5 Seasons

September 25, 2008
I visited the Prado location on September 24th after a business meeting. After reading great reviews of the place, I have to admit that I was less than impressed overall. First, I found the most lacking element was courteous service. When I enter a pub, especially one not overly busy, I expect to be greeted and asked my pleasure. I found my own way to the bar where there were only 3 or 4 other patrons, yet it took me 10 minutes to get a notice from the lady tending bar. She seemed unable to answer many questions about the beer but did give me a beer menu and a regular menu. Her replies seemed grudging and perfunctory, usually replying over her shoulder while walking away. It left me feeling unwelcome. I finally gave up trying to either ask her questions or give her orders. But I came for the beer, and this is what the review is about, right? They have 5 beers on the menu, but one was not available and one extra was still around. Here are my impressions: Copperhead ESB: Not an ESB. Lacking in almost every English character. Overly hopped with Cascade and so stuffed with caramel malts that it tasted like a Sugar Daddy dipped in pine tar. Festbier: Their Oktoberfest offering was lacking in any melanoidin richness and had a strong soapy character and evident dicetyl notes. Perhaps it was forced and hasn’t lagered long enough or maybe I just got a glass that hadn’t had the dish soap rinsed off. Helles: Finally a beer to style with strong Tettanang hop bite and just the right low malt breadiness and a slight melanoidin richness. Slight astringency in the finish. Their most mainstream beer, but a nice example. Tripel: Not on the menu, never offered to me, but she poured it from a secondary set of taps and I spotted her doing it, so asked for a sample. 15 minutes later I got one. I shouldn’t have bothered. It had a strong orange aroma, like Tang, and the flavor was of sour honey with distinct fusel high alcohols. Dark and still too sweet for the style. I didn’t even finish my 1 ounce taster. I also had the calamari appetizer. The food is not cheap here. A cereal bowl of calamari was $10 and 75% of the bowl is filled with fried onion bits. I had been planning on eating dinner here, but bailed after just the appetizer. It would have cost me at least $50 to eat here if I had a salad and an entree.

June 8, 2008
I only had one full pint here. A nice large facility with lots of outdoor seating. The parking situation is currently a little weird, but I am sure that will get fixed soon. The beer I had was decent. They were nice enough to allow a few from the ATL crew to sample a few beers. Nice wait staff if not particularly attentive.

March 14, 2008
Very average selection and service. Additionally the construction next door makes parking an issue. The food was good. Worth a stop if in the area but nothing to seek out.

March 2, 2008
Big time construction going on right now on Roswell, so this place was very well hidden, and drove about 5 miles past it before turning around. Pretty up scale place, although i didnt think the prices were to bad. I love the Grilled Chicken i got and the wife loved there salads. I got the sampler of their beer. Pretty good stuff, really liked the stout and marzen. Really nice place, and great service.

January 18, 2008
An upscale brewpub, pretty yuppity in the dinner time hours I was there (with three tired little kids in the middle of a 10hr drive). Food was fancy and portions on the fancy-small size, but the beer selection and quality pretty good. While you won’t need a tie to visit here (we called ahead of time and grungy little kids and travelers were welcomed), you won’t feel uncomfortable putting one on if you have it with you. Service was fair, but again it sorta matched the atmosphere and was slightly terse/snooty.

January 14, 2008
This is one of the few brewpub restaurants I’ve been to which caters to quality food lovers as much as craft beer lovers. The Duck 2 Ways was an exquisite dinner, just like the crab and cream cheese ravioli. The atmosphere is upscale and maybe a little too dark for my liking, but the open room setup somehow made it possible for everyone to feel comfortable, which is always appreciated. Our waiter was perhaps a newcomer to the trade and was nothing more than polite, but Dennis, the owner, came to join us after the meal and let’s just say he knows how to take care of his customers! There were 5 beers on tap that day, all of which were very competently brewed, including a beautiful Vienna, which is rather rare in North America. Some bottle-conditioned beers are available for on-site consumption if you ask for them, but I would have preferred that list to be advertised as we were only made aware of it after our meal. Overall, this is a brewpub very much in the vein and quality of Iron Hill (DE), Trou du Diable (QC), and Cambridge Brewing (MA), just to name a few, in other words a restaurant where fine dining meets fine brewing. I’d definitely like to see more of those around!

December 17, 2007
Great food fresh and original ingredients. Cool bar staff and a friendly head brewer. Beers are solid the IPA and Imperial Scotch were top-notch. A must-stop in north Atlanta.

July 17, 2007
Love it Love it Love it! This is my favorite place for a nice evening out. I typically sit at the bar to take advantage of the bartender’s beer knowledge. The menu is always changing. I can’t say enough. I’ve taken numerous people here and they all agree. They were able to find something they loved to eat and able to pair there food with great beer. I’ve now moved to Orlando, and nothing compares.

June 18, 2007
Went their with Kleyland and ran in to fellow ratebeer member skaughty. We found the ambience pretty nice. Food was a little weird for my taste. Would have liked a few more beers on tap and maybe some higher gravity offerings. Still enjoyed the place. Staff was good. Didnt hit up the bar.

May 5, 2007
Nice place, although without much character. Only had a couple of appetizers, but they were pretty good, if a bit expensive. Stout was good as was the BW. The West Coast Pale was pretty good as well. Met the brewer, really nice guy. Good place.