Fredericksburg Brewing Company, Inc.

allengarvin

Texas

3.23/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited during the 2006 Texas Beer Advocate gathering. Nice decor, high ceilings, very clean, cozy, with all their brewing equipment set up right behind the main bar: shiny copper kettle with sparkling clean stainless steel tanks. Small selection of available beers, only 5, which you can try in a six-buck sampler. Selection is fairly generic for June: a red ale, an ipa, a maibock, a porter and a helles. For an overtly German-style brewpub, it seemed unusual to see only 2 German-style beers, and those with brewed with American-style hops. The IPA smelled wonderful, and was fairly interesting. The rest were typical generic American brewpub material.

Service was definitely substandard. A long wait on tables, despite abundant empty seats (perhaps because of understaffing, but the staff seemed to have enough time to stand around idly chatting). They objected to us moving chairs around to seat our group altogether, and we had a bunch of problems with the bill, with items added that hadn't been ordered as well as missing items on the bill. It was very difficult to get the waitstaff's attention, and I sat for long periods with an empty glass.

Food was reasonably good, though priced a bit high for the small portions. The sauerkraut was excellent, but I only got a small dab with my Jaeger Schnitzl. The sausages were good but not exceptional.

Apart from the terrible service, for a saturday night, a decent but not outstanding brewpub.

06-25-2006 22:38:02 | More by allengarvin

loobear

Texas

3/5  rDev -15.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$

I tried three beers when I visited this pub: Enchanted Rock Red Ale, Pioneer Porter and Peacepipe Pale Ale. The Porter was the only one I enjoyed. The other two were somewhat disappointing.

Nothing particularly novel about the atmosphere. Service was alright, though the chick seemed short and brisk when speaking to us. Decent prices - I'm glad they offer samples. Unfortunately, we were unable to try the food.

Next time we'll try another brewery in Fredericksburg, since this one wasn't quite convincing enough to visit once more.

04-25-2011 02:13:41 | More by loobear

ZenAgnostic

Texas

3.06/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$

They make about 20 something beers, but they only carry about 6 at any given time.

None of the 3 I tried were particularly good, but I still had a fun time trying them out.

They sold 4oz samplers for $1.25, so that helped make for a better tasting experience. I wouldn't have really cared for full glasses of the ones I had.

I wish I had the time to try some of the food, but I'll have to try that out this summer when I pass through on the way to Austin again.

Not a bad experience, but I wasn't impressed. Will stop by again though to try some more beers next time. For the price and location, why not?

04-22-2011 03:47:03 | More by ZenAgnostic

champ103

Texas

3.65/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

This is right on the main drag of Fredericksburg. It is a charming little brewpub. There is a large room in front as you walk in. The bar is to the right with all the brewing equipment behind the bar. The room is pretty much a big concrete building. There are a hand full of rooms that people can stay in upstairs as well. There is a beer garden in the back with an excellent sign that says "Less Government, More beer." That says it all. Very relaxed like the rest of the town.

The bartenders are very enthusiastic about their beer. Which is always good. The service was fast, friendly, and knowledgeable. No complaints here.

The selection is a bit to be desired. Pretty much a standard selection. A porter, pale, red, helles, ext. Nothing exciting, but nothing bad either. The helles was very good and an excellent example of a lager. If you hit the brewery at the right time they can have some really good offerings though (an Imperial Stout, a Maibock, an excellent coffee porter). Mostly the aforementioned beers though.

The food is all over the place, and nothing really excellent. I have not tried the German sausage plates, which are probably very good. Though the rest is just typical pub grub. There are other places in town that I would go to for a meal first.

Overall, a very nice place to grab a beer. They don't make a lot of crazy beer geek styles, but are very good at what they do. Which is making good quality beers in a fun atmosphere. I would be a regular if I lived in the area. Recommend if visiting the area.

10-30-2010 04:17:15 | More by champ103

CONOR8832

Texas

4.53/5  rDev +27.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$

Got the pleasure of trying out this place out over the weekend during Oktober Fest in Fredericksburg. Beer was very good, smapled there red ale and there seasonal oktoberfest brew, but i fell in love with there aniversary ipa, had several pints during the course of the afternoon. Staf is very knowledgable on the beers that are brewed there. Worth a day trip (depending on how close you live to Frederickburg) to go have some great food and great beer.

The food is exceptional, great sandwhiches, pizza is to die for, german style food, scotch eggs, and fried pickles that will make you wet your pants. Everything that they have on the menu will strike anyones fancy. Great atmosphere to be able to eat and drink right inside the brewerey. They also have a "bed and brew" where you can come stay the weekend right above the brew pub, how cool is that, walk down stars and go have a tastey brew. I highly recommend stoping in it is well worth the wait on a busy afternoon, and while you wait have a couple of their tasty beers.

10-05-2010 16:05:26 | More by CONOR8832

tdawgydog

New York

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

Stopped in here for some lunch while visiting Fredericksburg. Was hoping for a little better than what we got. Service was not the best, food was meh and so was the beer. You have to do at least one of these things right. I think they get a lot of walk-in business because there is not a ton of choices in town.

