Gambrinus Libation Emporium

Gambrinus Libation EmporiumGambrinus Libation Emporium
Gambrinus Libation EmporiumGambrinus Libation Emporium
Bar, Beer-to-go

116 W 2nd St
Owensboro, Kentucky, 42303-4111
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.52
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
18
pDev:
13.5%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Mrjwsjr:
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Reviewed by Mrjwsjr

5/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
Since I was diagnosed with MS last year I have undertaken a personal quest to find and sample as many great beers as I can find. Gambrinus helps me to achieve that quest without having to travel very far to always find something new. And they also help in building my own private collection of favorites. That I keep in my cellar to let them age. It is a wonderful place you cannot beat the service and the owners are simply amazing people I look forward to getting to know each and every person who works there very well.
Apr 23, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.14 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

Dec 21, 2016
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Reviewed by mlb430 from Kentucky

5/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Stopped in this place after viewing some of their inventory online. In the middle of Owensboro, KY, is this oasis of a bar that heavily caters to craft beer lovers. When I walked in on a Tuesday night, there were a few people at the bar and a couple larger groups sitting in their tabled area. The atmosphere just felt comfortable. John (owner) greeted me and showed me to the bottle shop, which basically amounts to a couple of side-rooms with a lot of amazing beers organized into shelving units. It was like getting to personally pick and choose beers out of one man's cellar selection. John shot the bull with me for nearly an hour and made some great recommendations. Granted, it was a Tuesday night, but even so, the service was exceptional. Gambrinus had a festival a couple weeks ago, and still had some beers on tap from that. The ones I had included 2015 KBS, 2014 Backwoods Bastard (amazing), 2013 Curmudgeon, Tin Man Csar, and a 2012 FIS that he personally filtered through single-origin coffee right there in the bar. I ended up spending way more than I originally planned. It was incredible. Really can't express how impressed I am with this place. Keep up the good work. I'll be back for sure.
May 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by threedaggers from Kentucky

Feb 24, 2015
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Reviewed by heysuz from Indiana

4.64/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75
Great place. Great Owner/operator! Went in search of bottles and man did I find them. Lots of stuff not usually found in this area. Found a Fantome Saison and I've never seen that anywhere before. He even turned me on to 2 bottles from his private collection that cannot be gotten here.

John (the owner) is truly a beer geek. Very friendly and made me feel welcome.

Hours are a little weird for a bottle shop but it's a night club with a bottle shop attached, so you just have to deal with it.
Jan 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4.56 by Brunnworth from Kentucky

Nov 28, 2014
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Reviewed by BlueMusky07 from Ohio

5/5  rDev +10.6%
I currently live in Ohio and have friends that live in Owensboro. Gambrinus is worth the 6 hour drive. I have lived in many parts of the country and this place has one of the best craft beer selections of anywhere I've traveled. I have found the staff to be very friendly and knowledgeable. The place is very classy and upscale. I would recommend that anyone traveling or living near Owensboro check this place out.
Aug 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by jmb1337

Jul 13, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by bigsquirrel from Kentucky

Jun 16, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by swarthybrews from Kentucky

Mar 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by mancide from Kentucky

Mar 11, 2014
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Reviewed by mwar from Kentucky

3.28/5  rDev -27.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.25
In Owensboro for business, stopped in for for a couple of beers. Nice overall feel to the place. Although I did not count, there were about 15 beers on tap. Nice bottle selection.

I was in the bar around 5:30 and there were about 10 people present.

For whatever reason, I felt the place was a bit "uptight". A click of tie wearing "businessmen" kept basically to themselves.

Could improve the vibe with a bit more of a welcome atmosphere.
May 19, 2013
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Reviewed by boxvic from Kentucky

2.73/5  rDev -39.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3
I heard so many good things from my friends about this place that I was genuinely excited to give it a try. We filled in about 11 only to be greeted by a curt bar tender who informed us that they were near closing (I was surprised to hear of a place closing at 12). The service would have gotten an even lower rating if it hadn't been for one waitress/bar tender who genuinely seemed to enjoy her job.

The beer selection is decent... but tends to cater more to the "off-the-wall" side than the traditional side. I didn't know there were that many beers with the word dragon in the name. The wine selection was nearly non-existent.

Pricing was about what I'd expect for such an establishment. More mainstream beers were cheaper, and the wine was overpriced. I doubt I could beat $5 a pint for Dogfish Head Indian-Brown in the whole Tri-State area, but I could have bought an entire bottle of a much better Pino for the $8 I spent on one glass there.

