Barley Johns Brew Pub

Visited with jackl. Much smaller than I expected, a homey place, small bar and small dining room. Friendly staff. Did not try the food. Relatively small tap selection. Beers were all solid. Generally pretty drinkable with an English bent for sure. We were there for a new beer release and it was dead, but the rare beer they released was quite good. Solid prices.

An old school brewpub located along a commercial strip north of Minneapolis. This place has clearly been through the wars and it feels long overdue for a face lift. The small, drab space is dominated by a dining area. The bar itself literally had space for four seats, so my friend and I were relegated to a spot in the dining room even though it wasn’t busy at all. While the ambiance leaves a lot to be desired, I have to commend this place on their beer. It’s good, well made stuff that isn’t flashy or pretentious. The old world styles in particular were tasty. Prices for the food and beer were reasonable. Overall, visiting this place sort of feels like stepping back in time to the 90s-era brewpub scene. It was fun to check this place out, but I’m not sure that I’ll visit here often.

Visited for lunch on a Friday. Tiny place with 5 bar spots, maybe 8 tables and more seating on the bigger patio. Tap list featured 3 year round beers, 6 seasonals and 4 guest taps. Super friendly service, very much felt like a locals place that immediately welcomes newcomers. Food menu is typical brewpub. I had a great chat with the new brewer, who is very nice and doing great things at the brew pub. I have had Barley John’s beers in the past, and never was able to visit. I am glad I finally made the time, this is well worth the visit.

82 = ★★★½ (Solid place, near the top of the list for locals and visitors)

I only use the total score, not the component parts.

Another place I wish I got to more often. Beers are really good as well as the food. It’s a really small place but I’ve never had a problem getting a table or a bar seat.

Very nice place located just north of Minneapolis; it is a little small but has a small bar area and a dining area; the food is very good, most of the beer on tap is their own but they have a few guest taps as well; beer is brewed on site; service was fast and friendly; definitely worth stopping in if you are close.

A cozy brewpub outside of Minneapolis. The interior is quite small, just a few tables. There is a tiny bar (perhaps 6 seats) that no one was sitting at. There is more outdoor seating (not sure if this is enclosed during the winter months...I’d think so, given that the interior can probably only seat 20 people tops). Definitely a sit-down kind of place. The beers, however, were disappointing. There were 8-9 on tap (4 regulars, the rest seasonals). I tried the TarLactose, Wild Brunette, and OPP. The OPP was decent, but the others were difficult to drink. The food was tasty - I had a curry coconut squash soup and chicken skewers with peanut sauce and rice. Overall, I was disappointed with the beer. I might come back, just to see if they do other styles well, but it was my least favorite of the Minneapolis stops.

This place is as local as it gets. The food was OK, and I enjoyed my beer selection. There were other beers I would have liked to have tried, but we weren’t there for a session. They have nice single malt scotch. This is a nice place to have as your local.

Visited on a Saturday night. Nice brewpub that had around 12 beers on tap and had a full food menu. Was a neat brewpub, but I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the beer.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside but it’s very cozy and intimate inside. They have 9 of their own on tap as well as 6 guest taps. The beers I sampled were solid but they didn’t blow me away which kind of sums my experience. There wasn’t anything off about the place. It just wasn’t reeking of awesomeness.