Saturday 29th of December 2012 11:33:35 PM

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The beer here is solid, but I've never felt that it was spectacular. There's also a large selection with guest taps usually available for anyone who doesn't like Empire's selections. The food is pretty good all around, and is why Empire is often my dinner stop when I find myself in downtown Syracuse.

Even if Empire wasn't a brewery, it would be a great bar. The atmosphere is what draws me there as it's often packed with people and is located in a prime location in the center of the city.

Tuesday 13th of July 2010 07:54:35 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

Having been in the Army, I've been to brew pubs all around the world and outside Germany this place is one of my favorites. The beers they make are excellent and the food is great. The brunch they have on Sunday is amazing though heavily cajun themed.

As for the beers. Wow. My wife really likes the Skinny Atlas Light. I have to admit it's one of the best light beers I've ever had. To me it tastes close to a good German Kolsch. But I like the seasonals the winter warmer is great with a spicy quality you rarely see in beers in the US.

There Website is a good one and even has brewers notes.

Sunday 24th of May 2009 09:20:27 AM

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The wife and I stopped in Friday night (5/15/2009) for a beer and dinner. That is after we sat down at a table upstairs in the Irish bar. I felt a little embarrased walking out to go down stairs, but I was there to visit Empire Brewing. I guess I should have read the other review first?

Empire was fairly busy and we were seated at a table near the front windows. I enjoy a good stout but they were out of the Black Magic Stout so I settled for the Smoked Porter while my wife chose the IPA. Both were good choices and fine brews for their styles.

Our appetizer was the calamari, nothing special but good tender and nearly enough hot peppers. My wife's grilled chicken salad looked great, but I was blown away by my Shepherd's Pie! Done right with real ground lamb and seasoned to perfection. I have to say the best Shepherd's Pie I have ever had!

Monday 23rd of February 2009 04:55:49 PM

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This is located in downtown Syracuse and is in the lower level of an older builder, there is a Irish pub upstairs and you may walk in that door without knowing you are not in empire. The down is down a set of stairs kind of like going in the subway.

Nice looking place, nice large bar with plenty of seating I came in early evening and not too busy. Bartender knew her beers and gave samples, they had plenty of style to choose from which were regulars and some seasonals. They had a couple of guest taps from NY

Brooklyn
Southern Tier
Bud lite (I guess cause its a college town?)

Food was good bar tender recommended the Bentley burger, it was good as burger could be but the sweet potato fries were great. must be a east coast thing because I encounter these again on my trip a couple times.

The beers i tried were good to the style, the blueberry wheat was nice with freshly added blueberries. Worth a stop if your in town as it didn't look like much was there beer wise.

White Aphro was interesting and it was basically a Belgian but here is the description from there site

White Aphro
White Ahpro is a belgianized version of our popular Aphrodisiac Ale. The honey, ginger, and lavender are still added as a spice addition. It is fermented with a traditional Belgian yeast strain, and wheat malt was added, giving it a Belgian white characteristic.