Columbus Brewing Company

Ahhdball

Ohio

2.65/5  rDev -29.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 3

I may have been there at a bad night so correct me if someone feels different. Yup, definitely Cameron Mitchell style. Very art deco with a lot of colors. The bar offers a sampler which was nice for the wife and I, it helped kill the 2 HOUR WAIT because I got to sample all of them. The beer was good I liked the Pale but I can get that almost anywhere in Columbus. The waiter was good but the service gets a low score because of the 2 hour wait. The food was average and it didn't impress me, especially with a name like CM attached to it. I would expect more. I'll give it another shot in the future and I hope I don't come away as jaded as I am now.

12-20-2003 13:48:17 | More by Ahhdball

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

2.75/5  rDev -26.9%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

I felt like I was stepping back into 1985 New York when I walk into this trend hole. Feels like a yuppie chain to me. Everything is all angles in here. Very loud and unbrewery like.

The service is less than what I expect from Cameron Mitchell. I find our bartender's attempt to talk about beer annoying. I can tell that he only drinks bud light at home. I just want him to bring me a sampler and a pint and to go away.

I had heard a lot of hype about the pale ale so I tried it first. It was good but not as good as I had been lead to believe.

The other two standouts were the Nut Brown and the Apricot. They were solid. The four other beers that I tried were mediocre to bad. They tasted like they had been contracted out to some macro brewery rather than made on premises by a professional.

I order several appetizers. They're all good. I especially like the Calamari, done Thai style as trends dictate these days.

Overall, I decide that I like this place but then I discover one hell of a problem. This place opens late and closes really early. They pretty much kick us out and its not even 11:00. What a bunch of bull crap.

Now I leave despising the CBC. I recommend against.

09-16-2005 14:13:33 | More by DaPeculierDane

HellsBELLS24

Michigan

3/5  rDev -20.2%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$$

I wish I would have visited the CBC before it was sold to Cameron Mitchell. It is more like a resturaunt now than a brewery. The only good beer is the Columbus Pale ale. The rest are just mediocre.

The service is pretty good, but so is all of the CM resturaunt service. The food was rather expensive but tasty. It has a nice atmosphere and some prettyy good music.

For beer I would not recommend going and if you would like to spend a lot of money on a date for dinner this is the place to go. From what I have heard since the sale to CM the concentration on ber has declined.

06-04-2006 00:45:47 | More by HellsBELLS24

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Was really looking forward to trying this place-especially the Columbus IPA

This is located in the brewery district of Columbus along the river. The atmosphere is pretty updated and swanky but with an almost diner style kitchen and seating. Merchandise is available at the front counter.

The beer- Pretty much the reason I came to Columbus wasto try the Columbus IPA, and I was able to do so. Unfortunately only 4/6 beers were available on tap because last week was teir "bussiest week ever" So the hoppy rotating beer and scottish beer were unavailable to try. Four beers on tap is kinda lame for a brewpub.

The service- Our waiter was very knowledeable about the beer and very helpful about navigating around town as well as good places to go since we came along way. He went above and beyond the call of duty.

Food- Some different items as well as some typical items. Appetizers, sadnwiches, wraps...pretty standard.

12-29-2011 02:32:07 | More by PittBeerGirl

IPA4LIFE

United Kingdom (England)

3.45/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 1.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

The CBC beer is awesome, and they had a decent selection of CBC beers, but the only other beers they had available were BMC, Corona, and the like. I think a better selection of other craft brews (at least some Columbus options) would be better. Really pretty bummed when I come to a micro-brew and half the people are drinking Bud Lite.

The food was decent. Not the best in the world (the pulled pork is really not that great), but it isn't horrible. There are some good options, but I think the place underperforms.

Overall, the beer selection sucked, and that was the main issue. I'm kinda hurt about that. I wish they would just show more support to the Craft community as a whole, but the food wasn't bad, and they provided good service, but they need to at least offer a few other Columbus-area breweries.

