Exit Strategy Brewing Company

ESBC is my favorite place in the OP/​RF/​FP area. I love the beer. The namesake Exit Strategy APA is my go to, but they do everything well. The saison, the wit, the Vanilla porter are all personal favorites as well. Since this place was opened as a brewery, I didn’t necessarily expect the food to be as good as it it. I’ve been blown away by the quality. Everyone needs to have the poutine before they die. ESBC is a family friendly place that needs to be on your radar.

I wish this place was closer to where I live. I’d be here all the time. The service was great, the beer was good and the food was tasty!

Overpriced and very disappointing. Too much bland meat in the macaroni. The blue cheese potatoes were ok. Beer was good. However, did not appreciate being charged 50 cents for spicy ketchup.

2^nd time back and the food was great. My wife and I had the frijoles appetizer, This Little Piggy, and The Epic Burger. We highly recommend them all. The service was another matter. When she showed up, our server was friendly and helpful. It was bizarre; overall, she seemed more interested in sitting at the bar socializing with her back to customers. Strange, because it’s her gratuity in the end. Catching her eye when she was off the bar seat was nearly impossible. My wife had to go to the bar and ask her for service. «Oh, ok, sure.» No apology. We got to-​go containers and moved to the bar where the bartenders were attentive and helpful. So far, both visits have been good but unevenly so. 3 ½ stars if that were an option.

The beers here are good, and the food is nice despite a small menu. The atmosphere is pretty different from other bars in Forest Park, which feels like a welcome change of pace.
The inside is spacious and the staff is generally great, though sometimes the table service can be quite slow.

Been here a couple of times and it’s definitely one of the more unique establishments on Madison. I guess if there’s a phrase to describe Exit Strategy, it’s homey with a touch of urban hipness. The layout of the place is light and airy almost like a coffee shop or more fitting a wine bar. There are couches in the front, and further back is a very pleasant bar followed by a more formal dining area and then the brewery. Even the restrooms I dare say are kind of cute.
The menu while not expansive is good and should appeal to almost everyone, especially the Exit Burger and the Fish and Chips. Then of course there’s the beer. I’ve only tried a handful of their brews but I really loved the Rufus Porter, Apologize Witbier, Judgmental Dick IPA and recently a special run of a coffee Stout. All pretty good stuff.
All in all a pretty nice chill place to meet up, relax and try some good craft beers. It’s a welcomed departure from the Irish Pub/​Sports Bars/​Bro bars that dominate Madison Street.

Love this new place in Forest Park. Great brews and food was unique and delicious. Couple areas of improvement: 1) create a kids menu (you will attract more customers in this family oriented area) and have ketchup available2) get some wines on the menu. Partner with some cool vineyard out west. I liked your space and service was great. I’ll be back.

The deco is super cool! I am not a beer drinker but my husband said that it was pretty good. I did have a root beer. It was a little flat but ok. We had the Mac and cheese and it was just ok. We split a burger and again it was just ok. We ordered the flat bread for my son and he wouldn’t touch it. It tasted like a cracker with cheese. I told the waitress and she was nice enough to take it off our bill. I can see this as a cool place to hang out and grab a beer but the food needs a little work.

I have wanted to go here since they opened. I just wanted to go with someone and friends were doing yard work and asked where we could all go to get a burger and a beer I suggested Exit Strategy Brewing. Everyone LOVED it.
We started off with beers. Two of us had Belgian Witbier a nice Belgian flavored with bitter orange rind, coriander and ginger and it was very crisp and refreshing, it does has hops. Two of us had the vanilla stout, which I had as a second round, the vanilla brings out the chocolatey notes in the stout and it reminded me of a chocolate phosphate. Someone had a Scottish Ale which was very smooth and if you are less fond of hops would be s nice choice.
We ALL has the Exit burger and they make their own ketchup… Let that sink in… That make their own delicious ketchup. The aioli and mustard are also homemade and excellent, the burgers were excellent, nice thick and juicy on a pretzel bun, though potato bun was an option
I had the beer cheese which is delicious, but makes the Burger a bit more messy. Pork belly is worth adding for $ 3, you could get a fried egg for $ 3 as well.
The place is nice, mixed crowd, younger, older and families but I think nice for a casual date. I will definitely be back and recommend it to everyone I meet.

First time visiting this place. I have passed it up a million times and never tired it. I heard great things about it so I gave it a go. When I seen the menu I noticed that it was very short and simple which I love.
I absolutely love the décor. Also family friendly. I tried the Thai One On nachos there were so many different tastes in my mouth they were delicious great for a appetizer to share with a group of people. The exit burger was very good I’m not a big burger person but this burger was great! I would definitely recommend the burger. Last but not least the fish tacos they were fresh but a little spicy.

