Prohibition Pig

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4/5  rDev -5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

The wife and I stopped at Prohibition Pig after drinking some Heady Topper on tap at The Alchemist Cannery (they were out of cans, sadly).

Waterbury is a beautiful small town filled with quality bars and restaurants, and also a big flea market with lots of junk. The Pig is classy, reminds me of Armsby Abbey in Woosta, MA. A little small, though- a couple of big parties coming in for brunch and the place was getting crowded.

The regular menu is rather simple and porky. Lots of bbq plates, smoked-meat sandwiches, burgers and pork-based apps, plus some salads. We were there for brunch and they have a big chalkboard with lots of specials, all very brunch-y (eggs, sandwiches, sausage). The wife got a big breakfast sandwich with a fried egg on top that was realicious.

You're here for the beer anyways, and that's where it's at. 24 draughts with plenty of Vermont brews. Yes, Hill Farmstead and Lawson's are here. Hill Nor, Harlan, Edward and Abner plus Lawson's Knockout Blonde and Double Sunshine. Plus Heady!

Also Founders Porter, Arrogant Bastard, Stillwater Cellar Door, Farnum Hill Dooryard Cider, Sierra Torpedo, Lagunitas WTF....

Prices a bit high for small-town Vermont ($6.50-$7.50 for the goodies) but I like the half-glass option at half price plus 25 cents.

Service was slow because they were understaffed and the poor bartender just couldn't keep up. But the manager was apologetic, and we were understanding.

Try the cocktails, too. They are top notch. The Bloody Mary is gigantic and comes stabbed with a big celery plus a draft of Schlitz's.

A quality joint, but next time I'll be curious to try the Blackback Pub and The Reservoir instead.

08-21-2012 18:59:54 | More by DoubleSimcoe

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -9.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Kitty corner to two other bars featuring several up and coming Vermont beers. The largest and most bar like of the three. I also have a soft place in my heart to the former site of L'Alchemist. The bar and layout retains some of that flavour. More than enough taps for me here, and the HF and Lawson Liquid offerings were great. A few other good taps. One of my favourites on the trip was the dry hopped Ruination. Service was mixed, its new, and staff may be calmer on a different shift or after the summer buzy period. Still a must stop even if you are in Burlington.

08-16-2012 18:33:09 | More by northyorksammy

SUjunkie

Rhode Island

4.4/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I have seriously considered retiring in Waterbury. Reason being the Alchemist and Blackback. With the Alchemist gone, I thought my retirement town was gone. Prohibition Pig is a good fill-in.

Went last night. It is all new with clean bar and new tables/chairs. The bathrooms are a huge improvement. Makes you quickly forget about the sketchy bathrooms at the Alchemist. I do miss the pool table. I met a ton of friendly local folks while hanging there over the years. Selling hats/shirts. The bartender was friendly and attentive. Let me taste a few different options and talked to us about the local pubs and breweries in the area.

Let's get to the reason you are reading this review on BeerAdvocate. Beer. The beer list is really good. Heady Topper, four offerings from Hill Farmstead, three from Lawson's, etc. The beer is pricey. Boston prices at $7 a 12-oz. and they offer a half beer at more than half the price, but the glass is tiny. Little juice glass (3-4 oz). Not a good deal.

08-15-2012 01:19:37 | More by SUjunkie

ElGallo

New Hampshire

4.18/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I was a little uncertain about how I would feel visiting the Pig for the first time after so many fond memories of The Alchemist brew pub. But as soon as I walked in I felt right at home. The interior has changed a lot, but the great service, beer, and patrons remain. I was impressed with the menu and thought the food complimented the beers well. Great draft selection, including Heady Topper and several Hill Farmstead and Lawson's Finest options. Half pours are available, which I love. If you love the old Alchemist frites, the current fries may dissapoint you, but the house-made sauces taste good on everything. The Pig is popular, so plan on waiting a bit for a table, but the staff is cool about taking your name and letting you walk over to the Blakcback Pub or The Reservoir for a quick drink. I just wish they would take your number too and just call your cell when your table is ready. Just sayin'. Overall, this is a must visit if you're in the area.

08-09-2012 16:43:26 | More by ElGallo

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.38/5  rDev +3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

Stopped in here twice on my recent trip to Vermont. Once, just to pop in for a quick brew (well, two brews) and check the place out. The second time, I brought my family in for lunch.

Plenty of great drafts, featuring Vermont's best: The Alchemist (Heady Topper), Lawson's Finest Liquids, and Hill Farmstead. No complaints there.

The food was actually quite delicious. My wife ordered a hamburger and I chose the Carolina BBQ plate. Both were fabulous. As far as bar food goes, this is at the top. Even my son's mac & cheese was extraordinary.

Service was pleasant on both visits. I would definitely recommend a visit to Prohibition Pig.

07-26-2012 17:28:55 | More by Huhzubendah

negroobserver

New York

3.75/5  rDev -11.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

prohibition pig was highly recommended by some locals in waterbury, so we decided to give it a chance. The beer menu is stellar. i was thrilled to find Founders' KBS on tap and had to have it. the food on the other hand was lacking. The meat was severely undercooked in my opinion. having enjoyed some fallin-off-the-bone bbq, i was disappointed to find that that was hardly the case here. the mac and cheese had no macaroni, so it wasnt actually mac and cheese. the only good thing were the sweet potato fries.

07-24-2012 17:09:02 | More by negroobserver

whartontallboy

New York

4.83/5  rDev +14.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

I never got to mention the old Alchemist, which is a shame. That being said, I very much enjoyed my visit to Prohibition Pig. Tap list was maybe a tick below Blackback, but it was still nicely loaded with Hill-Farmstead and Lawson's, as well as Heady Topper and some Zero Gravity offerings.

