January 21, 2011
I live only a block and half away so it’s easy access for me. The exterior and interior of the place is really nice and they do have an outdoor patio in the back that is open during the warm months. The selection and quality of food is not great. There could be more staff to serve the crowd as it can get really busy on the weekend nights. The selection of the beer is good. The belgian style is probably my favorite. The rest of the beers tend to give me a headache the next day unlike other places I have had draft micro beers. Maybe they need to clean their lines more often. As far as the neighborhood being safe, I have had no problems and not as bad as some other reviewers have portrayed it.

December 18, 2010
This is a great place to enjoy a local brew. The beers are well-crafted - pick up a growler to take home. The ambiance is nice, with lots of exposed brick, natural wood and views of the tanks. However, this isn’t really the place to go enjoy food with your brew, as the menu is minimal at best.

July 22, 2009 [ Updated July 23, 2009 ]
One of my absolute favorite hang outs. I can not stress the high quality of their beers. I have honestly never had a beer here that wasn’t fantastic. Everything on their list will very honestly quell any a yearning you have for drinking. Generally have 10+ beers on tap at any given time. The website is generally up to date with the range of brews they have on tap. Food selection is very minimal with it being limited to pizza (which is good) and some simple sandwiches like Italian beef Service is okay but there is generally only one server for the entire bar. They recently acquired the next door strip club and turned that into another area for sitting and some games like suffleboard and pool are over there. If your into sitting down, best to get there before 9 as the place seems to fill up very quickly with lots of large groups of people. A decent turnover of people does occur so seats do open quit quickly. Prices for their beers are very modest for the quality and growlers are average price. Parking is simple as there is a municipal parking lot pretty much across from it. Calm, easy going, comfortably lite and solid beers make this a place to visit and then revisit again and again.

March 3, 2009 [ Updated October 7, 2009 ]
I go there to pick up a growler whenever I am driving through the city. They seem to always have a fair crowd between 3 and 5 when I visit. The beers that I have had are good and the prices are average for a growler.

October 29, 2008
the place looks european brick walls arched door ways beer garden but it is what it is a brew pub bar not fancy at all food sucks but your here for the beer i have been here 3 times now since it is with in 30 mins. they always have 10 to 12 beers on tap its not a scary place at all like duke man says but it is close to the bad side of rockford but rockford isn’t chicago i do hope some day they will bottle so more of us can sample thier brews, they do sell growlers and most of the waitresses are very friendly and pleasing to the eye if you are in rockford check them out but if you are hungry stop somewher else first, my kind of place with people of all ages and both sexes not just a guy bar

July 10, 2007
Greats - The beers. The Rauchbier I had was awesome, not too smokey, not too sweet. The IPA is as described below. It is really world class. It has the hop flavor of nearly a Double IPA, but at 5.7%, not a heavy or high alcohol beer. I grabbed a growler, and am now looking for a regular excuse to get to Rockford. Not so great - The neighborhood is a little scarey. I didn’t let my wife in the reviews beforehand, figuring it wouldn’t be an issue. So sure enough, we pull up, and there on the curb is a crack head desperately wanting some dough. My advice: go went it is light out. The food was very limited. We were wildly hungry - and ended up settling for pretzels. Overall, I would highly recommend. There is nowhere in Chicago that has a warm, cool brewpub vibe inside like Carlyle has. I could have hung out in there all night - it was the ideal neighborhood hangout, and very casual and comfortable. Just not in the ideal neighborhood . . .

May 10, 2007 [ Updated January 6, 2009 ]
Being non-smoking immediately puts it right up there in my list of favorite places. What a relief to find this after visiting Millrose in S. Barrington. Downtown bar vibe, even after the walls and such have been redone. For $17, the bartendress set out a sampler tray of all 11 brews on tap. Good thing a friend and I were sharing, we had places to go afterward. Many of their beers had a nice complexity that suggested the brewmaster’s been working at them for quite some time. The server knew her beers and was happy to discuss them. Interesting selection of grub: we had sweet cream cheese filled pretzels, which we’d never seen offered before, but which oversweetened our palates for beer tasting. I’m putting in a food rating just because their thin crust pizzas sure smelled good. It’s right off BR-20 right by the river, so it’s easy to make a detour through Rockford and well worth stopping by.

December 16, 2006
I like the layout of this place, kind of like a neighborhood bar but with good beers on tap. And that’s the key for me. The eight beers that were available on my visit were all solid, the IPA very good. The staff was very friendly and the crowd agreeable. The next time I’m in Rockford I will definitely be stopping in again.

November 19, 2006 [ Updated December 18, 2007 ]
Went to Carlyle after an Icehogs game. What a nice surprise! Seemingly smoke free, although just a beer bar, which irritated the ladies, but we had a great time. Seemed very understaffed for the number of folks there, and there weren’t nearly enough tables to accommodate everyone. Very nice decor, old stone and hardwood. See my beer rankings for my opinions teaser: The beer is outstanding. I will be back. Went back, they now have an outdoor patio. Not sure if they allow smoking out there or not.

July 22, 2006
Located in downtown Rockford. An area forgotten by most people since all the businesses have moved out to the strip malls near the interstate. Brewpub has a local (some non-beer geeks) following. Locals were friendly, ambiance was inviting. No televisions or jukebox, but satellite radio provided background music. Certain nights are non-smoking at the brewpub. Large window overlooks State Street and there is (limited) parking in the back. Nice selection of beers to satisfy just about anybody’s beer taste. Limited menu, I only dined on the thin crust pizza which was very good. Carlyle is off the beaten path but a friendly brewpub that’s must stop in Rockford.