Pooles Island Brewing Company

TLDR: Excellent pizza/ wings and solid beer. A wonderful addition to Middle River for a place to hang out with friendsVibe: 5/5 - Located in the back of a nondescript business park, Pooles Island is certainly a destination gem. Upon entry, the brewery itself is quite large with ample seating for groups both large and small. There are also seating options both outside on the patio and bellying up to the bar. Pooles operates predominately by using their pay as you pour tap wall, which is perfect for those who want to sample as many brews as possible. For some of the higher ABV beers, you must ask a bartender to pour those for you from the designated selection behind the bar. The kitchen is located in the back of the brewery and uses both their online portal via your phone and onsite kiosks located throughout the brewery for ordering. This was very convenient, as some people ordered ahead of time on their phones on the way to the brewery as well as some in our party ordered onsite. When your food is ready, they simply call your name at the kitchen counter and you retrieve your eats. Service: 5/5 - The staff both at the kitchen and behind the bar were wonderful. Everything was laid out very intuitively, so interactions were minimal, but any time we needed anything or had a question, the Pooles staff was happy to help. Beer/Food: 5/5 - We came for a Sunday Funday with a group of 6 and we had a blast sampling their dozen or so beverages and a few pizzas. We absolutely loved their take on the buffalo chicken pizza, which was spicy, tangy and crispy from end to end (they do elongated pies). The wings were also a hit, as we ordered a dozen or so classic buffalo which also did not disappoint. On he beer front, everything we tried was tasty and well brewed. It was hard to pick a favorite amongst the group as beer tastes can be pretty subjective, but I recommend taking advantage of the pay as you go beer taps and try them all! Just be warned, this exercise can get pricey, as some pours will get you into the $12+ pint range. Overall, Pooles is a great place to come spend quality time with a group of friends in the county without having to deal with the production that is day drinking in the city.

I would 100% recommend a visit to Pooles Island. It's a bit far from me, but I ended up stopping in because I was in the area with a couple friends. This is my second visit. The space has both outdoor and indoor seating. It's very open. It was the perfect day to cool off with some of their frozen drinks. Usually frozen drinks are on the weaker side in terms of spirits, but not here. We went back for seconds and even mixed some of the flavors which was fun. I also love their beer, seltzer and cider options. For those you can choose to pour your own or just get it from behind the bar. We ordered a mushroom pizza which was absolutely delicious.Service was awesome as usual!

Cool place. It's massive and lots of tables. They have a draft wall which is amazing. The mushroom pizza was great! Highly recommend!!

Great beer selection. Great food. Super nice servers and a beer wall. The tap room is super comfy. I love the other patrons. Everyone so nice. What more could you ask for.

I really enjoyed this brewery. I would have never even known it existed as it's tucked deep into a business park area. When we arrived, we noticed the rules posted on the entrance - they allow dogs! The bartenders were so friendly and personable. They we even chimed in on conversations sometimes, but not in an annoying way lol. We got our tap card which links a payment card and your ID to it. Note - you do not have to pay with the payment card that was linked to the tap card. We explained that it was our first time there, and the bartender patiently explained what to do. We took our tap card over to the wall of joy (that's what I'm calling it lol) and made our selections. I do wish that they had more seltzer options. They only had one at the wall. Apparently they also have 2 frozen seltzers on hand normally, but they were sold out at the time. As far as ordering food, they had a tablet set up where you could put in your order yourself. Then they text you when it's ready and you go to a little window at the back of the building to grab your food. We got pepperoni pizza and fries to share. The fries were amazing. I love shoestring fries, and they were well seasoned with salt and pepper. The pizza was ok, nothing spectacular but it wasn't bad. Overall we had a great experience here and will definitely be back.

I decided to pop by here today as I saw they have a DIPA. It was a very fruity DIPA and wasn't for me. I found the beer here to be very fruity or chocolatey. Definitely not my jam for beer but the atmosphere is nice and the owner was also very nice. I can't say I'm a fan of the self pouring stations either.

Every time I travel, I try a local brewery. This one was outstanding. It's a huge inside space and very modern. Theu have bar seating and a variety of high tops and table seating around the taproom. They have a cool pour your own wall so you can try and drink at your own space. There's also a decent sized outdoor patio. I tried several beers including the smiths golden, schatz merican pilsner, bay haze and the squeeze. The bay haze was outstanding and perfect on this beautiful day. There was a local food truck as well and was delicious.I highly recommend this brewery. They are dog and family friendly.

I freaking love this place! I recently moved away from this area and the thing that saddens me the most is that I'll no longer be nearby this spot. This place has the option to be self serve, but you can always head up to the bar and order whatever you'd like. They also have items with a higher alcohol content behind the bar. Poole's serve every type of alcohol except hard liquor! They have wine and seltzers in addition to beer, so anyone can come and enjoy. I'm not kidding when I say they have some of the strongest and best wine around. They normally have a food truck on site for you to eat while you relax, but I would love for them to have their own food and menu! The vibe here is open, friendly, and beautiful when it's nice outside for the outdoor seating. This place is super dog friendly, so you can bring your furry friends. I used to frequent this place time and time again when I lived in the community surrounding it, and I miss it dearly!

This was my second time visiting Poole's Island Brewing. I sampled several beers while I was there and I loved them all which is kind of impressive for me! I love the self service aspect as you never have to wait on a server for a refill and you can pour as much or as little as you want. You pay for what you take. Although they were pretty full on the day I visited there was never more than one or two people ahead of me in line for beer. They had an awesome food truck on site that day and all of the employees were friendly and welcoming. I will definitely be back.

This is the SPOT! What a cool concept. We came on a Saturday night around 5:30 and hardly anyone was here! There was live music and a ton of indoor and outdoor seating- very specious! Didn't know where to start!Staff were friendly. We explained it was our first time here and we didn't know how to go about getting drinks. The bartender said we give our card to start a tab and they give us a "tap card." We use this card to try any of the various beers they had on the wall and you pay by the ounce then cash out. So you can try a little bit of everything or theoretically mix drinks. You can also order drinks at the bar! And they have water and soda. We had 4 total drinks and paid less than $20. They also had food inside that day (quesadillas and wraps). They do not serve any of their own food, only from outside vendors. A friend had the food and she enjoyed it. I had the grapefruit sour an Pooles Gold (hard cider). Both drinks were good and refreshing. My boyfriend had the Welch's drink which tasted like a grape. We sat outside and it was all very relaxing! The location is in the middle of nothing (mostly vacant business park) so I don't think it's well known which was great for us! They also allow dogs! :)