My go-to place when im back home in Rockford. Don Carlyle can brew up some good seasonals (check out my ratings). Even their fruit beers are very well done. Im looking forward to christmas time when i stop in again!

Nov 04: A nice place, and one that I really hope succeeds in the 20-year depressed old industrial city that is close to a "hometown" for me. Dark wood, old-timey midwest pub feel, but clean and well put together. Little in the way of food when I visited (July 04) but good to very good beer...the stout in particular was fine. Really friendly, warm service. I’ll be back at Christmas.

Oct 05: Well, this latest visit brought the wonderful Delirium de Carlyle and the best-of-style California Common. It’s an odd place, across the street from the place my parents shopped for furniture when I was 7 and my brother and I got lost...oh just go already, this place is great, Rockford needs it, it needs you!

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.

Stopped here on the way to Dark Lord Day. My only complaint is that it happens to be all the way across Rockford from the interstate which means dealing with about 450 stop lights. Still, it was a great place to stop and I would do it again. The selection of beers crossed a wide variety of styles, although I only tasted two since I had to drive later. At $1.00 per sample the prices weren’t too bad either. There is not much to the building but it is well set up. It certainly has a brewpub feel to it; in fact it felt like a pub that happened to serve food because the menu is fairly thin. Check it out if you are in the area - Tuesday and Thursdays are best because they are smoke free.

Update : As of January 2007 they are now smoke free all the time

Very nice little local bar feel to this place. Mostly locals in here. 11 of their own beers on tap - all seem to be pretty good. Food is limited to sandwiches and pizza - waiting on my pizza now. Nice place if you are in the area.

Nice place in downtown Rockford. Not many people there when I went with my son (which is nice to not have to worry about people smoking,) but it was only 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday. Bartender was very accommodating and wanted to make our stay as best as possible. Well lit and good ventilation when a few smokers showed up. Had nine different beers on tap when I went, including a bourbon barrel imperial stout and an imperial IPA. A trip that was enjoyable and worthwhile, and a standout in the world of brewpubs.

Update: 2/7/07: Food looks better. Now serving pizza and is now NON smoking!

So it is located downtown not exactally in the best part of town but I dont think anyone would feel unsafe here. Cool atmosphere brick wallks bar and some tables. Nothing more than that. The beer menu is about like 9 or so when I was there. They had a sampler of all their beers that was 12.50 but I really think that the price depends on how many you get. Beer is not bad. If you are in the area go check this place out, besides woodmans it is the best beer thing to happen to this town.

Had a good time here. Met some interesting people and had good discussions. The beer was overall great and I’d definitely go back. Excellent service from fun tenders. Lots of different styles were available. They should axe smoking altogether. $10.50 for 8 samplers. They call it "walking the plank".

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.

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.