Food was quite good. I had the pretzels with Heady Topper mustard - deliciously spicy - and the brisket, which was quite nice. The potato salad was also great.

If I lived in Waterbury, I'd probably come in just because the bartenders were so on-point. Great recommendations, funny, jawing with everyone who came in, calling people by name...both bartenders were just on the top of the bartending game. Hard not to smile when dealing with these guys, and they both very clearly knew their beer, as did the owner who stopped to talk about my Cantillon shirt.

Overall, a great place to stop. I'd maybe give it the nod over Blackback because the food is good, but there's really no need to choose between the two.

06-08-2012 01:34:10 | More by whartontallboy

FrankLloydMike

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

I was excited to try the Prohibition Pig, and I'm glad I did, but I left missing the old Alchemist, as I had expected to.

The Alchemist exuded a homey, laid-back, neighborhood vibe. Dim and packed, it was a great place to spend an evening on the (sadly only) two occasions I visited. The Prohibition Pig is considerably more refined. The space is more open and sparser. It's not quite airy, an adjective I reserve for sparse spaces that I enjoy, but feels a bit empty and over-lighted. It's not bad, but compared to the old space, it's a let down. I especially disliked the new light fixtures, which reminded me a bit of the new ones that replaced the old lights I loved so well at the CBC. The blasting music didn't help the vibe, either.

Beer selection was good, and I was glad to see all beers offered in full or half-pints. They had recently had some Hopfenstark takeover, so more than half the menu consisted of their beers. Visiting the Green Mountain State, though, I was looking for some Vermont beers, of which there were plenty of solid options.

The food was excellent, though the portions were fairly small for the price. My pork burger--a special on the board--was unbelievably good, but for $9 I'd like it to come with a side. Oh well, my friend and I split an order of sweet potato fries. While similarly undersized, they were quite good.

Where the Prohibition Pig falters, though, is on the service. We sat at the bar and had a server who I recalled from the Alchemist. He spent most of his time trying to impress the woman sitting next to us, was very slow to get our drinks or food or offer us the check, and seemed to think he was very funny despite being a jackass. He referred to another server as Kenny, whose name I recognize from some of the Alchemist/Prohibition Pig threads. When our server was too busy being full of himself to help us, Kenny came over and was extremely helpful and friendly. Next time I'm in, I'll make sure to sit at his end of the bar.

The Prohibition Pig is a nice enough place, and I have no doubt that I'll be back, but unlike the Alchemist, it's not a place I'd go out of my way for. Something special seems to have been lost.

05-31-2012 15:10:45 | More by FrankLloydMike

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -13%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$$

In the space that I'm told once housed the Alchemist Pub, is the Prohibition Pig, less than a stone's throw away from the Reservoir and the Blackback, and with a logo that I know I've seen on a bar elsewhere.

The place seems nice enough, with a medium-sized bar that seats about 10-15 people, and a dining section to accommodate a decent crowd. Speaking of which, the crowd seems typically pretty terrible here on a busy night, and this is seemingly the hot spot in town. Considering the beer list it's easy to understand, but it also majorly detracts from the atmosphere and accessibility. I usually have the patience to wait for a bar seat (though the wife doesn't :P), but when we visited on a busy night, bars seats really weren't happening for us, and with no one to greet us at the entrance, it was left ambiguous if it was possible to get on the list for a table or if we were supposed to seat ourselves. It's definitely much nicer here during less busy hours. Other than that, at least the bartenders are friendly and generally knowledgeable. As for atmosphere, the place is pretty polished, an indication of the prices, which were a bit on the high side, though nothing overly extraordinary. Beer selection was the high point, with good local selections, Heady Topper noticeably on tap in true tribute to the previous owner. Half-pour options are always a plus. Food menu is largely unimpressive. I sampled two items: the wings were skimpy and bland, and the hushpuppies were dry and...bland.

My final word: call me cynical, but this place reeks of being the tourist trap of beer bars.

Worth a stop-in if you find yourself in town, I suppose, though this was easily my least favorite of the Waterbury trio, behind the Reservoir and Blackback. I'll take the laid back atmosphere of the Blackback over the hyperactive Pig any day of the week...they may only have half the beer selection, but the quality is still there, so why not? However, my preference is the Reservoir, because at least you can get a decent meal there.

04-24-2012 07:08:09 | More by Rifugium

nh2032

New York

4.78/5  rDev +13%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

I never got a chance to visit The Alchemist when it was here so I can't compare, but I have to imagine Prohibition Pig is doing it's memory proud.

You walk into the restaurant with the bar area on your right and the seating area to the left. The bar is quite large, but not a ton of tables, putting it on the small side. The decor is all pretty modern and attractive.

Beer selection is upwards of 20 taps with a heavy focus on VT as you'd expect. Apparently this is one of only a couple places you can get draft Heady Topper in a bar. There were also 2 offerings from Hill Farmstead and options from Lawson's, Trapp Lodge, Rock Art, and Zero Gravity. All the beers are offered in full or half pours - an option I absolutely love for a place with a taplist this big. Prices are a bit on the high side, but in line with the other VT craft bars we visited.

The food is focused on smoked BBQ. My wife had a pulled chicken sandwich and I had the chopped BBQ plate. Both were good, but I overdid the hot sauce on mine and paid for it. We had two appetizers which were a little disappointing, but overall the food is still a plus. Service was good and very friendly.

04-14-2012 12:23:19 | More by nh2032