Latest reviews from Benton Harbor
| 90 /100 190 5TH ST “Finally got to visit this place. My route brought me through a sad, crumbling part of town, making me wonder how a world-class brewery could exist here. But then you arrive and witness the killer taplist. They had 9 standards and 6 specialties. Flights and small pours of anything you want, priced per the beer. They had the BBA Trippel Weizenbock on - yeah! Many of other beers were excellent as well. Super friendly service. If you’re anywhere close to here, it’s worth the trip. Fantastic spot.“ |
| 78 /100 670 N. SHORE DR. “Noticed this spot while playing a round of golf. A smallish tap room with good character, small bar in the back. Bartenders knew the beer and were happy to talk about it. There were 10ish beers on tap with a few cans available. Flights were an option. I did not try the food on my visit. Prices were in line with the area. A nice little surprise.“ |
| 70 /100 190 5TH ST “Visited here on my way through during a family trip. Benton Harbor as a town seems very run down. Easy place to find, but almost looked closed when we arrived around 5 or 6 pm. The Livery is an old renovated horse barn which makes it pretty cool and unique. Two levels. I was there for the coveted triple weizenbock which did not disappoint. Ordered chicken and white sauce pizza that hit the spot. Sevice was a little spotty.“ |
| 88 /100 190 5TH ST “It’s located in an old livery barn and it’s largely kept in tact that way. It’s a really cool place. It’s small so not too many taps, but it’s a really cool place.“ |
| 76 /100 670 N. SHORE DR. “Off the beaten path, quaint A frame building with a cute beer garden. nice and open and bright when we went in Early October. Tasted several tasty solid beers. they opened recently. There was a popcorn machine , and games boards to entertain, Nice not to have the dark sports bar look, just a nice place to chat. nice staff.“ |
| 86 /100 190 5TH ST “I love this place! I’ve been here several times and they never disappoint. Not much on ambiance or decor, but damn if they don’t make some of the best beers. Their menu offers pizzas, sandwiches, apps & salads, and everything I’ve tried has been good. The service is outstanding! Very friendly and helpful. A bit off the beaten path but well worth the trip.“ |
| 90 /100 190 5TH ST “This was a big and enjoyable surprise. Early after noon before Greenbush and Three Floyds. We took three flight of tasters so we cover the whole menu. No bad beer in the lot, all very well done and solid. Great service and food. The bartender even told us to stop at The Tapistry.“ |
| 62 /100 190 5TH ST “I’ve been here 3 times, each experience varied greatly. Always lots of ticks, but the quality ranges from poor to decent, just don’t know what you’re gonna get. A lot of the beers taste the same, so even if there are 15 beers, you can’t tell the difference in 10 of them. There are usually a couple standouts. The food need major work. The service is ok, but you can tell they’d rather just deal with locals. Decent stop if you’re in the area, but don’t go out of your way.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped in with Nobelsquirrel on the way to Chicago from Grand Rapids. On a Sunday the city of Benton Harbor is depressing. We drove through town looking for the brewery first and then walked around for 20 minutes since the place wasn’t open yet. I think I saw 2 people the whole time. Inside were another two people, one server and one person in the kitchen. This could have been the start of a low budget horror film. Anyway, we headed down the stairs into the basement and sat at the bar and ordered some flights. The server was more than happy to talk beer and the Michigan Brewers Guild Fest that had just happened. The beers were alright, not quite what I had heard about on the forums in years passed but not bad. Actually the whole reason that I ever even thought to pay attention to these guys was from a cquiroga rating of the bourbon triple bock. I got to try the regular version but sadly not the bourbon that weekend. I was a bit underwhelmed, though a year later I did get to try the bourbon version and it was pretty damn good. The weird take on sours they do is interesting but not really my style. If nothing else their beer is always interesting. The nachos were OK too. I would definitely stop back if making the trip around the lake, though at this point I’m more interested in checking out Shoreline which isn’t all that far from here.“ |
| 92 /100 190 5TH ST “This is a great place in Southwest Indiana, around five minutes off of I94. Great selection of their beers, no other brands are offered and that’s alright with me, because these are some damn good beers. Food menu is small but excellente, service is great, and multi-levels and the beer is great. Y favorite is their Hop Trail DIPA!“ |
| 76 /100 190 5TH ST “First visit great cozy pub fell with nice priced selection of beer. Loved the single hop stuff“ |
| 48 /100 Meijer - Benton Harbor (Grocery Store) 1920 PIPESTONE RD “It is your typical big, honkin’ grocery story, but it has a much better selection of local brews than an Indiana Meijer I visited several months ago. A majority of what’s available is the typical Bud and Miller offerings. But in a Michigan beers section there is a nice variety from Bell’s, Founders, Dark Horse, Short’s, Arcadia and probably a few more plus include a respectable number available as singles costing $1.59-$1.79.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “Nice little bar and brewery, all the beers were pretty good, I never ate there, would like to go back one day.“ |
| 86 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped in not knowing what to expect, and left extremely satisfied. There are two bars: one upstairs and one downstairs (and they each have some of their own offerings). The service was fantastic; both the bartender and a brewer fielded several of my questions, and were nothing but nice and helpful. I didn’t eat, but they do serve food. I’ll be back soon.
