I have been to the new location only twice, and might never return. I used to frequent the old location because it was quiet, dark, and comfortable. The new ABC is some commercialized monster now. Amherst Brewing Company is no longer a brewpub, but more like a Golden Corral. The beers are always good, especially the IPA, which is their best. I understand the need for growth as a business, but to sacrifice service and image is to sell your soul. ABC was once a brewpub, but is now a Cracker Barrel with beer filled with screaming kids, old people, and people who don't drink.
Review Source:Great new location, now with pool tables, huge bar, extra seating, all very clean and new, but hostesses are hired because they're cute, then don't bother to look up from their iPhone's to greet you.
Bartending staff is similarly snotty and unhelpful. Waitstaff is better, but the overall sense of mismanagement cannot be fully dispelled by the mediocre food and beer.
ABC is now becoming a memory that I don't wish to revisit anymore.
Yeah... I liked the old location better. It was small and quaint and "special". Now it is a HUGE sports bar. Â I mean, the place is MASSIVE. Â But honestly, the place still rocks. The food is very good, the staff is friendly and helpful and I always have a great time there. You can play pool for free, watch games on several tv's, foos ball, darts, hot chicks.... really everything you could want in a bar. Â I'm still a fan.
Review Source:Good beer, but that's as good as it got for me.
The new location is spacious, but it had a wet rag smell upon entry. Â
The server was nice and attentive, but after our appetizer and initial drink order, service went downhill. Â An hour and a half for lunch for two people was just too long, even with an appetizer.
Unfortunately their food was nothing to write home about. Â I understand it's their prerogative to prepare and serve the food they choose, but with so many great restaurants in the surrounding area, I thought they could at least make their veggie burgers instead of just buying them and heating them up. Â
As much as I love to support local independent businesses, the next time I'm in the area and in the mood for a veggie burger, I'll go to Chili's.
The Phantom Gourmet sign must have been given to them at their old, smaller location, certainly not this one!
So the food was pretty good for the price, but that is not the reason this review is being written.
We got there at around 5:30pm or a Saturday. The place was only about 20% full, and we were seated in a fairly quiet area. This was great for hearing the fantastic music playlist. I kid you not, these songs were played back to back:
Ghost Busters
Careless Whisper (Probably not played by the Sexy Sax Man)
Gangnam Style
Sandstorm
Every beer and burger would be better with this soundtrack.
Visited the new location. Food and beer were fine but the large room where we ate our meal looked like a banquet hall. No ambience, the room was cold and impersonal. Â The room really needs a makeover. Â
Part of the eating experience is enjoying the surroundings. I don't plan on returning until the interior is changed.
Came to eat here last Saturday night with a party of 6. Â Everyone ordered their drink when we were first seated. I waited and ordered a glass of wine when ordering our food. Everyone's drink was delivered but not my wine. When the server brought our app, two in our party ordered another drink (which tells you how long it took to get our food) I asked to have my drink brought along with the other's second one.
When the food arrived my order was the Saturday night special of prime rib which is printed in the menu as "EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT IS PRIME RIB NIGHT. They brought out the Drunken Tenderloin steak. I told them I ordered the Prime Rib and I didn't want the steak. The manager came over and apologized that because it was Octoberfest they didn't serve the Prime Rib all night. She said she would comp my meal and asked if I would like the steak. I agreed while the rest of my party ate. The steak was brought out very quickly! Steak was good, mashed potatoes were blah and the veggies were like hospital/middle school cafeteria like. My salad never was delivered, even after the discussion with the server of what dressing I wanted.
So, when the bill came the served told me that the manager was able to give me 50% off my dish. I was quite sure the manager said free but I'm not going to complain, half off is still nice.
No salad, no Prime Rib, so/so food and wine AFTER everybody else drank their drink and my food AFTER everybody else ate = not a great meal
Unfortunately the scale only goes down to 1 star...another horrible experience. Â I was hoping my 2011 visit was just an off night. Â I had a 6 sampler of beer and couldn't even finish them. Â Watered down, all under-carbonated and just bland. Â Service is slow and not real friendly. Â Keeping my fingers crossed that this place will return to its former glory. Â There is a reason those awards hang on the wall...
