George and Jack's Taproom

Bar, Eatery

103 Berry St
Brooklyn, New York, 11249-3232
United States

(718) 302-9811 | map

Formerly Brooklyn Ale House.
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.79
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
11
pDev:
5.8%
View: Place Reviews
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Photo of blackie
Reviewed by blackie from Oregon

3.73/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3
atmosphere: stopped in this little corner bar after a visit to the Brooklyn Brewery just a few blocks down, the presumably quiet spot was a bit raucous with a small Rangers post-game group, snagged a nice spot on a few stools by the front window, very relaxed and totally lacking in pretense, dogs allowed, the kind of place that serves a steady neighborhood contingent

despite outward appearances it's actually pretty roomy - with a sizable bar running about halfway down the left wall and a pool table in back, heavy wooden furnishings, Victorian ceiling tile, stained glass on the front door, exudes a comforting sense of identity

quality: no issues to speak of with the beer, served fresh and in a standard pint

service: reasonably quick and friendly, no complaints

selection: nothing particularly more impressive than the $4 pints of Brooklyn Pilsner and Pennant Ale I chose, but a nice place to enjoy an easy beer or two in a laid-back atmosphere
Apr 22, 2009
Photo of artfldodger
Reviewed by artfldodger from New York

4.06/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
I love going to this place later at night to finish things off. Their selection of beers on tap is not massive, but its well chosen and I've always had good luck finding a place to sit.

The atmosphere is very cozy and the music is mostly background, so its easy to lay back and have a conversation.

A word of warning, their cask beers are really poorly cared for... most the time when I order one it has severe off flavors and downright undrinkable. Makes me think they have a very slow turn over on their casks. So you do really want something on cask, make sure to ask when it was tapped.

It doesn't stop me from going there, but I'd avoid the cask taps.
Oct 28, 2008
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
From notes, Saturday July 226, 2008:

Beautiful exposed bricks - dark as if they've been weathered or 'smoked' on. More beautiful wooden back bar. Tin ceiling. Wood plank floor. Wooden bench banquet seating with 'trunk' tables. Old cash register. Stained glass windows above the store front and an awning out front. This place drips with character. Slight mix of 'new' with the orange walls and some glass block, as well as the Camel cigarette stools with electric blue covering... oh, and the gold disco ball above the front door.

2 TV's. Pool. Darts. Beer. Skirt chasing.

Cask ales. 14 taps... all good if you include Guinness and Harp. 16 bottles... some crap.

Free bagels on weekend mornings! Dog friendly.
Jul 29, 2008
Photo of SeanRedd
Reviewed by SeanRedd from New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Much warmer than it looks. Venture up to the bar, keep a smile on, get aquainted with the staff and get clued in on all the upcoming parties and barbecues. Good selection though the board misrepresents whats available. Unique selection stands out amongst hipster PBR drinkers and old timers that won't budge from a bud. Owner is usually bustling around and will surely stop to have a couple words and a "Welcome to Jamaica" joke...just laugh. A recomendation for a beer bar disquised as a dive bar.
Jul 28, 2008
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Friendly and comfortable neighborhood kinda place. Corner location and better then average level of charm and character. Friendly barkeep when I visited. Nothing way exciting beer wise, except for the Stone Brews available as part of "Stone's Rolling Stone Bklyn Tour". 12 or so on tap, 2 casks pouring. (selections from Arcadia,Bklyn,Anchor, Guiness, and other typical Middle of the road, but decent choices) Pool table and darts in the rear. The obvious BA all star near by choice is Muggs. Worthy enough place for a quality pint. Not worth any sort of special trip.
Jul 24, 2008
Photo of RblWthACoz
Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
I've certainly walked by this place enough times. To me this is about typical of the hipster edge of Williamsburg - beaten down enough by time to give it that "genuine" local-urban edge. Paintings all over the walls show the obvious creative influx that makes up a majority of the clientele. And it's just far enough off of Bedford to make it the type of place that not everyone is going to walk into. It's just ever so slightly tucked in a corner.

Basically what it comes down to here is that if you want an older looking local, this is the place to go. They have two cask engines which is great, but beyond that there really isn't a mass of beer choice. Sure the $10 Local 1 bottle is a great deal and they have Duval (ahem...it's Duvel people), but there really isn't that much going on for beer here. And in no way does it at all compare to what Mugs is offering. Nowhere close. Bottom line - if you are visiting the area, probably not worth the time. If you are a local, might be more of a place for you to check out for the heck of it. And if you do, who knows what may happen. Maybe you'll fall in love.
Apr 13, 2008
Photo of MEANxOLDxTOM
Reviewed by MEANxOLDxTOM from New York

3.93/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
So I was taken here last Saturday by some friends for early afternoon drinks. The atmosphere was really laid back, and we were the only ones in the bar for quite a while. Although they do not have food on the weekend they have a bagel brunch with bagels from bagelsmith(spelling?)...the bagels were wonderful and the $5 double pour bloody mary's and $4 20oz Brooklyn beers were a nice touch(these specials are available early in the day.

Good music, great art on the walls(including comics that appeared to have been done as an art exhibit), and over all very comfortable....there were two friendly dogs hanging out the whole time....one of whom became my friend and was by my side almost the entire time....that's cool with me I'm a dog person...I just wish I lived a little closer so I could bring my buddy to this place....very dog friendly.

The service was wonderful the bartender was very nice, and quick. She even offered me a beer sample while I was deciding.

