McNeill’s Brewery
90 Elliot St, Brattleboro, VT, 05301
McNeill’s Brewery Menu
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Address :
90 Elliot St
Brattleboro, VT, 05301 - Phone (802) 254-2553
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :4:00 pm - 2:00pm
Specialities
- Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
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Deanna D.
Great beer bar with some solid options, friendly bartender, good music and fun clientele. It's not really a dive but has the feeling of fun pub. They offer samples at a cost of $1.50 so you can try the entire lineup which I did instead of committing to an entire beer. Some of our favorites were: Warlord, Oatmeal Stout and Firehouse Amber. The bartender was also very friendly and knowledgeable about the beer. The cash only part is a bit annoying and prevented us from overindulging. Overall a good experience and worth a stop if your in the area.
(3)Star E.
Delicious gnoshing. Super staff. Quirky art and dark pub interior. Decent pricing. Dark Angel Ale is crisp & a bit spicey but light in the mouth. Brewery on site...get a tour.
(4)Dan R.
As we were making our rounds in Brattleboro the other day after work we decided to give McNeill's a shot, and have to say that we had a blast here. When we walked in the door on a Monday afternoon, we were the only people in the bar which was great because we had the place to ourselves. As a group we bought a bunch of different brews, and as usual I picked up a cider on tap. All of our drinks were great, and the prices were reasonable as well. The bartender was great, and at one point while we were playing a game she jumped in and had a blast with us! She was also really knowledgeable about the drinks. The only critique is that some of the beers on their tap were unavailable which was a bit sucked a bit! Overall, this place is a nice chill spot to catch a quick drink and hang out with friends. Just be aware that this place is cash only!
(4)Freesia S.
The best part about this place is that it's a total dive bar. With quirky decor and fun games to play at the bar, McNeill's is a neat little brewpub to visit if you're passing through the area. They offer lots of house beers on tap, and you can try a whole bunch for just $1 for a sample glass or $3 for a half pint. I appreciate the effort with the wide variety of beers, but of the six or so beers I tried, I only liked maybe two of them. We didn't stick around for food, but I thought it was cool that options included pizza from Zuppardi's in Connecticut and tamales. Based on the beers alone, I wouldn't travel out of my way here, but it was a nice place to hang out for a few rounds.
(3)Douglas L.
Bartender was cool and some of the beer was good. Not as good as some of the other breweries but it had its own vibe like none other we visited. Didn't try the food.
(3)Sam M.
This place is kind of a dump besides the beer which is ok at best. As someone who's been to pretty much every single microbrewer in VT, McNeills falls short. I wouldn't dare eat here and the place was pretty much empty when I went on a Sunday evening. Surprising for a brewery that serves good beer. I had the stout on cask and it was mostly half full after the carbonation settled. This pretty much was a poor man'a Guiness. At $5 a pint on a Sunday in a dingy bar I'd expect a least some specials that you'd see in better brewpubs. Thank goodness I didn't eat here because the place should be on Bar Rescue. It's dirty and I don't trust a dirty bar that serves food. This place looks like it was rode hard and put away wet. It's sad because this place could be so much better if more investment was made on the food and look of the bar.
(2)Steph G.
I was skeptical about this place because of the other reviews on Yelp. We stopped here on our way home to hit one last brewery on the Vermont Brewery Challenge before we left. When we walked in, there was a large group singing traditional folk songs acapella. Kinda strange, but very cool. We sat at the bar and the bartender was extremely helpful and friendly. We each had 2 4oz tastings - so reasonably priced and so delicious. The place is definitely a drinks only place - we saw a board outside indicating food specials but inside all we saw was a strange little kitchen area with a microwave and such. So I wouldnt eat here, and it is a little dumply, but I would definitely go back for the beer!
(4)Ann M.
Pretty good beer. Really dumpy and dirty though.
(4)D M.
Went here this past Saturday (3/8/14) around 1:00PM to grab a beer and maybe some lunch, but the place was empty, dark and doors locked. The sandwich board was out on the sidewalk but I can only assume it was left out from the night before? Their website is down so no way to check hours. Their facebook page says "always open." Apparently not. Shame, I would have loved to have tried some of their beer. There were 8 of us, would have been a nice sized check for them. Oh well!
(1)Emily S.
McNeill's turned me off the instant I walked in because it was incredibly dirty. Like, old food and plates stacked on tables, flies and bugs, hasn't been cleaned since last weekend's party dirty. It was not the kind of environment I would want to order food from OR beer. Despite that we tried their brewed beer and it was okay. The whole time I couldn't stop shooing away gnats and flies. Honestly, we booked out of there ASAP. Maybe it was a fluke, but I felt like I was drinking home brew in someone's make shift garage brewery. I would not return, it was just too gross.
(2)George G.
