The J. Clyde

kopfjaeger

Alabama

2.78/5  rDev -36.5%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 4.5 | food: 2.5 | $$$

What good is having a big selection of beers if your customers can't get one? You could sit down anywhere at the J. Clyde and die of thirst waiting for someone to bring you a beer. It would be a good place to go, if they ever hired good people and trained or managed them, which they obviously have no interest in doing. They have always had the worst bartenders and servers in Birmingham, and they just don't care. I have always tried to support them anyway, because I love craft beers, and they do too. However, the last time I went there the "bartender" aggressively ignored me for so long, and pissed me off so bad, I swore I would never go back there again.

12-11-2011 16:57:52 | More by kopfjaeger

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -15.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $

From Beer Advocate, I tried J. Clyde's this evening. I met a former colleage their and we had a couple pints and burgers. The place is located on a neat little lane near UAB campus and is in a old building that from the outside does not look like a beer haven. Inside there are walls of stone and ornate ceiling which makes the place feel old and nostalgic. The quality of beer was good...I thought a couple beers from the tap were a little to warm, but all the beeter to taste...right. The service was very slow...mostly due to the crowd that patronizes the place. The beer selection was amazing....20+ on tap, and big bottle menu. The burger was AMAZING....really enjoyed it. Great Sweet potato fries. Over all....had 5 pints, one beer flight, two burgers, all for $50...I thought it was reasonable.

09-14-2011 03:03:43 | More by WoodBrew

ddarden

Alabama

3.95/5  rDev -9.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

The J. Clyde is definitely the go to beer bar in Birmingham (there are only a few to choose from). With the recent addition of additional keg space, the number of draft beers have tripled. They by far have the best selection and continually bring in the latest beers to enter the market. The owner and his sister are great people and are constantly working the floor to make sure everything is going well. It also has been very exciting to have a proprieter in town actively seeking cask ales of beer never before available in the area. It has been great to have a place with the number one priority being beer. I have not eaten to many dishes from the kitchen, but the fish and chips are good. The outside area is very nice when the weather is good and they are able to keep it nice and toasty even in the cold weather. The one thing that is missing from the atmosphere is a nice big bar area to belly up too. The owner is constantly working to improve the facilities, but the restrooms are very small for a beer joint and the service can be hit or miss. All in all, this is the place to come when visiting Birmingham for beer and it is wonderful to have such a committed owner.

01-07-2008 19:51:53 | More by ddarden

Bamabrew22

Alabama

3.95/5  rDev -9.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

Great place to grab a quality brew in Bham. Loved the courtyard/patio outdoor seating. Beer selection was just phenomenal. Also love the owner's support of Free The Hops and dedication to bringing good brews to Alabama. Food is good, a little on the hoite toite side, if you catch my drift, but delicious and creative, to say the least. I tried some Lazy Magnolia offerings on tap. Their tap selection is second to none. Great atmosphere, really laid back despite the glitzy menu. Great beer bar! Can't wait to go back.

05-19-2009 17:02:15 | More by Bamabrew22

shivtim

Georgia

3.98/5  rDev -9.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped here while visiting Birmingham. It's on a small brick street, in a mixed residential/commercial neighborhood just down the street from UAB. We walked in and it was completely empty in front. Walking around the corner past the bathroom and kitchen we found out there was a back bar area and outside covered seating, with several people eating and drinking. Odd layout, thats for sure. Good selection of brews, with maybe 30 on tap, including several from local-ish breweries and a large Rogue selection. Service was friendly but slow. The food was a limited pub menu. I had a pretty good chicken sandwich, with average sweet potato fries (I could tell they were homemade though). A friend said the pizza had good sauce and toppings, but the crust was not very good.
Seems like a good hangout, and I'd believe it's probably the best beer bar in Alabama. I'd like to try their full menu, and it'd be nice to see a couple more breweries offered on tap.

10-13-2008 16:49:44 | More by shivtim

dukedevil0

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -9.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $

I've stopped by here twice on business trips that took me to the area.

Atmosphere: Both times I've been here have been during the week and prior dinner hours so the place was pretty empty. The front room has a nice big bar, but apparently it isn't being used or hasn't been when I've shown up there. The main bar is small (fit's ~8 people), but is nice and has glasses hanging from above. All the taps are on the wall to the left of the bar stacked next to each other and it makes me wonder how they fit all of them in such a tight space. There's some nice outdoor covered and uncovered seating and it looks like a cool place to hang out when the weather is nice. A big screen TV is mounted out there under an overhang that had Sportscenter on mute while I was there.

Quality: Beers were generally served in pint glasses, but they did have snifters so they must use them for some beers although I didn't observe which.