Its a nice place if you want decent priced beer that you can't find anywhere else in a smoke-free environment.
Nov 22, 2011
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Reviewed by AUniqueVideoPro from Kentucky

4.88/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
Gambrinus is the perfect place to go to meet friends, meet business partners, take a date, or just sit at the bar and have a nice frothy beverage. Nestled near the banks of the mighty Ohio River, Gambrinus offers great service against a background of modern art, nice decor and a comfortable socializing space. I continue to tell those I meet in business and in life to "check out Gambrinus downtown, you will want to go back again and again.". Gambrinus is on the cutting edge of social marketing, they lend a hand to other downtown businesses and are always listening and learning about their continually expanding libations selection... Matter of fact, I think I'll have some of the wedding party this weekend to continue the fun at Gambrinus after a wedding this weekend, how about a drink?
Sep 09, 2011
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Reviewed by ajdampier28 from Kentucky

4.72/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
The beer is excellent!!! The staff is knowledgable and friendly. The only negative is some times they are under staffed and servers get overwelmed.They are very good about rotating taps so they always have new beers coming in every week. The owner works very hard to get the worlds best beers in. Best over all bar in Owensboro. We are blessed to have the libation emporium in our town!

The atmosphere for the most part is quiet and upscale for the most part. Weekends do tend to get busy. They also have theme nights through the week and triva on thursdays. To keep things interesting.

The absolute best thing about this place is they do not carry your typical domestics. While most places waste four or five taps on budwieser, budlight, coors, and miller not Gambrinus. All they sell is priumum beers on tap and bottle.

If you come to Owensboro you have to visit Gambrinus . You will not be dissapointed.
Aug 31, 2011
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Reviewed by tjmorgan97 from Kentucky

4.78/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
If you are from Owensboro and you have not visited here then shame on you. This is the closest thing you will get to a classy, well run, Cheers like atmosphere you will ever find. Their beer selection is very good and absolutely stellar if you consider that nothing like this can be found anywhere near here. They have a very knowledgable staff and the Beer Queen Reiko knows more about beer than most anyone I know. Ask her what you like and she will set you up. However she is not the only knowlegable server. A true beer haven. They have a stein club, have run a beer school, have a rotating tap which routinely features at least 1 Three Floyds and 1 Stone beer among many other selections (over 12 tap of beer and 2 nitro taps).

The offer a different $3 beer most weekdays so if you are not sure about one, just wait and sooner or later you can try it cheap. My favorite night is Wednesday Night where Holly or Reiko cooks a home cooked meal and you can have dinner for $5, couple that with the $3 beer special and you have a great meal and great beer.

The normal food fair other than Wednesday is standard bar food, but well prepared. The atmosphere is best described as classy casual. Lots of art work, lots of tvs, always a good soccer game on. The also play old movies, usually on the big screen, ranging from silent flicks to classic beer shows and movies.

As you can tell, I was estatic to learn Gambrinus opened and am a regular patron, stein club member, bar fly. But I am also a Beer Snob who feels totally at home here. There are better bars/pubs but none anywhere near this place.
Most my vacations are planned around pub/brewery visits, so I get many chances to pop into a pubs in different cities. Few have this kind of balance.
I rate this 5 stars.
Aug 30, 2011
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Reviewed by Italktomyself77 from Kentucky

4.9/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
This establishment is a breath of fresh air for the community. A very relaxing place where you can enjoy some of the finest beers from around the world. A very healthy selection of bottles and an ever changing landscape on the 14 taps. A nice atmosphere where the owner is usually walking around talking with patrons making sure everyone is having a good time. There is also more than just beer here. There is a great selection of martinis made by their fantastic bartenders. And some nice munchies to make the drinks go down smooth.
Aug 20, 2011
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Reviewed by haddon from Kentucky

4.06/5  rDev -10.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Went back to my hometown in Owensboro, KY and was very surprised to find a beer bar downtown. they are actually making a good attempt at revitalizing the riverwalk area and Gambrinus is right in the middle of it (look up the legend of Gambrinus, pretty cool)!

really can't beat the atmosphere. the building is an old warehouse that has been remodeled after the style of the legendary patron saint of beer its named after. very spacious with lots of afternoon business meetings going on after work. they also had a blues guitar musician playing near the bar.

the owners (young couple) were out of town but I talked with the manager for a few minutes and she was nice and willing to talk beer.

I counted 14 taps with a nice selection... a few local preferences (dragon's milk & KY bourbon barrel ale) as well as some stellar beers... gumballhead, arrogant bastard, SN ipa, etc.
they also have lots of stuff in bottles like duvel, rochefort 10, westemalle, chimay, etc...

they run a $3 draft special every day and the other taps seemed to be around $5.

great place to have a beer. wish we had something like it in Nashville.
Aug 13, 2010
Gambrinus Libation Emporium in Owensboro, KY
Place rating: 4.52 out of 5 with 18 ratings