Review Source:I have been dinning at the ABC for decades at their former location and their food was always wonderful but we ate dinner at ABC tonight and it was the worst food I have tasted in years. The turkey berger was dry and bland and it looked more like a hockey puck then a burger (like frozen food from costco). It was served with no dressing or condiment of any kind...but did have a wilted leaf if lettuce, tastless tomato and onion. The server brought only ketchup to the table and if you want any other condiments such as BBQ sauce you have to spend another $0.75.
The good news is...at least I will not have to consider ABC when deciding were to eat out ....less choice makes it easier. The beer was not much better but I will review that later ...
I like this place. Â I thought they went out of business when I went looking for them downtown a couple of years ago, and was thrilled to find out that they merely moved. Â The new place is enormous. Â The billard area alone is bigger than the entire previous location. Â The bar is very long, must fit at least 50 folks. And then there's the dining area. Â It's actually too big, I preferred the original location.
They have a long list of their own brews, plus a bunch of guests. Â Cask Condtioned is the only way to go, it tastes so much better than normal draught. Â They vary what they give this treatment, but my favorite is the North Pleasant Ale.
The food is generally basic pub grub, but some of their specials are amazing. Â The Pulled Pork Chile is to die for. (Oddly the regular pulled pork sandwich is merely okay). Â Ditto for the Chile Macacroni. Â The daily menu offers very nice Veggie and Buffalo burgers in addition to the usual cow meat. Â The slaw is not too wet, like that alot. Â
It gets very loud in the dining room. Â I'm usually there by myself, before a BB game, so I sit at the bar. It's generally mid-week and a little early. Â I prefer the quiet and faster, more personal service of the non-peak hours. Â I brought my wife here for the first time recently and we ate in the DR, but if/when she comes back I think we'll sit at the Bar.
Garbage food, served alongside bad, watery house beer. You can order "guest beers" -- and you should, but the food accompanying those beers is of the absolute lowest quality. The service is bad to worse, and the price for the whole thing is way overpriced. Don't bother; unless you are a UMass student without a car, you can do much better.
Review Source:Very happy - atmosphere, food was really good, almost not what I expected. The place is huge!!!
The server was really good with his recommendations on beer and what we all were looking for. Typical pub food but good size portions and did not lack in quality. I look forward to returning.
We had wings, nachos with chili, which was so big.... (see pic), and the burger sliders. It was 5 stars
This is really more of a 2.5 star review, with the sincere hope of seeing this place get its mojo back.
ABC recently moved to its new location in a strip shopping center near U. Mass' athletic field. Although the parking lot and added floorspace are nice, the atmosphere is not nearly what it used to be. Â The interior felt very unfinished, with large empty spaces where it seemed tables should be, and spotty decor.
The night we went, the bar was packed, and we had a half hour wait to be seated. Â It seemed like ABC didn't quite have enough staff to manage the crowd, which explained the roomful of empty tables we passed.
The food and the beer are spot-on. Great burgers, and reasonable prices on their house brews.
The new space is great for casual meetings with friends, there is plenty of space and several pool tables, dart boards and a fooseball table. I cannot comment on the late night scene yet, but its usually pretty tame during the day and for "happy hour" unless there is a Umass game at mullins or mcguirk.
The food is still lacking so dont expect big things just slightly better bar food.
Yelp has been my guide for years but I have neer written a single review. Â It is a shame that a bad experience like I had at the ABC is what has prompted me to write my first review.
I graduated UMass Amherst in 2002 and was very excited to come visit some 10 years later with my fiancé.  I had always remembered the ABC being a good brew pub and when I drove up to their big brand new location I thought to myself that they obviously have beeing doing something right the last ten years.  I was wrong.
Thinking back, I should have just left when the waiter brought my fiance a flat Diet Pepsi. Â "Ok, no problem. Â This happens to even the best of restaurants". Â But then came out the nachos. Â Imagine going to your local grocery store and getting the cheapest bag of generic tortilla chips. You would find these in the clearance section marked down 75%. Then go and find the cheapest and most processed shredded cheese you could find. Â Pile the cheap chips on a plate, sprinkle some processed cheese on top with a few tomatoes...that is exactly what the nachos at ABC taste like. Â The put absolutely no effort at all in their nachos. Â Isn't this a Brew Pub?