This is a review update as I have been here recently: - Really great English beer and they have at least 3 beers on cask, ie hand pump. - Friendly bartenders who will let you sample a beer before committing to a pint. - Cash only! This is quite problematic especially at a brewery that has food and when one can lose track of pints.
(4)Joanne N.
This place is usually where we always end up no matter where we think we are going to go. Mostly because of the laid back atmosphere and the comfort of always seeing someone you know. Also I think they have the best peanuts I have ever eaten in my life.
(4)Nancy K.
Hands down, my favorite brew pub (if you can call it a brew pub) in the land. And I have quite a few to which I can compare. What makes McNeill's isn't anything chic or cool or hip... it's the fact that McNeill's doesn't even try to be about anything other than the beer. And the beer is good. Sure, it smells a little funky when you walk in, but that's probably how most brewpubs smell but are masked by the food. The food at McNeill's? I'm still not completely convinced it exists because other than chips and salsa and peanuts nothing else on the menu is ever available. But I'm not complaining. McNeill's is about the beer, the bartenders and the crowd. All are exceptional. For years when living in Bennington (other end of Southern Vermont) this was a frequent stop. Several times a month I'd be at the bar with either Kris or a friend or two. You can't escape having a great conversation with someone else, it's kid friendly, there are board games, darts and everyone's favorite game, "Fun In Vermont", which consists of a hook and metal ring hanging from a wire. The cast of characters varies but it's a diverse group with regulars spanning the spectrum from high school social studies teachers to artists to tourists (fewer than you'd expect) to tatted up hipsters. The great part about McNeill's, though, is that while in other places these groups wouldn't generally mix, all are equal at McNeill's. If you're in town I can't recommend enough a stop at this institution.
(5)Jeremiah H.
Where to start... They no longer brew on premises, don't offer tasters, and I caught the bartender microwaving a burrito as standard practice. I'm sure the locals love it as the place was full of drunks at 1PM on a Saturday, but it dosen't impress me.
(1)Dave S.
The brilliant thing about food adventuring is that you never really know what you're going to get. Even if you read all the reviews and downloaded all the menus, there's still a mystery until you're actually there (and "there" could be anywhere for the food adventurer). Such was the feeling when my wife convinced me to stop for lunch in Brattelboro on a trip through Vermont. Snow was falling and I had a craving for a cozy Ale house. Enter McNeill's Brewery! Perched on the end of a side street, McNeill's is a classic Vermont spot, slightly ramshackle, thrown together with love, and full of good beer. The young bartender was super nice and the only folks in the place was a father with two toddlers, who were soooo cute they seemed to fit right in to the ambiance. The brew pub itself was really simple and down-to-earth with communal wooden tables and benches, a wooden bar (stocked with not just beer, but some good lookin' whiskey too), and a few bar games. The beer however was not simple, but full of yummy complexity and goodness. My favorites were the Pullman Porter and the Deadhorse IPA. The IPA was spot on with a beautiful floral aroma and a clean bitter finish. The bartender let us know that if we wanted food they had some soup, but that we could order sandwiches from next door (another interesting looking bar). So we settled down with our beers, had a big cup of homemade Black Bean soup, and felt right at home. All in all, McNeill's is a great spot to stop on your way up North. Infused with a VT hippie vibe and a laid back atmosphere, the beer is cold and good...the food is, well, food...but the beer is cold and good, and hey that's what really matters...
(4)Steven D.
Come for the freshly brewed beer, stay for the amazing Irish music session!
(5)Gustavo C.
As soon as you walk in you can tell this place is the real thing. You can tell it has great beer but just looking at their food menu. Yeah! Nacho with cheese, pita with humus and something else (can't remember). The beers are amazing. All of them. Even on a hot summer day, a beer that was at room temperature was refreshing and tasty. Wifey and I had such a good experience one day while visiting Brattleboro that we had to come by the next day before we made our way back to New Haven. With such short time we asked the bar tender for a flight of beers, to get a good taste of everything available, and she hooked it up. For a $1 per sample she gave us 7 extremely generous glasses. Needles to say that we had to postpone our return for several hours. For all the real beer drinkers, this is a must when visiting Brattleboro.
(5)Chris C.
You know you a place has a weird atmosphere when a 6 foot tall Afriacn America drag queen walks in with a patriotic themed sequin dress with a matching a parasol and the bartender & some of the regulars act like nothing out of the ordinary is happening. This of course happens after the bartender leaves the bar for about 10 minutes after him and some other regular get in a loud argument with a woman who appeared to work there or at least kept walking behind the bar like she did. So a strange vibe was definitely going on here. Their beer selections are traditional English & Scottish styles that are done very well. The prices are low, but the service was slow & unfriendly. The layout of the bar was also a bit strange because instead of tables they just had very long beer hall tables with benches. They supposedly serve food, but I saw no signs of it and 2 different people walked in with pizzas from somewhere else and ate those with their beer. So clearly the locals know something.
