February 14, 2009
Medium sized brewpub on Milwaukee’s east side river west neighborhood. Unlike other brewpubs I have been to in Wisconsin, this one allows smoking. They had about a half dozen of their beers on tap plus two guest taps. Went for dinner and a few pints – the dinner was good and the beer wasn’t bad either. Local bands play here often on the weekends and pool tables and video games are at the back of the bar if you’re into that thing.

January 8, 2008
I was here shortly after opening, so I did not order food or hear music. The large, open area looked good for concerts. Ventilation seemed poor, as I caught more than enough smoke from the 2 guys at the far end of the bar (they were the only other folks in there). There were 5 beers on tap, which were all within the realm of decent. As BeerBelcher mentioned, the bartender was friendly, helpful, and quick.. and she offered to bring the brewer out if I had more questions.

December 22, 2006
I went to Nessun Dorma, and while I was hardly blown away by what I’d read about Stonefly, I decided to give it a try while in the neighborhood. The Riverwest neighborhood is really interesting. Stonefly is on Center St and near the Fuel Cafe, the shop that provides the logo and the coffee for the Lakefront coffee stout of the same name. The neighborhood is definitely experiencing a revival, and I thought it a pretty cool place. The place is very modern and big, with a decent sized stage and pool tables. The clientele were a half dozen early-20’s hippie kids drinking "guest" beers. I was a bit turned off by the quality of the "guest" beers. These were mostly beers present for their retro charm rather than their brewing credentials and included Carling Black Label in cans, Schlitz cans, (I think) Blatz cans, and a whole bunch of PBR bottles. The bartender was friendly, helpful, and quick, and the house brewed drafts were $3.50, which I thought reasonable. The house beers were not too impressive. I had a Sixfinger IPA and a Pierce Street Porter (which I’ll review separately), but I thought both were bested by a number of other bars and brewpubs in the area. The space would be a good place to see a band or play pool, but I’m not planning on returning to Stonefly.

August 14, 2006 [ Updated November 5, 2009 ]
Re-rate 11-5-09: Vastly improved since my last visit. Food (quality and selection) are vastly improved and the beers have definitely gone up a notch. Still very inexpensive by Milwaukee standards.

November 4, 2005
Well this is definitely a working man’s bar. Didn’t stay for food or music. The beer was sub-par and the guest beers ranged from decent to various swill. The bartender was very gracious and poured free samples of all their beers. I probably won’t be heading back.

July 24, 2005
Food is good, music is variant, bartenders can be nice and worth tipping. Beer can be good and they have some guest taps. Bouzards Special Bitter is worth trying. The french onion soup is worth eating.

July 12, 2005
In a crappy neighborhood. Hole in the wall feel. Why did I love it (may have reminded me of the corner bars I used to hand out in when I was ’young’). Four house beers on tap in addition to a bunch of others. Went there at 7:30pm on a Tuesday and my buddy and I, besides 1 local person, where the only ones in the bar. Had a good tasting belgian beer (favorite of my trip so far).

June 18, 2005
Descent place that I finally got around to. Riverwest bar setting, which leaves some atmosphere to be desired. Smoky upon entering, but luckily had the patio to myself. Courteous service and very accommodating. Five of their own beers were on tap when I was there, and all were fairly descent. Overall, worthwhile, but nearer the bottom of my list in the grand scheme of Milwaukee brewpubs.

June 12, 2005
An odd little place w/ a fairly artsy type of crowd. Pretty good food but a lack of quality in their beers. I had some good things in the past but lately I’ve been dissapointed.

December 2, 2004
Quirky little bar. 4 or 5 of their own beers at any time, and an interesting selection of micros on tap. Fun place to visit.