Welcome Home To GlendAle House Brewing
Growing up I remember my dad working in the Glendale area and little did I know that an inconspicuous house on the corner would one day be home to a brewery.
When I had first heard of GlendAle House was in process I would have thought that was crazy before Fibonacci Brewing opened in an old house in Mt. Healthy years before. It sounded like it would end up a little similar. Well, kind of.
Upon driving past I saw the sign and attempted to turn in the driveway, but there were already a few cars there. I had not done my research and had to turn around and grab a street spot right across from the brewery. If you aren’t looking for it you’d almost certainly miss it.
I walked across the street and up the steps onto the porch I opened the storm door that I am assuming is original to the house. As I creaked across the floor the old living room met me to the right, there was a family in there so I did not snap a photo, but it was very homey.
When I entered the kitchen turned taproom, the bartender looked up and said “welcome home.” This was the vibe of my entire time at GlendAle House. He walked me through their current offerings, let me know about upcoming events and showed me how I could go in the back room and spin any record from their collection.
I took a look back to the beer list written on a door that I am sure came off the hinges somewhere in the house and landed on the “Heckes” Helles Lager. I told the bartender I always liked to start light and move my way up…or just stay light depending on the mood. He told me once I hit the porter I wouldn’t go back (this turned out to be true).
I chose my spot at the bar which only sat about, maybe, 6-7 people. This is where the “welcome home” vibe began. Everyone sitting around the bar was chatting about their day, what they had going on in their life, about the goings on at the brewery, the beer they were drinking, the music that was playing. It was such a refreshing change of pace that you see at most bars and breweries nowadays where people are just glued to their phones or the TV behind the bar. I didn’t look, but I’m pretty sure there was no TV in the entire taproom area. I almost felt rude to look at my phone to see if my friends were on their way.
Just as I finished my first beer my buddy Chris and his family arrived. There was definitely no room for us at the bar even though there were only a few people sitting at it. We grabbed some beers and headed out to the front porch which was lined with a mixture of chairs. We enjoyed the warm sun as we sipped on our beers. His kids played in the front yard as if it were their own. We nodded to people walking their dogs and even cheered on the local fire department as they wailed past. It was just like if we were at his house hanging out in his garage bar.
After a while our friend Beth arrived. Chris’s family peeled off to head home as we all decided to enjoy one last beer. We decided to do a little more exploring of the space and headed out to the back yard. I couldn’t believe we didn’t go back there sooner. It was this small cozy oasis that was just welcoming you to hang out for just a little longer. I could imagine myself hanging out there on a summer evening often if I lived closer. It honestly gave me a little yard envy as we’ve been working on my back yard over the past few weeks.
Sadly, after our beers were consumed it was time for us all to part ways. I didn’t get a chance to try their food, but it looked great. They had homemade pizza and I’m talking from the bread to the sauce. Next time I won’t be eating before my visit because I’m a sucker for a good pizza. The photos in this piece were shot on my phone. I do plan to bring my camera during my next visit in order to give the space the justice it really deserves. Until next time GlendAle House!