The People's Pint

lordofthewiens

Maine

4.59/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25 | $$

We were in Amherst last week, looking at UMass with our son, and went to The People's Pint after the tour. We absolutely loved this place! I think the first thing to mention is what a comfortable vibe it gives off. The restaurant is cozy and warm. The bar is long and sort of in the shape of a question mark. It seats about 15. There are hooks at the bar for coats and purses, and table lamps at one end of the bar. There are a few booths and several tables, with what appears to be a community table at the window up front. Simple decor, earth tones and wood. Burgundy walls with a pewter tin ceiling. There's a bicycle on the wall over the bar. Another positive: no TVs. There is a dart board.
There were eleven beers on tap when we were there. I had the imperial stout, which was quite good. My wife had the DIPA, and liked it a lot. Growlers and bombers are available.
The food was also quite good. We were happy to see there were vegan options on the menu, so we didn't have to try to deconstruct a non-vegan dish.
We arrived at a time when the restaurant was nearly empty, but it filled quickly. As a result we had more than one server. They were all excellent. Friendly, informative, and not intrusive. Very laid back.
One other note. The People's Pint now accepts credit cards (except for AmEx). I was told this was a fairly recent decision.
If UMass accepts our son, and he decides to go there, my wife and I will look forward to many more visits to The People's Pint.

03-23-2013 15:23:54 | More by lordofthewiens

sinstaineddemon

Connecticut

4.75/5  rDev +14.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$

This is about as close to a five as it gets, and the only detractor is just the nature of the business, so even that isn't their fault.

The People's Pint is a brewpub/restaurant that focuses on green/renewable service with a laser-like focus on local resources. They DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS to cut down on paper use. They employ reusable supplies, such as napkins to reduce waste. They say that even on their busiest night they make only one bag of rubbish, incredible.

The food is fantastic. I had the squealer on my first visit, a burger with beef blended with ground pork. I also had my first stout float, which the server brought along with a sample of a pumpkin beer float because it was her favorite on the house. The beers are fantastic, but I knew that from their bottles.

The service was the best part, friendly, knowledgeable, and polite. In addition to the stout float sample story there is another instance that proves this. My first visit was during a less than busy lunch period and this is when I learned the no credit card policy. I asked the server if I could run across to the bank to get some cash and come back and get reseated. He said don't worry about it, sit and enjoy my meal and I can go to the bank after, that they trust me to come back!!! Now thats awesome.

If this were less than a 45 minute ride for me I would go here once a week, as it is I have been back and will go again.

The downsides, they don't take credit/debit cards. NBD for me, but for some it will. To me the only downside is that they are at the mercy of local production. Since it is almost all local food they can run out of items fast and without much notice. So when you have your meal in mind, have a backup ready.

07-17-2012 15:52:29 | More by sinstaineddemon

BrittEBurke

Massachusetts

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

This is one of my all time favorite brew pubs. The menu puts a huge emphasis on locally sourced, organic food and consistently delivers. I was there for lunch this past Thursday with five friends and everyone completely cleaned their plates. If you find yourself at the People's Pint, you MUST order the plowman's classic. Fresh bread, cheese, pickles and the most amazing mustard I have ever tasted. I also had the Pupusas. I had never tried Pupusas before and have nothing to compare them to, but they were delicious. My friends loved both the veggie burgers and "the squealer" - a blend of local, grass-fed beef and bacon in burger form. You can definitely taste the freshness of all of the ingredients and the care that goes into the preparation.

Now for the beer. Between the six of us (and with the aid of a four-beer flight) we tried every beer on the menu. I had the Hope Street Bitter (an ESB) on draft and on cask. Both versions were well balanced and perfectly hopped. They have 8 house beers and some specials, so there is something for everyone. While I only had a chance to try it in flight form, I was blown away by the Double IPA. For the non-beer drinker, the Pint brews their own sodas in house. They also have some local meads and a small but comprehensive wine list. Fortunately, the People's Pint sells growlers and has many of their most popular brews available in 22oz bombers.

The atmosphere fits right in with the surrounding area. It's the perfect combination of trendy and rustic without being pretentious. The staff is friendly and attentive (granted, there were only four other people in the pub when we were there last) and happy to offer suggestions. When I was spending a lot of time out in Western Mass, I frequented this place several times a month. I was glad to be back and highly recommend stopping by if you find yourself in the area. The People's Pint will not disappoint.

06-12-2011 18:02:01 | More by BrittEBurke

lazyboy247

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $

This place is awesome. Everything on the menu is fresh and for the most part local. The beers are really good and for the most part cheap. they always have at least 2 beers on cask. I've been a big fan of this place for a long time. I've never had bad service the waitstaff is attentive and nice. Some of the best bar snacks too. real pickels cheese fresh bread and if its your thing the pepperonchinis are great. selection is based on the season winter is an awesome time to go there, hearty tasty foods and Slippery Slope. also look for Tap and Die during the summer(all malt craft malt liquor) enough said.

03-17-2011 16:40:04 | More by lazyboy247

FrankLloydMike

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $

I've been interested in the People's Pint for a little over a year, ever since I spotted their attractive bottles at the store last Christmas. I was quite impressed by all their beers at a sampling in Cambridge over the summer, and looked into their Greenfield brewpub (and the exact location of Greenfield). I realized that it wasn't far from Brattleboro, a preferred annual weekend getaway of mine, and decided to check it out.

