Liam Flynn's Ale House

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.73/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Have been here several times since the Ale House opened back in July 2011. It's located almost directly across the street from Joe Squared Pizza, in the Station North part of town. The area continues to improve and undergo gentrification, though IMHO, the area still has a long way to go. As I indicated in my review of Joe Squared, this is not a part of town where I'd want to be wandering around late at night.

LF is a moderately sized pub, reminding me of some of the neighborhood pubs I visted while in Ireland. The place has high ceilings with yellow painted walls, with a lot of beer and soccer related bric-a-brac on the walls. As you walk in from the street, there is a modest sized bar up front to the right, which is a good place to hang out with pint. The selection is decent/solid here, and typically they have a couple of beers on cask. As the place appears to be trying to give off an Irish/English pub vibe, I guess it's no surprise that there typically are 3 or 4 Oliver brewing beers on tap, along with several Euro macros, and a decent craft beer selection as well. My recollection is that they have between 12 and 15 beers on tap at any one time. I would point out that while the selection is pretty good here, this is not the place to come to find the latest barrel aged IRS, DIPA, wild ale or high octane Belgium. That isn't what this palce is all about.

Service is fairly friendly and quick, and the bartender can likely tell you the basics about the beers on tap here (whether it's a bitter, IPA, stout, etc.). I'm not sure what the food situation is here (don't recall seeing a menu, and if they have a kitchen, it wasn't readily apparent).

Prices are fairly reasonable, and I believe they offer Irish music and dance lessons during the week.

This is a nice enough place, and I'm sure is a very welcome addition to the neighborhood. I'm not sure it's much of a BA destination, but it's definitely a comfy place to drop in for a pint if you happen to be in the area. Cheers!

06-06-2012 14:34:48 | More by johnmichaelsen

mcdoug

Maryland

4.46/5  rDev +8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

One of my favorite places, situated in an up-and-coming area that a lot of Baltimore folks don't yet know about or visit (Station North). The staff is always friendly and efficient, and fun to talk with during less busy periods. A good selection of quality draughts on tap, and best of all they have two cask ales. Prices are quite good, and to top things off they have an Irish music session on Wednesday evenings, starting at a time that's sensitive to those of us who have to get up early for work on weekdays! Nice and fairly diverse clientele, including some of the more artsy and hipster types thanks to the proximity to the MD Institute College of Art and some local arts venues. Better prices than many places in areas such as Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill and Downtown.

04-13-2012 21:50:46 | More by mcdoug