Stewart's Brewing Company

Recently we took a long weekend to go visit my parents for a couple days. On the way to southern Delaware, Dave and I made a stop at Stewart’s Brewing Company (Stewie’s) in Bear, Delaware (aka North DE). I’ve been to Stewie’s before and it has become one of my favorite places to visit when I head home. It was even the first place I ate after getting home from 4 months abroad. Stewie’s has been around since 1995 and has a strong record at both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup winning multiple medals for their innovative brewing.

Service

The service was very quick but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that we arrived in the late afternoon on a Monday. The place was pretty dead with just a handful of people at the bar and us. From previous experience though, I can say the service has always been timely and the staff pleasant.

Food

Both Dave and I enjoyed the food. I got a French Dip and Dave got a Rueben. We both got steak fries, which were fresh, crispy, and hot. The French dip was extra cheesy and served with really good au jus. The Rueben was good but Dave was surprised that the thousand island dressing came on the side instead of on the sandwich. In general, they serve mostly pub food: sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups. I wish they had a pizza oven, this is a topic of somewhat constant grumble every time I talk to my dad. He is always saying that he loves everything about Stewie’s he just thinks a pizza oven would make it the perfect brewpub. I’m not sure he’s ever mentioned it to them though.

Atmosphere

Stewie’s is set up as a classier version of a sports bar. The bar is large and central with tables on either side. There is a large back room available for parties and special occasions (at the moment it is under refurbishment). The Brewing gear can be seen in a glass side room. There is trivia as well as the Sports channel running on several TVs. They also host lots of different events such as a special dinner for Valentines Day and at Halloween they tap a pumpkin. They also have a Mug Club, like most breweries for their faithful followers.

Beer

We each got one beer, since we just wanted to do a quick lunch before continuing our trip south. Since they brew in house, they don’t bottle and distribute their beer. The beers are available on tap at the restaurant and you can take home a growler full (possibly not all of their beers you can get in a growler such as the small batch limited runs of very special beers). Dave got the Wheat Porter and I got Obscurum, a Belgian-inspired ale. We rated them as 4 and 4.5 pints, respectively. For a more detailed review of the beers, look for our upcoming beer review post.

Overall

I really enjoy Stewie’s every time I get there, which is much rarer now than I would like. I highly recommend going to Stewie’s if you are in the area and even if your not, I suggest a road trip at some point.

Our rating of Stewart's Brewing Company: