Three cheers! Beer Works Lowell opened Friday night and Gourmet Gal was there. The retro fit of the sleepy Brewery Exchange is so fresh, so contemporary; it's worth a trip just to see how they efficiently modernized the Cabot Street space. Lots of blonde wood, diamond plate and industrial steel. Sounds like the merging of new Lowell and old. But we don't visit a brewery for ambiance, do we? Let's get to the beer.
Of the dozen barley pops on draught, I sampled a watermelon beer and while I think the bartender foisted this chick drink upon me assuming i must hate heavy beers b/c of my gender, it was delish. Not too much fruit, just a refreshing summer sip. We also tried the nut-brown ale and Curley's stout and now know why this place is so hyped. Fresh, tangy. We liked the idea that it's brewed on premise. Except it isn’t just yet. “Shipped in from Boston,” the friendly tender told us until they get the casks running. Once they do, expect these tasty beers to arrive in bottle form at a packy near you.
The food is a more than a step above reg. pub grub; it's a whole flight. Calamari, chicken tenders, New York Chix sandwiches, and blackened Back Bay burgers may cost a smidge more than at the Dubliner, but these suckers ( $10 and up) are what reluctant vegetarians pine for. If you arrive w/ a big hunger order the Downtown Crossing burger and all conceptions of what a Big Mac tastes like will recede in a Beantown minute. Now going to a Spinner's game will feel more like Yawkey Way. Has anyone been? I want to know about your Beer Works experience. See ya under the taps!
I don't think I can wait till next weekend to check this place out.
We also went on Friday. Our bartender told me they didn't have the nut brown ale :( We had Ceaser salads with steaktips, excellent. We had the Hub Light beer which is probably the best light beer I've tasted. We also tried the blueberry beer (nice) the Stout (nice) and the hefeweizen (not a fan). So glad to have this place in Lowell, and the back of the menu indicates this will be their brewery headquarters. We were there around 9:30, I was surprised at how many people were going to the separately owned Brewery Exchange. I hope BW gets some of that action.
I went to Lowell Beer Works yesterday and was very impressed with the beer, food, and service. My wife tried the watermelon and the hub light and loved them both, and I had the Fenway IPA and Hefeweizen and also thought they were very good.
The food really impressed me though, we tried the fried pickles(excellent), nachos(very good and a huge portion) and the Beer Works sliders(three mini burgers, hand made and cooked medium) which were my favorite.
They have a huge menu and I look forward to trying more of it. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable: My wife and I split the three appetizers, each had two 22 0z beers, and took home leftovers, and the bill was about 50 bucks. Check it out!
What about non-reluctant vegetarians? It would be great if your blog included more tips for us as well. It might not seem like it, but there are actually a few of us in Lowell (even vegans!).
Tried Beerworks for lunch with a friend. Watermelon and Blueberry beers were great! Chef needs to adjust cooking temp for burgers.For the vegetarians...the chinese noodle salad was great and huge + many other veggie options
GG,
I'm going tonight, I can't wait to test out the Lowell Beer works. I've been to the Beer Works in Boston and they are great. I can't wait to try the Lowell BW. We are very lucky that they have decided to make a home in Lowell. I agree, the restaurant scene has definetly come alive in DTL. Next up, some BBQ ribs at the smokehouse!
Visited Beer Works on Sunday and Tuesday and going again tonight. I have been long awaiting the arrival of this since I first heard about the possibility of the space being purchased by the Slesar Bros. Wehn heading to a Sox game, we head in before for a tall Blueberry (or Watermelons) and fried pickles. Now I don't have to travel too far (across the street).
The Lowell location has that same feel, the beer is great and the food hits the spot. I recommend signing up for their card, its free and it automatically puts $10 a month to put towards your bill of $20 or more! That ain't bad! Can't wait until the Smokehouse opens and for Restaurant Week in August!!
Went to Beerworks twice over the weekend. The Hefeweizen was really good. Nachos were great and fried fish sandwich was perfect. The space is awesome and servers are knowledgeable and friendly. The only issue they may have is "Boston prices" in Lowell. But I think it's worth it.
After Saturday's Spinners victory, we sprinted over to Beerworks to beat the anticipated rush. The food was really great, and the Victory Red was excellect. This beer was "First brewed in Boston on the afternoon of October 27, 2004. In anticipation of the Greatest Day in Baseball History." (Game 4 of the World Series). When I asked the waiter what he recommended, he said the Watermelon was really popular, but I passed on that (did he think I didn't look very masculine? ;-).
I was pleased to see that they plop actual blueberries into the Blueberry ale, 'cause it's always fun to watch them bob up and down. In summary, we'll be back.
i'm surprised that no one here has commented on how hideous the place looks. i went last night for the first time. we had great service, adequate food, and the beer was fine. but i couldn't get over how dreary it felt in there. if i want to drink a beer in an office park cafeteria, i'll find an office park cafeteria. no character whatsoever. plus the sound pumping down from the upstairs brewery exchange was really annoying. our waitress said they plan to remedy that. but i still think the fact that you have these two competing interests literally stacked on top of one another makes for something of a strange ambience. i didn't even realize it was two different places. all in all, i find the reviews here surprisingly generous. it wasn't bad, but there was nothing interesting or delicious enough to warrant a second visit. at least in my opinion.