Saturday 10th of December 2011 10:08:38 PM

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Barley's brewpub has two locations in the Columbus area. Barley's Ale House #1 is located downtown near the Convention Center and Arena District. Parking is metered along the street or in a nearby pay lot. The building is 4-story brick with black awning and red trim. The couple times I've been there, the place seems very popular, and I was very impressed with their offering of about 10 house beers, which are available by sampler flight. They also have a couple guest taps, as well as a dozen common bottled bar standards for those not too interests in craft beer. The place has 13-chair 3-sided marble topped wooden bar, and the decor is wooden floors and dividers and orange walls with dark wood trim. Their food menu is expanded pub fare with appetizers. gourmet burgers, pasta and several entrees. The service is proficient. My favorites of their beers have been Abbey Normal (8.6%), a truly excellent Barleywine (11%), Centennial India Pale Ale, and a superb Four Seas Imperial India Pale Ale (8%). Some of the common beers they offer are Ivan Porter, MacLenny's Scottish Ale, an average Oatmeal Stout, a Pale Ale, and a very tame Pilsner. Some of their robust tasty seasonal beers are Behjun Noel, Christmas Ale, Raspberry Wheat, and Frambwha (at an impressive 11.5%). Definitely worth a visit.

Friday 25th of November 2011 10:36:30 PM

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We stopped in early on a Wednesday evening for a sampler of beers and a light meal. There was a small crowd but the place wasn’t packed. We opted for a table rather than the bar. We started off with their sampler which consisted of nine two-ounce beers. On tap were a Belgian Holiday Ale, Christmas Ale, Centennial IPA, Rye IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Belgian Dark Strong Ale, Scottish Ale, Pale Ale, and a Pislner. All the beers were good, none really stood out although I especially enjoyed the Rye IPA. Their Pale Ale was more of a red color than pale. This is another restaurant with a brewery attached. Three of us split orders of Pierogies with German sausage and beef with Kluski noodles. Both dishes were excellent. The place is all non-smoking. Parking is either metered on the streets or at pay lots.

Monday 4th of January 2010 04:05:56 PM

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My most recent visit to Barley's was before going to a hockey game on Saturday night. We arrived before 5:00 and took a seat at the bar. Most of the stools were occupied as long as we stayed, and it was a friendly, beer geeky crew. (not meant as a bad thing)

I tried three of Barley's beers: the ale, the scottish ale, and the russian imperial stout. My favorite was the RIS. It wasn't overly powerful for the style, but it was a very drinkable stout. (Ohio has a 12% abv cap for beer). The pale and scottish ale were both good, too.

For dinner, I opted for some comfort food to combat the frigid January weather. I started with a bowl of beef barley soup, and had the sausage and pierogi platter for my main course. Both choices were tasty and warming, and the servings were very generous.

Our bartender was outstanding. She had a full load of patrons, and everyone was well attended to. She was incredibly friendly and seemed very genuine. Knowledge of the menu and the beer was very good, too.

This is very good brewpub. It's across the street from the convention center, and just a short walk from Nationwide Arena. Give it a try.

Sunday 22nd of February 2009 03:42:56 PM

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The owner of the place was working behind the bar and was very accomodating in discussing local breweries as well as high offers. Also was very receptive to letting you try his offerings before buying a pint. He has some unusual offerings so that was a good feature.

I enjoyed the decoration in the place, it was microbrewery themed, most likely breweries which influence this places style. They definitely favor the darker selections. On Fridays, the have a Firkin offering of one of their brews, so a real cask offering makes it a little different for each visit.

I tried Rye IPA, Auld Curiosity Ale and Russian Imperial Stout, all were very good, I would definitely give this place the first taste choice when it comes to the brewpubs in Columbus. They also have around 6 guest taps, mostly stuff that is a little out of the ordinary. I did not try it, but they also have their own version of Framboise, which is rare in US micros.

The place is located in downtown in the Arena district, so you will most likely have to pay to park.

Thursday 24th of January 2008 03:43:34 PM

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I get to Columbus a few times a year for work. As always, I try and check out the local spots.

They are located in a pretty busy area right near the convention center and the sports arena.

There is a rectangular 3 sided bar as you walk in. They have darts to your left and tables and booths to your right.

The bar has a nice high tin ceiling and a beautiful back bar. They have lots of neat old style posters on the wall. I thought it was a nice looking place.

They offer 6 house beers on tap (the pilsner, scotch ale, pale ale, Irish rouge, raspberry winter and oatmeal stout). Guest taps include Dreadnaught, Dogfish 60, Rouge Dead Guy and the Reverend. The bar tenders were very accommodating if you wanted to sample a beer.

They offer cask beer every Friday and have growlers to go for only $8. Nice happy hour prices of $3.00 per pint.

The beers I had ranged from adequate to good.

The servers were friendly and could discuss the beers with some authority.

Barley’s offers a fairly extensive menu with a few upscale offerings. Nice to see a brewpub stretch a bit. I enjoyed my food and thought the black beans and rice side was very well done. They offer enough variety so that almost anyone should be able to find something they like.

Well worth a stop, I will be revisiting soon.