Tired Hands Brewing Company

garuda

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

A/Q - Can't really think of many places with a better atmosphere for a brewpub. Renovated old building with many open, visible structural elements like wood and steel beams and brick walls, open rafters. Rustic wooden upstairs bar. Alternative music mostly played. Having never been to Belgium, I feel like this is what a Belgian cafe may be like.

Service has always been great. Friendly, attentive and knowledgeable staff.

Selection is the only knock in my book. Usually about 6-7 beers on tap, saison and IPA heavy. If darker beer styles are your thing, you may be hard pressed to find one. And it may be a dark saison. No flights are served either, bummer. While what food they have is always good, there is a small selection. But I like how it's mostly light fare with house cured pickles, local meat and cheese selections, a couple sandwiches, a salad or two and the excellent house made bread.

For the most part, prices are reasonable, especially for the beer. If you go with a few meat and cheese selections, though, you could wind up paying a bit more.

05-15-2013 15:19:50 | More by garuda

bonkers

New Jersey

4.16/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25 | $$

I went with my wife for dinner on Saturday night, it was fairly crowded but we were able to find seats at the bar. The atmosphere is eclectic. the beer menu is printed, the food menu is on a hard to read chalkboard. Our service was very good, and the bartender was very knowledgable about the food and beer. We had the candied bacon, damn tasty! I felt the bread, served with fennel seeds and kosher salt, was great, but my wife did not like it. I loved the turkey panini, but my wife did not. ll of the beer was very good, my favorite was the hopheads on cask. I will definitely return, with or without my wife.

05-13-2013 23:26:58 | More by bonkers

jojox

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

Wow, I wish I lived closer!

First, the food. Really great, locally sourced, reasonably priced, delicious meats and cheeses. Bread that was delicious, butter with tons of salt. Yum! If you come here and are not a vegetarian, and do not get the candied bacon, then you have missed an important piece of your life.

Beer. Innovative, hop-forward, drinkable, affordable, and well presented deliciousness. The ones on tap when I was there excluded many of the famous big hitters, but the solera (Brett b., changed 80% for 80% once so far I believe) was really good, black PA also great with thick creamy head from the oats, thought it was N2 at first. All the beers were really good. Sounded like malt bills had lots of adjuncts and were for the most part left simple to showcase the hops. I don't see a lot of ones I tried on the list here, and I don't remember the details to add. HopHands, FarmHands seem to be standard, HopHands was good and a southern hemisphere pale was good too. Tried a sip of Farmhands, seemed good. Wisdomteeth high quality, CuzCuz might have been my favorite.

Summary: Simply killer charcuterie, cheese, bread, and probably everything else. Bacon to kill for. Great beers without a flaw, especially if you like hops. Westvleteren 13 sounded promising, but didn't have many malty beers during my one visit. Not a bad one in the group!

Will be back. Frequently!

05-11-2013 02:23:39 | More by jojox

koopa

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25 | $$$

Love the atmosphere / interior of the place, especially around the second floor bar. Loads of exposed brick and beams, cool mismatched / uniquely shaped metal tap handles, ample seating upstairs, 2 bars, etc. 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz pours available. Staff was quite attentive and easy to talk to. Had lots of homebrew discussion with our bartender Jake before my group was seated for dinner. Really enjoyed the candied bacon and the quality of the house made bread. Beers were all pretty solid. I feel like they will improve more over time, but it is undeniable that this place is on to something and pretty much everybody who visits wants to be a part of it! My favorites today were "Wiggle Wurm" DIPA and "My Briefcase Says Time is Money" Dark IPA.

04-29-2013 02:34:00 | More by koopa

baybum

Pennsylvania

4.61/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 5 | $$$

A - The atmosphere here is great, a solid mix of uptight mainline people, down to earth beer lovers and a young crowd. The inside has amazing charm of an old building. Downstairs you have the main bar with a 3 tables(no servers). Upstairs is another bar and several table with servers.

Q - The quality of everything is top notch! The beers are very unique, but represent some of the best of each style. The food is just amazing. The bread brings me back everytime, and the candied bacon is great. Don't miss out on the local cheese selections.

S - A very laid back atmosphere. If you are in a rush or want to be pamper go someplace else.

S - Selection is limited. The beers they have are outstanding, but there is no guarentee they will have the beer style you are looking for. The food menu is also limited, but hey you can only do so much with a panini maker. That being said I've never had a bad meal here.

F - See above. Outstanding food but very limited. 2 paninis, 4 cheeses, 4 meats, bread, pickles, bacon, and a salad. But I'll take it everytime, no need to have wings or typical bar food here, IMO. No great kids food here(but my young kids are glad to eat the bread, bacon, & meats instead of fries and chicken nuggets like most pubs)

V - Yes things are a little expensive, but you are on the mainline! If you don't understand how expensive it is to live or run a business on the mainline, then it might be more then you expect. Example: Beers are offer in 4oz, 8oz, 16oz pours. Prices are $2-3, $3.5-5, $6-8. Food: Meat plate $12, Cheese plate $15ish, bread $3, paninis $8.

Overall this is a great addition to the mainline, and I hope they stay around for a long time. I wish I didn't live 30 min away! I stop here every chance I can, and my wife and kids love the food.