First let me say I will go back! Just want to warn you that the Asian Nachos and the salads were so very disappointing… stick to the burgers! Nachos very greasy, so many chips no meat or nothing the flavors were bad it tasted like fish sauce. The salad was sad and no flavor.
But customer service still good and beers and burgers :)
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water

I have wanting to check this place out since it opened and finally made it. Exit Strategy is a nice change of pace from all the «pubs» on Madison.
Great selection of beer. Thursday night is Flight Night, but you can order 5oz single pours at all times. Really enjoyed Valleaudated (milk stout) and Exit Strategy (pale ale). They had a few that we really wanted to try but they had run out of.
They also have a decent food selection as well. The Giant Pretzel is HUGE, enough for two to share. The burger sliders were pretty solid (3/​$ 7).

Great Beer! Awesome food! Terrific service! I will definitely be back. The witbier, pale, saison, and milk stout were my personal favorites. Fish and Al Pastor tacos were spot on. I can totally tell the owners took a lot of pride and personal details to create such a cool brewery décor. Wished I lived closer!

Solid beer and above average food. Love the vibe of the place. Friendly and helpful staff.

I was shocked to realize I hadn’t reviewed this place. Upon second thought-​it was because I was too busy going on and on about it to friends!
I absolutely loved this place– from the shabby chic décor, to the friendly service to the beer and the FOOD!
I tried the Persephone– the pomagranate beer, and their milk stout. Both were great! I like that all the beers come in 3 size options. By the time I got to the second beer, I was full from my meal so I opted for a smaller size, which ended up being perfect.
Now, to the food. OH EM GEE the food! This is the only microbrewery in the burbs that I’ve seen that serves food. And its REALLY good food too! Gourmet bar food. I ordered a black bean burger that came with a side of quinoa. The burger had a pineapple salsa, two choices of cheese and two choices of bun. The burger was a little soft, being a bean burger, but the flavor was excellent. The quinoa was great too.
My guy ordered a bacon grilled cheese. I’m not much (like at all) of a grilled cheese lover, but when this came out, I was a changed person. It looked phenomenal. I insisted on having a bite, and it WAS phenomenal. Life changing, even. He took a bite and his only reaction was «YUP.» which I took to mean #flawless. I was super jealous, but he wasn’t willing to share. I want to come back for one of those alone! I even made a comment later how I’d write about it on my sandwich. I meant Unilocal review, but that sandwich was all I could think of!
I could not have been more happy with my experience here and cannot wait to return!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
Beer is fabulous… all of it. My personal faves are Persephone, Dougan’s Brown, Scotsquatch, Rufus, Gershwin & Valleaudated.
Food is so ridiculous… in the best way possible.
The transformation of the old warehouse is absolutely incredible… SO beautiful! And really… the bathrooms are so awesome! Nothing like them in the area.
Always look forward to my Friday stays but never turn down additional opportunities to pop in.
I adore the staff! They are fun, personable, knowledgeable and funny!!!
Overall a great atmosphere!

Yesterday I finally made it back to ESBC after the pre-​open house. The beer was still excellent. Drank mostly the APA, but sampled the imperial IPA. My wife enjoyed the pomegranate beer.
We ordered poutine, beer cheese soup, and the burger with a fried egg. The burger was seasoned well, but still just ok. The bun was pretty bland. It was an ok burger. The fries in the poutine were very under cooked and I’m not sure fully cooking them would have improved much.
Aside from that, the service was very lacking. We were comped a beer to make up for it. I didn’t care as much about the food being slow, though it took 45 minutes, as I did about the beer service. It’s on tap. It should take 5 minutes tops. Now I understand we overwhelmed the place, but it still needs some help.
I hate to give 3 stars to a local place I think could be excellent, but I just did not have a great experience. I’ll be back and can hopefully change my opinion.

Awesome burger… homemade bun, handmade patty, cooked perfectly
Poutine and beet flatbread were really good too

Brew — 5 Stars
Space — 5 Stars
Staff — 4.5 Stars
Food — 4 Stars
This place is a neighborhood home run for me. Living down the block, it is sure to be a money trap.
–Exist Strategy American Pale is a Hop heaven. As the owner has said, «I can smell this beer all day».
–Milk Stout (my personal fav) should be called the Coffee Cocoa Lactose Stout. Crisp, yet creamy. Better than left hand milk stout. The only thing that would make this better is installing a Nitro tap.
–The Pomegranate Wheat will be a great summer beer to enjoy on their large window sills. Chicks will love this.
–The English Brown is well-​balanced and nutty, great copper/​amber tastes (if you can even taste those colors) with just the right amount of hop flavor to give it a warm earthy finish. Great morning beer.
The food is a bit much, as tacos ate $ 4; it would take 3 to make a meal. The Poutine fries have a delicate amount of gravy and cheese. The BEER CHEESE however is out of this world! Beer cheese soup, A+. I believe the soup of the moment was a double baked potato soup (something like that), and also to die for. I’m very excited to try the burger and see how this gem blossoms into a classy craft brew pub.
This is America. This is the taste of freedom.

Stopped in for their open house. The beers were good, the staff friendly and the space was nice. Looking forward to seeing what they’ll do after their official opening.