The Judge

Not a bad place. One of the only truly craft beer spots in Hamilton. The general ambiance is somewhat disheveled and hipster but otherwise comfortable. Beer selection is good but rather limited; however, they claim to change their taps frequently. The prices are not overly steep considering the Canadian standard pricing point and some beers are served in small glasses to make them more affordable.

An oddball little spot with lots of character. Kind of rough and tumble, but I like that. Decent taplist of maybe 15 or so regionals, nothing groundbreaking but some tasty choices. Had pretty mediocre nachos and sat on the back garden.

Fairly scruffy, quite busy for mid afternoon. Barman was keen, more than decent choice of both local and international beers.

Stopped in for a couple, place seemed dumpy, bartender ignored me. I asked an old dude behind the bar for a couple pints. The bartender perked up. Had a couple beers and left. Found out later from patrons of another pub about the place this establishment has in the craft beer scene in Ontario. If I’m back in town may revisit. Lucky for me that was probably the owner otherwise I may still be waiting for a beer.

Ahh my old stomping grounds...how I remember you fondly, especially the all you can drink and eat (pig roast) beer festivals. You’ve changed somewhat but the stodgy interior and small bar are the same, good selection for Hamilton of craft beers remain, and service and food can be all over the place. A place that doesn’t care what you think but is still worth visiting.

Love this pub. Ambiance is great in that "this place is about the beer". It is a place that hasn’t been made over for many years. A great place to have a drink with friends. Food is below average. Again... it’s about the beer.

I like the Judge, it’s my go-to place while I live in Hamilton. The tap list is pretty good and I generally like the set-up. The service is a bit hit and miss. One time I went there and asked what was on tap (it’s hard to see the handles when it’s busy) and I was told that I had "probably never heard of any of them." I don’t care what your regular crowd is like, but don’t assume you know who your customer is and what they do and do not know about beer. Otherwise this has place has been good for a few fun nights.

Some people seemed to love this place. I am guessing is love or hate kind of spot. For me it did not do much. Service was cold and did not care much for me. Beer selection was decent with good value.

Great little place and is seldom as busy as the neighboiuring bars. No where else close where you can sample many of the brews that they often have on tap here. Not a huge selection on the menu for food but what they have is good.

What an unusual place! Looks like a typical English pub except this is Hamilton. They have 20 craft micros on tap and a chalkboard listing all the bmc stuff they don’t have. I saw a guy order a Carlsberg and the barkeeper made fun of him. My kind of place. The taps don’t seem to be of the highest quality and they could desperately use a beer list but the people that work here are entertaining as hell so there’s that.