The bar is in the middle of Ohio University action - so there was plenty of eye candy to start off the great ambiance. The bar was lit up just right, no too dark but dark enough with a cool wrap around bar on one side and barrels that were used for tables - awesome. My first trip to Jackie O’s was less than a week after one of their bottle release extravaganzas - so their tap list was PHENOMENAL. 7 Different Oil of Aphrodites amongst many other gems!!! The flight option allows you to try so many special taps. It is so great that many of their brews are rife with fresh local ingredients. They advertise it as well helping to contribute to a sustainable community like those cool places in Vermont do. The bartenders (all of them), and the brewers were not only beyond nice, but super generous and welcoming to out of town beer geeks. I only regret that we didn’t get to try the food. Can’t wait to see you boys again!

Prior to the 5th Anniversary Extravaganza this past weekend, I had neither been to Jackie O’s nor had any of their beers, though I had heard plenty of good things. The atmosphere of the place was quite nice. I loved the barrel-stand tables and the dual-bar setup between the two rooms. Everything was nice and laid back and it was a great place to drink. The quality was very high with nearly all of the beers being top notch. There was absolutely nothing to complain about with service. The bartenders were all friendly and knowledgeable, getting from one patron to the next quite quickly. Additionally, Brad and the gang ran the release of 8 different bottled beers quite well. The selection was fantastic with so many great brews on tap. I’m really looking forward to getting back out in December to see what else I can try. I had breakfast the day of the bottle release and enjoyed the food. The price of the food was good, as were all the drafts. I loved getting reasonably-priced samples of tons of drafts. I highly recommend this place.

Awesome must visit brewpub in Athens and by far my favorite brewpub that I’ve visited. Great beers, but you probably knew that already. The food is also excellent. High quality pub food with some flair. The pricing of beers is quite low for the quality offered. The atmosphere is pretty much your dream pub when you were in college - it is a college town after all.

Fun place. Street parking so its a little tricky. Ambience is definite low key neighborhood bar. Lots of locals, lots of wood, funky decor, barrels as tables. The restaurant on the other is much bigger but looks pretty much the same. Beers ranged from one bad one to a couple of good ones. The food wasn’t too good but someone else got pizza and it looked awesome. The bartender was awesome... she was working the whole room, working really hard but yet was also able to be attentive to everyone. Prices were good. I was disappointed by a lack of their bottles to go. Despite a couple of annoyances I liked this place a great deal and I’ll definitely be back.

Drove a few hours to get here and it was totally worth it. Spent most of the day here and had a blast. The pub has a great atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable staff, unique food, and obviously great beer. Also, you can tell that all of the employees love beer and truly enjoy their job. I look forward to my next visit. Don’t pass it up if you are in the area.

Really an awesome place. Mention you are a ratebeer mamber and they may share a special or limited beer with you. Pizza is awesome with a whole grain crust. Try the cheese curds too. They have a great selection of their own beers, but also a good guest selection, including old rasputin on nitro. Awesome service and a good overall experience!

Best bar in Athens for craft brews, although it can be expensive. House ales are half off from 8-9, which is always an excellent value. Nice wooden furniture, long bar, frequent live music. No awful hip-hop top 40 is ever blasting through the speakers here, which is always appreciated. Pool table, TVs. Customers here are always super-friendly, people love to introduce themselves here. Awesome 2nd-floor patio. Constantly rotating menu of ~8 house ales, which range from average to very good, and about ~8 more premium craft brews, which can be more expensive but are always amazing. Food can be relatively expensive as well - $9 for a bacon burger and fries - but very filling and extremely satisfying while hot. Very good fried pickles w/ chunky bleu cheese, as well. Edit 6/4/2012: About to graduate pretty soon here, and since I’ve been coming to Jackie-Os about twice a week, I figured it deserved a re-rate. I’ve been to far more bars since I first reviewed this place, and that kind of exposure has helped me realize what a gem this brewpub is. The prices are as reasonable as they can be for beer, although the food can be expensive. But it’s hyper-local and goddamn amazing, so I keep on ordering it. Of the 30+ taps, a bit over half are guest ales, and there’s two coolers for bottles... All the choices are solid, but they only carry as much as they have room for. But this is, at the moment, the only place in the world where you can get the amazing beer that Jackie-Os brews, so the selection deserves another point I think. The open-air 2nd floor patio that connects the two sections of the brewpub is such a chill place to enjoy your food and brews. I’m sure I’ll be making many special trips in the future back out to Athens to revisit this place. The huge amount of special release beers I’ll probably miss out on keeps me up at night. Their stuff is that good.

I drove down for the Barrel Aged Fest. The event itself was well organized, easy to get tickets and the system for selling the beer was easy, nice to go to a beer event that was not so crowded. The atmoshere is nice, a great location, cool campus pub. The feel inside is very homey, I could see myself hanging out here day after day if I went to school there. The servers were nice, pretty knowledgable. Cool to see Brad actually running the show and doing everything. The quality and selection of beerrs was really nice, great to see an event put on with tons of care shown in making their own beers but they also brought in some really good stuff. Sucks that I was only there 2 hours becauase I headed back to Columbus for the OSU game because there were so many beers I didn’t get try. My gf commented she didn’t want to leave either, as its just an awesome place to chill and drink at. Didn’t have food but my buddy did and it looked awesome. Great event, great selection of beer, awesome home feel that makes you want to stay. What isn’t there to like?

(Visited 05/2009 and many times since): Jackie O’s is located near the OU campus in Athens on West Union not too far off 50/33. There is metered parking all around. The interior is narrow with a pool table and small stage immediately inside. The bar is in the rear and is relatively small, and there are a few other places to sit as well. There is an upstairs area as well that I did not check out. The fermenters are viewable from the bar, and there is an old fashioned cash register. Since my first visit the place has expanded next door, effectively doubling their space. Jackie O’s has around 12 taps, 7 of which are their own beers. The beers range from a Raspberry, Cream Ale, and IPA to a Sour Ale and Imperial Stout. All of the beers are above average, with a couple like to mostly organic Chomo-Lung-Ma being standouts. There are also a few guest taps from the likes of Lagunitas. All of the current beers are listed on a board, and the house beers are available in a sampler. Service was great on a weekday late lunch. The bartender was knowledgeable about the beers and introduced me to the brewmaster, who was kind enough to take me on a tour including the cellar and some of the brews he is aging for release during Ohio Brew Week. I had the fish sandwich for lunch and it was very good. Overall this brewpub is well worth visiting. It is a mistake to assume that because the place is in a college town that there is not an emphasis on quality brews. One of the best brewpubs in the state.

Awesome little brewpub is pretty cool college town. Went on Saturday night around 7pm and thought it was going to be packed, but was pleasantly surprised to find it half full with college kids and was able to find a bar stool. Ten or so house beers on tap with a nice selection of guest taps. All the brews I had were high quality. Got a growler with glass for only $11. Wish it wasn’t an hour and a half from my hotel otherwise I would go every night. A must stop and definitely worth a road trip.