Big Tide Brewing Co

Discover Saint John tweeted today about Big Tide Brewing Co. so I thought I would check it out for supper as I like brewpubs.
They brew their own beer onsite. Alas, all they sold are growlers so I can’t take any home for Gord. Thomas was the bartender/​server/​brewer and he gave me a tour.
I had a Fogbound Hemp Pale Ale and it was good.
I ordered Chicken Parmesan, without the parm cheese (I’m not a fan). It was okay. I found the batter on the chicken too crispy … maybe it was cooked too long? The chicken inside was tender and moist. It’s a big meal and I couldn’t finish it … I left some pasta and most of the bread.
Thomas was extremely friendly and took excellent care of me. This is a place I would like to take Gord, who is a big fan of craft beer, to someday. The beer was good and the bar was cozy.

The Thanksgiving club rocks my socks off. What a good taste. Coupled with a Rhubarbaric Raison, it was thanksgiving without the awkward family conversation.

An enjoyable casual meal, with unique micro brew to drink, in a trendy downtown setting.
My meal featured a California sandwich– basically a grilled chicken breast on a bun, with guacamole added. The vegetables that went on the bun were crisp and so were the fries accompanying. Works for me.
The wife had the «tipsy onion» soup, which was delicious, and the Reuben, which also was well done. Pity the soup had to be ordered separate and could not be an upgraded side, but that’s a minor gripe.
The pretzel appetizer was delicious. How can you go wrong with warmed pretzel bread brushed with garlic butter? Yum. The accompany mustard sauce was nothing special, but the pretzel itself whetted my appetite… as it should.
The most interesting item was the beer. Since it is a brew pub, they have four home brews on tap. I chose the Gose, a very light sour beer of German origin that went down easily, but has a surprisingly salty aftertaste. Not bad mind you, but certainly different. I did not get to try the others on tap but would expect they would also be of similar quality. Full marks to the brewmaster for putting out a risky beer like this. (It must be risky because the waitress offered to bring me a sampler for tasting even after I’d committed to a pint of it, sight unseen)
Décor was split personality: the lower section is ironically the brightest hippest part of the restaurant and the upper is somewhere dark with heavy wood, almost like a brewery basement. Both parts are serviced equally, and you can view the brewing kettles in the latter section.
I’d go back, especially if they keep making creative beers like the Gose.

This restaurant was a very happy surprise, we were actually looking to eat at a different establishment, that happened to be closed, when we wound up stopping to see what was here. We discovered a nice relaxed atmosphere and had exceptionally well prepared meals.

Pretty cool atmosphere. We went rather early for dinner and they were out of veggie burgers already so I ordered veg chili. It was pretty good. We also ordered poutine and onion rings which were really really good.

The beer was great as well as the ambiance. I ordered a turkey burger, which was really good. We also had the poutine and onion ring appetizer which were excellent. Where this restaurant lost stars was the service. The waitress forgot our beer, was slow and not helpful (maybe she was new??). Additionally, we were there early evening and they were out of veggie burgers. This place has so much potential, I might come back if I’m in the area.

Menu looks nice, but food was just mediocre. Not bad, but nothing outstanding. I probably could have cooked it better at home. I had salmon with veggies and potato skins. My friend had a steak sandwich and said it was actually excellent.
Service was extremely slow and there were only 3 tables of people, so that was an issue for me. We found ourselves trying to flag down our waitress several times. The man at the bar (bartender or manager?) was very helpful in giving us travel tips and directions, and they let us use their phone to book a hotel when we realized we couldn’t really call it using our American phones unless we wanted to pay a dollar/​min to our cellphone provider.

Had a quick dinner here while traveling for work on a Sunday. They only had four beers on tap but the two that I tried were good quality.
I had the blackened salmon with side salad. The salmon was fresh and portion size was perfect. I wouldn’t rave about the food but I enjoyed the low key atmosphere.

My fiancé and I are avid beer drinkers so naturally would stumble upon the only brew pub in St. John while here for a day while on a cruise. This place is awesome, the owner could not have been friendlier! The beer was definitely great, I can’t comment on the food since we didn’t eat here though. Would come back if we were in the area again!

We were in St John only one day and wanted to sit down somewhere and relax. Our first choice was another place, but it was a Sunday and that one was closed. Thank God! We are so happy to discover this gem! This is a nice microbrewery and the selection of beers was just to our liking! They serve good food too, so you can enjoy great beer and some good snacks. The owner was there so we had a nice chat with him too. Great guy! We’ll be back there again, for sure!

Love this place. Great beer, great food, great service. Win.

Good location, atmosphere and service. I tied two beers (IPA and something else), and both were excellent. The food we tried was probably closer to 3 star level, but then again it was decent for a pub. All in all a good experience and I would recommend to anyone looking for a brew pub meal.

This place was great!!! Their beers are delicious, service very friendly. If you’re here around autumn time, try their pumpkin ale. We usually don’t like pumpkin ales but theirs is delicious! Got a flight of 4 beers for $ 8. Great experience here, our favorite spot in St John.

Great microbrewery, a family business, run by an owner who’s passionate about what he does.
They’re conveniently located just a block away from the ship terminal. We walked in during our ship’s stop in Saint John and had a great conversation with the owner, while sampling the selection of great craft beers. The hefeweizen was especially memorable, and so was the as-​of-​yet unfiltered double IPA.
Great place to visit if you’re in town for the day or even a few hours. Probably worth a drive, as well. We will definitely be back, if we’re ever in the area!

Nice selection of brews, we had a sampler of 4 for $ 8 CDN. Chatted with the owner/​manager. Nice people with free wi-​fi. Kid friendly for sure. Stop in if in town for a cruise.

From:
The place has been open for just a couple of months but they’ve established themselves well.
Their beer selection is good: I sampled the Cream Ale and Blueberry, which where very good.
Food was a bit bland, needing to be cooked a bit more.
Décor and service were good.
Will come back to give it a chance to improve — having a brew pub in Saint John is a great thing and should be encouraged.
3 out of 5 stars