Next came out our entrees. Â A cheddar burger with fries and fish and chips. Â The waiter said something about how they make their own burgers on site and now that I think about it, does that mean that everything else is frozen/prepared food? Â Maybe the actual burger patty iself was "OK", but the bun was another cheap processed item from the clearance isle at the grocery store. And the fries were awful. Â Imagine cooking the fries in luke warm oil. Â They were soggy, dense, and soaked with oil. Â Absolutely gross.
The beer was good. Â I had the Cascade IPA and Imperial Brown Ale. Â The ABC still makes decent brew. Â But the food? Â Bland, generic, processed, and gross all at the same time. Â Very very disappointed. Â I know this is a Brew Pub and I wasn't expecting gourmet food at all. Â But it really was the worst food that I have ever had. Â Period. I have been comparing Brew Pubs across the country with what I remembered the ABC to be back in 2002. Â For everyone that I have recommended the ABC to, I really hope you didn't listen.
Highlight: the fries! perfectly golden brown and crunchy on the outside yet soft on the inside with the right amount of salt. Perfect fries are hard to find, especially in Amherst! Positively addictive.
Lowlight: Slow service. It took too long for the waitresses to come back with our orders or another drink or take our dessert order. I'll cut them some slack because: it was a busy football night, some of the waitresses were in-training, and the hostess was considerate of where we wanted to sit, so ABC gets points for that.
Mediocre food, but an expansive selection of both food and drinks. The fish part of my fish & chips wasn't spectacular (bland, even for fish & chips, and even covered with tartar sauce and lemon juice), but probably very good paired with booze. The portions were standard American-sized, so definitely on the large side. I'm not much of a drinker, so I can't comment on the alcohol menu. I did like the long island ice tea that I split with a friend though.
Overall, a really great laidback bar/restaurant. Great for groups both large and small. I saw lots of little kids here, and lots of college kids. I love their new location! The place is huugggeeee and for its size, it never feels cavernous or too empty despite its high ceilings and dark lighting. It's all space well used and well sectioned. And free pool on Sundays!
Waited  1 1/2 hours to get our food.  The place is  clearly understaffed and mismanaged.  Worse waitstaff ever.  No forks, knives or napkins upon sitting. No water. Nothing but a snotty and rude excuse for a waitress. EXCUSE ME but I am spending a hell of a lot of money here, and I expect good service and not to be treated like I am wasting YOUR time. We came for good pub fare and a brew. Â
After waiting over an hour and a half after ordering our food  EVERYTHING came out cold and gross - it had obviously sat for some time.  We sent everything back for being cold and inedible.  We ordered sliders ( the burgers were 2 times smaller than the bun, dry and overcooked), Sausage platter again cold, and overcooked. Steak, burgers, sweet potato fries (the only thing they got right) everything else came out COLD and dried out. The prices are are high for what you get, which only adds insult to injury.
Good luck finding your waitress...we saw her twice--once to take the order and once to give us the check. It took 4 people to bring out our meals that were cold from sitting in the kitchen.That is just BAD service.
The people in my party were from Greenfield, Amherst and Sarasota Florida. Trust me NO one was happy with the dining experience or the bar service or the wait service. we dropped close to $200 with tip. Â
And when all the students go home for the summer,it is the residents who keep business alive. But ABC just does not get it. Amherst Brewing Company suffers from the "We don't give a crap" mentality which is getting to be rather prevalent in this town of late.
I would never, ever go back there. There are better  restaurants, who actually care about service and quality of food. Amherst Brewing Company is not one of them. I gave them 3 strikes..they are out.
This was like the staple first date spot when I was in college. Not too expensive, kind of high class (at least for Amherst).. food was really good, beer was even better..
I have nothing to bad to say about this place. I recommend their fried pickles, sweet potato fries (with honey mustard sauce obviously), and fried Oreo sundae.
I was not very impressed with this place. We did  not have great service - no water given immediately -one of my pet peeves, and getting our check took forever. and I kept having to ask for things, since we were kind of ignored the whole time. And I was taking notes about the beers we were trying, and I put my pen down, and the bartender took it away because he thought it was his, but it was mine, so I said something and he gave it back but did not even apologize!!
For food we tried The pretzel, which was really a breadstick in the shaped of a pretzel- it was still good, but not the pretzel I was expecting. The Honey mustard dipping sauce it came with was amazing.
