Stoudts Brewing Co.

jwhancher

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -21.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

What can I say? I'm a sucker for Stoudt's. Their beers are top-notch, the food is good, but then we go from there. The hours of the pub has changed so often in recent years it's been downright frustrating at times. The service has been suspect most times. Warning: if you're not a local, you'll wait a good bit to be served. This is what frustrates me the most: for as many times as I've been here, I still seem to get secondhand service and no compassion from any of the servers or main bartender. But in all honesty, I'm not looking for special service- just to be served on the same level as any other customer. Even still, with the excellent beer and good food, I'll still come back again & again.

06-10-2010 01:37:53 | More by jwhancher

Kolsch

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -19.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

EDITED on 9/4/09 from 2 additional visits after my review. I am adjusting the review on service alone. The last 2 times there service has been poor to thoroughly not wanting me to go back. Bartenders who looked just plain pissed off with attitude problems towards non-locals. Very disappointing and will not go back.
___

After just coming from Appalachian Brewing, I was looking forward to some good beer. Stoudts did not disappoint. The triple and Smooth Hoperator were excellent. Also sampled the Imperial Pilsner which was good as well. Overall, beer quality was very good and prices are reasonable.

As other reviewers have said, Stoudts is located in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and you wouldn't expect such a quality product given the area. We also ate there and food is top notch. Service at the bar was very good, but our waitress could have been a little more enthused and engaging. Overall a great stop and will return.

03-16-2008 17:17:11 | More by Kolsch

MsRogueRed

Maine

3.58/5  rDev -15%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3

I love Scarlet Lady the most, but I enjoy Fest also. Scarlet Lady has a nice "bite" to it without being bitter even though its an ESB ;)

I've been the Stoudt's about once a year or so for the past 10 years and man has it grown. I haven't enjoyed the outdoor beer garden yet because we seem to hit it in the colder months.

The atmosphere inside is great and they serve a full bar. You can get their beers to go in 22oz or so size bottles for 3.50 and 4.25 for the "better" selections....what a bargain.

The one bartender hands out trivia sheets for you to entertain yourself if you're into that type of thing.

Very clean and relaxing atmosphere. They also have a dinner menu.

Worth a trip.

05-22-2004 20:31:05 | More by MsRogueRed

arguemaniac

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev -14.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

I visited this one some time last summer when a few buddies and I took a little trip around PA to visit a few of the breweries. Now this wasn’t really the most exciting brewery we went to, but it might have been the classiest. They had the real antique vibe going, lots of up-scale furniture and décor. And, since it was in the right in the heart Pennsylvania Dutch country it really pulled off that old-world, German aesthetic. The food was on the upper end of the quality spectrum too: we had a nice variety of cheeses for a starter and then a truly authentic German Brawt dish. We even met one of the brewers (the bar was otherwise pretty empty, slow day I guess). He took us to the back end of the brewery where the “beer garden” was, which was this sort of pavilion type area for picnics, festivals and what not (it was deserted when we visited, but we where told that the place gets packed on the weekends. We had a few beers served to us by friendly, easy-going staff. They had this deal where you can get a free brewery glass with the purchase of a few beers (an offer none of us could refuse).

All in all, it was a really nice brewery and restaurant, but it was a little low-key for my tastes. But, like I said, it was clear that it just wasn’t a busy day for them, so things pick up on the weekends, I’m sure. It’s a little out of the way, but give it a visit if you can…

02-26-2007 02:03:49 | More by arguemaniac

mcslain

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

Stoudts is in many ways my corner/neighborhood bar. It's about a 10 minute drive, but hey, I live in the sticks and it is the closest quality beer option I have. So that said, I have the same affinity for it that most people have for their 'go to' bar. But at the same time Stoudts could really make a lot of improvements, so I have a bit of a love/hate thing going as well.

The beer is the main draw at Stoudts, with the best options being the Double IPA, the Abbey Triple and the Fat Dog Imperial Stout. The place has a nice vibe to it and is decorated with a lot of historical political memorabilia/propaganda. It is definitely classier than a typical brewery, although the bar area still feels comfortable if you are in jeans and a tshirt.

