Al’s of Hampden

great place great food, beer, sandwiches… fun place

My wife and I stopped in for the first time yesterday because I heard good things and we like to try different beer.
Their beer list is 4-​stars. A big variety and reasonably priced. However I’ve never been to a place with 25+ taps (this place has 100+) that doesn’t offer flights. Even on their own Pizza Boy brand beer!
Aside from the beer, we each ordered a slice of pizza which was good. The reason for the low review is because of how it’s set up and the speed of service related to the set up.
They have a bar with probably 25 stools but no bar service. You have to get up and stand in a line of 20 people to order another beer. Then with a line of 20 people there’s still only one person taking orders while another fills the orders.
I wish I loved this place. I may go back someday and hope it’s more organized. But it’s chaotic and from talking with a few other patrons, I hear it always is.

Over 100+ beers on tap, but the best one is Pizza Boy’s own Sunny Side Up, a double coffee stout served in a coffee mug. Delicious if you love stouts, but sip it slow due to the 9.5% ABV. The pizza and subs are delicious, especially the sub rolls. Breadsticks with marinara are yummy too. Family friendly place with 3 TVs, arcade games, and a few beer hall style tables. Also, no need to tip since the staff get paid fair wages. We travel 1.25 hours to come here on a monthly basis, if not more frequent. We wish they were closer!

I have not been to the actual location, but I have had pizzas delivered to my home, and it is my preferred place to order pizzas from for delivery to my Enola home.

Fantastic beer selection. Great place to go with friends. The pizza is good. Getting another drink can take a little while when it really crowded.

A good place for a quick slice and a beer. Pizza is good or okay depending on the day and who is making the pie. The atmosphere is open Brewery. Sometimes you end with up with pizza crust that is too thick or has too much sauce and other days it is perfect. For more stars it would take consistently perfect pizza and better side salad options.

Al’s of Hampton is one of the best pizza places I’ve ever experienced. They have a huge variety of pizzas with toppings of all kinds. My personal favorites have been their BBQ Chicken pizza and their Buffalo Chicken pizza. The slices are huge and I never leave hungry.
While I’m not a drinker, they also have a gigantic selection of brews, including their own that they make («Pizza Boy»).
If you’re looking for a great place for lunch (service is super fast), or an even better place for dinner, check out Al’s of Hampton!

I’ve been to Al’s a handful of times now and still don’t know what to think, so I had to go with a middle of the road rating at 3 stars. Here’s why:
This is a brewery-​pizza shop hybrid where they serve your typical quick serve Italian fare from pizza to pasta to subs to fried foods. The pizza that I’ve had from here is your typical middle America pizza with a soft crust and just a little too much cheese. But it does match what most other restaurants have, so props to them for matching the market and pleasing customers. The subs are made in homemade pizza dough rolls which makes them a little more interesting than most of the other pizza places in the area that use hoagie rolls.
It’s the brewery side that makes me unsure what to think about this place. While I’m sure they have a lot of fans of their «Pizza Boy» beers, the wide selection of styles they serve makes me think they are still trying to find their niche. Glancing on their website, if you compare the homemade beers in the current tap list to their list of beer descriptions, most are missing. I’m not sure if maybe they have a new Brewer who’s trying some new recipes out, but the 15 or so homemade beers were a little overwhelming to me. There was simply no way to know what their signature beers are to use as a starting place. The American IPA I ordered didn’t really do much for me– though of course beer is very much a matter of personal preference, and maybe I just don’t care for their brewing style.
Big plus for this place, it has the area’s biggest selection of drafts on tap. Yes, they do fill growlers, though I’ve always bypassed their house beers in favor of something from Tröegs.

Beer list is great but that’s not why I’m reviewing. I’ve been here many times and the «service» is always poor. The food is never great but you deal with it because there is a great variety of beer. Tonight I had wings and order celery and ranch for an additional price. I got 5 — 2″ sticks of celery. When I asked if that’s all I get for what I paid she said yes and walked away. (It costs $ 1.69 for 2lbs of celery at giant)
The bartenders always seem pissed and never treat you like a guest.
Overall, not a great experience. The beer was good, as usual but the experience is terrible. Almost always.

Very cool place. Not at all what I expected. The atmosphere is awesome. Looks like a great place for beer and pizza.

