Wednesday 17th of June 2009 01:42:54 PM

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This is the original Distillery location and you will find a small brewing setup right in the front window. An outsider who saw the name of the place and then saw the brewing kettles might get an idea that this place was about beer. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. The brewing rig sits idle, it has not been used in years and is there for looks now.

The Distillery used to brew a few of their own beers and have them cycle around. The beers were passable but nothing spectacular. A few years ago the owner's decided to expand within Rochester adding two new locations. It was during this expansion that they stopped brewing their own beer and resorted to running commercially available beer. At the time the expansion was happening I was told that in order to avoid a hassle with how the license would have to be changed it was easier to stop brewing and this, in my opinion, ended its run as a great place in Rochester.

The food has gone down in quality since the expansion and it is remarkably cramped unless you are on the outdoor patio. The beer selection is mostly your BMC clones with a few common "craft" selection such as Magic Hat #9, Victory Hop Devel, Anchor Steam, etc.

All in all if you want a great beer selection, great food, etc. This is not the place to go. If you hit them during half-price appetizers you'll find a better bargain but the beer is still the same.

You can do better in Rochester, you can also do worse.