The Ale House

A study in contrasts.  

PROS:  Best craft beer selection in the area.  Cozy ambiance.  Sports on TV.  Pretty good music piped in.  Friendly service most of the time.  Beer variety and availability has been improving in recent months, and they've even done some casks.

CONS:  Beer is pricey here.  At least $6 a normal pint, and small-glass  portions of Barleywine or the very infrequent Belgian beer often costing more despite the smaller size.  Wish they were a little more adventurous in their beer selection. Lots of IPA's, porters, pale ales, but short on Belgians, German lagers and ales, etc.

Long wait for service when crowded.  

Very small and often hard to get a seat.  

Weird hours:  They never open for lunch, their "Happy Hour" ($1 off regular price on pints) goes from 6pm-8pm, even though they open a 4pm on weekdays, and if you want to relax and watch a game on the weekend, forget it. They are closed on Sunday and only open at 6pm on Saturday.

Beer menu is posted on chalkboards which cannot be seen unless you have a seat on the bar. Its location forces one to stoop and rudely stick your head between two patrons at the bar to get a good view. This is ironic considering they have other chalkboards in front of the bar which are basically unused.

The bar is frequently understaffed, and with the bartender filling out everyone's "passport" beer tour cards (a promotion to try different beers and keep a record on a pre-printed card), the time to get a beer can be really slow.

Food selection is unimaginative, portions are small, and prices are high for what you get. There is no fryer (might be a good thing). The Buffalo Chicken pizza is excellent, however.

Growlers:  They don't have them. They have something called a 'jumbler' which is half the size of a growler. TOO SMALL! Not worth the effort.

Overall impression:  When not crowded, a good place to have some craft beer.  However, I get the feeling the owners are relying on the fact that they were the only craft bar around, and refuse to improve (for little or no cost) the numerous pet peeves that everyone has about the place.  With several new "foodie" restaurants opening up in Binghamton (serving craft beer), plus a very nice brewpub (with two more coming soon), they might want to get their act together soon.

UPDATE MARCH 2013:  They have been so active in updating and changing the beer selection in the last few months that I'm upgrading my review to Three Stars.  Also, they (along with the Cyber Cafe) update their available drafts on 'beermenus.com', which is helpful. Other problems remain, but for variety and innovation on tap they are still unbeatable in the Binghamton area.

UPDATE 2, MARCH 2013:  Just when I was softening my attitude, they do it again.  Went there last week. Sat at the bar, Got a beer. Finished it. Waited for another. And waited. And waited....The bartender was busy, but seemed unable to notice  who had empty glasses, and did not have any idea who had been waiting longest. She would immediately serve people who came up to the bar from the tables , while ignoring the several people who were waiting patiently with empty glasses sitting at the bar. To make matters worse, the female owner was not pitching in at all even though she was standing at the end of the bar doing nothing. After about 25 minutes with an empty glass, left feeling frustrated. Not the kind of mood one should have after going out for a couple beers. TWO STARS. NEVER go there when even slightly busy, which unfortunately is most of the time due to their limited hours.

They call themselves "The Beer Joint of Your Dreams".  Unfortunately, about 75% of the time, those dreams are nightmares.

This place varies.

I've been here a total of three times, and the first two times I got what this place has to offer, a good beer selection. The food selection is poor, and the food is usually okay.

If the Ale House is busy, I'd recommend to just leave. There's usually only one person working the bar when it gets busy, and they can't keep up with the demand. The third time I came here they managed to burn both my girlfriend's hamburger and my steak sandwich. I'm inclined to believe it was because of how busy it was, but I'm not going to risk it again.

Edit: Shouldn't have finished my food, ended up sick for the rest of the night.

TL;DR:
Good beer selection, turn around and leave if it's busy.

If you are a fan of craft beers - The Ale House is far and away the best bar in town. The have 36 beers on tap, with a section that is always changing with the seasons. They have their popular "Passport" which allows you to try each of the beers they offer in exchange for your name on the wall.

However, do be warned that this place is extremely small so getting a table or a spot at the bar is often a challenge. Also -  the beers run $6 a pint, so drinking there can get pretty pricey.

I've never tried their food but have always found the bartenders to be friendly and have always had a good time hanging out there.