The Brewery (Cassels)

Decent service, tasting pours are around 8 oz which is definitely a surprise. Nothing that blew me away but lots of stuff that was perfectly cromulent. Not a destination or anything, but with Pomeroy's and Volstead not open yet, figured I'd check it out and didn't leave disappointed. Better restaurant than brewpub though - the food was legit excellent.

2016-05-20. Nice spot, big open space in the main room, lots of big shared tables, smaller raised tables - which have backs on the chairs to support my ’old man back’! Friendly servers. Pizza was tasty, above average quality I’d say. Large patio space but we opted for indoors today. A bunch of their own beers on tap, as well as 3-5 guest taps, and 3 casks. Beers varied from quite nice to not to my taste at all. The largeness of the space has something about it that I might not care for usually, but I actually liked it better than some other places in town. I can’t entirely put my finger on why. Walking distance from Twisted Hop and Three Boys makes for a good day out.

A very knowledgable staff, a decent selection brewed on premises. They have hand pumps for some of their beers and they serve them at the right temperature. Definitely worth a visit.

Was very impressed during my first visit to this venue. The selection was good (albeit no foreign brews on tap) and the service left nothing to be desired. What food I had was fine and seemed to be all one would want in a brewpub. I’d be happy to have this as my local - but alas, I live elsewhere.

Live music and several selections on cask.

Very disappointing to be back here and experience the service down the pits. Ok the fries and dips are good, but we were served some of the sloppiest pizzas in town. And burgers gone bad. If the menu says "mozzarella", it could mean "may contain traces of colby". I’ll stay with the CBD bar: Same owners, I think, same menu, but carefully built, cheese-loaded pizzas.

Very welcoming and a hub of activity on a Saturday lunch service. Located in the refurbished old tannery. The Cassel’s beers are solid and good expression of flavours in classic beer styles. Pleasant deck area for outside drinking. Staff were very friendly. I’d recommend finding the time to combine a visit here with Twisted Hop just over the river.

This place is a nice blend of traditional and modern in an architecturally interesting building,a former tannery. Beers were very tasty, and they had a good chunk of their range, including two on handpull. Food is very tasty. My one quibble was with the service - staff were very friendly, but told me there are no beer menus, and taster flights were not available, although they did offer small tastes of each beer. Service was slow as well, even though only four tables were occupied. Lots of potential here, still not to be missed while in CHCH.

Great beer and food in a working brewery! You don’t see that very often. Great place to go and unwind. Did I mention the beer is great?

We went on only the second night this place had been open but was very familiar with the beer beforehand. At 5.15pm the place was starting to fill with the great, the good and the trendy. We took a very comfortable seat at the bar and were served instantly (mind you, we knew several of the staff). Plenty of beers available on tap, some of which are handpulls. Stylish surroundings and tasty food. This place has plenty of potential for enjoyment by both beersnobs and the general public alike. The one caveat though is that in the bar there are mostly hard surfaces so when you get a few people in there hearing becomes a little difficult. Just my luck for being old and deaf. It is probably timely to throw in an update having patronised this place fairly often in the last year or two. The noise issue was addressed nicely with the installment of acoustic bats in the ceiling. Other improvements include an outdoor cinema, an outdoor bar, plenty of outdoor seating, heating and rain cover and a rather swish decorative fence. Indoors, the menu remains pizza based but has an excellent array of other dishes that change from time to time and are always well prepared, thoughtfully created and good value. My only gripe is a chokepoint between the bar and tables when it gets busy. If this is my only gripe, then happy times. The only other thing I would like to see is a few more single malt whiskies. On that note, I have been impressed with how the staff and management have been receptive to constructive criticism. They are ready and open to discussion amid being generally welcoming. This is what hospitality is all about. I am proud to call this pub my local.