We also had the deep fried oreo sundae- which was pretty good but the oreos were not creamy/melted inside the fried dough like others I had have. I dont think they were fried long enough.
For beers, I had there sampler... which was on this good spinning wooden platter...all of their beers plus four guest beers. (I liked the guest beers better than their beers!) Of theirs I tried (in order of best to worst):
Wedding Witte: tad too lemony, little plain, good wheaty, no banana
Workingman's Wheat: very intense banana smell and flavor, not enough carbonation
Massatucky Brown: dark, roasted, malty
Two sisters Stout: little smoky, smooth, not bitter, sweet fruity
North Pleasant Pale Ale: little bitter, not bad
Anniversary Ale: bitter brown ale
Puffer Smoked Porter: a little too syrupy, not my fave
Cascade IPA: not very carbonated, pretty hoppy
Not sure if I would ever come back here because everything was just mediocre, and I may not ever be in the area again anyways, and would probably never make another special trip to come all the way out there!
The beer just keeps gettting better and better, but unfortunately the food.....well, that's about the same or perhaps a slight step backwards. Â I have been to the new location twice now. Â Once for lunch and once for dinner. Â For lunch I had a meatball sub. Â Unfortunately it was pretty un-inspiring. Â For dinner I had a cup of artichoke soup and the german sausage platter. Â The artichoke soup was made in house, but unfortunately someone didn't want to waste much of the artichoke, and I think blended the entire thing. Â There were 3/4" long fiberous strands from the leaves in the soup. Â The sausages (which I have had in the past and enjoyed) had some off flavor, perhaps that of something that spent a little too long in the freezer?? Â Not quite sure.
The new location in Amherst, nearly on the UMASS campus is interesting. Â Great that it has plenty of parking. Â It's easy to get to. Â The brewery operations are so much easier for the brewers. Â The space however is almost too big, and unfortunately has the feeling of an institution, not a cozy pub. Â On my way to the restrooms, I almost felt as though I was in a campus building, or perhaps on my way through the halls of a hospital. Â I'm hoping that they just ran out of money, and the tables and chairs that they have are temporary. Â They are pretty low end. Â For rooms with massive vaulted ceilings, the tables should all be high tops as well, trying to fill in some of the massive space.
Another thing that I noticed - the main bar. Â Love the looks of the bar. Love the decorations, etc. Â Hate the gap between the back of the bar, and the patron on the barstool. Â While I am sure it's super convenient for the staff, being able to walk past each other 3 wide with entire racks of glasses, it lacks the intimacy and connection that a bartender and patron should share. Â
In business there are many fights between manufacturing and marketing. Â I think that manufacturing won a bit here. Â Easier to make the beer here, easier for restaurant operations, but misses a bit with the marketing to the end consumer.
One final note - and a true bright spot. Â The "guest beer" list is really remarkable. Â Very interesting, and actually hard to come by beers.
Amherst is not fun. I have never waited in a 25+ person long line for beer; if it were not for the fact that I was on a date, I probably could have just gone to the Moan and Dove. Still not quite sure why we didn't.
Usual bar food and quality as such. I like the idea of local if the beer was actually good.
Come here if you wanna "bro out," but I think I'm all set.
More like a 3.5.
Came in on a fri night at 7, with 7 people. This yelp page says they don't take reseravations..so we ended up waiting 45 mins or so for a table. Which was fine, none of us were starving. I asked the hostess if they take reservations, and they do, so if you have a big party, call it in.
When we were finally seated, our waitress came over quickly, to take our drink orders since we had waited for so long, this was good. I ordered the beer sampler. My favorite was the Honey Pilnser, light but really tasty. For dinner I got the ABC burger texas ranch style, this exceeded my expectations. I love a good burger and this burger was GREAT. tasty, moist, good amount of cheese, ranch dressing and the bacon was amazingly crispy. I also got sweet potato fries with it. I will definately return here for a good meal.
Upstairs, which is 21+ is a fun place to hangout with friends, free pool and darts. The drinks are really good too. They do have an occupancy limit, so you may have to wait to get in. Overall, ABC was a good experience.
I'd heard good things about ABC and recently stopped for a quick dinner with a friend. Â The visit was underwhelming at best. Â
To start, we shared an order of Beer Batter Fried Pickles, which are served with a tangy honey mustard. Â We enjoyed them; they were tasty, but nothing to write home about.
