Alewife

atpben

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +11.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Went there a week ago on an overnight. Two blocks from my hotel in downtown BWI. It was about 1pm on Saturday afternoon so not very crowded. High ceiling in the main bar area. Got lucky with the table next to the big ass window next to the street. Awesome waitress. She was very good in recommending good beers for my non beer drinker friends. 40 beers on tap and about a 100 bottles. Great selection. Lot of the beers I wanted were understandably gone. But had the Stone Dayman Coffee IPA, Ballast Point Big Eye,and Green Flash West Coast IPA (They had the parabola but for 45$ not worth it for me). Had the fries made in duck fat(awesome and highly recommended). Did not have other food on this trip but had the burger on my last one and it was awesome. This place is on the pricey side but great selection. I will be back in BWI later on this month and I'm definitely gonna start at the alewife.

05-17-2013 02:57:28 | More by atpben

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4.06/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped by here while staying in Baltimore near the stadiums. I saw a handful of good reviews here on BA so I gave it a shot. From the outside it looks like an old Library or former Education building of sorts. I almost walked right into the glass covering the opening of the "front doors" (actual entrance is to the right). Cool vibe going on inside including a huge handwritten chalkboard draught list. They have high ceilings with a second floor deck overlooking the main bar and restaurant area.They had about 40 beers on tap when I went, and another 95 in bottles. The beer selection was nice and well packed with local brews which is cool. The food menu was short and sweet with a few small plates, artisanal sandwiches, mussels, calamari etc. I had a big tasty burger and some of the calamari. Both of the bartenders working that evening were helpful, personable and friendly. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for good beer and a cool spot. I'll be returning here on my next visit.

01-28-2013 14:28:26 | More by BeerForMuscle

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

A great stop in the Inner Harbor area, Alewife was about three blocks up the hill from our hotel right outside Camden Yards.

Cool vibe inside, one large room with extrmely high ceilings and a mezzanine with a good amount of seating. We got two seats at the corner of the old school bar.

Beer selection was really excellent, with a heavy emphasis on regional craft beers. We never see Evolution on tap in PA so that was a nice surprise. Also, Weyerbacher, Flying Dog, Heavy Seas, DFH all nicely represented.

Our heavily inked bartender was very friendly, always there when we needed something. Food was good as well.

A new favorite to add to our Ballmer rotation.

HV

07-26-2012 18:55:09 | More by sholland119

Gavage

New Jersey

4.6/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

A short walk up Eutaw street from the Inner Harbor area, you can easily see the Alewife sign from a distance. The building looks like an old bank building from the outside, but inside it has more of a dark wood and maroon colored walls. The bar is large and has an impressive lineup of about 40 drafts. There are also some other tables in the area where some people were eating while enjoying beers.

We pulled up some stools at the bar and had a hard time deciding which of the beers to have. The beer list covered numerous styles including some sours which is nice too see. Bear Republic, DFH, Heavy Seas, Allagash, New Belgium, and Weyebacher were a few of the breweries represented. The several pints we had were all very fresh which shows good turnover with the number of taps here.

Service was very good here - friendly and beer knowledgable - any question regarding the beer selections was answered quickly and accurately. We did not try any food here.

Defintely a must stop for any BA in the Inner Harbor area, especially if want a different mellower vibe to enjoy some great beers.

07-24-2012 19:43:09 | More by Gavage

smakawhat

Maryland

3.93/5  rDev -8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Located not too far from the Lexington Market subway station Alewife is a place easy to miss.

Entering though you are in a giant large ceiling building that has been redecorated and screaming new gentrified fashion, while still remaining old world charm. The patronage is diverse, and the place was very busy for a Tuesday night when I visited.

Aside from one foul mouth racist drunk in the corner trying to stir things up (who didn't last long), everything here is quite comfortable and pleasant. The building and crowd reminds me a lot of the nice places I frequent to drink in DC, although the clientel in Baltimore is classic locals who are different from their nearby DC counterparts.

Service is ok, some minor attitude but nothing you can't really fault. Beer selection here is a step up and also contains lots of good glassware to go with it.

Didn't get to try all the food, but the fries in duck fat never fail, and the burger is rich if perhaps a little too rare but no major complaints.

I really like the atmosphere of this place the most, it really feels and gives me an idea of what the residents of Baltimore look like and what their city has to offer, and the building is real nice inside. I will always keep this place on my radar when visiting Charm City.