After an intense round of disc golfing on 10/​17, me and a couple of my buddies came here to slam-​back a drink and chow down on some pizza.
Food: We ordered their largest size pizza pie, grabbed a couple of beers, and I got a soda (I wish I liked alcohol more!). Pizza can be divided into multiple different and unique categories. Pizza is one of those things that consists of so few components; but somehow there are 3 248 423 879 327 474 different ways to use those components — crazy…
This pizza can easily be put in the ‘knife & fork’ category. Additionally, this was NOT a healthy pizza. From the gratuitous amount of cheese, to the pools of grease on the top, this was heart-​attack city — but it was good.
Dough: Loved the dough. Soft and pillowy, yet airy and chewy. This is one of my favorite pizza doughs in the region. It baked up really nice along the outside while still maintaining that bubbly-​crispness that is so rare. No flat and crackery crust here. This is the way dough should be. Unfortunately, the dough did get quite soggy in the middles of the pizza (hence the knife and fork). This could be a turn-​off for some; but for this particular type of pizza, I was good with it. (⁴⁄₅)
Sauce: The sauce is definitely on the sweet side. If you do not like sweet sauces, you will not like this. I didn’t find it overly-​sweet, and found that it cut the saltiness of the cheese and the savory/​saltiness of the pepperoni really nicely. Personally, I am a little bit of a fan of sweeter sauces — so long as they don’t taste like syrup or sugary tomatoes. This was on the edge for me; but I really enjoyed it on this pizza. It was definitely perfect for THIS pizza. (⁴⁄₅)
Cheese: YAY! unlike so many places in this region the cheese got nice and bubbly on top with the brown caramelization of awesomeness. Makes my day when this happens. The cheese was the highlight. It was excellent. Extremely cheesy. Sometimes I blow pizza joints away for using to much cheese because it creates an imbalance with the pizza. For this pizza, it worked. This is not a slice you pick up and fold. The melty and molten cheese would slide right off. The flavor of this cheese was on point. Excellent in contrast with the sauce. Very big fan of this cheese on this pizza. (⁵⁄₅)
Toppings: The Pepperoni. YAY, again!!! They got the crispy edges that I love!!! OMG, NO ONE ELSE DOES THIS IN CENTRAL PA. It drives me NUTS. This pepperoni was cirspy along the edges and delicious. Perfect. (⁵⁄₅)
Overall Pizza: This is not your typical pizza. You have to be in the mood for this pizza to like it. From the atypical sweetness to in the sauce, to the gratuitous amount of cheese and pepperoni, this is legitimately in a special category that is aside from NY Style, Chicago Style, California style, or whatever other styles there are. This was simply pleasant being what it is. Very rare that I do this, but this particular pizza on this particular day gets a 5 from me.
Food: ⁵⁄₅ (pizza only)
Service: Disappointing. The woman behind the counter was cold, off-​putting, and acted like she didn’t want to be there. There was zero warmth to her, and she was extremely unwelcoming with her attitude. This is a problem for me. I don’t care if she is the owner, has a stake in the restaurant, or is just a regular olé worker. She needs to go. Absolutely unacceptable. Additionally, I ordered a single soft drink (2.39 I think?). After I paid (cuz my friend got the pizza), she just walked away. No handing me a cup, no ‘thanks for your purchase’, no smile… literally just walked away. I grabbed a cup myself, of course as they were right in front of me; but it wasn’t necessarily implied that is the expectation. This is a bummer for me.
Service: ²⁄₅
Atmosphere: This place is like an open warehouse with a bunch stainless steel around you. Classic feeling tap house in terms of its manufacturing roots. I get the vibe. It is not the warm and cozy interior that many restaurants tend to offer, but it has an industrialized vibe to it with a little bit of hipster sprinkled in. Personally, it is not my jam, but I still enjoyed my experience here. Also, I know a lot of alcohol enthusiasts who would love this place. It also has a family-​oriented sort-​of atmosphere to it – if a place that specializes in providing zounds of beers can.
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
Price: For what we paid, I think we got quality food for a good price. I am very interested to come back and try other items on their menu. I think that the quality and the quantity spoke for itself. Add to that a pretty cool all-​around atmosphere with a gratuitous amount of beer to choose from, and this is a solid place to frequent,
Price: ⁴⁄₅
Final Thoughts: My first impressions of Al’s are very positive. I understand that service can fluctuate wildly from one day to the next, and my hope is that the service that i received was an outlier and not a true indication of the business practices of Al’s. I will definitely be back.

Good beer list (though not exceptional for someone who lives in Portland OR). Huge food portions. Nothing special in quality — a typical pizza place. The packaged salad dressing seems cheap though it is a good brand (Ken’s). Mostly, disappointed they charge $ 2.25 for soda water from the dispenser. I don’t pay that much when I order it from bartenders.

Great beer list, with a number of their Pizza Boy beers along with other breweries.
Pizza was good too.
Would recommend for any beer drinker.

This used to be a tiny pizza parlor with a big case of craft beer. Fast forward and they upgraded to an enormous new space and built their own custom brewery with the brand name Pizza Boy.
Interior is cavernous, stainless steel and white. A larger than expected brewing system is exposed to the dining hall. A massive bar on the opposite side points to multiple LCD screens of a mega 50 or so tap list with a good 10 or so Pizza Boy house beer concoctions. Not on tap, but in 750mL bottles to drink on premise, are some of Pizza Boy’s special release sours. Beer quality here is very high from rockstar brewer Terry Hawbaker. Sours and Brett saisons seem to be the strong suit here along with some amazing coffee imperial stouts like Sunny Side Up.
Service was good. Place was packed. Per PA state law you cannot have more than a certain number of beer glasses on your table at once. We went wild on the tap list (multiple tasting samples per person) and the bartender obliged. Welp, we went over the limit so some of our pours had to be hidden away for legal reasons and then brought back to us once other beers were finished. Love this state.
Pizza we thought was in the good range along with the sandwiches. The food menu certainly leaves something to be desired especially if you are watching calories.
Overall, a secluded venue… but world-​class beer makes up for it.