However, the bar area has only 12 stools. So while most people come to Stoudts for the beer, the overwhelming amount of space is dedicated to dining. When I compare Stoudts to a place like Victory, with the mega bar Victory offers their loyal customers, it drives me nuts. At Stoudts they have two options for bar expansion. On one side there is a completely unnecessary oyster/clam/shrimp display case. On the other side there is a lame extra dining room. Neither of these areas is needed and could be revamped to expand the mini-bar. With only 12 bar stools though, Stoudts will never become a great brew pub.

Aside from the lacking bar area, there are two dining options. The regular restaurant is nice and has a limited bar type menu. The food is mostly good (great burgers, average wurst however, and no vegetarian options for those who care) but is not consistently great. I've had bad meals there on occasion, but typically good ones. The other half of the dining area is aimed at fine dining and draws in a more elderly crowd. I've been to Stoudts hundreds of times and never felt the urge to eat in the fine dining section, although I will order a few items off the restaurant menu.

So in summary, Stoudts has great beer and I love to hang out there. However it sucks because I frequently can't even get a seat at the bar when the place isn't even crowded due to a lack of seating. Personalty, I'd love to see Stoudts embrace its role as a brew pub and build up the bar area. You can still serve good food, but realize that your greatest audience is there because they appreciate the brewery.

04-13-2011 01:27:48 | More by mcslain

DarkerTheBetter

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -10.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

So, I stopped by Stoudts this evening after a hike with the lady. The bar was nuts so we were seated in the dining room. No problem. The room is cute with some rather elaborate and fancy curtains over the private booths and a row of oyster plates adorning the room beneath the crown molding. I was enjoying the class right up until I noticed there were no windows. Not one. There was a door leading out, but I don't think it's ever used and its glass was a smoked yellow. Hmmm. Once I noticed this, I felt kinda trapped for some reason. The bar itself is a lot more open and quite beautiful with aged dark woods. There's also a room far to the right of the building full of old beer bottles and beer steins, but I've never been sat there before.

The dinner menu in the dining section had no sandwiches or burgers. Just entrees. This in and of itself was not bad, but it was rather pricey. I tried the beef wellington and it came out purple when I ordered it medium rare and the pastry was still dough inside. Oh well. The lady's chicken was over cooked, so over all, it was a pretty bad experience. For the $50 or so we spent on food, this was quite disappointing. Our cheese plate we started up with was all right too. On cheese smelled just like cow. Upon informing our waiter that it was, hmmm different smelling, she agreed and thought it was terrible. When asked why she didn't warn us, she left the table.

Service was pretty bad overall. Our server was generally unobservant, inattentive and clueless about the beer. She mentioned a dry hopped dark beer. When I asked what style and listed off a few, she replied it was probably an "ale." Sigh. I also over heard another server that evening explaining that one beer was way more bitter than another. I don't know about you, but "bitter" isn't a good flavor for anyone. Now, hoppy or dry...

The beer was great. What can you say, it's Stoudts. I got a Gold and a Fat Dog and the lady got two of their cask winter ale. That was an absolute bombshell with a silky smoothness that trapped in a spicy and nutty smokey grain. Wow. At least the beer kicked ass tonight.

I've had great experiences at Stoudts and when I looked up my BA account, I'm surprised to find no entry. I'm sorry such a negative experience had to motivate me to write. If you get a chance, sit on the casual side of the building and stick to the sandwiches. That way, you'll increase your odds of having a great time.

03-08-2009 01:58:38 | More by DarkerTheBetter

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.8/5  rDev -9.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Have visited the restaurant portion of the brewery on several occasions, most recently after a beer event in Exton the other day.

