Flagstaff Brewing Company

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +14%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | $$

The brewhouse and fermenters were visible in a window along Route 66, but the brewpub was to the left and the entryway was inside the Gateway Plaza mini-mall. The doorway opened right onto the server's break in the long, blonde wood, "U"-shaped bar. The right end of the bar featured windows overlooking the street, fronted by high tables, as well as a pooched-out area with standard tables and chairs. On the left end of the bar, the windows continued, again with high tables and chairs, but now overlooking their outdoor fenced-in patio area with waitress service. Down a short flight of steps to the left of the bar area was a ping-pong table (!) and a short, small stage for live music about three times weekly. The back bar was a wood shelf construction with not just liquor bottles and taps, but also an eclectic array of vintage cans, trophies, and a canoe with its paddle in the overhead. Also in the overhead were an American flag, a Grateful Dead flag, and a Jolly Roger. A Raven map of Arizona hung under the only television monitor. A small growler collection was in the overhead above the ping-pong doorway. Growlers! Several BNSF freight trains went by as I gazed out the window.

Beers: Only four on my visit - Special K's Sitka Spruce Tip Ale; Blackbird Porter; Bubbaganous' Pale Ale; and Weisspread Wheat. Five rotating guest taps. Seven guest bottles and four guest cans.

Mom Test: She might tag along, but this was not her scene - bohemian, crunchy, etc. Their motto: "Beer like your mom used to make." I wish.

05-31-2008 09:19:49 | More by woodychandler

Gavage

New Jersey

3.16/5  rDev -9.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$

As others have noted this is your typical local hangout with a Grateful Dead atmosphere with the music and wall decorations. The bar is large and wooden and seats about 15. The back room has a ping pong table, and there are plenty of outdoor seats. There is a kayak hanging right above the bar too.

Beer wise they only had 4 in house brews here - a Hefe, ESB, Golden Ale, and a Spruce Ale. There were 5 guest taps mostly dedicated to Ska Brewing and a selection of 10 bottles and cans. We had the ESB and Spruce Ale and they were decent and fresh.

Service was awfully slow as the bartender seemed to spend time washing glasses rather than focus on those waiting at the bar wanting a drink.

Personally I prefer the Beaver Street brewpub over this one as the beers were a bit better and atmosphere was more upbeat and lively.

06-24-2009 23:43:24 | More by Gavage

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.43/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$$

A graduation weekend Saturday afternoon and there is nowhere to sit outside, inside is pretty busy too, most people appeared to be eating, so we did too, after trying some beers. They had 12 taps and a huge whisky selection.

I had their four beer taster (Great Golden, Bukkaganouj Pale, Agassiz Amber, Sasquatch Stout) and although not overly impressed myself, the wife liked the Great Golden Ale. I choose to have a Limited Edition Full Sail Ale after the tasters, I'd spied it on tap and followed it with an Anderson Valley Boont Amber (bottled) as I didn't fancy any of their other draught offerings.

We both had salads to eat, the wife a Garden, mine a Greek one. Ideal for our needs and plentiful without filling us (we were, after all, on a drinking mission).

The place is modern with that semi-old-frontier-look. A canoe hangs above the main bar, we sat next to an evil looking skunk picture, set in a night sky. I noticed an Everards (from Leicester in the UK) pump clip on another wall as well as other beery bits dotted about. All in all a strange collection of tat seemed to be randomly perched around the joint, there is a mini stage and table tennis area in the backroom too.

The staff were busy, friendly and as quick as they could be, gave good directions to the Greenroom as well.

05-24-2010 12:02:27 | More by BlackHaddock

yemenmocha

Arizona

3.7/5  rDev +5.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This is the "granola" brewpub of Arizona.

This place offers a small assortment of their own beers, together with a short list of "guest" beers - Dogfish, Lagunitas, Oak Creek, etc. Beers are rather average, and the guest list is too easy to substitute for your full pint once you've sampled their own offerings.

Food is quite good for such an unassuming place. Appetizers & menu choices are interesting, creative, and reasonably priced. Many traditional pub fare items are available too.

Atmosphere is casual, somewhat messy in appearance, and the staff is very "granola". I can appreciate the vegetarian offerings on the menu, but the unkempt hair & food/drink stains on employee clothing has to make you question the cleanliness of the place - especially what happens back in the kitchen.

Similarly, if you're dressed in smart casual clothing or better, you're going to feel out of place. Sandals, shorts, hemp shirt, and tattoo on display is par for the course here, so let it all hang out and enjoy their excellent food!

