Mugs Ale House

July 10, 2008
I adore Mugs. It was the first beer bar I tried in Brooklyn and has been my steady local ever since. It’s a great spot for having a pint alone or with friends. *The staff - some are knowledgable, but most aren’t very familiar with what’s on offer. Friendly and welcoming, but busy. *The atmosphere - very low key and comfortable. I can’t imagine anyone not feeling at home here. Comfy booths and tables with garden seating. The crowd is really mixed - old, young, middle aged, hip, geeky, whatever. It is completely non-cliquey. *The selection - small, but quality. Usually about 15 on tap, with pint and half pint options for a mere $5. Their more exclusive bottles are often out of stock, but the prices are amazingly cheap. Even their vintages are dead cheap! *The food - good, cheap eats. The desserts leave something to be desired, but when you’re paying $3.50 for cheesecake or creme brulee, what do you expect?

June 15, 2008 [ Updated August 4, 2008 ]
pretty good selection and representation of beer. place is full of youngish people who seem lower middle class and behave (well) old school. like hell’s kitchen of the 70’s. friendly good lookin’ workin’ class folks, it was a pleasure to be among them. will return again. old patchwork bar not much to look at but hey the beer and the people steal the show. service is spotty but friendly. several good brews that you can buy for $5. and that is for a pint!

May 13, 2008
I shouldn’t have waited so long to finally visit this place. Food/ambiance/service is all pretty dull, but what a selection! Anchor OSAs 1994 and all 2000+ for $7-12, Old Foghorn 1995 for $8.50, Drie Fonteinen Gueuze 1999 and 2000 (pricey, but still !). All sorts of great vintage beer on this menu. Don’t miss it if you like vintage stuff. Tap selection aint bad either, though I don’t like their glassware. Either 10oz Hitachino Nest glasses which suck to drink from, or giant 20oz glasses.

February 5, 2008
Mugs is great. Friendly staff and has beer releases and different events. The food is always very good and the service is good too. The beers on tap and bottle are always great, new, rare, or unique and it changes often. Great pub environment and hangout. Inexpensive so you can enjoy a few brews without hurting the wallet.

November 7, 2007
Bottom line here is cheap (but not bad for tavern) food and a discount lineup of well selected drafts, served in imperial pints for $4-$6. Given the selection and sizeable glasses, your final bill for a satisfying night of dinner and beer might elicit an enthusiastic h*ly sh*t!!

September 24, 2007 [ Updated September 15, 2008 ]
Highly inexpensive. Paid about $8 or $9 for a 2000 Bigfoot. Vintage selection is nothing compared to what they offer on the menu, but the overall selection is nice. Spent quite a bit of time here and found it to be laid back and enjoyable. Helpful staff.

August 1, 2007
Easily the cheapest place to drink quality brew in the city. 20 oz pints for 4-5 dollars. A well selected and well-maintained rotations of brews. Dark wooden appearance with lots of brewerania covering every square inch of the place. I’m a big fan of the fests that are held here. Definitely worth a stop when in Williamsburg.

April 24, 2007
Sits approximately 75 people. About 50 in a main bar/pub room and 25 in the restaurant room. Lots of ambiance in the bar/pub room and the restaurant side provides a quieter place to eat. You can order food in the bar/pub room but it must be unpleasant to eat there on a busy night. I was there on a Friday night and the main room can get unpleasantly over-crowded. The variable beer selection menu is about 10 taps (including 4 casks!) of interesting American micros. There’s also other regular taps of boring stuff. Then there’s the bottle menu with a few interesting but pricey items. I had a Fuller’s Vintage 1999 bottle. Good price/quality ratio on the food as you can eat a pretty decent full meal for only $10. Decor of typical old pub beaten up woody stuff. A must if you’re in the neighbourhood. My only grip is about the beer selection. No “big” beers on tap, at least when I was there. All were small (around 5%) easy to drink pub beers.

February 27, 2007
Went here for one pint and they have a decent selection. What a deal, $4 for 20 oz pints. It is pretty much a standard pub otherwise.

January 5, 2007
Funny little place with mainly local customers (two of them brought their dog, that says it all!). Beer list was OK but nothing more. Service the same. Wouldn’t go there again unless I’m in the hood and has nowhere else to go.