11-02-2011 13:40:31 | More by smakawhat

Jesstyr

Virginia

4.08/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Pumped to check this out pre-O's game, and was glad to give it a shot. Overall this was a good experience with a great waiter, interesting beer selection and decent food - overall worth a shot in the area.

Love the old bank building, and they did a great job making this place comfortable, but interesting. Cool bar, stained glass, bank doors, etc. Was really pleased by our friendly and knowledgeable waiter - helpful picking out food and beer to pair, just a good guy.

Beer selection both on tap and in bottle was great. Definitely seasonally focused, but a great mix of local craft and great beers from the world, including St Bernardus on tap, and a strong selection of bottled unique beers (JW Lees, etc). Food was just so-so - the cheese grits were as good as I've ever had, but the mussels were not good. Similarly kobe hot dog was great, but shrimp (with heads on in bbq on grits) were not well executed.

Worth a shot if you are in the area.

07-26-2011 02:14:28 | More by Jesstyr

smokeypeat

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Finally used a O's game as an excuse to check this place out. It's nice to finally have a high quality bar on the West side of Baltimore. I was really impressed with the building, it's all old-school wood and nicely detailed accents. It makes you really appreciate the time, effort, and craftsmanship that went into these old downtown buildings. The selection of beer amongst the 40 taps was rock solid and while nothing really stood out to me as "rare" I couldn't fault a single selection. The beer was served in proper glassware (true 16oz pints) and service was prompt. We also ate to fill up before the game and while the food selection was somewhat limited compared to the beer choices, all of us were more than happy with the quality. The only thing I'll point out here is that it took a long time for the food to come. Of course with good beer and conversation the wait was bearable and didn't detract too much from the experience. I was happy to see the place pretty full for a Thursday night. I'm hoping that this is a good sign that it's taken root in the community and will be around for a long time to come. I know that after my first visit, I was impressed enough to make sure to come back soon.

05-21-2011 00:11:03 | More by smokeypeat

jmel10

New Jersey

4.06/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Was looking for a bar Friday night during my visit to Baltimore last weekend and decided on Alewife because I thought I had heard something good about it at one point in time. I was pleasantly surprised upon walking in when I saw there were 40 beers on tap.

It was a Friday night so the place was full but definitely not crowded. The atmosphere was laid back and enjoyable. We were able to get seats at the bar almost immediately.

Both the draft and bottle selections were good. The service was also good. I didn't try any of the food.

I did feel that the prices were maybe a little high but I had a good experience and I would come back if in the area.

03-15-2011 15:37:38 | More by jmel10

Perrumpo

Maryland

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$

Alewife makes great use of their 40 taps. They always have plenty of high class craft beers to choose from. Their Stone event was amazing... all 40 taps were Stone beers. The beers are fairly priced, but the food is more expensive ($15 Smoke Burger w/ fries) but you get what you pay for with the food. It's the best burger I've ever had. Great rosemary duck fat fries, too.

The atmosphere is nice. It's never that crowded, and it has a great vibe to it. One of my favorite places to go in the city.

02-28-2011 22:57:31 | More by Perrumpo

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Stopped in around 7:00 on a Wednesday in mid January a month or so after they opened. Pretty crowded with what appeared to be the after-work crowd. Sat at the one open spot of a large bar and large bar area.

Forty beers on tap. Lots of IPA's and mostly common beers for the region with a couple exceptions and what I wound up getting...

Cask keg of Stone IPA with Amarillo and Simcoe hops
Stillwater Existent (dark farmhouse ale that seemed more like an alt bier). They did carry a couple keg/bottle offerings from this local brewery.
Saison DuPont for my rock fish dinner
Sone 7.7.7 vertical aged in red wine barrels
Also had Stone Lucky Bastard which I passed on as I had to drive.

They participated in a recent Stone "take over the taps" event that was held in a number of cities across the county which explains the strong Stone showing.

I passed on crab cakes as the bartender told me they were not in season but the rock fish was. Can't say I would do the rock fish again given the $22 price tag but that's just me when it comes to sea food which I think is over priced.

Overall, they had lots of very good beer options in a comforting historic location in the city. If not for the recent Stone event, I would have struggled to find something new/unusual to try which is the way I roll.

01-22-2011 19:48:18 | More by Yetiman420