Then, I ordered a Turkey Burger Smokey BBQ Style with sweet potatoes. Â Again, it was okay, but not fabulous. Â Turkey burgers aren't the world's fanciest food, I admit, but this one was nothing spectacular. Â The fries were decent but tiny.
My friend ordered a Henry the 8th 8 oz. Choice Cut Sirloin Steak. Â Though he asked for it medium rare, it came out close to well-done. Â His dinner also came with a salad, which our server forgot about until after our dinner had been served. Â The plus of my friend's meal was real mashed potatoes (rather than boxed) and the Massatucky Brown ale. Â
Our server was pleasant, but not particularly attentive. Â There were a lot of staff milling about. Â To be fair, it was a Monday night when the local colleges weren't in session, but the place was a little dead and seemed overstaffed. Â I don't think I'll be back.
**************************************************Â**********************
3/27/11 Edited to add: Â I recently gave ABC another try (due to a friend's insistence) and had a much better experience than my first go-around.
This time, I had a couple of drinks and a turkey club with sweet potato fries. Â All were decent. Â I also had much better service than I did on my first visit, but that may have been because my dining company was a "regular". Â
All in all, my second visit was better than the first, but I'm still not blown away. Â I'm changing this review from 2-stars to 3.
Update: 01/24/2013: Â This review was written before ABC moved to their new location. Â I have not yet been to the new space, but I have it on authority from my friends that not much has changed. Â At some point I will give them another chance, but its not a priority due to past experiences.
Original Review below.
ABC: Â I hate this place, and I used to be a regular.
Once upon a time, the ABC was a good place to have drink, play a game of pool and have good dinner. Â Not anymore my friends.
Pros:
- Has several pool tables
- Good selection of beers and spirits. Wine is ok.
- Sells food
- Waitstaff is usually nice
Cons:
- The food. Â It's never consistent, frequently boring and if you don't like you're out of luck.
- Management ranges from indifferent to outright rude
- The upstairs is inhabited mostly by meat head college dudes and/or late twenty something stoners.
It's been a while since I've whipped out some lame-acrostic review action, but Amherst Brewing Company (or ABC to the locals apparently) is quite clearly begging for it.
*gross throat clearing noises*
Amherst
Brewing
Company is an awesome place to grab some brews and
Dinner. Â Even though I was there for lunch. Â
Each one of the microbrews we ordered was top notch.
From my Pumpkin beer to the
Great selection of other seasonals, we all found beers to
Help round out our food picks.
I went for a quality pulled pork sandwich.
Just what I was looking for. Â Especially since they didn't have
Kangaroo on the menu.
Little sister had a Bratwurst that looked
Mighty good.
Noshing
On
Pub-grub is always a
Quality way to start a college town visit.
Regrettably, we had to drive afterwards so we could only
Sample one beer each.
Though it was enough to convince me that this place was
Undeniably a great spot. Â These Amherst kids are
Very lucky to have it.
When I was in school, "good" beer was Keystone Light.
Xylophones are an underrated instrument.
You know, that last bit had nothing to do with anything.
Zounds!
The good:
They have very greatsweet potato fries.
There beef burgers are quite tasty and  they carry bison burgers.
All the food is pretty good (not amazing, but not bad). Â Â
They also carry a nice variety of home brewed beer, that I have been quite pleased with
The bad:
Every time I have been there it takes a little while to get in the initial order, not a big deal, but kind of annoying.  At the end of the meal, it takes FOREVER to get the check.  Every single time I sit there going "so um, did we get forgotten?"  -- not  a good way to end a visit.  More attentive waitstaff would be a plus.
-----
Summary:
Get take out, the food is good, but the service sucks.
I know my ABC's...
Why are you reading this review? Â If I were you, Â I would be hopping on the Mass Pike and getting my butt to Amherst.
This place is the tits, and I don't use that phrase lightly. Â If you are getting food I would sit down stairs. Â I prefer sitting at their bar, but I've always been a bar lady.
Their beer is excellent. Â I always start with a flight of beers. Â You can pick 6 beers and try them. Â They are served on a carved board with small glasses of about three or four sips each. Â I usually do one or two turns of these before I decide on my favorite.