I ordered Al’s for Delivery. This is based solely on a delivery experience. It was a little disappointing. I imagine, pizza is much better as a sit down customer. The taste was OK. I don’t want to go into details until I give it a fair shake.
Still they messed up my order. Big NO NO for a first time customer. Other than that, I am willing to give this place a try in person. As far as delivery goes, I wasn’t very pleased.
I am one to support local, as opposed to ordering Pappa Johns or Pizza Hut. They definitely compare to them as far as quality (for delivery) and price, so please support your local economy. I will re-​visit this review after I go in person.

Only been here once, but I think I get the gist of it. «Soft» service, solid food, good beer selection in a casual atmosphere.
Great selection of beers, to be sure, though perhaps a little high-​priced considering they’re all on tap. The server behind the counter was pleasant and helped describe the beers we were considering, but the beer menu is so extensive, I’d really recommend you bone up a little on types of beer (including «sours,» which I’ve seldom seen before but which seem to be featured repeatedly on the list).
The main dining room is large and spacious, but even without a lot of patrons and low volume on the several TVs, it was still fairly loud, so we moved out to the plain and unadorned outdoor space.
We ordered a big plate of «California Fries» (bacon, cheese, and Ranch dressing) which was nicely done — decent fries underneath, and not completely drowned in toppings. The side salad was strange — iceberg lettuce only, and mostly pickled vegetables from a jar. The White Veggie Pizza was solid — nice toppings, decent crust (not perfect, but not too soft or too crispy). The rest of the menu seems to be standard pizza and subs fare, though with decent variety.
You order at the counter, then go to your table with your order number and wait. Service was prompt and the servers kind, but not very personable. Once your food arrives, don’t count on servers checking up on you too often, and you’re on your own for fountain beverages, etc. They don’t seem to expect tips, and I wouldn’t expect to offer much of one.
They do offer an extensive selection of craft beer six-​packs for takeout, so that’s a nice plus.
Overall a nice place to hang out, good if uneventful food, a «low-​maintenance» joint for a low-​maintenance crowd. Nice to know it’s there in an otherwise out-​of-​the-​way location.

If I were rating this on beer alone, I would be giving this a strong 4.5÷5. This is a beer lover’s mecca. And, if you’re from around the eastern PA area, you probably know that Pizza Boy makes some amazing fermented suds. However, their goods can be a bit tough to find in stores, so should you find yourself in the Harrisburg region, make it a point to come in and stock up. They sell «crowlers» (growler cans), so you can get about anything on tap in a BIG OL’ can to go.
Aside from their own beers (which I really advocate getting since you have come here already and they can be hard to track down further from Harrisburg, as noted above), Al’s/Pizza Boy has an impressive selection of other beers, especially from Eastern PA. As someone who loves collaboration (rather than competition) in the beer world, I love to see breweries supporting other regional players.
Okay, star docking comes from the food: if you are hoping for tasty NY/​NJ-​style pizza, this isn’t happening here. The sandwiches, while okay, aren’t amazing. That said, your motivation for coming should be the beer, and the food is definitely palatable enough to support your imbibing.
The scene inside is cool and delightfully informal with an open warehouse sort of vibe where the brewery, the bars and the food ordering areas all sort of run together. So while you probably wouldn’t want to come here on a romantic date (okay, so maybe I would), it would be a great place to come with a group of friends where you can pony up to a picnic table.
Pro Tip: if you love coffee stouts, do not miss the Sunny Side Up if they have it on draft. Clocks in at almost 10% ABV, so you may want to appoint a driver…

This is my 2^nd time here, worth the hour drive. Wings were hot lots of fresh garlic and grated parm! Meatball sub shared with my other half more than enough. This time we did a pie w/​5 toppings of r choice. The pie was hot and toppings plentiful, an ease up on the olive oil that they top the pie with would be my only suggestion.

Food is consistent and pretty good. We have had their pizza and wings only. We have had the food delivered and have not eaten at the restaurant itself.

A.k.a. Pizza Boy Brewing. Over 100 beers on tap from Pizza Boy Brewing and other guest beers. These are craft beers, not your Bud, Miller Light, etc. variety. Complete beer nirvana for the craft beer enthusiast. Stick with the 8 oz pours to sample more beers or go for a large pour of your favorite or take home more in a growler. The location is a large warehouse with seating and large screen TVs for your game viewing pleasure.
In addition to the large selection of beer, there is yummy pizza and other bar fare to enjoy. Sunday’s even offer specials on large pizzas and wings! Weekday lunch specials available if you are in the area (which unfortunately we are not). If this place was closer to us, we would be regulars for sure.