(3)Mindy L.
You can't visit Brattleboro without stopping in at McNeill's Brewery. Great selection of beers on tap including: Blond Bombshell, Kolsch, Warlord Imperial, FireHouse Amber Ale. They have homebrews that'll knock your socks off. The atmosphere is mainly local - couple of tourists (skiers) pass through on occasion, but it's definitely a down-home, local pub. There are long butcher block style hightops (people mainly stand at them) with some scattered stools. You can sit at the bar and chat with the wide variety of locals (I've been here and seen some weird sh*t - it's Vermont...!!) but it's always entertaining.
(3)Jennifer E.
Weirdest brew pub that I have ever been to. There were mobs of children running around, people dancing to the original version of the macarana and a giant children's play area. This may not be very inviting for someone looking to have a few pints in peace, but it is interesting to visit a family friend bar. They also have some mighty fine brews. From strong imperial stouts to session beers, they serve up some of tastiest home brewed beers in the area. It makes a great stop for a post hike or ski beer.
(4)Ronald S.
a nice divey bar in a town the doesnt feel like VT to me that brews a bunch of beers. i had some of their brews in bottles before and it was OK. i tried it fresh from the tap and it was better. Get your passport stamp and move on to the next one.
(3)Davisha D.
Great beer, always a good selection, and what's not to love about a growler? Unless things have changed a lot recently, they never had a liquor selection, which I can understand but it's still a void in my alcoholic plans. The staff is as friendly as you are to them, they don't try to buddy up if you don't, which I appreciate. I'm not a fan of the constant smell of dirty hippie. Nor am I a fan of the deliberately weird patrons who try to freak you out with their outlandishness and affected quirks. I grew up with LES musicians, jugglers, clowns and magicians. You are never going to raise an eyebrow, promise. Other than that, it's a good place to stop by briefly to sample a specialty, and take a nifty jug home with you.
(3)Rick P.
I LOVED this great, fun place. Still have some of their huge bottles ( long-ago empty), on top of my fridge, as "souvenirs" of a grand time in VT!! I still yearn to sip their various brews -- I Will return....save one for a Thirsty Texan....... Cheers, Ricky
(5)Grinning F.
Classic old school pub Divine, locally brewed beer You won't leave thirsty
(4)Bailey M.
When I moved here the first thing I noticed was my proximity to this bar. It both worried and excited me. I like McNeill's but they never have the beer I want on tap! They are just THAT award-winning I suppose?!? The brews have won some major awards throughout the Northeast but because I always have to settle for second, third or fourth choice I have yet to try any that I am dying to go back for. This spot is chill for just grabbing a brew and playing board games with a few friends on any given night. Oh, forget about ordering food... they never seem to have that either.
(3)Bif P.
My favorite brewery. Great place to relax and enjoy some quality beer. I just wished they opened earlier than 4pm.
(5)Sascha B.
Their beer tastes like shit these days. Ray's fuckin' up man.
(1)Nicholas P.
I would like to summarize my feelings for McNeils with a a few short words, great beer at a decent price. McNeil's Brewery has a wonderful atmosphere, it is both old new england yet artsy. But enough about the atmosphere the beer is the main attraction at McNeil's Brewery, and it never fails to deilever. Expect to drink fresh beer, which makes a world of difference when it comes to taste. The beer always tastes crisp and never stale or even mild it always seemed to retain its taste whenever I went there. Also the beer seems to have a high alcohol content as once when my friends and I went there we all got drunk off of three drinks each.
(4)Pete S.
This is the place most microbrewers lay awake at night trying to come to grips with the fact that they will never be. A lot of truth here, good and bad, but this is the only brewery I know where the beer tastes like the beer that the best homebrewers I know make. After McNeill's you realize that there is a lot of nonsense and chicanery going on in the 'microbrew' world around Boston (and a lot of other places), in which a lot of slightly interesting beer that will offend the fewest and consequently sell the most is all you usually can get. In contrast to this dumbing down, McNeill's seems to be beer made by and for people who actually really like beer. Which is good because people drinking here usually seem to be in a good mood, probably because they're drinking such good beer. There is no nonsense here -- no food of consequence, little decor, and not exactly what you'd call heartwarming hospitality. Plus it's periodically a little messy, and things run out. So what. This is still the only bar that my mind ends up considering driving two hours to on odd Saturday afternoons, several beautiful ones of which I have happily lost drinking beer and talking to whoever happens to be in McNeill's. People seem to talk to strangers here, by the way. Plus the beer is so, so cheap for what you're getting. Unbelievable.
(5)Jay M.
This place is a dark bar in an area that is hard to find parking, but the beer made here is excellent and cheap. I ended up drinking quite a few pints and chatting it up with the owner of the brewery who is very approachable and friendly. Definitely a unique experience in a hip area.