And good god the food. Â You haven't had fried pickles until you've had these. Â They have a little bite to them that makes me get butterflies almost as intense as when I first saw Jason Segels character on Freaks and Geeks.
They burgers are great. Â They even offer buffalo burgers. Â You didn't know you loved buffalo burgers so much, did you? Â Well I now do. Â
What I'm trying to say is you can't go wrong here. Â I mean, this place introduced me to sweet potato fries and honestly, there is nothing as good as your first.
And if your not in the mood for beer, try their cocktails.  They have some fun concoctions.  This is what  I would recommend, grab some friends and head on upstairs on week night.  Settle in at one of the dart boards or a pool table and order the Diploma.
Look, I may have never graduated from Umass, but I've had plenty of Diplomas from the ABC.
And in the end, when you don't want to leave and you think you just will have one.. more.. beer... do it! In the form of one of their growlers you can take your hooch home, prohibition style.
Amherst Brewing Co. is situated in the middle of Amherst, on that strip of area where all the kids come out to play at night (across the street from Antonio's, McMurphy's, et al. ) Â Unlike the McMurphy's and Monkey Bars of the world, ABC has decent beer (their own brews, in a variety of styles), as well as decent food choices.
It might not be the best deal on North Pleasant Street both beer and food wise, but quality wise, it's a step above most of the places.
I really like the ABC as a restaurant. They have the best burgers I have ever had and the sweet potato fries are also awesome. The outdoor seating is fantastic. Service is usually pretty good.
As a bar, its a mixed bag. I came here for my 21st birthday, so it holds fond memories. There is usually a line to get in, and I certainly don't think it is worth the line. It has many pool tables, which apparently appeals a lot of people but not myself. A little bit like hanging in your fratty brother's basement.
The booze is really, really, awesome! I have never had a beer here I did not enjoy, but the Massatucky Brown really stands out. The Porter is pretty awesome too. If you do not drink beer, fear not! Their collection of ridiculously named and priced fruity drinks is outstanding as well. Try the Georgia Peach or Crazzzzzzzzzzzzy for Coconuts. But this blue drink tastes much better if you emphasis the crazzzzyyyy. When it is not crowded, it is a great place to chat with friends over some brews. One time I came here with a migraine and inability to function, and spilled not one, not two, but three drinks on the floor, and the bouncer only playfully rolled his eyes at me, so apparently it is a place you can get rambunctious at as well.
I skipped the food at ABC and went straight upstairs to the bar, where the good stuff is. I was struck by how clean and large the bar is. There are lots of places to sit down, and the music from the jukebox wasn't too loud. There are a lot of TVs but if you're not into sports,the people-watching is great entertainment. Service was average, but it was because the bar was understaffed-- nothing personal. As a warning, I visited ABC in late May when college was out. I have heard that the crowds are much larger and service less great when school is in session.
I tried three of the ABC house brews: wedding witte, Massatucky Brown, and Honey Pilsner. The witte was pretty good-- a little more bitter than I was expecting, Massatucky brown was much better. The best beer of the night was the Honey Pilsner. It wasn't too sweet or filling, but it had substantial flavor. YUM! The best part of this bar was that the drinks were cheap. I got three pints and my tab was only $12! This place deserved kudos for its large selection of beer on tap, reasonable prices, and great atmosphere.
I had contemplated whether or not to even write a review for this place, so here's a review based on the little that i know about this place.
the good:
+ very clean establishment! Â we went upstairs and it felt like we were in someones home--definitely not afraid to sit down anywhere
+ great atmosphere to relax and have a beer/drink/munchies with some friends
+ shots are ~$5 and they're pretty decent sized
the not so great
- i ordered a long island iced tea and if you're a fan, you know u drink em to get plastered. Â that won't happen here unless you order maybe 5 or them. Â its mostly soda.
- we came a bit early so there was a place for our group to sit, but otherwise i think it might be standing room only.
*
i definitely want to go back again soon to try out some of their beers and i really wouldnt hesitate to go back--its clean, a relaxed environment, and i def wanna try some of their food + beer. Â :)
Definitely a chill place for drinks. Â The food isn't all that amazing, but the seasonal brews are awesome. Â I am after-all a beer girl most of the time. Â My favorite thing besides the booze is the sweet potato fries. Â I highly recommend it with everything! Â
 They also have pool tables, ping pong and foozeball tables.