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| - Firstly, I was a huge fan of Ale Asylum's beer offerings long before I discovered their brewery is only about 10 minutes from my home. The impression that you get as you pull into the parking lot almost sets a false impression of what is to be seen inside. The brewery's current location (apparently they're moving next summer) shares a large building with other businesses, and the outer appearance gave me the impression that the inside would look like some sort of industrial park. When I entered, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the setup on the inside seemed to accomodate to a variety of bargoers. They have a traditional bar area, some tables nestled in for appetizers, a lounge area with large couches and leather chairs, and a few tables set up for those who prefer to stand. A great aspect was the fact that they offer free pool at their pool table. While this may appear to the more fickle of pool players who don't want to pay $1.50 per game (in my case, a game that I am just under mediocre at), but because there is only one table patrons would play 2 vs. 2 against complete strangers. This inspired some to have open dialog with people they would not have otherwise spoken to. I find this appealing, and slightly endearing. After all, to me, the point of going out to a bar is to interact with people.
As you would expect, their beer offerings are out of this world. The sampler is a great way to show how diverse the Ale Asylum beer selection is. It is also great to get into the tap room because there is at least one draft that they only offer at the brewery itself. The only complaint (and it's a slight one) is that in the 3-4 times that I've been there, it is sometimes difficult to get consistent service from the staff. On one occasion, we hadn't seen our server in about half an hour. We went to look, and found her at the bar drinking. Evidently her shift had ended, but she did not let us know so that we knew to flag down her replacement for our drinks. This, however, is a very minor complaint.
Overall I cannot recommend this establishment enough. As bars go, their music selection, beer offerings, and atmosphere appeal to a large variety of patrons. I'll continue to go to Ale Asylum, and can't wait to see what the future brings with the new location!
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