07-01-2008 03:13:25 | More by yemenmocha

lackenhauser

Maryland

3.93/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Like others said right on the main drag, Rt 66 into town but off the shopping plaza while the brew house fronts the road. Decent vibe that really grew on me the longer we sat there. Wife sat at a table while I approached the bar to ask about seating and within a minute or 2 a waiter came around the corner and was right on top of things.

Selection was ok. Honestly the least amount of house beer choices I have ever seen in a brew pub. Sure I dont need to be overwhelmed with 12 to 15 beers but 5 is a bit sparse. There were more guest taps then house taps. Regardless-had the ESB and the porter which were both good. Selection wise aside...the single malt menu is just mindblowing. Sure my wife is from Scotland, have toured a few distilleries in my day, but this was just amazing.

Food was good-had a salad with grilled chicken, wife had some gravy fries.

Price was very reasonable-2 pints, a single malt, meals, a soda and coffee and I was out the door for under 40 bucks before tip.

Think we are going there tomorrow post Grand Canyon...

01-02-2013 03:59:22 | More by lackenhauser

nickfl

Florida

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

Stopped in here after a trip up to the grand canyon to have a few pints before dinner. It is a pretty average looking place inside but has a great location right along route 66 in downtown Flagstaff. The beer was quite good with a excellent porter as the standout for the evening. My only complaint is that they only had about five of their own brews on tap. They had a quite a few guest brews (all of them good) but I was interested in the local offerings and was a little disappointed to find more guest beers than house brews on tap. Service was good (I ordered at the bar) and everything seemed well looked after. We didn't eat here, but the food at the next table looked promising. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

04-10-2012 04:03:37 | More by nickfl

Halcyondays

California

3.86/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $

My train back to CA got delayed an hour and a half so I decided to walk across the street and check out Flagstaff Brewing.

Walking in there's a mountain motif, with lots of old breweriana and old cans/bottles above the bar. Not a huge place, but cozy, it was nowhere close to capacity on a Sunday night. I opted for a Ska Modus Hoperandi in a can and one of their beers the Special K's Sitka Spruce. The Modus was stellar, the brewpub's one was solid but outmatched by the Ska. Both beers were well under $5, a steal compared to CA prices.

They had about 5 of their own beers, with guest beers including Odell 90/-, Green Flash Hophead Red, Full Sail Session/Black, Ska Modus/ESB and Stone IPA.

Bartender was friendly, we talked about IPAs a bit, and he got me my beers promptly.

I only ended up spending about 30 minutes there, but if I'm in the area I'd go back, it beats waiting in the train station by a ton.

08-03-2010 21:38:07 | More by Halcyondays

kdoc8

Oregon

3.23/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

The final brewery I hit in my short stay in Flag. The brew pub reflected the dominant theme of the town - low key atmosphere in an awesome low key hippie/yuppie ski town. The place doesn't have a great deal of seating and it was hard to attract the attention of a server (because they're all low key), but other than that it was a nice atmosphere. Located right on the main street in Flag, it's very convenient and a comfortable place to chill. I looked as though they have lots of live music and entertainment in the evenings. Their food was good - they're famous for their burgers, so I had a pear burger and...in an act of respect to our neighbors to the north...a plate of poutine. Both were very good.

03-13-2007 18:26:38 | More by kdoc8

ElGordo

Oregon

2.73/5  rDev -22%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Driving through on my way across the country, my group had two nights scheduled in Flagstaff for a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Stopped in here one night for dinner and left with mixed feelings at best. On the positive side, we were seated right away and the pint of ESB I had was top-notch. The food is fairly typical bar food - the roasted garlic appetizer was great. Burgers are absurdly huge, and housemade veggie burger patties can be substitued on any of their sandwiches.
Now for the bad: the place is basically a cavernous rec room, with some random hippie art on the walls and a performance space in back. The staff seemed stoned, although fairly competent (that is, until I needed another beer and couldn't hail them over because both guys were behind the bar playing around on hotornot.com). I could imagine the place is really uncomfortable when crowded, too. Still, I had a decent burger and some good beer, so I can't really complain.

03-17-2006 06:23:58 | More by ElGordo

DPFRD

Arizona

3.73/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Flag brew is a great spot to hang at and see some music or eat. The beer is moderately good...
I've had the IPA there and it's pretty bangin'

Their esb is all right too.

This being said, that's about it. They have a great selection of bourbon there if you're into that.

It's definitely worth a stop if you're in Flagstaff. Centrally located, you can enjoy a nice meal and some decent brew.

Also, this place throws some mighty nice shows. I saw Mike Clark's headhunters there, which was a treat.

02-06-2011 09:33:22 | More by DPFRD