Update: I had a bad experience last time, but the bartender that was there 2/3 times (Nate) was amongst the best I’ve ever met, so I’m giving the other experience the benefit of the doubt based solely on his exceptional(ly friendly) service.“ |
| 88 /100 190 5TH ST “This is a great place to stop and have dinner and a couple beers. The food was even better than the beer (you need a Turkey Bacon Avocado sandwich... seriously), which doesn’t take anything away from the beers on tap. Pricing was OK (some of the limited stuff was pretty pricey, though) and service was super friendly.“ |
| 72 /100 190 5TH ST “Nice place, staff and patrons friendly, food was pretty good. Had flight of 6 beers and enjoyed them“ |
| 94 /100 190 5TH ST “Really enjoyed this joint. Not a place I would really bring my 2 year old to, more bar-ish. The food smelled good, but we were just drinking there. Both the barkeep and the locals were warm and welcoming. The selection of styles was great! They had 3 ciders plus 1 NA Cider, An IPA, an APA, a sour, a Baltic porter, a red ale, a brown ale, and a couple Belgium styled beers. This place is a hidden gem worth planning a trip around, or going out of your way to visit!“ |
| 90 /100 190 5TH ST “the downstairs bar feels very cosy, with foosball tables and superb service. This is a little gem of a brewery who take chances with what they brew - go support them!“ |
| 90 /100 190 5TH ST “Most underrated Michigan brewpub IMO. Great beers in a real nice place with a comfy spot for music. Food isn’t great but not bad either. Always had great service and prices are very reasonable.“ |
| 82 /100 190 5TH ST “Great place - the main brewpub in the basement is small but comfortable. Large upstairs for live music. Food standard pub food. Wish I lived closer.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “Very chill basement location. Staff and locals alike were very friendly. A dozen taps on offer when I visited, and you can choose six in 5 ounce pours. Food was pizza, homemade soups, sandwiches and a shrimp dish with IPA sauce. Trivia nights on Wednesdays reminded me of English pubs. Beers were top notch, with no weak links. Worth going out of your way to visit.“ |
| 86 /100 190 5TH ST “Really cool place, in a pretty depressing part of Michigan. Extremely friendly staff, great beers, and cool atmosphere. If given the chance, I would love to visit again!“ |
| 68 /100 190 5TH ST “Dumpy basement bar located in a huge building. Neighborhood looked half abandoned. Not quite sure where they do the brewing The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. We felt free to take our time tasting. The pizza was ok but used a premade crust, and the hummus was fantastic.“ |
| 68 /100 190 5TH ST “Super-old building in a depressed downtown - downstairs. Smallish bar area that looked like someone’s basement with exposed pipes, or a VFW post. A goodly number of taps. It had an "everyone knows each other" feel, which made for a relaxing place. Food was pretty good, and Steve may have charmed us a deal with some extra personal service. Nothing classy, but a place to get a freshly brewed micro on tap.“ |
| 64 /100 190 5TH ST “Can’t say many good things about this place. Neighborhood is sketchy. Bar area is like someone’s basement. No servers. TV picture was fading in and out. Foosball table leaned towards one goal. Pizza was not bad, but appeared to be glorified frozen pizza. Pretty big selection of beers, but none of them were very good. Altogether disappointing“ |
| 58 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped in on a Thursdy evenig. A big crowd. We had pizza and fiveor six different beers. All were nice if not exceptional. The pizza was ok. We had a great and extended chat with Sawyer, a brewer. Hecwasvso informative and interesting. This was not a great brewpub and seemed to be full of locals and regulars. It was a working mas kind of place. The beer was solid but not great.“ |
| 74 /100 190 5TH ST “Given the town it’s located in, this is a gem. They always push the edge in terms of the beers the create, which can lead to some real wins and some so-so beers. Brewer is very cool and knowledgeable. Best of luck to them, Benton Harbor could use more places like The Livery.“ |
| 30 /100 190 5TH ST “Well I had gone there years ago and had remembered not being thrilled. I went again recently and it will be my last. They have a ton of beers, but there not good. Sorry guys. Not really sure what they are going for there, but the food was below average and the people were friendly.“ |
| 82 /100 190 5TH ST “Visted The Livery on our way home from Michigan back to Wisconsin, driving through Benton Harbor was a little rough, recession hit them pretty hard. The Livery was worth the drive off the interstate, nice selection of brews.“ |
