Thursday, July 27, 2006

Brew Pub Visit: Barley Creek - Tannersville, PA - Pocono Mountains

I found myself in the Pocono Mountains last weekend. On the way to the cabin a friend of mine suggested a detour in search of Barley Creek. Of course I wasn't going to say no. So off we went. When we arrived I heard an acoustic guitar being played on the deck and enough people to keep the place buzzing on a Friday night. I thought, "What a great place!" So, I looked over the beer menu and asked what the seasonals were. I decide to try their bitter and their IPA. My friend seemed to like the bitter more so we asked for a growler and hurried to meet our families. Once back at the house we warmed up some dinner and poured a few pints. I tipped back my glass and....blech. This is when it hit me. That big skunky nose! What the heck was that all about? I guess the samples were smaller and not nearly as offensive. Well suffice to say we really didn't like it all that much. I think it was a little young. You know, not quite fermented out all the way and that was just part of the problem. So, the growler was left unfinished through the entire weekend. Now that is saying something! On the way home we decided to give it another shot and stop for a sampler. I'll just cut to the chase. The best thing I can say about it was that two of the six beers didn't suck. The black lager was OK and the brown ale was almost passable. We didn't try their food, but, the service was OK. It wasn't very busy and there were plenty waiters and waitresses around. Oh yeah...and another thing....let me just say that the lodge like building looks nice from the outside, but, one you get inside you feel like you just entered a typical college dorm room. Banners, clutter, disco lights, more clutter, t-shirts sagging from the walls and employees with company T-Shirts that say things like "Nice Rack". They need to hire a decorator with taste and try to live up to the image they project on their website. The bathrooms were atrocious with standing water and poor carpentry....OK...I'm done. Maybe I just caught them at a bad time? {shrug} Here's a question for you. Should I say something to them? I mean this could be such a great place. What would you do?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This place blows. Period. If it wasn't for the chic location (location, location) it would be out of business. There's a rampant infection found in all the beers, draft and bottled. Perhaps from the resident flies? Who knows. Clearly the atmosphere, which is run down at best, is reflected in their brewing QC.

Cheers!
Loren

Adam said...

Thanks Loren, for the sanity check. Ahhh well I guess when your at the bottom there's no place to, but, UP. I hope ;-)

Not sure if I'll have the opportunity next summer, but, I'm gonna think twice. If I do I'll post an update.

Bryan Kolesar said...

I recall hearing something about them retooling their brewing operations, renaming some brews, and other stuff that they're up to. But, can't recall exactly what. If I come across it, I'll post it up here.

It's a shame, a brewpub in the mountains in a beer-deprived market should being doing so much better....

Anonymous said...

Not sure if they changed anything but the beer names. Recent BeerFly(s) on BA haven't shown any positive signs though.

A rose by any other name?

At least their website is nice!

Cheers!
Loren

Anonymous said...

Had a horrible meal with 5 buddies. THe summer ale with Clover was undreakable. The other beers were not worth the calories

Anonymous said...

It terms of their beer, this place is a bit of a tragedy, the only reason I keep coming back is that it is a 2 minute drive from my house.

Pros
1. The food has improved
2. Conveniently located next to a ski resort
3. There's a bartender thats really cool, he works on Saturdays, recommended a bunch of places to go hiking.

Cons
1. The beer for the most part is awful. The only one I can tolerate drinking is their IPA and black lager. Everything else either doesn't have flavor or makes you wish it didn't have flavor. And please, if you do go, DO NOT order the belgian wheat, it had a pungent iron taste that should not be in any beer.

I would recommend the Pocono Brewing Company on Rt 611 north of Tannersville. It doesn't have many of its own beers, but it has a great selection of beers across the board, including Stone IPA.