Abolitionist Ale Works — Restaurant in Charles Town

A very interesting older building with a nice atmosphere. However, the rest of the experience was mediocre at best. If you are going for the selections of beer, then you are at the right place. Definitely a 5/5 for the beer quality and unique selections. Probably the best craft beer I’ve had in the entire state.

The pizzas all had delightful names but were not memorable. It was a disappointment after reading the reviews on them. Serving pizza on naan bread can be done so much better. But ultimately what ruined our experience was that we were seated around people smoking up a storm. I don’t want to eat while covered under a cloud of smoke and I was honestly surprised to see smokers there as I haven’t been to a restaurant in years that still allowed smoking.

If I were in the area again looking for a night out or a good beer selection I would definitely go back. As a bar, the place is great! But we were looking for a restaurant, not a bar. As a restaurant, it was a letdown.

Edit: After seeing the owner response, I would like to clarify that we did not, in fact, request to sit outside. We weren’t even aware that there was an outside sitting area. The hostess asked if we would like to sit outside. Had we known it was a smoking area we would...

I can only write this review based on how we were treated when we walked in and not on the product they served as we never got to that point. On 09/08 myself and 9 guys entered the brewery as the second stop while checking out local breweries in the area. We were immediately shown to a back room with tables and chairs along with a nice enough looking family with children eating lunch. As a large group of guys we preferred to be respectful to the family and advised the employee that we would rather go sit up front near the bar at the open high top tables. We then went back up front where the bartender ignored us until a different employee came out to tell us we were not allowed to sit at the tables up front. We pointed out that there were clearly enough seats but the employee insisted that we would "gum up" the entrance and told us we would have to go sit in the back room. At that point we chose to leave as it was clear we were not welcome in the establishment. We were simply amazed that a local brewery would turn away 10 paying customers. This may not be the normal for them but if you are looking at reviews for a place to bring your group, save yourself the embarrassment and go to a different establishment. We found plenty in the area what were...

This place is amazing! A must-go for anyone stopping. The food, and drinks were outstanding and all...but first we should start with our waitress Kaitlyn! She was very accommodating to us with our 8 week boy, who can be a bit fussy at times (he stayed asleep!) She made sure to place us in a area that would work for us, and the people around. She then was on top of our orders, and drinks, and better yet, her personality outshined it all. Ok enough about Kaitlyn. The food was great! We got the Fig n Pig, which perfectly mixed the flavor notes of sweet and savory. My wife and I shared it, and it was plenty for us to enjoy. We must have known what's up, because the beer we paired it with was next to perfect. We got a flight and a half of beers for us. The Festbeir was the first up at bat. I am a bit iffy on my Festbeirs but man was it good. The Blue and Gold'n Delicious was the one that followed, and topped my list for Saisons. I highly enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it. The waitress, food, beer, and other patrons were a welcoming outing for us, and we will definitely be making our way back out to visit, along with friends...cause good beer demands...