Vintage 50 Restaurant and Beer Lounge

November 4, 2007
Took a slight roadtrip out here with my wife and mj and lilannie. We ended up sitting in the lounge area of the restaurant, which had open seats throughout Friday evening. The table service was nice, casual atmosphere and generally peaceful. The food offered in the lounge (the roasted vegetable sandwich was excellent) is generally less expensive than the full entrees in the actual restaurant. The beer lineup was incredibly solid: kolsch, red ale, pumpkin beer, oatmeal stout, and a double IPA as the stealth beer. All of the beers were incredible well-made, even if the recipes were a little basic. Definitely worth the trip out from Maryland.

July 4, 2007 [ Updated January 13, 2008 ]
Great place to sit and drink. Sure it’s located in a business park or whatnot, but the interior is very relaxing but modern. A lot of dark wood, a bit of metal, but the design works, and it doesn’t feel pretentious or cheap. I like the setting of the bar, looked very comfortable. Food selection seemed ok, by far better than the average brewpub, but still had the staples of burgers, wings and pizza only dressed up a bit. That wasn’t all they had, the seared ahi and jerk chicken looked good as well. Beer-wise I found no problems. The quality of the brewing was superb, which is really a rare thing these days. I read on BA that someone said Vintage 50 made some approachable styles, as if they were made solely for the uninformed BMC drinker to have something to sip while the big boys drink their 24% imperial this-n-that. Not even close. The kolsch and hefeweizen were fantastically made, the cask porter, at a hefty 4.8%, may have been the best porter I’ve ever had. Very, very few flaws found in the brewing, and the recipes seemed to work as well. Very recommended, and I will be back for more of that porter, hopefully to sit outside and drink one after another. Don’t forget to ask for the stealth beer, unlike myself.

February 17, 2007
I really liked this place! Agreed, it is quite upscale for a brewpub, although its not a brew pub, its a brew lounge. The Spicy Shrimp Pepper appizter was as advventuresome culinary wise as anything I’be had at a place that brews beer. The Grouper was quite good, and the panini my girlfriend had was outstanding! The beer ... what everyone wants to know about. I was curious, because I had the reviews of Thouroughbreds, its Leesburg location, and the amazing reputation of Bill Madden on this website. They too were quite good! One of the best pilsners I’ve ever had, and some very interesting brews. Definitely one of the best restaurants to eat at while enjoying good quality beer.

November 29, 2006
Very nice decor. Upscale, but comfortable. Good service. Great brewer (Bill Madden). The ahi lollipops, shrimp etoufee and potato crusted black cod (although it’s not a traditional potato crust) are excellent. Nice flat screens and other mounted tvs to watch sports, but definitely not a "sports bar." The menu and quality of food has drastically improved with the new ownership/management.