lunch so it may be more difficult to park in the evening. They also offer free tours with tastings each Saturday around noon.

10-21-2010 16:16:33 | More by acurtis

purflyers

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +13.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Great beers. The two new DIPAs are outstanding. Very different beers, but each has characteristics that make them stand apart. Might neeed a bit of work on the names (Hop Drop and Roll and Hopsolutely) but the beers are great.

Best place to have a beer or a quick meal is at the bar. Bartenders very attentive and personable.

Table service can be spotty, with occasional long delays in visits.

Food is good to average, however quality is consistant.

Could use a few more side options besides the pedestrian 'beer fries' or cole slaw. Home-made chips or pasta salad would be a great addition.

New beers are frequently added and each is enjoyable. Both DIPAs are new, and as previously noted, both are great.

01-23-2009 02:15:46 | More by purflyers

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The Allentown brew works is a pretty nice place in an area that's seen better days. The brewpub itself is very nice. Very spacious and well lit. The vibe is pretty relaxed and casual. The service hasn't been bad since I started going there. The food has been really good every time I've had any. The beer selection is also pretty top notch, they've got plenty to choose from.

Each year they put on a beerfest with breweries that come from all over to give samples out. They have it all setup on the upper levels of the place. The festivals have been great the last 2 years I've gone. Overall it's a nice place in my opinion and they make good stuff. Worth checking out for sure.

06-17-2011 04:09:15 | More by Knapp85

ClassicBrad

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +10.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Very cool design to the building itself with a super helpful and knowledgeable staff that is eager to describe the beer selection to you.

Food selection and quality is average to above average for a brewpub. I had the Bacon Me Bleu burger and it was damn good.

I also had a great sampler tray from them, which they bring out on a round gear tray. 6 different 5 oz servings of anything they have available for $8.50 and the burger was about the same price.

I had the Pumpkin Ale, 8th Street Wheat, Steelgaarden Wit, Foreign Stout, Bagpiper's Scotch Ale, and Copper Kettle Pale Ale: all spectacular.

Definitely deserving of a revisit sometime in the future.

10-26-2008 03:05:29 | More by ClassicBrad

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.3/5  rDev +10.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Stopped into Allentown Brew Works for lunch on 26JAN10, en route to Lancaster PA.

Located on the ground floor of a large stone building in the heart of Allentown, the front of ABC has lots of metal and large windows. Through a small foyer on the left, and you are deposited inside about 1/3 of the way down the long, front-to-back dining area. Along the right side of the 1st third of the place are large fermenting vessels, perhaps 6 or 7 of them. Tables and chairs line the front windows, as well as some booths parallel to the tanks. More booths and tables are set up heading towards the rear of the place, with a low dividing wall on the left amid some large, square pillars. The bar runs alongside the right, about 1/3 of the way from the front to the far rear. The bar itself has a cool, lemon-yellow plexiglas inlay which is illuminated from below. Behind the bar are rows of neatly arranged mug-club steins and a well-stocked collection of liquor, as well as a few large-screen TVs. Between the brew vessels and the start of the bar is an exit to a fair-weather biergarten. At the far rear, on the right, is a staircase leading to an upper level, perhaps more dining or another bar; I didn't investigate. Most of the walls and decor are brownish, the lighting is fairly low and warm, and the ceilings are high with exposed duct-work. A nice mix of mostly-classic rock with some reggae filled the airwaves.

Parked at the bar, I had to choose from about a dozen draft offerings, most from right here but 1 or 2 from their sister brewpub in Bethlehem. It was a good variety, from pale ales to belgian strongs to doppelbocks. They also have a large, quality list of domestic and imported bottled biers. I opted first for their own DBock, and some food, the 2500° Chicken Breast Sammich. Very well-proportioned, and nice and spicy! It really hit the spot, and the DBock was well-made, too. For "dessert" I went for a tulip of their DIPA. Damn, was that tasty! So much so that I had two! Wish I could have hung for more, but driving was on the horizon. Service here was quite good, staff being attentive, helpful and friendly (even comping me a DIPA. Woo-hoo!).

All in all, a very pleasant and satisfying stop while traversing PA. Prosit!!

4.3
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 - $$

198

02-04-2010 21:01:14 | More by Bierman9

Odysseyalien

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +9.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I had lunch with my family here yesterday. Food was much better than expected. My wife liked what she had (fish tacos) very much. I had the turkey burger and it was impressive. My son had the "grass fed" burger and pretty much demolished it. Fries were excellent as was the cole slaw. The food is of a high quality for this kind of establishment.

The waiter was very much above average and gave me a mini-tour of the brewing facility. Service was excellent.

I didn't have beer with lunch though I bought some to bring home. I don't drink at all when I have to drive a car. They do sell beer in bottles that you can bring home as well as growlers. (I'm sipping a Fegley's Hop Explosion that I bought yesterday as I type this and it's quite good. I'd rate it an "A" if this were a beer review.)

All in all, I hope to make my way to Allentown again and feast at this establishment. Hopefully I'll not have to drive next time and can enjoy the beer on tap as well as the food.

12-12-2011 23:52:37 | More by Odysseyalien

Hoops4life511

New Jersey

4.2/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Took a trip to Allentown Brew Works for dinner and some drinks with 3 friends. Neighborhood isn't the greatest, but I'll try not to let that detract too much from the establishment. Parking was available in a deck nearby for a few dollars, not terrible. Upon entering the aesthetic was pretty cool. Dark and industrial looking with uncovered bricks, high ceilings and exposed duct work, but very clean. The place was a little crowded, but I'd expect that on a Saturday night. Got seated at a tiny table across from the bar. Seating wasn't ideal, but given the time I'll have to deal with it. Service was prompt initially and got our drink orders. The sampler was a great value and the flagship beers which I might have turned down otherwise were as good as or better than the specialty beers. Took a little while to get our food order in, and a little bit longer to get the food, but when it arrived it was very tasty. Pasta with a porter reduction was a brilliant use or beer in food. The value was on par with most other places of this nature, a little bit pricier than a chain restaurant but leaps and bounds higher in quality. All in all I plan on visiting many more times in my travels through Allentown.

06-08-2011 16:26:35 | More by Hoops4life511