| 76 /100 190 5TH ST “Wow, driving through Benton Harbor was a little depressing with lots of boarded up windows and an overall feeling of being "down". I started to think that making a side trip to The Livery was a mistake but I was pleasantly surprised! As you walk inside, there are stairs leading up and down, down being the bar area and up being additional seating and a stage. As we went down we were greeted by a nice gentleman behind the bar. We were there during Friday lunch and the bar was filled with patrons so we grabbed a table. My girlfriend and myslef both grabbed some samplers and ordered up a pizza. The beers were mediocre to really good and the food was tasty as well. As we were on our way out, we ventured upstairs to peak at the stage. Why in the hell is the bar downstairs in the basement!? The upstairs is awesome with old exposed brick, a grain elevator and plenty of seating. There is a small barr too but I’m not sure if they have draft lines all the way up there. This place to me just screams potential and hopefully the surrounding town can support them, I know I’ll be back next time I’m headed that way.“ |
| 98 /100 190 5TH ST “I love this place!! Great beer and great people!!“ |
| 78 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped for a quick beer after a round of disc golf on my way to Grand Rapids. I like the display of other breweries growlers displayed in the windows as you walk to the entrance. Charming enough building with a handful of tables and stack of games to keep oneself occupied with enjoying a glass of suds. Had a fairly extensive taplist, but I didn’t have time for a sampler, which was a bit pricey IMO.“ |
| 84 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped through here on our way back from RBSG. Interesting brewpub, in the middle of nowhere with the pub in the basement. They have quite the selection of beers available on tap, I believe there were 16 when we were there. They run the gamut from IPAs to sours to lagers. Well made beers and the staff is very cool. Only had the nachos, but they were tasty. Definitely a cool ass place to go.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “Great place if you like casual. Good value on the flights considering they have some fairly extravagant beers. The arcade style food bar is actually pretty tasty.“ |
| 78 /100 190 5TH ST “In an old warehouse looking building in a part of town that appears to be under renovation. The bar is in the basement and there is no air conditioning, but this actually adds to the ambiance. Very friendly bar tenders happy to talk beer. Many livery offerings on tap all very good. They also have house made ciders on draft which also are very good. The food is simple but very good and worth trying.“ |
| 62 /100 190 5TH ST “Never made it to what I hope were nicer sections of this town, but the specific location of this place is the worst I’ve ever seen for a brewpub, or even for any production brewery. The surrounding blocks scream nothing but failure and abandonment. Though I guess some raters say other parts are nicer, the basement bar does little to dissuade these feelings. And yeah, it’s a basement, but does that mean the tables have to look like you scrounged them from the garbage heap of the surrounding failure? Was there on a Monday late afternoon into evening. At first the rest of the crowd was older locals with one less-old local who took a particularly creepy staring/smirking/awkward joke-making interest in my girlfriend. Later the crowd got younger and less creepy however. Service was attentive and interested in the beers though seemingly not terribly knowledgeable about them. Certainly knew the business well enough though. List is certainly diverse and extensive and tasty to boot. Food is very minimal, very serviceable for snacks and sustenance, though maybe a bit pricey considering it’s just stuff they buy and throw on a plate. Nice destination for the beer if nothing else.“ |
| 58 /100 190 5TH ST “This is an odd place. It is located in a very poor town with lots of abandoned buildings and a general dingy overtone. Inside was not much better (at least the downstairs, which is where I was). There is a small bar and the rest of the space is taken up by cafeteria/mess-hall style round tables. Even the bathrooms were dingy- metal stalls (which clanged loudly and felt like a prison-bathroom) and thin metal sinks. As far as the patrons, they were all locals. You’d think that with the kinds of beers the Livery puts out, they’d be more used to beer travelers but I definitely felt out of place. The one bartender there was odd although attentive I suppose. The food was pretty good (I got the potato soup) although the menu is not too extensive. I’m not sure what they make themselves as there didn’t seem to be much of a kitchen. Anyway, the beer was fairly good (or at least interesting), they also make their own cider, and there is a lot to choose from. But overall, an odd place and I don’t think I’ll be visiting again.“ |