First of all, the atmosphere is great--a nice, deep, comfortable space that exemplifies a neighborhood joint with the laid-back vibe, patrons and staff. An inviting bar greets you in the big storefront windows with rows lining one wall from daylight to the dim back and tables filling the space between.

I was really hoping to try the Hope Street Bitter on cask or the braggot that the brewer had mentioned at the summer tasting, but neither were available upon my visit. There were several beers calling my name, however, and I went with the Provider Pale Ale on cask. The People's Pint has three cask engines, which works well with their many English-style beers, and the Provider was an excellent example of this symbiosis.

Matching the quality of the beers was the simple, but delightful lunch menu featuring mostly local products. I had the Ploughman's Special, a wonderful plate of local bread, meat, cheese, peppers and olive spread served on a wooden platter. It was much larger than I had anticipated for its affordable price, and even better than I had imagined. This is probably some of the best bar food I've ever had, and it's clear that they take great care in presenting fresh, local, interesting meals, as well as a long list of "snacks" to compliment their fine ales.

I left full and merry, and couldn't help looking back as I walked out the door into the gentle, afternoon snowfall in Greenfield. I wished for more time, for a second beer, and the proximity to a true community brewpub such as this. I knew then, as I know now, that I'll be back.

01-17-2011 00:09:52 | More by FrankLloydMike

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

4/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped by here during a Thanksgiving visit in Western MA. Arrived on Black Friday afternoon around 3 with a few others in the place. The atmosphere was cozy but clean, a well kept neighborhood restaurant/bar. I like it.

I only had one beer, the Coffee Porter, but it was quite good. The coffee was very well integrated into the porter and there was very little coffee bitterness. It was very drinkable, but still tasty.

The one bartender was attentive and willing to give samples. She answered a few questions about the beers and was very pleasant.

The selection was ok. They had pretty standard beers, maybe 6 of them on tap. They did have 2 casks, though. They also had local meads and ciders, which I didn't get to try. I wasn't blown away, but I wasn't disappointed, either.

The prices were very average. I would go again. Everything was all around good, but nothing was great.

11-29-2010 13:30:25 | More by coreyfmcdonald

Jesstyr

Virginia

3.68/5  rDev -11.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Found this place by accident, driving up to White River Junction, and happened to come across our GPS as an option. Really lucked out!

A: Nice place to hang out and grab a pint. Comfortable, not too loud, clean, etc.

S: We sat at the bar to eat, and had a good bartender. Knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely interested in making our experience better.

S: Since it's all their brews, they are a little limited, particularly by seasonality. I tried the IPA, and drank the imperial stout and farmer brown. All were average-good beers, but nothing blew my socks off.

F: Pretty good. Chowder was nice, bacon was a good touch. Chicken wings were definitely the highlight, and a must have. The burger was a little overhyped. All the breads were fresh and definite plus.

02-15-2010 23:31:36 | More by Jesstyr

BenZ

Virginia

3.45/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I have to say I was unpleasantly surprised by the beers based on the decent ratings here. I have had this off taste before in a brewpub in Ames, IA, and in some homebrews (not mine!). Maybe it is infected lines, or something else, but all the beers had it (we got the sampler and a couple of pints) and they were barely drinkable. The food was pretty good and the service was good. Maybe this was an isolated occurance (it was a year ago) and if we are up there again we may give it a second chance. The taste was almost fish-like...

05-14-2009 00:22:02 | More by BenZ

indiapaleale

Massachusetts

3.6/5  rDev -13.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Atmosphere = Cool little place in Greenfield. Definitely a stand out as far as places to grab some lunch/dinner and a beer in Greenfield. Very earthy and pretty much on par for this part of MA.

Quality = Food is all local, lots of vegetarian stuff and stuff from local farms. Beer....well, I am not a fan. It all tastes sort of watery and doesn't hit the style mark most of the time. That is MY OPINION so please don't let that sway you.

Selection/Food = Food selection is great, food is very diverse and like I said most OR all of it is locally sourced. Beer selection is decent, I personally wish they'd put on some guest taps since I usually am not a fan of the 6 or so beers they pour.

Definitely worth a stop and you may very well LOVE their beer. I go for the food and because it has a very low key atmosphere.

05-06-2009 02:13:57 | More by indiapaleale

BrewIAm

Massachusetts

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

Stopped here for an early dinner with my wife on a recent warm April afternoon. There's inexpensive meter parking just around the corner where $0.25 gets you 2 hours!

The People's Pint has a welcoming vibe with local art offerings and samples of company branded merchandise on the walls. The menu is inventive and interesting, departing from typical pub choices. It does include vegetarian options and emphasizes local food products. Reasonably priced. Note that they don't take credit cards!

Our waitress was attentive, and helpful; including suggesting two of the beers I sampled. I had a five-beer sampler consisting of Provider Pale Ale, Pied pIPA, Brakeshoe Porter, Oatmeal Stout, & Irish Red Ale (IRA). My favorite was the IRA (the Stout was a close second) . Wife had the three-mead sampler Liquid Sunshine, Chamomile, & Dry Reserve. Her fav was the Liquid Sunshine.

Food was very good. I had a burger, and wife had a homemade soup and salad combo. We were very happy overall with the beer and mead offerings, food and service. Well worth visiting if you are anywhere nearby. We were vesting our son at Westfield State College about 30 minutes away.

05-02-2009 02:56:54 | More by BrewIAm