Bethlehem Brew Works - Freemansburg

I’ve visited the Bethlehem Brew Works many times, but I can’t say I remember much about the food. The dishes have varied from mediocre (like their house-made veggie burger) to downright terrible (the spinach artichoke dip was completely inedible). Although some menu items sound tempting based on their descriptions, my dining companions and I have consistently found our choices to be disappointing. However, the Brew Works excels in its award-winning beers and lively atmosphere. The interior features a stylish industrial design, with pipes and metal accents framing the booths and copper beer vats lining the windows. It’s a great spot to enjoy drinks, especially during happy hour with friends. The menu also offers samplers of their custom beers and a selection of scotch.

Our primary reason for stopping by was that we had an hour to spare before our dinner reservations and wanted a quick bite alongside some drinks. Unfortunately, we regrettably misjudged our order! We decided to keep it simple and go for the spinach artichoke dip to share while we waited—BIG mistake! It was absolutely terrible! I strongly advise against ordering it. I've heard that there are other decent options on the menu, but this particular dish was completely inedible. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they made it.

Though Brew Works has never been lauded for its culinary excellence, they've offered some decent dishes in the past, such as their cheese soup, chili, chicken BBQ sandwich, and Kobe burger. However, their dinner and salad offerings are quite disappointing. We started with the chili, which was actually quite good. However, the spinach dip fell flat; it was served with chips and lacked flavor. The special ravioli in vodka sauce was a disaster that would not have stood up to a can of Chef Boyardee—truly disappointing. The buffalo chicken salad was equally underwhelming. I shouldn’t have ordered it, but I expected a bit more than low-quality chicken tenders drenched in an overly spicy and unappetizing sauce. The salad itself came straight from a bag of mixed iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, and cabbage—just not good at all. Perhaps dessert would save the evening? Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The apple crisp sounded promising, but they had run out of ice cream. Even if they had it, I doubt it would have been satisfactory. The cranberry apple bread pudding also fell short—it was semi-dry and lacking in flavor. My recommendation? Stick to the sandwiches and beers; the Kobe burger is quite good, even at $15.

This rating is solely for the beer. I found the menu to offer too many high-calorie fried food options for my liking. In my opinion, the food leans towards low-quality, unhealthy bar fare. I come here specifically for their house-brewed beer, and that’s it! If I’m going to indulge in something “unhealthy and calorie-rich,” I prefer it to be the beer!

To start, we shared an order of nachos. They were decent—better than many I've had at chain restaurants—and generously topped. The portion was sizable enough for four or five people, but we made a good dent in them. For our main courses, my dining partner ordered the French dip sandwich, which came with a bowl of cheddar and beer soup for dipping instead of the traditional au jus. He found it tasty but a bit heavy due to the rich dipping sauce. I went with the crab cake sandwich, which came with a flavored mayo on the side; I thought it was just average. I appreciated the ambiance, which was much more inviting than larger chain places like TGI Fridays or Applebee's. I was also excited about their free tours and samples at their Allentown location, which we actually attended the following week. Although we found the tour and the information session a bit lacking, the bartender was friendly and let us sample just about everything on tap since we were a small group. Between us, we tried eight different beers. Feeling a desire for more refined cuisine, we decided to seek out another restaurant for lunch after the tasting.