TL/DR - inside looked fantastic, pizza was good, beer was meh (including a fart beer!) and they don't do flights. On the pricey side.
I was able to check out Five Churches this weekend after weeks of wanting to get there; I had seen great things about it so I was pretty excited to try a bunch of their beers.
My friends and I arrive right around opening time on a Saturday and I was luckily able to snag a parking spot on the side of the street right near the front doors. I can see parking being an issue when the place is really busy as there is limited parking on both sides of the street and a tiny lot across from the building which filled up pretty quickly.
The doors outside are absolutely beautiful which then led us inside and up a flight of stairs to the seating area which was also very good looking. Behind the bar area was a glass wall where you can see their production area. They definitely get 5 stars for their look and feel.
So why only a 3 star review?
Well, as I said above, I wanted to try a bunch of their beers by getting a flight or two. Unfortunately, they don't do flights (WHAT???). The bartender said it was because "when the lines are 10-15 feet deep, it's too busy to do flights." My friends and I thought he was being sarcastic since we were literally the only people ordering drinks with no one behind us, but he was unfortunately being serious. They are literally the only brewery taproom I've been do (including ones much busier than this one) that doesn't do beer flights. The bartender did say that they offer free samples to try right up at the bar to see if you like something, but isn't that the same process of just doing flights minus the getting paid part?
So, instead of trying a bunch of beers, we had to play the guessing game of which beer we'd maybe like with full pints (which run around 6-8 bucks a piece). I went with their Pew Pew first and it was... meh, okay. As I say in all of my brewery reviews, I know beer taste is totally subjective so I tend to no rate a brewery solely based on if I personally liked their beer or not.
After that, I went with the Weerder with guava. Now, I should've went with something else when the bartender told me to not mind the "farty smell" the beer gives off. Why would you make a beer that gives off a farty smell?? I get it, and sure enough, there was a weird fart smell every time you go to take a sip. Now, I'm not sure about you, fart isn't exactly something I want to be smelling when I'm drinking a beer. If you took the smell away, the beer itself wasn't bad. But....... fart smell.
My friends and I did each order one of their personal pizzas, and they were pretty good! Their specialty for that day was buffalo chicken (one of my personal favorites) and it didn't disappoint.
After each getting two beers, we didn't want to risk getting another one we didn't like, so we cashed out. Two beers and a personal pizza ran almost 30 bucks after tip, which is on the pricey side IMO.
Will I go back? Probably, but I'm definitely not as enthusiastic about it as I was before this visit. Perhaps they'll eventually give in and offer flights since I'm sure plenty of people ask about them. If not, I can't see myself wanting to go there unless I'm with a friend who hasn't gone before and wants to check it out. read more