Actual Brewing Company

Actual Brewing is actually good. Finding this is part of the fun. That is if you don't keep passing it and get pissed off. Another feature is all the games. There's lots to keep you hanging all night goofing off.

It has the strangest location for a brewery. It's impossible to find even if you look it up. The address is pretty complicated to understand. It's actually not like a real building. This is a building, but it's one of those rows of office buildings that look more like storage units. I had the Albeiro. It's about $6 for a pint. This is a Hefeweizen style. Be sure to get your game on. They have tons of old school stuff.

It's located off 5th Avenue. It's where it intersects with 7th Avenue. Take it north and you will almost be there.

Solid 4 star! It was welcoming and homey. I felt like I was walking into someone's crowded basement. Keep in mind it was 2 pm on a Saturday. I really expected it to be dead. I guess there was a bottle release party! They had fire pits going out front.
The line was a little long for my taste, but we did go to a bottle release, so I understood why. Doubt it would be like this on a normal Saturday afternoon. We did get to experience more due to this. They provided a brewery tour. Great time!

Very laid back atmosphere, friendly staff, and fun selections. I love how they incorporate the science in everything they do, which brewing beer is all about chemistry. I feel like I learned a lot about the process while I was there, which was unexpected. My girlfriend's husband is a brewer there so when we showed up she gave me a tour of the facility. They have a lot of big events that occur regularly which seems to get a lot buzz. I haven't been personally. Small space, only a couple of seats at the bar, but a cozy tap room with a lot to offer. There is usually a food truck outside for food options and there was a fire going outside. However they closed a lot earlier than expected, but the bartender was still willing to serve those who got in right when they were to close. Nice guy!

I tried all of their beers and I'm not a stout girl but I wanted to try it regardless. It was SO creamy and good... I was so impressed!

Not a big loss

Photon was overrated

The other beers where nothing special.

To bad the action of one man could destroy so much and more over so many.

"It's like getting drunk in your friend's basement, but cooler and with better beer" - accurate quote from the bartender. Actual is in a business park by the airport and off the beaten path, but that's a trend I am learning to expect after hitting the 2017 Columbus Ale Trail. Luckily, a food truck seemingly randomly parked in a parking lot helped lead us to the entrance. The tap room is fairly small and dark, with a few tables and arcade games. Some seating was also in the parking lot but I imagine it is only available when the other businesses are closed. The bar tender was very friendly and knowledgeable about the beers. The beers are in the more bitter spectrum, with their pale ale higher and saison likely higher than 30 IBU. For this reason, some people may struggle to find a beer they like at Actual. If you are a fan of the nitro stout, a solid IPA, and a more-bitter saison and pale ale, you are in the right spot. This is a spot our dad's would probably love but as 20-somethings, the environment was not our favorite. However, this place has solid beer.

This place is very laid back and welcoming. The lighting is great and the old school arcade games and pinball add in an extra fun touch. There's no food served beyond chips and salsa and the location is isolated so eat before you visit!

Finding this place was a bit of a pain. Hidden in an industrial complex at the end of the runway. Two mapping programs got me to the right place but it's tucked away inside the complex.

Folks are cool. They indulged me with some beer geekness. Free old school video games. Good beer. Had some food from the food truck that was Jamaican and it was fan fucking yummmm.

Bang for your buck: 7/10
Quality: 6/10
Service: 10/10
Ambiance/Location: 4/10
Overall: 6.5/10

This is a bizarre little spot. We weren't overall impressed with the beer or the location, but we had great service and the beers are really reasonably priced. If you're doing the Cbus Ale Trail, it's worth it, but we wouldn't recommend an afternoon visit otherwise.

My wife and I went here on a Friday night and it was difficult to find. We GPS'd it but because it's really off the beaten path and it's in an industrial complex, it threw us off. I think if we had known what we were looking for, we'd have had more luck.

The good news is that once we found it, we were surprisingly pleased. I felt like I was walking into someone's house party, in a good way. There were people hanging out outside (it's pretty small inside and it was a nice night and there was a food cart), and more inside the tasting room. We asked for a tasting of everything they had on tap and they only had four. We tried those four and then they ran out of one brew and replaced it with another. That worked in our favor because the bartender had us try the new one too. I don't remember which five we tried, but the only one that really made a positive impression was the Conductor, Imperial Rye IPA. We ended up buying a bottle of it before we left.

You may wonder why I gave this place four stars when I didn't care much for most of their beers. It was really the experience, including the atmosphere and the service, that earned Actual Breaking four stars from me. While sitting at the bar, even though it felt like many of the people knew each other, the bartenders engaged my wife and I in conversation and made us feel welcome. Better yet, through our conversation, a man sitting at the bar, who turned out to be a sales rep, overheard that we had never been there and took us on a tour! He was really nice and seemed like he really cared about us having a positive experience.

They have a nice setup in the back to make the beer and you can tell although it came from a homegrown operation originally, it was very professional. There is also a game room off of the main tasting room which has an arcade game, lots of board games, and an original Nintendo system hooked to a TV.

It was a very original microbrewery compared to all others I've been to. That coupled with the friendly service will bring us back one day. I'll need to try more of their beers to make a final decision on them. And we definitely enjoyed the bottle of Conductor at our home about a week later.

A little hard to find and in an odd little location but it's a Great little venue with an excellent choice of beers. Inexpensive for microbrews and they offer beer flights with a bonus shot for less than $12.00.

With old school video games in the back and pinball on the sides, you really can't ask for more.