The Livery

December 7, 2008
Reminds me of the basement from That 70s Show. Very relaxed atmosphere with an overwhelming amount on tap. Cant wait until this place starts selling some bottles.

November 28, 2008 [ Updated December 25, 2008 ]
Stop at the Livery on a late Saturday afternoon in early October, as mentioned in other posts, Benton Harbor does look deserted in this part of the town, as we drove down the street it sort of appeared that the Livery was the only occupied building around. Bar room is on the lower floor of the building, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the bar is to the right and the kitchen is on the opposite side of the room, there is an outdoor area to sit and enjoy the beer weather permitting. My wife and I had a pizza and drinks, bartender was nice and knew the beers he was serving (sorry I forgot his name), Livery had their RateBeer Awards proudly on display at the bar, wish I had more time to stay and try more of their beers.

September 25, 2008
We went there early in the afternoon and felt depressed as we entered the ugly city with lots of abandonned buildings. The basement where the action goes on is small and not particularly attractive, but the place quickly wins you over. The bartender might well have been both the owner and brewer and showed a real care for his beers, offering flawless service, though with character, advice and love for what he does. We thought we were just past the lunch hour, but it turned out that the place is small and familial enough that hours don’t matter, if they’re opened, you can get food. A large black man who might have been doorman and janitor ended up being the cook as well and prepared us simple, but okay sandwiches (pretty much all there is) while we were drinking the highly experimental, regularly excellent house brews. Wide and interesting menu. The 2 very interesting draught offerings would not be opened before evening, too bad, but the rest remained very good, with a distinct house character, but the more special ales become rather expensive for a brewpub where the rent must be crazy cheap.

August 8, 2008
Reiterating the rec room like charm mentioned in several previous reviews. The beer definitely takes center stage at The Livery, with double digit taps, several of which (3?) on hand pumps. The specialty beers are kind of spendy, to be honest, but most are worth it. Food was decent, but the menu was very limited and meals are counter service. Very pleasant staff who are clearly very passionate about beer.

June 29, 2008
visited with two buddies. very small pub in the basement, more space upstairs for shows or movies. best selection i have ever seen at a micro, 13 beers, a cider and an in house wine. impressed to see 3 lagers on tap, very unusual for a micro. between the three of us, we had all 13 beers. all but one of them were wonderful, and the other was fairly passable. bartender was very friendly, incredibly knowledgable and passionate about their beers (i believe he was part owner). food was fair/good, nothing earthshattering, but alright. definately would visit again, even though its an hour+ drive.

June 6, 2008
Super cosy basement pub. 6 or 7 big tables can site about 50 people total. A locals hangout. Crowd of 30 to 50 years old (at least on a Sunday after-noon). Ambiance a few people playing guitars, violin and singing irish/folks songs. They had about 15 taps including 1 cask when I was there, a truly impressive number for such a small place. They serve sample tray and the cool thing is that they are 6oz. Make it a bit more expensive (6 samples = $14) than sample trays at other pubs but at least 6oz is a decent size to sample a beer. Other pubs I did with 4oz samplers I was ordering 2 sample trays and an empty glass. Normally only the regular beers are available on the sample tray but I asked if I could pay a little supplement to get some special/strong beers in the tray and for $16 I got the 6 beers I wanted. 2 of my 6 beers were disappointing but the 4 others very good to excellent. Very friendly service and it’s nice to be served by people who really care about beers. Food is limited to some snacks.

May 15, 2008
Visited 4/27/08. This place rocked! Out of the way and a very unsuspecting building. It looks like the basement of a VFW hall, but as heemer77 says, that means that they concentrate on the beers. And the beers were fantastic! This is what a true brewpub is all about! Delicious brews, at least 14 available, with at least three on cask or hand drawn. Apparently the last Sunday of every month, Tim the architect and Dixie The Partner do a little bartending. What a great idea to get the owners and investors and the like involved. We had a great time talking to them and sampling thier many beers. This is a true hidden gem and I personally would recommend this place to everyone. This is a true example of people who love brewing beer.

May 6, 2008
Nice brewpub that was surprisingly located in a rundown neighborhood. A local in the bar explained ot me that the area has the extremes with St. Joseph being a very well to do area right next to Benton Harbor. The setting was not fancy at all as the bar is in a basement with cement walls, a pool table and a few tables. However, that is a good thing as they concentrate on the beer. They also make their own cider and wine. The beers were decent with 3 on cask. Worth a visit if in the area, but I would not go out of my way to try again.

April 30, 2008
Stopped here on our way to Dark Lord Day. It happened to be a Friday with plenty of things going on, so even though we got there more than an hour before they opened we called downstairs and Steve came right up to greet us. In many ways, Steve alone is worth the trip: friendly, accommodating, passionate brewer, he showed us around the places of the brewpub that weren’t open yet and gave us a tour of the brewery itself next door. Just look for the purple door. We even were able to try a barrel sample of a new peach beer he’s got brewing. The downstairs interior is a bit dark and comfortable, with plenty of locals, and pretty knowledgeable and beer-loving locals at that. Plenty of great things on tap, including two excellent pilsners and a slew of other traditional styles, beautifully handled. I could spend a lot more time here on our next trip (and we were there for three+ hours the first time). Overall, just a great experience, and the upstairs, when open for concerts and later in the evening, is just loaded with character and dark wood and high ceilings. A must-stop, if only to talk shop with Steve and enjoy their lagers. One keg ran out right as we were about to leave, and Steve gladly hooked up a bit of the barrel-aged Agent 99 for us to try on our way out.

February 28, 2008
They’re not giving it away there. But the beer is great . Bartender’s are friendly and wally is a god among men - super generous. Took a tour of the quaint brewing operation, which was nice. Their big beers are GREAT, while the session brews aren’t too shabby either. The ambiance is exactly my style - grungy, simple basement... but, this may not be suited for everyone.