Selection: They had five Brooklyn beers on tap: winter, lager, pils, ale, and brown...they also has Delirium tremmens, a chimay(I think), one of the harpoons, and a couple others. Their bottle list was a little lacking, but 20oz Brooklyn beers for $5 all the time is pretty good. I was a little disappointed though because on the chalk board where all the beer is written it said Anchor OSA, but apparently the keg had tapped the night before.

Again maybe not your out of the way beer drinking destination, but for a place to hang out with your dog and have a brew its excellent. I will definitely be coming back to this place for early weekend drinks!
Dec 05, 2006
Photo of StonyB
Reviewed by StonyB from New Jersey

3.56/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
Brooklyn Ale House is a nice locals bar. Don't go out of your way to get here, but it's worth stopping by for a pint or two if you're in the area.

During the day, the Ale House has a relaxed, homey atmosphere. The regulars tend to be friendly, and you can have a nice conversation, or read, or just think and drink...at night the place is usually busy, and since it's not a big space by any stretch, things tend to get crowded. That being said, Brooklyn Ale House has high ceilings and creative windows and lighting, so it's hard to feel cramped even when it's packed...

The selection is not great, just ok. About 12-15 taps, with several Brooklyn Brewery drafts always among them. This makes for a good stop if you like, or want to try, these beers, but not if you're looking for a wide range of breweries and styles...

The bar includes a pool table (popular), and a very good jukebox...last visit I went on a Saturday afternoon and found the jukebox had 18 tracks credited and ready to go. The bartender encouraged me to go right ahead, so I got some free music...very nice.

No food, just standard rations of chips and peanuts. Service has been pretty good, friendly but not particularly fluent in beer..

Again, don't go out of your way, but worth checking out if you're nearby.

**Stony's Biscuit** - The Brooklyn Ale House is EXTREMELY dog-friendly; it's nickname is "The Dog Bar". You'll almost invariably run into one or more pooches during a visit here. If you like dogs (which I do), great...if you don't, consider this a public service announcement...

Edit: Raised atmosphere from 3.5 to 4. Upon some reflection, it's a really nice place to spend some time drinking...(5/12/06)
Mar 19, 2006
Photo of SCW
Reviewed by SCW from New York

4.13/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
First of all, I need to make a note of the food score: I don't think this place actually serves food, but they ALWAYS have complimentary peanuts. Furthermore, you can throw the shells on the ground as you eat. I always admired this, and the peanut oils are a natural layer of varnish for the hardwood. Awesome.

Quality? Tap lines are clean, some good micros. A note to the public: Sean, the bar manager, admits he has strayed from being a true beer bar over the past few years. However, he feels he has strayed from his roots, and as a result, is trying to restock more micros these days.

Service? Both times I have been there I had great conversations with the bartenders. Friendly people who don't put up a front, a great neighborhood bar.

Selection? About 14 taps, mostly regional brews and imports, but with an emphasis towards more micros as the days draw near...

Overall, a great neighborhood bar. I definitely recommend it.
Jun 11, 2005
Photo of saltydog
Reviewed by saltydog from New York

3.29/5  rDev -13.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2
This bar has a nice old-time feel to it, but not enough of a selection for a beer fanatic. A few decent bottles, a few okay micro taps, but nothing that can't be found in many other places. However, I will always have a soft spot for this bar because the dog I have adopted dragged me into the place the first time I took him for a walk from the shelter I eventually adopted him from. The place is pretty well-known for it's dog-friendliness. My oversize dachshund loves to stretch out on the benches. More often, though we will be at places with better beer selections!
Jul 04, 2004
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

3.86/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Don't know if you know this, but this bar is also called "Anti-Teddy's" by some of the locals as it lies kitty-corner from Teddy's on North 8th and Berry Sts. in Brooklyn. (Felonius)Phil and myself went there for a beer yesterday as part of my "fact finding mission tour", post-brewery and pre-Dwarbi's. I'm sitting there at the bar and I look over my shoulder and I see that on the wall towards the front of the bar, in big big big block lettering, it reads "So shines a good deed in a weary world". I ask aloud, "Didn't Willy Wonka mutter that to himself just after Charlie gave him back the everlasting gobstopper?" The bartender asks me if I was here for "the show" or whether I just knew that out of context? I'm like, "whaaaa"? "yeah", she says, we're doin' an artshow, all of the artwork is Willy Wonka inspired", so I look around and sure enough, there's a painting of Veruca Salt's crossed fingers behind her back, breaking her promise to never tell anybody about everlasting gobstopper technology and there's one of Charlie watching Violet on TV as she holds up her golden ticket, Mikee TV's mom and Vercua's dad in the golden goose room, and a few others. Good stuff!! "They're for sale, too, if you're interested", she says. Hmmmmmmmmn.
14 beers on tap, 4 Brooklyns, Harpoon, Sierra nevada, Northcoast, Budhook Sun Rye, and then a bunch of staples like Guinness, Bodingtons, Stella, Hoegarten, Carlsberg (who drinks this stuff?)
They've also got a handful of bottles. 5 decent imports (Chimay, Schneider, Aventinus, Duvel, Lindeman's) and a bunch of macros.
They've got a baby pool table in the back, a pretty good jukebox, and a TV on the wall in the back corner to watch the game.
This is the site of Willie's infamous drunken "dropping his pint of Guinness and having it land standing straight up without breaking".
Not a bad bar but you are just around the corner from Mug's after all.
Jul 27, 2003
George and Jack's Taproom in Brooklyn, NY
Place rating: 3.79 out of 5 with 11 ratings