This place has something of an upscale, gasthaus vibe to it, with some sizeable dining room areas in addition to the fairly small bar area. There is a considerable amount of brewery paraphanalia all around, and this place has a very comfortable feel to it... Sat at the main bar area, where I think there were approximately 10 seats. This day there were around 8 beers on tap, including the Old Abominable and Fat Dog stout (the two beers I got). Quality was quite good; both beers were well made and flavorful. While the service wasn't overly personable, it was still pretty quick and efficient. Never had to wait more then a minute for a beer. Food was good. I got the bratwurst dish, and was happy with the sausages and the sides (decent saurkraut and red cabbage).

I've been here twice now, and while I've enjoyed myself both times... I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just wish the staff were bit more friendly and engaging. They always seem a bit distracted to me. No matter.... this is stil a very solid place with above average beer and food. I'll certainly stop by again at some point.

03-14-2010 20:42:09 | More by johnmichaelsen

Boppar

New Hampshire

3.85/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Man is this place ever swank. You walk in and there's a shiny olde tyme car in the lobby. My friend and I exchanged nervous glances as we were seated, thinking that surely we'd gone to the wrong place. This looked nothing like the burgers 'n micro-brew place we'd expected.

Low lighting and quiet ambiance coupled with the table clothes made for a really enjoyable meal. Thankfully, you could still get good food for not too much money. Also, the bathroom was amazing for two reasons: first, the walls were made entirly of doors. That's right, individual doors had been attached to form the walls of the bathroom. And secondly, I fully appreciated all the black and white photos of naked chicks that adorned the wall-doors.

The beer was pretty solid, the food was good. Prices are reasonable for what you get. They had a decent selection of beer, and a nice selection of food.

I'd definitely go there again.

04-07-2008 04:16:32 | More by Boppar

SFLpunk

Vermont

3.88/5  rDev -7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in late Monday night for a few beers and some light fare.

The place is oddly opulent but also very kitschy. It works in a strange way. The place was virtually empty when we arrived, a few guys waiting for the delayed Monday Night Football game, and we took a table. Order some cheeses, the Dante, WI was the best (Sheep's milk). The tap list was solid, all the usual Stoudt's brews, with the Double IPA also available on cask.

Had a Triple (wonderful) and a cask Double IPA which was served at cellar temp with ample head. Well done. It was also somewhat drier than the CO2 version, I thought.

Our waitress was very attentive but not intrusive.

Beer to go in the coolers by the door, and I bought a 750mL Brewers Reserve Adamstown Brown to bring back to VT.

All in all a good stop, but was disappointed that all the draft was the usual suspects. Maybe I just hit it at the wrong time?

10-13-2010 04:16:04 | More by SFLpunk

Nutleybeer

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

On our way to Lancaster, we took a short trip up to Adamstown, PA to check out Stoudts. Apparently this town is the antique capital of the USA; or at least the locals refer to it as such. The place is a large multiplex type of locale...there is the brewery, restaurant, gift shop/bakery area and 3 regions for antiques and stores. Apparently, the antique market is only open on the weekends...we went on a Friday and it was totally deserted. 1 other couple we saw wandering around the site, but that's it. The brewery/restaurant is up front and there were people there, thankfully.
The inside is nice...it is broken off into a brewpub area and a more upscale looking restaurant. We sat at the brewpub section, in a cool room...covered with old brewery signs and lined with countless beer bottles from a multitude of locations. It is hard to comment on the food, we only had the cheese sampler....which for $10 was quite overpriced. It had only a handful of nuts, some blueberries, 3 tiny samples of selected cheeses and 4 slices of homemade bread (which was excellent, by the way). Note, for the best similiar type of appetizer in the region, check out the Beer Companion at the Ginger Man in NYC.

The beer sampler did not include all of their beer...you only got to select 4 styles. They were all good and fresh. They had their Oktoberfest on tap as well. I enjoyed their ESB. Being they only had 7 or so beers available, the sampler should have included a tasting of them all. Regardless, the sample sizes were a little larger than normal.

I am sure at festival times, when the place is packed, beer is flowing and music is playing, this place is incredible....on a quiet Friday afternoon it is okay. Worth a trip if you are in the area. I am sure they have tours, although we didn't request to go on one.

08-29-2005 17:13:05 | More by Nutleybeer