03-27-2013 15:42:31 | More by baybum

TheFightfan1

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.75 | $$$

Finally got to make it here after so many good thing's were mentioned about this joint. Nice open floor area with a decent size bar. Very spacious and not jam packed with tables. A nice draft list chalkboard sits right above you as you sit at the bar and another one for food just as you walk up a staircase for extra seating. All the brewing gear is in the back behind glass windows... Yeah I'm liking this place.
The bartender and staff were very informative of what was on tap and really knew their stuff. The beers were tasty and I love the fact that you can get a 4, 8, and 14 oz. pour. And a helluva alot to choose from. So nice not to have a list of beers and not have to drink pints or buy beer flights. 8 beers on tap and not a similiar tasting beer in the bunch. All of them were well crafted and stayed true to the style.
The only negatives about this place is the prices for certain thing's. Meats and cheeses in particuliar. Also I would have to add the locals were snobbish and rude, NOT the staff just the locals. Besides that. If you are in the area or the city I would definetly make the trip out there. It is well worth it and you won't be disappointed.

03-20-2013 17:35:49 | More by TheFightfan1

Cascade

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev -30%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 2 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 1.5 | $$$$

Easy to find, hard to park. The atmosphere is great with exposed brick, and high ceilings. 4 of us got a table upstairs. We did seem to be under a speaker which was louder than we would have liked.

My father walked up to the bar, while a waiter came to the table. My father asked for an "ale". He received a long discussion about the differences between ales and lagers. He finally got a taster of a dark beer. (Surprisingly this taster cost $3!!!)

The other 3 of us read the beer menu, with descriptions like "Notes of spicy chocolate, green pepper, toffee, the great outdoors, and a hint of flaming lips". (Flaming lips? the band, the candy, or what it does to you?). The Great outdoors -what does that taste like?

We all got different beers, and passed them around. None of us loved any of the beers! A few had off flavors, and the rest were nondescript. 2 of us ordered a second beer, and one of those was certainly better.

We tried a meat platter called " abbruzze". It came with a rather long description. What we got were 6 thin slices of sopressata (dry salami-recognizable to any Italian), 2 pieces of bread and mustard for $8. Sadly we could have bought a whole sopressata at Carlino's market 3 blocks away for the same price.

After leaving we went 1 block to Cricket Avenue where there are multiple bars, and drank better beers (Sierra Nevada Celebration, Troegs Mad Elf, Sly Fox Winter). At John Henry's Tavern we had 2 for 1 appetizers (Happy Hour), a big plate of Nachos, and wings (All for $8).

In Summary, the building is great. the beer at 6-7 dollars/pint was mediocre, and the food laughable. There is much better in Ardmore.

01-02-2013 21:32:14 | More by Cascade

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev -6.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

A solid place. Two bars, the lower being smaller and more of the bar. Upstairs having more tables, more of the mature crowd. Always eight beers on, every one a solid offering. Very enjoyable, though nothing outrageous. Servers were on the young side, but trying. Basic knowledge about the beers, but no wrong answers. Good prices for these beers. Saisons and pales, reminds me of Bellwoods in my town. Bottles on the way.I will be back for the beer. Just do not expect Dieu du Ciel or Russian River despite high ratings.

12-09-2012 06:44:16 | More by northyorksammy

MeganandDana

4.53/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

This place opened over the summer here, and my wife has wanted to try it ever since. We started going a month or so ago, and have gone every week. They brew new brews constantly, and the beer menu evolves pretty regularly, concentating on Saisons and American IPAs. We have never had a bad beer, and I particularly like their single hop series, gives you a good feel for the individual hop flavors. The food is simple, non competing with the beer, mostly cheese plates and paninis (I particularly love the Lancaster bologna and cheddar panini). My wife is a cheese fanatic and loves pairing the cheese and beers. The staff is very knowleable about the food (all relatively locally sourced) and particularly the brews, and are very invested in the business of brewing. We will be going here very regularly for the long future.

11-11-2012 01:02:42 | More by MeganandDana

dnb128

Pennsylvania

4.95/5  rDev +12.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Atmosphere: Great vibe at this place...just what I look for in a bar. Low key, with good music (lots of classic Smashing Pumpkins lately), not loud music which is key. Very relaxing place to have a few great beers.

Quality: Top notch beers...I've had almost everything they've had on tap, and would rate every beer from good to world class, not a crapper in the bunch. I've loved all of the hop-forward beers (especially HopHands and Vampire), but even styles that I usually don't go for have been a very pleasant surprise.

Service: Best service you can find, I prefer to sit at the bar and my glass is never empty for more then a few seconds. Very friendly, and knowledgeable ladies and gents tending bar as well.

Selection: There are always 8 different beers on tap, and usually many different styles of beers to try, they certainly are not afraid to try something different...and a look at what is to come would show an even more diverse selection on its way.

Food: While I do not usually go to Tired Hands for food, the few things I have had have been very good, especially the paninis. They have a small food selection, but everything is farm fresh, and the small menu is a very nice pairing to the beer menu.

Overall, since this bar opened in June it has quickly become my favorite bar in the area...I get here at least once a week and they always have a new beer or 2 to try every visit. Can't wait to get back in a few days!

10-30-2012 02:59:00 | More by dnb128