03-09-2012 01:05:22 | More by IPA4LIFE

chilidog

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5

We stopped by, beleave it or not, before they were even open on a saturday afternoon. They open at 5:00 pm, abit late IMO. So I can't comment on the food or the # of people.
The location is out of the way, under the interstate with plenty of parking. Use the directions on thier web site, very helpful. The front door was open so we went in to see this "L" shaped brewpub. Very nice bar area with a number of CBC tapps. The tables seemed close together, so im sure with a crowd they are. A line of booths available as well.
Nice folks inside let me look around, and I took home three sixers of the bottled line. The beer quality was good but I gave the 3.5 for thats all I was able to try. I'll get back again, but they should open earlier on a saturday, just my opinion.

06-20-2004 12:54:49 | More by chilidog

mattcrill

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Atmosphere: Nice and subdued. Track lighting throughout. They were blasting the 80's tunes which was fun for me and my wife. May not suit all their customers but it worked for us.

Quality: Pretty good. As with all Cameron Mitchell restraunts, they make a good product. Feels like a first class operation.

Service: The service was pretty piss-poor. It was a Saturday night and maybe our waitress was overwhelmed but it just wasn't working for us. Took way to long to get our drink orders and she actually gave me the wrong entree! The management was nice enough to comp my dinner and give us a free dessert. Otherwise, I would have rated the service as a "1".

Selection: A nice selection of their brews. I was kind of annoyed b/c the seasonal selection was the "First Street Sabre" which is their stab at a low-cal, low-carb offering. Are you kidding me? But other than that, I really enjoyed their seletion of beers.

Food: Typical Cameron Mitchell fare. Which is good. I had a really nice wood-fired pizza (once they got my order straightened around) and my wife had a good looking veggie platter.

Overall, I would come back for the beers but not for the service or the atmosphere. Oh well...go for the beer but that's about it.

08-22-2004 16:00:43 | More by mattcrill

timmlimestone

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I think I alway shit CBC at the wrong time. The place is dead, but it is out of the way. It is pretty impressive that they pull at all on off days in this corner of the city. Nice interior, nice volume on the speakers. Very nice people working there. I like the beer. Everything is very sound technically. Very good, and very palatable. I wish I lived in Columbus, then I might be able to see the busy side of CBC. Granted I have only gone there during Black Friday on both occasions. That might now help....???

11-27-2009 21:52:09 | More by timmlimestone

buschbeer

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

I stopped in before a Clippers game. Some reviews I read have described the atmosphere as that of a chain restaurant. I could see that. It didn't have the laid back casual atmosphere of some other brewpubs that I have gone to. The first thing I came upon was the bar. It is a rather large oval bar. They had five of their beers on tap. I seen Bud but quickly averted my eyes. I ordered a sampler (Bodhi, Columbus IPA, Summer Teeth). Bodhi and Columbus IPA are delicious. Summer Teeth was good.

I got a BLGT sandwich which was bacon, lettuce, and green tomato. It was a nice twist on a light sandwich. My friend and his boy got a pizza which they seemed to enjoy.

The service was fine. I would like to see a larger selection of beer. It's worth going to have the Bodhi and Columbus IPA, but many good beer bars carry these offering and have a larger selection.

07-15-2012 16:50:11 | More by buschbeer

amietaj1

Ohio

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$$

CBC is definitely a nice beer stop in the area, but I wouldn't be at the top of my list if I were visiting. It is located in the Brewery District section of downtown Columbus, and can be a touch tricky to find if you aren't used to city driving.

CBC is (or at least was) owned by Cameron Mitchell, who is a big name in the central Ohio restaurant industry, and has that typical Mitchell atmosphere of the restaurant (subdued colors, modern design, lots of space, relatively loud and busy, etc). And as with the rest of his restaurants, the service and food are both excellent, with a constantly changing menu.

As far as beer goes, they typically have 7-8 of their own offerings on tap, with an additional seasonal or two thrown in the mix. The beer is good and definitely well-crafted, but nothing that is going to blow you away or that you should seek out. As mentioned in previous posts, the Apricot is one of their best offerings, along with the schilling and porters.

For you BA's out there, eventhough the restaurant is great, this would be my only complaint -- it is more of a restaurant that serves beer, than a brew pub that serves food. If you live in Columbus, this is worth the occasional visit, but if you are only in town for a few days and want to get the best beer geek experience, I'd skip this for a few of the other more beer-centric locales.

02-11-2009 20:46:32 | More by amietaj1