February 26, 2012
Visited September 2010. This place is large and open in a fairly small town. We used this as our lunch stop heading from Colorado Springs, CO to Kansas City, MO. The service was very helpful and attentive. The food was fresh and the prices very good. This is definitely worth a stop if you find yourself traveling I-70 or points nearby.

November 20, 2011
The best beer in Western KS. Stop here every time I head to CO. First went here in 2010 on my way to the front range for my brewery tour. Attached to a decent restaurant. Decor is old survey maps of Kansas. Downtown location.

October 19, 2011
Great place - go here for dinner EVERY time I am in Hays for work. Food is very good, especially the grilled salmon (much better than you would expect for the middle of Kansas). Beer selection is decent - about 6 or 7 regulars with 1 or 2 seasonals. Good variety, and overall good quality of beer.

October 17, 2011
Stopped in on a Saturday after a football game so had the crowd from the game loved the selection on tap and also the fodd will get back there for sure great bar in a small college town

September 28, 2011
I visit Hays sometimes for the skateboarding contests twice a year in fall and spring. The last time I had a free weekend that coincided with a contest in Hays, I went down, and after the contest went to pick up a couple of growlers from LB after having them recommended to me. I bought their India Pale Ale and Oatmeal Stout. Both were out-of-this-world good interpretations of two styles I love. The food looked and smelled great, but I had to get back on the highway so I did not stay for dinner. The building is kind of quirky and cool looking. This Brewpub is at least one of the two best I’ve been to, making it the only real Kansas competitor with Free State in Lawrence in terms of quality of beer.

July 4, 2011
I visited this restaurant/brewpub on a Saturday night. It definitely has more of a restaurant feel (reminds me of Barley Creek in PA). It also was not terribly crowded despite being a Saturday night. They did not have many seasonals when I was there (just the lemon ale I think...was hoping to try the Liberty Stout but no such luck...). The beers were good but not outstanding and the food (had a soup and split the garlic fries) was ok. I didn’t stay here too long as I was just not feeling it. Maybe if some of the better brews were on tap, but otherwise...if you’re passing by, sure, but I wouldn’t go out of my way. This place is definitely overrated.

June 27, 2011
Been here twice now. The first time I was shocked at the caliber of brewpub hidden in the middle of KS. Big, clean interior, brick walls, lots of space. The 2 times I have been here there were almost no people, last time there were more workers than customers. Either way, great interior and the best brewpub bathrooms I have ever seen. Just seems out of place. I stopped but twice and unfortunately both times they had the same exact beers. Lots of taps, 7 to be precious, but no seasonal both times. In June there was no seasonal, how cold they let that happen. Even the regularly available Hefe was tapped out. Get the hint? The beer is well crafted. However, being in the middle of nowhere doesn’t provide the type of competition that makes for a better product. The Pale and IPA seem to have been considered hoppy 10 years ago. The beers all seem to have a similar malt base, which takes away from the beer. Their brown was excellent, one of the best I have had. Food, big menu but nothing pops out. What I ate was average. Prices were ok but seem high for the area. I was blown away the first visit but bored the second visit. I would not return unless I knew there was something interesting on tap.

September 20, 2010
The first thing you notice when you walk into Gella’s Diner and LB Brewing Company is the aesthetics. It’s very post-industrial, with lots of dark metal and aluminum buttressed by warm and inviting hardwoods. From a design standpoint it’s top notch. Likewise the menu, from a graphic standpoint, is very impressive. Each beer even has their own unique logo. They’re all also assigned their own individual number, which is something I’ve not seen in the other brewpubs I’ve gone to. I like it. It’s a complete package and all of it “fits.” It’s modern, slick, and cool, which makes it even more out of place because it’s to be found in Hays, Kansas, which is about as far west as you can go in the state and not lose your mind. We went to Gella’s/LB on our way back from GABF, a coup de grace if you will, and it was well worth the stop. The beer is obviously the main draw if you’re a beer geek like me; the dark beers (stouts, ales, etc.) are all literally world class, as both the Liberty Stout and the Oatmeal Stout have won multiple awards at both GABF and the World Beer Cup. The lighter beers aren’t nearly as impressive as the stouts, but they’re decent in their own right. My buddy seems to think it could be the water profile in Hays (think western Kansas) may not be 100% right for the light beers and he’s probably right. Then again, our palates have had a quite a beating following GABF. Aside from the beer, the food was prompt, hot and delicious. I really like that they’re using both local ingredients as well as some local recipes in what they offer. I can’t believe I’m saying this but this place reminds me a lot of Free State in Lawrence (Free State West maybe?), and you could argue it’s even better. They’re kind of like polar opposites on different ends of the state. Where Free State has a boatload of great pale ales and IPAs Gella’s / LB has some world class Stouts and Brown Ales. That said this was well worth the trip, I was not disappointed and truly impressed. We are planning to go back sometime in the future.

August 5, 2010 [ Updated July 13, 2011 ]
Stopped by during a drive home from Denver. Immediate reaction was how modern and cool the layout of the restaurant was. I really liked the look of the place. When I was there, they had 10 beers on, and did a sampler of 8 that dropped the two I didn’t want to have. Beers ranged from fair to pretty great. The sampler was only $6.50, which was pretty amazing. I had the Chicken Fried Chicken, and my wife had a shrimp wrapped in bacon dish - both were excellent. They really took care of my kids as well, I really loved this place and wish that it was much, much closer to KC. Service was prompt, and they hustled it up since they knew we were on the road. It’s about 5 minutes off of the highway, so if you are driving across Kansas on I-70, and have the time, this is a must stop.

June 1, 2009
This is Hays Kansas??? A great space, good food and the stout and IPA were very passable. Worth a stop for sure!