The Brewery

Now THIS is a dive bar.
You’re going to read a lot of Unilocal reviews where people describe places as «a total dive» or «dive-​y.» These people are almost always wrong, and would know it if they visited The Brewery. We’re talking concrete floors, plaster falling off the ceiling, slightly sticky tables, and one lonely guitar player strumming covers of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin to an empty room. There’s a lot of character here and an authenticity lacking on so many other bars. And the drinks are cheap too with great personable bartenders. A must visit in State College.

Stone floor? Check.
Dim lighting? Check.
Questionable seating arrangements (ie, duct tape all over the chairs)? Check.
Bouncers that could be your father? Check.
Yup, it’s a dive bar, people. The Brewery is off the beaten path and the entrance is directly next to some dumpsters, so you can easily miss this State College gem. Be prepared for a little (okay, a lot) of grime, cheap drinks, and live music. A great place to hang out with friends because there are a few different areas where large groups can congregate.
Don’t forget $ 3 for the cover (after 9PM).

This is a serious dive bar, and the lack of reviews clearly demonstrates that not many Penn Staters have been here. Yes, it’s gross. Yes, it’s in a basement. Yes, you will probably pay cover and have a fairly expensive drink (for SC). But the crowd is so, so much more chill than any other bar I’ve been to in State College. The music is usually decent, and I actually feel like everyone in the bar is just there to hang out and dance with friends. I’ve never gotten a creepy vibe in here from guys. It’s not my regular spot, but I’ve always felt comfortable.
I went here around midnight during Arts Fest and there wasn’t even a line. No one knows about this place.

This is THE townie bar in state college. For good reason, the owners and staff are friendly and engaging. They can make just about any drink too. A must stop if you live in state college.

This place is definitely not for everyone, but I enjoy it. It is a basement, divey bar which is a welcomed change from the rest of the bro-​filled, fratty bars around town. If you hate drinking at places like Pickles and the Shandygaff, this is the place for you!
I was here last Saturday and Karaōke was really fun!!! Also, if you go during their late night happy hour, which I think is 9:30 — 11:30, drinks are VERY VERY VERY cheap. Like $ 2.50 mixed drinks and $ 2 beers cheap. They have great daily all-​day specials as well!
Pool table, Big Buck Hunter Pro… what more could you ask for?

It’s dingy and divey, but it’s cheap and easy to drink at, chat with your friends, and still have live music.
They also have a large list of House specialty mixed drinks that are pretty good.
The regular crowd that’s there is a little… questionable…but overall it’s not a bad place.

Bartenders are friendly and drinks are pretty cheap, but they have extremely rude door staff! I won’t be back!

Sure it’s dingy and divey, but I pretty much love this place.
I was recently there for a bachelorette party. They lowered the cover for our group, and the promo girls offered us free shots of some delicious grape SoCo something-​or-​other and necklaces.
The shots there are amazing. They’re probably not all that strong, but they have so many different ones, you won’t get bored. The dirty ashtray (Bailey’s and maybe cocoa powder?) which is literally served to you in an ashtray with a straw is easily my favorite.

Low Jack was playing here and that really does make this place better. Besides that the only redeeming quality would be the great selection of shots. I had a gummy bear shot that tasted just like a gummy bear and a shot that tasted just like cereal. Pretty darn good. They have alright specials for beer, well water with alcohol in it.
However, the wait for drinks sucks, it can take 20 minutes when this place is busy. The floors I think are made of dirt, actually suggesting made is too strong, they just built walls and a roof and forgot about the floor. Drinks are not that cheap here either compared to some other closer bars. I would probably have opted to go somewhere else had I known what this place would be like. However, like I said Low Jack (band) was playing and they are pretty darn good so that gives this place 4 stars, dirt floors and crappy prices drop them down to 3.

A friend introduced me to this little hole in the wall bar my last year at PSU. Sunday night Karaōke kept me coming back time and again till I graduated! A great place to go and sing like you just don’t care! Shooter (the Karaōke DJ) is a great guy and keeps things moving right along!

Oh. Hell. No.
This isn’t a dive bar. This is a faceplant bar.

A glorious dive bar. I lost a pint of blood here and I have a scar. There should be a bar like this one in every town. It’s fantastic.

Best dive bar in State College, and that’s saying something.
Great place for people watching, bad music, and cheap beer.

THE State College dive bar, ignore all others.
But I hear you say: But the Phyrst is like drinking on a pirate ship and they actually have MD ²⁰⁄₂₀! And Zeno’s is tight and small! And…
No. That is only because you haven’t experienced the Brewery.
It’s a basement. A basement with $ 2 – 4 cover, but still a basement. Considering that cover, drinks still stay fairly expensive unless happy hour is going on. I arrived at the tail end of happy hour, but was still charged full price. Go figure. The real Phyrst Phamily moved down here when they were kicked out and now play on Saturdays. The chairs look like they were stolen from your grade school, and probably were. Same goes for the tables. From what I can assume there are pool tables and such, but they’re probably made out of chicken wire and several two by fours. Come for the experience, since I can’t really recommend it past that.

A true dive. In the basement of a building, you enter off the alley stepping over broken concrete. Go through a kind of scary tunnel and you get to the Brewery. Pool and video games to your right, bar a couple steps down, and a big space for the bands that occasional cover there. Watch out for the puddles of standing water and clouds of smoke. They do have the only foosball table in the downtown area, but it’s sticky with spilled beer and I kind of wanted to use Purell after playing.
The beer is served out of mason jars and is surprisingly good (tho isn’t yuengling good anywhere?), and most of the other patrons are townies, not college kids. You’ve been warned.

This is a divey divey place to come to for karaōke. Expect to wait forever, or bribe the DJ with $ 9 (not that we did that or anything, I just really wanted to sign Sweet Caroline!!). Anyway.
Drinks are cheap and good, sometimes you get a glass and sometimes a plastic cup. Go figure. Good for a group because they have some very big tables. Beer in mason jars is a funky touch.

First, don’t let the address fool you: although the mailing address is Beaver Ave., the entrance for the Brewery is actually located on McAllister ALLEY (not McAllister Street). You can park in the McAllister parking garage and walk out to the alley — the entrance is practically on the corner of the Alley and Beaver Ave.
The Brewery is a dive bar. It’s dark, dingy, with low ceilings, some rough-​looking characters, and draft beers that are often served in mason jars — and all of this is what makes the Brewery great. I’ve been going there for 10 years and the only thing that’s really changed is what bands are currently filling the hot weeknight slots. While Fridays and Saturdays are always busy, many weeknights fill up nicely by midnight if there is a good band or lineup. There is an atmosphere of everyone being a regular at this bar, because most of the people are. When you get caught up in visiting the Brewery, you realize that the bartenders are some of the most famous in town (ask for Rockey or Shooter!), the drinks are cheap and strong, and the bands are as varied as the writing on the walls in the bathroom. This is not a place to bring your parents for a nice drink — unless they like to drink! Shots flow freely and you’ll often find one of the bartenders carrying a tray of shots to the band — or someone at the bar buying a round for whoever is standing near them. This is a fun, hometown, rough-​around-​the-​edges but friendly-​to-​its-​own-​kind kind of bar that must be visited to understand. Check out
to find out what entertainment they have nightly, and expect anything from a guy with a guitar, to an irish punk/​rock band, to hip hop night — you just never know with The Brewery.