Barleys Brewing Company (Ale House #1)

September 25, 2008
We went there around 10-11pm on a weekend evening and there were more staff than patrons, including us. Obviously, there was no atmosphere which was accentuated by poor pop music, expeditive service (despite no one being inside) and the very high ceilings which brought the emptiness of the place to annoying levels. They had 2 guest ales and 7 of their own and while I could clearly see I ran out of luck as they had a very good menu one week before my visit and seemed to have only their very regular stuff when I visited, I still found everything ordinary and thin. I guess I would still come back if I stayed in Columbus again, but only because I felt unlucky with the menu.

August 24, 2008
I hit Barley’s three times during a four day conference in Columbus. I didn’t miss a session of the conference (Hi Boss!) It is a typical brewpub with standard far. They just started daily food specials. Thursday is the day to go as they have $3 IPA’s and $3 ½ lb hot dogs. The pregnant bartender was nice too. Overall above average. The Bodega has a better selection but much worse service.

July 30, 2008
This place rocks!Thanx to BeerVirgin for showing me this place.I had sampled 7 of their beers in a sampler tray and the chicken gyro that was great.The beers and food were real good.Great place to go and the waitress was knowledgeable about the beer and her service was great.I really love the fact that they had a homebrew contest and the winner had their beer on tap.they also had 2 cask brews of their own on tap also.Thanx Dawn for taking me there!!

June 18, 2008
Both Barley’s locations are a short drive, relatively speaking. This downtown one is across from the convention centre, and in the touristy district. Very safe government area. Very large inside, the brewer was here, the bar was fairly large, the lighting was good. A great place to meet up with people , in my case, a few raters I have met before. Ohio is friendly and relationships count. About 12 taps of micros, mostly home taps but four good guest taps. Service was efficient. The beers are approachable, the stouts and barleys above average. Hops are rationed, and in the pales and scotch beers (at least 3 at both locations) an orangey like flavoring apparent, which the brewer says is not orange flavouring but was not more forthcoming. Worth a stop if in town.

May 17, 2008
Despite the more limited home beers selection I preferred this location over the bigger but rather boring location on Dublin Road. This one has a lot more of a pub feel, I could imagine myself spending an entire evening in that pub (not the case with the Dublin location). Didn’t try the food and only had one beer (they close early) but I know that these are the same beers as the other location so I know they are kick-ass beers cause I had many of them at the other location.

March 27, 2008
Dropped in briefly after a visit to Grapes of Mirth, picked up a growler of Alexander’s RIS. Handsome bar with wood tables, soft lighting, and a spare setting that I like in a brewpub. At midday there was nobody there, and I had no food (so can’t comment). But the staff were friendly and informative, and I was stoked to get a growler of this well loved stout.

December 6, 2007
Nice clean brewpub look with a decent sized bar and lots of booths and tables, real clean look. They had about 12 of their beers on when we were there with 2 guest taps. The kobe burger was very good as was everyone else’s food. Went on a sunday when they opened so of course service was just fine. The beers though were lacking bigtime in flavor and basically quality very light and flavorless except the imperial stout which was ok. Great place, great time, I’d go again but would go to #2 first that’s for sure.

August 1, 2007
This place is great, right downtown. Across the street from Grapes of Mirth. Parking usually means the garage nearby but it’s not a big deal. Selection is usually 5 or 6 of their beers on draft, with a cask ale on as well, and usually a few guest drafts. The beers are very good, as is the food. Service can be slow at times, but usually is pretty consistent.

August 1, 2007
Stopped on a Thursday night for dinner. A nice little location in Columbus. I should start out by stating that I was feeling under the weather, so I may not be giving the blast as good of a rating as I would if I felt better. But from what I did have, this place was pretty sweet. The waitress was very good (and all of them were very good-looking, which helps) and we never had to wait too long for anything, even though the place was crowded. I didn’t have any food, but the beers were really good. My favorites were their ESB, barleywine, and their imperial stout. My only regret is that I wasn’t feeling better while here. Otherwise, this place was pretty great.

July 5, 2007
I can’t say there’s any one thing that really stands out about the atmosphere or the "experience" that is Barley’s Brewing. There are some decent brews on tap here, but it is a place which in my mind blends into many other places I’ve visited. Well-staffed, but the servers/bartenders seemed to be more involved with their own lives than those of their clientelle. Whatever... we were served our drinks and left to go about our business. (As long as you do your job you’ll get your 15% tip, but I don’t think they realize you’ve got to impress people for anything beyond that.)

Anyway, this is another joint with a rating of "Essential" that I think could use a downgrade.