18th Street Brewery — Restaurant in North Township

9/26 Visit. Jerry is a sight to see. There are 27 patrons visiting tonight and he is taking care of business. Kept a smile on his face and greeted everyone like family. How does he remember all these orders? He is a gem for sure. He did have back up from the nice girl in the kitchen, we appreciate you darling! Please tip him well when you visit, he has earned it!

Disclaimer: This is not my first visit, but it is my first negative experience at 18th Street. We walked in, found a table, and waited to be seated. There were two bartenders, a tall slim man that we have seen before and a short woman with short hair that we have not. The woman approaches our table without a greeting, even though I'm smiling at her, and asks what we would like to order. We asked for drinks and she walked away. The man comes over after a few minutes and asks if we were taken care of and we requested water and wings. We never received the wings and had to ask again for the water. The place was about 90% full but it is very small and the others patrons had their drinks and/or food so we didn't understand the reason for our wait. I'm very reasonable and patient but what bothered me was the lack of welcoming attitude and attentiveness from the woman bartender. It seemed to be directed just at us because she seemed very friendly with 2 other groups and spent a noticeable amount of time with them laughing and interacting, seemingly "inventing" new cocktails and sharing them with that group. One of the customers got up from her bar seat and walked behind the bar which seemed odd and unhygienic but she was laughing with the woman bartender. Eventually I ordered a second drink (which I had to approach the bar and ask for) but found something floating inside of it. Since I was not able to tell if it was a bug or piece of cardboard, I called the bartender over and showed it to her. There were no apologies or offer to remake the drink, just an "ok". I told her not to worry about remaking it, please just take it off of the bill. She walked away and the male bartender placed our new bill on the table without saying a word to us. This definitely left a bad taste in our mouths as we have never experienced this type of service here before. We were the only people of our race there at the time and I am hoping that was...

I'm a huge fan of 18th Street beers and had super high hopes upon my first visit to the HQ. Unfortunately, our entire group was just confused with the actions of the staff throughout the visit. We started on the distillery side and ordered a couple of drinks. One of our group asked if she could take the drink to the other side (no signage or previous info to go off of, just posing a question). She was told "absolutely not" in an extremely rude manner by the waiter who then walked away. Once we were done, we then ventured over to the brewery/food side and made the mistake of walking 25 feet through the open building to get there. Once again, no signage with a perfectly open pathway to the tables on the other side. Our waiter ran out of the distillery section to tell us what we were doing was against the rules and to leave the building and re-enter next time. We thought that was strange as well, but shook it off, ready to eat. When we sat down, we joined some of our group that arrived and had about 8 people at this point. The server said there was no way to split checks, which seemed odd for a place that has wireless card readers and digital billing/receipts. We then ate (the food was very good to be fair, along with the beer of course), and paid. Tipping was uncomfortable with the waitress going through the billing screens with me, including the tipping section. There were no options for a % tip, so I was told to "put in a number and then you'll see what the percentage is". Once I tried a number that came out a little higher than I had anticipated, I was told "Okay, hit next" with no time to edit the amount. After that was done, I walked over to what I thought was be the to-go refrigerator when I was stopped by yet another employee who told me to go back to my table and look at my menu to see what beer I could purchase. And lastly, after looking at the charges the next day, it appears I was charged at least an additional $10 over what was shown to me on the billing device. I didn't keep my receipt which was my fault, so I highly recommend doing that. Overall, we were happy that we finally visited, but all 8 of us were left with a sour taste in our mouth and unfortunately won't be back. If this is a first time visit for you, check any high expectations you had at...

A Sanctuary for the Foodie and the Beer Lover !!

I stopped into the 18th Street Brewery while in the area for business. I had been to the Miller location previously to buy beer and learn more about this brewery. I travel to the area quite often and I've been to 3 Floyds, and the Byway so I had to cross this place off the list. This is not only a local favourite but USA Today had listed this Brewery as one of the best in the nation so I had to check it out. As I pulled up to the parking lot in an industrial area, I saw that they had a fenced-off patio area with families and kids enjoying food and beer in the warm sunshine. I walked around to the sidewalk and went in through the front door where I saw the graphic designs and artwork of the Brewery.

The Brewery itself is sectioned off in four areas, the first is the regular dining area and kitchen, the bar, and behind the bar is the group seating and party area while the other half of the brewery is the warehouse and shipping area. This is a great sight to behold as you really get a feel for the amount of beer that they produce and the amount of beer they ship out locally and nationally.

Now to the beer and the food!! I sat at the bar and was greeted warmly by the bartender who took his time to recommend beers to try and help me navigate the menu as it was my first time eating at the 18th. I sampled some of the higher alcohol beers like Deal with Devil and Disciples Revenge but settled on a lighter flight when I had dinner. My food choices that night were the smoked wings, juicy, tangy, tasty and a perfect match to my flight. My main course that night was the delectable Pork Tenderloin. Smoked to perfection, with an amazing tenderness throughout, it was probably one of the best Pork Tenderloins I've had in a long time.

To recap, the beer, space, the vibe, the food were all indicators of very well run business and establishment who care and are passionate about their beer, their food their ambiance and the way they treat guests. The 18th Street Brewery is a must if you're ever in the Chicago, Northern Indiana area. If not then ask your local beer retailer to stock 18th Street beers, even if they're...