| 92 /100 190 5TH ST “The bottom level looks like a basement, which is what it is. The upper two levels are very nice. Every beer I’ve had here has been tasty, and some are very complex. The service varies from excellent to OK, depending on who is working and how busy they are. Fair prices for this high quality beer. I’ve never had the food, but the lower level (where the kitchen is) always smells great! It’s usually a cool eclectic crowd, and some of the music they have is excellent. This is BY FAR the best hang-out within 50 miles of the St. Joseph area!“ |
| 94 /100 190 5TH ST “Fantastic place. Cant believe that for as close as it is to me this is the first time Ive been. Had a great conversation with the owner and had some great beer. Nice atmosphere, reasonable prices. Top notch.“ |
| 72 /100 190 5TH ST “A solid place by the coast and worth going out of the way for, both the town and the brewpub. opens later in the aft, I arrived early and that was fine and staff was starting with some of the better brews. Casks, well done spot ons for their styles. Bartender is right there for you, very friendly environment of gentle bikers,retired people, musicians and other artsy people like meself. Some hand bottles available, if you ask.Basement, side deck, back tables for rendez-vous. Live music at night.“ |
| 56 /100 190 5TH ST “I stopped in this place with very high hopes. Had the feeling of a little dive bar as soon as I walked in (in basement, which is where I was). I ended up getting a sampler tray and was not impressed with a single one. Basically, if they don’t have any of their big beers on tap or BA beers, don’t bother. Bartender was a prick. Patio area looked nice, but no one was out there. I guess what is the point? You get to looked at a bunch of abandoned buildings and factories. Anyway, I will stop in again if they have better beer on tap and am in the area, otherwise, not likely again.“ |
| 88 /100 190 5TH ST “It wasn’t the awesome beers, cask ales, live music, outdoor patio, friendly people, reasonable prices, or interesting architecture that impressed me most about this place, it was the fact that some of the freshest, most original beers I’ve tasted, are all brewed by one man, Steve Berthel, in a 1000 sq foot building containing nothing but hand forged tools and his hand forged beers. It just goes to show that all it takes is a few creative people to bring new, style bending, tasty beers to people all over the U.S. Steve thinks em up and brews em, BBB63 spreads the word about these great beers and distributes them to beer lovers all over America. It’s a beautiful thing.“ |
| 78 /100 190 5TH ST “Relaxed, vibe on a Sunday afternoon. Up and downstairs bars, but only the nondescript basement and spacious beergarden were open when we were there. A few cask options, nice beerlist with a diverse range of styles and some interesting unique beers. Did not try any food.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “had a good cask best bitter. Nice barmaid. The basement bar is a bit spartan, the area upstairs is very cool. Worth a stop if you are going by..“ |
| 86 /100 190 5TH ST “Visited this cozy downstairs brewpub on a cold Michigan night. Would be nice if something else was around the pub to walk to but I guess that might be part of the charm. Good off beat crowd that comes for the eclectic but solid brews. They have the range of beers from lager to stouts listed on a chalkboard. I liked everything I tried. All seem to have at least of a bit of a Flemish sour taste some balance out more with some sweetness than otherwise. Left with a growler which will be nice since you sure can’t get this beer in the Detroit area.“ |
| 72 /100 190 5TH ST “Somewhat of a basement bar with a small open kitchen in the back. One pool table and mismatched chairs and tables. It seemed a little dark but then again it is a basement.“ |
| 80 /100 190 5TH ST “Reminds me of the basement from That 70s Show. Very relaxed atmosphere with an overwhelming amount on tap. Cant wait until this place starts selling some bottles.“ |
| 82 /100 190 5TH ST “Stopped by the Livery on a late Saturday afternoon in early October, as mentioned in other posts, Benton Harbor does look deserted in this part of the town, as we drove down the street it sort of appeared that the Livery was the only occupied building around. Bar room is on the lower floor of the building, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the bar is to the right and the kitchen is on the opposite side of the room, there is an outdoor area to sit and enjoy the beer weather permitting. My wife and I had a pizza and drinks, bartender was nice and knew the beers he was serving (sorry I forgot his name), Livery had their RateBeer Awards proudly on display at the bar, wish I had more time to stay and try more of their beers.“ |
