J. Ryans

mbusster88

New York

3.95/5  rDev -7.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

This place has an every changing selection that always surprises. Every night there are two beers on special, crafts of course. Ever changing taps make for a great experience and tasting night. Sometimes a big surprise with whats available. Pitcher prices are also good. Good menu for food, especially the nachos. The porch is ideal in the summer and fall months. Service was great with really fun wait staff. Definitely a good place for a drink, and in a good location. J. Ryan's is a weekly visit!

10-30-2010 00:31:16 | More by mbusster88

BeerTruth

Connecticut

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

As others have mentioned, J Ryan's is located outside Hanover Square where MacGregor's and then Kelly Cole's used to be. Parking is easy and free, one of J Ryan's best attributes in my opinion. Lot's of tables and chairs and a good sized bar with 69 taps. There are actually a few empty tap lines in the back that I'm hoping they fill up. Food is typical pub fare with wings, sandwiches, and wraps. Now for the beer. They have four Troeg's, three Horseheads (only place in Cuse), two Roosterfish (only place in Cuse), six or so Sly Fox including Hop Project beers, Weyerbacher Insanity, amongst MANY others. Every day is a different special on two beers where you can get an 11 oz. glass for $2. Word is they plan on doing growler fills as well which would be the only bar that offers that in Syracuse (I don't count Clark's plastic milk jugs). They also have a cooler which I was told will hold bottles to go for sale. Staff is extremely friendly and will offer up any samples if you want to try before purchasing. As of now they don't have a website but Kristy does update the facebook page quite often. Prices are much cheaper than Tusk and selection is just as good if you ask me. I have no doubt in my mind that J Ryan's will be successful and look forward to visiting more often. My main request going forward? Cask beer please!!!

01-10-2010 20:50:47 | More by BeerTruth

outincuse

New York

4.75/5  rDev +11.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went there last week and absolutely loved it. 69 beers on tap...I asked...I plan on trying every single one eventually. The food was standard pub fair which I always enjoy. Nachos were huge and had homemade tortilla chips. I was very impressed by the beer selection and the staffs knowledge of it. Especially since they have such a high turnover on the beer. Overall I enjoyed my experience there. I would recomend that anyone who enjoys specialty beers should make it a point to stop down and enjoy a beer. They've got something for everyone

01-03-2010 07:31:45 | More by outincuse

SERowe

New York

3.35/5  rDev -21.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

We were in Syracuse visiting family and decided to stop in the check out the latest incarnation of this place. Once a MacGregor's, then Kelly Cole's Improper, now after a long wait (NY State Liquor Authority moves VERY slow), it's J. Ryan's.

Not much has changed that I can see, but we did make a bee-line right for the bar and didn't wander around at all.
The tap selection was good; would have liked to see a few more Holiday Seasonal choices; there were a lot of IPAs and a few of the trendy "Imperials" and "Doubles" (not my thing, sorry). I had one of the half-pint special for 2 bucks - Horseheads Christmas Ale - which was nice, and a pint (?) of Roosterfish Nut Brown Ale - also nice.

This leads me to a nit-picky point that I can't seem to shake. Beer here is served up in mugs. Like Root Beer mugs, or Bloody Mary mugs. I'm not a fan of the standard mug. Perhaps I've become too much of a glassware snob. Maybe it's because traditionally you get a heavy mug that's big, but it's all glass with no capacity... And they served my wife a wheat beer in a mug. That just seems wrong. I'm not a fan of the ubiquitous American Shaker pint glass, but it's better than a mug. Enough on that...

We ordered some finger foods to munch on while sitting at the bar. The Onion Strings were lame. They were cold and kinda burnt and reminded me of those French's Fried onions in a can. Not what we expected. The chicken fingers were OK. Not particularly memorable, but hey they're only chicken fingers, right? I can't really comment on the menu as we didn't look at anything beyond the appetizers.

I had high expectations for the place, perhaps too high. I hope they can make a go of it, because it's about good beer, which they have, and which we need.

We'll probably visit again in the spring to see how things evolve.

12-18-2009 20:47:55 | More by SERowe

dlee

New York

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The former MacGregors and Kelly Coles site has re-opened as J. Ryans after waiting for close to a year for a liquor license. Apparently New York state doesn't need money all that bad, but i digress.

J. Ryans has 60+ taps, with 2 different beers chosen each day for a $2 for 11oz special. Otherwise, the beer is served in 22oz (?) mugs at prices that are typically between $4 and $5.50, reasonable in comparison to their competition.

Some Breweries that are represented (from memory):

New York: Middle Ages, Landmark, Bluepoint, Saranac, Lake Placid, Ommegang

USA: Bear Republic, Great Divide, Sly Fox, Weierbacher, Clipper City, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Great Lakes, Green Flash, Flying Dog

They have a good range of styles, with practically every style represented by at least one or two beer. American style IPA's is the style that is most represented, with around 8 of them.

Not very many BMC style beers on tap, just Coors Light, Labatts and PBR. The crappy beer, ahem, i mean American style pilsner, is primarily served in bottles. I haven't seen a bottle list.

They have several new flat screen HD TV's for your sports viewing, a new pool table, and a nifty jukebox.

The food is really good. Standard American fare with wraps, and plenty of sandwiches and soups. Good quality. Wings are really good too.

The service staff is still learning the beers, so i am giving them a pass. My friend and I have helped them a number of times with where particular taps are located and what style they are. They are all friendly.

Suggestions (some of them a bit nit-picky, i know!):

- I would like to see a few more New York breweries. Notable for their absence is Southern Tier and Ithaca.

- I'm not a big fan of the mugs, would prefer a pint glass.

- I'm not a big belgian beer drinker, but that style is under-represented.

- Would love to see a cask conditioned beer

- Growler fills would be cool.

- The new HD TV's are often obstructed by the new light fixtures. They hang right in front of the site line. If they moved the fixtures up by 7 inches (yes, i measured!) they would provide much better viewing of the beautiful new TV's.


The bottom line: This is a great beer bar to hang out at. I highly recommend it. Great beer, good food, HD TV's...it has it all!

Welcome to the Syracuse beer scene, J. Ryans! You are worthy!

11-26-2009 18:15:51 | More by dlee