(5)Jamie G.
To be perfectly honest, this place was kinda sketchy. It's a kinda cute bar/pub, but had some sketchy clientele, and a slightly sketchy bartender. It did not feel AT ALL like a place that made it's own beer. Well, it is, but all the beer is bitter and/or dark. I have tried their Firehouse Amber Ale before, and it was decent, but seriously none of their beer is my type. I would most likely not come back here, and only stopped by here the one time to get my passport stamped. Sorry McNeill's!
(2)Sarah H.
Me and My husband had a good time visiting this bar on New Years eve and trying out all of the beers. The bartender gave us some small samples of each one on the house which was very nice of him. I do not remember the names of them all but there were two that were exceptionally tasty. The funny part was that there was this drunk dude sitting next to us talking to us and what not. When he left we found out that we was the famous Mr. McNeill who lived right upstairs.
(4)John O.
What can I say, this place is a bar. They don't worry about ambiance, decor, or lighting. They make good beer and they sell it cheap. If I lived closer I would be a total regular here. These guys take making good beer serious, and it shows in the complex tastes they create.
(4)Eric P.
The Porter was OK. While the place was empty except for a few people at the bar it took a while for the bartender to come over and he did not seem interested in describing any of their beers. "they are all good just pick one". After a bit he loosened up and answered some questions.
(3)Rue B.
Either the best beer you've ever had, or some of the worst, and my favorite brewery in the universe, despite its beer quality bipolarity, summarized below, and reason for less than 5 stars. When they're on, they're ON! The imperial stout has to be the best dark beer the universe has ever tasted. When they're off, good lord are they off!! An old acquaintance from the Marlboro ten-mile club once said of Vermont beers, "good when they don't taste like patchouli and head lice." McNeill's, when off, resembles SOMETHING unfortunate like that... Back to the positive - it's only $3.25-50 a pint for (often) great beer in a dive that happens to brew in the basement. Long tables for socializing with strangers. Great vibe of wacked out locals, their bicycles, their dogs, their toddlers, their opinions, Alfred and/or Ray. Great beer motto, up there with Ben Franklin's "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," Says Ray McNeill on their t-shirt, "Beer is the reason I get up each afternoon." Good bets for beer? Any stout (Imperial, Oatmeal, Regan's), the Ruby Red, the cask ESB, Old Ringworm barleywine.
(4)Stephen H.
McNeill's (also known as Dewey's, its former incantation) is the hands-down best micro-brewery in the US. Bar (sic sic) none. I know, I know, it's a big claim to make. I drank here every Friday night during college. I also consumed their beer every Friday morning in organic chemistry class (the proffs at Marlboro are so kickass, they let slide such behavior). The bartenders roll the barrels up from the cellar brewery right underneath your very feet. They make an India Pale Ale and an Oatmeal Stout that I crave so much, I've had to have my local liquor supplier order the 32os. bottles for me. Their nachos are also killer. Great place to hang out on the weekend and pick up all of the town's gossip. Shout's out to Bratt brats!
(5)Wing M.
It's amazing that I've never been to this place until last night. Damn it's a great bar. They brew their own beers, which are delicious. The bartender was super friendly even though she was really busy. The atmosphere is pretty comfortable and I completely forgot that it was way too crowded and hot the second I sat down and took a sip of my beer. The music last night (some local bluegrass band) was also pretty darn amazing.
(4)Jim Z.
I'm banned from McNeil's but the beer's still great. Also, it's no longer quite possible to drink in class at Marlboro College but I don't think I've ever went to a tutorial completely sober anyway.
(3)Greycella L.
It pains me to write this, where I will essentially slam something that has long been a beloved entity of downtown. I thought it would be easier to do, given the recent influx of shiny new watering holes, but it isn't. I love this place because it's dingy and simple and unfettered and definitely not trying to be something it isn't. The beer USED to great, sometimes I'd be travelling and mention my hometown and someone's eyes would light up and say "McNeill's!" But the current state of affairs there is beyond unacceptable. First off, the "beer" I've been served there in recent months no longer tastes as it should. Something in the brewing process, somewhere underneath our feet in the pit of that building is going horribly awry. We still go in there, because force of habit gravitates our friends there when they're in the area for the holidays, and it would only seem natural once inside to order a beer. But I resist it, knowing the disappointment that will follow. More than disappointment, a few of us have felt ill after only having one pint. My other primary beef is with the dartboard- the thing is so old and tattered that it can no longer hold the freaking dart in the bullseye. These things illustrate what's been going on for so long, total neglect. Despite the efforts of a few bartenders this place is going down the tubes. Down the tubes to lord knows what goes on at the brewery below. I hope he just sells the place so it might find a owner who actually cares enough to restore it to its former glory. I miss you, McNeill's.
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