Service: Service when I was there was very good, although it might have been a function of not being very busy at the time. I ordered drinks from the bar and was served quickly and courteously.

Selection: For Alabama, which has some ridiculous beer laws that keep lots of great beers from getting in the state, this place has a great selection. If this place were in a beer friendly state, then I would say average for a "craft beer bar". They had lots of Rogue beers, some Sweetwater, Yazoo, and other local, low alcohol brews.

Food: I had a chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. The food was typical bar food, nothing outstanding, but was decent.

Value: Overall I think the value here is pretty good for your money, but mostly just because of the circumstances this bar has to compete with. Again, if this were in a big city or beer friendly state, this would be a notch or two lower. If you are in Birmingham and looking for a good beer bar, this is what you have to work with.

03-23-2009 19:50:01 | More by dukedevil0

BierGartenok

Oklahoma

4.05/5  rDev -7.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Been here twice, always go when I am in town visiting my sister. Really nice to finally see a good beer pub in Birmingham! They have all of the local stuff on tap (good people etc) and many other great craft brews. They have a great import selection as well. Service is great even when they are really busy and the atmosphere is warm and cozy. The food is as you would expect from a pub, burgers, pizza etc. Just a great place to go if you are in Birmingham and are looking for a cool place to try some of the local and regional brews!!

01-21-2011 02:43:51 | More by BierGartenok

joshodonn

Florida

4.1/5  rDev -6.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I have been frequenting the J. Clyde for almost 3 years now as a business traveler. I am in Birmingham about one week a month and usually find myself at the J. Clyde more evenings than not when I am in Birmingham. As far as beer bars go, this used to be THE place to go in Birmingham if you wanted to find unique and hard-to-find brews. The unfortunate thing about that is the staff knew that as well and thought VERY highly of themselves. I have seen a lot of folks get pretty bad service or be sold on crappy beers just so they can empty a keg and put something new on. Thankfully for me I usually get pretty decent service because I've gotten to know most of the bartenders and I tip well, so they remember me even though they don't see me all that often. I'm thinking that now that there are a few new places popping up in town (World of Beer, Hop City, etc) that the J. Clyde may have to re-evaluate their attitudes or risk losing business. Don't get me wrong, I love the place and will continue to frequent it, I'm just saying the staff can be somewhat pretentious. The beer selection can vary from day to day and they aren't real consistent with updating their draft lists so that can be quite frustrating when you ask for 5 beers before you find one they actually still have on tap. The food is really good, I don't know that I've had anything there that I wouldn't recommend. I really love their BLT made with a fried green tomato. Their house made balsamic vinaigrette dressing is also phenomenal.

02-14-2013 13:27:16 | More by joshodonn

lfd807

Alabama

4.13/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

By far the best place to drink craft beer in Alabama. I drive, actually the wife drives, all the way from Tuscaloosa (an hour away) just to enjoy the half price pints on Tuesday & Thursday nights along with a three piece jazz band on Thursday nights. Kind of hard to beat $2.75 for a pint of Good People Brown Ale. The food is priced as expected. Be sure that you ask for the Pub Menu also. The wife and I really enjoy the sweet potato fries. Great selection of Rogue. We went this Thursday night at arrived there at about 7:30. Of course the back patio was full, but we happened to find an empty table...unfortunately it was away from the heat. We sat there for about 15 minutes before someone came to get our drink order. My wife finally found us a spot at the front bar and the server immediately took her drink order. We were informed that there was a birthday party that had reserved the front and that we would need to be done by 9. This was not a problem for us, but we did stay there till about 9:15 without being bothered. It was a special occasion for me and I thank my wife for taking me. I really feel that an hour drive is worth visiting this place. My only suggestion is to arrive early (they open at I believe 4) as it tends to fill up quickly. The front bar also has a very impressive amount of taps that will be filled up as soon as our Senate quits filibustering and get some work done! I really look forward to visiting when this happens.

I can't wait for Good People to be served in Tuscaloosa!

03-14-2009 04:13:25 | More by lfd807

HeavyCsOptician

Mississippi

4.15/5  rDev -5.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

To reiterate what the previous posts had to say, I was impressed with what The J Clyde has to offer. Very cool setting, especially if wanting to enjoy a game.

The server was very knowledgeable as to the selection that is offered and turned me on to the Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning. Ended up stocking my fridge with it after having tasted it.

The only food we ordered was the fried dill pickles which are a great appetizer to enjoy while partaking in some beverages. Much better than some freaking Butterfish, which is a terrible mixture with a fine brew!

Given the selection, setting, staff, and service I will be visiting this place again. The location is neat given the fact that there are other bars in the vicinity.

12-01-2011 03:28:21 | More by HeavyCsOptician