The atmosphere is pretty decent, par for the course for a micro-brewery. You have the brew kettles behind the bar and the bartender seemed pretty knowledgeable about the beers that they brew.

DW had a chicken wrap that she thought was ok, but a little lacking on the condiments. I had the cheesesteak which was also ok, but the fries weren't anything special. As for the beer, I went with the Peacepipe Pale Ale. At first taste it was a little hoppy but not as much as expected and then in the aftertaste there was a slight hint of coffe, as if it had accidentally crossed taps with their coffee porter. Who knows??

Again if you find yourself in BFE it's worth a stop, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find this place.

11-11-2009 23:14:22 | More by tdawgydog

peterjk

Texas

3.35/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

I really like the location. Nice old mercantile building on main street in Fredericksburg.

They've done a great job on the inside, minimal touch to make it modern and usable without disturbing the old character of the building.

There are a few CRT TVs but all at one end so you can enjoy your food / beer TV free if you so desire.

They have a nice beer garden out back.

There are actually locals in the place and the tourist there are friendly. Got to talk with several people while sitting at the bar.

Services was friendly and quick.

Food selection was expanded over standard pub fair and the quality was decent given the moderate price.

The beer selection is standard brewpub. Unfortunately all there beers are a bit on the watery side but no major flaws (although in general they where to hoppy for me)

The porter was the best and will be my order when I go back.

09-26-2009 19:32:30 | More by peterjk

PhxHorn

Arizona

3.35/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$

We visited this for lunch during a trip to the Nimitz Museum down the street, which is worth the time to do. The place is your basic bar setup, with wooden floor, wood tables and chairs. There are also taller bar tables with stools.

There were about six beers on the menu, and I had the IPA, which was very good. I ordered a pizza, and given a choice between small and large, I chose small. That was a mistake, as it was only 7 inches or so. I don't think the menu specifed the size. it was fine, though. My wife got some kind of sausage plate, with several different kinds of weiners. I tried them all, and all were very good. The kraut was rates as good but not great. Service was a little lacking--they took the order and brought the food, but never really checked on us and never offered refills. The place was not too loud, which is a plus for me. The menu had maybe 6 or 8 different sandwiches, and the same number of salads, and major entrees. Nothing fancy, but a decent selection.

This is in the middle of a touristy area, and so I don't think they're hurting for business. They could dial up the service a notch and they'd really have something.

06-02-2009 16:28:10 | More by PhxHorn

ottovon

Arizona

3.1/5  rDev -12.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

just went there this weekend with my girlfriend. the beer was ok. the porter was good. i really enjoyed it. the hoppy holidays was eh. it was not at all as hoppy as a name that is "hoppy holidays" leads you to believe.

the food was ok. we got fried jalapenos for an appetizer. not too bad. i got fish tacos. the were ok. i get fish tacos almost every place i go so i feel i can review fish tacos pretty reasonably. my girlfriend got a salad that she said she enjoyed it.

this place is ok. the porter was good and i wouldnt mind just going in and grabbing one and then shopping with the girlfriend with it. they do serve their beer in plastic cups in the bier garden, and glass pint glasses in the restaurant if you eat there. i was surprised about the plastic cups, but it is nice if you plan on leaving. the bier garden is pretty cool. just big picnic tables everywhere with a projection screen and the other tvs on the walls around it and on every wall. the bier garden was a pretty good atmosphere.

if you are in the area, it isnt a bad place to go to just grab a beer to go. the food was nothing special. the beer was ok. but you will at least get to try a local beer. the porter was good. and they did just win a medal at the 2008 GABF, but it wasnt on tap (the helles).

cheers.

12-30-2008 03:53:01 | More by ottovon

beeragent

Texas

3.93/5  rDev +10.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

On a recent trip to Fredericksburg, we stopped in to have dinner and try their beers. The restaurant looks like its devided between a dining area, and a back drinking area which looks alot like the movie Beerfest. The atmosphere was very friendly, not over-crowded, and very lively. However, we did go before the dinner crowd hit, so this review may not be as exact. The waitstaff seemed friendly and had a good grasp of the food and beer that they serve. The service was relatively quick for the size of the location. Their food selection was good, but seemed to be limited in the selection of German food, having a bigger selection of other food on the menu. The beer selection was the usual, a wheat, red, pale, and porter. No seasonal at this time. The beer was average, but considering where Fredericksburg is located, this is probably the best you'll find in the area. I wasnt complaining. The prices were relatively reasonable, considering that its in a tourist town. Overall, a good place to go when in town.

Edit: After going to this location several times after my initial review, I felt that I needed to add some info. After trying the Fredericksburg Brewery's beer, I found that the beer is incredibly watery. I tried a couple of their beers after trying the sampler, and found their beers to be seriously lacking in body. The flavor is okay but it still feels like I'm drinking water. They display their awards on the wall from GABF, but after trying their beers, I just cant see how they have won any awards unless their entry beers at the festival are seriously altered. I'm not trying to bash this place as I still enjoy going there, but since my intial review, the beer has really gone down hill.

10-22-2008 22:17:38 | More by beeragent