Salem Ale Works

Love this place, good vibes from the staff. Small venue but I would stand in this place than sit at any other. 5stars all the way. I swear though their beers get you drunker. True story

It’s a tiny place stuck off in an industrial center. The staff is friendly, as are the patrons. There’s often a food truck parked out front. You can look over the whole brewing operation right there, grab a brew, and feel right at home.

Was waited on byJustin. Great knowledge of beer and excellent conversationalist. I recommend their stout, especially if you can get the bourbon aged.

My husband and I are just learning how to drink «good» beer and wanted to try out Salem Ale Works during our visit with our daughter, who attends college in the area. We went on a Friday evening and sat at the bar. We were the only out-​of-​towners in the place and the woman behind the bar gave us some history and insight into the brewery process. All in all, it was a great experience!

Our beers were great with tons of flavor. I tried a beer called «man on a goat» and it was strong and delicious. My only gripe was that it was so busy I had to stand up and keep moving so people could go to the bathroom. I guess that is a good problem to have, but I think it is time to move to a bigger facility. It is nice to support local companies that deserve it.

These guys are doing a small brewery the right way. They really are putting the Ale in Salem.
Tasting room attached and in the brewery, a small bar, nice bartenders/​owners/​brewers. Clearly fun folks who love beer and are having fun making it.
The location is small, so it can fill up easily. People are nice and will share the space with others, though.
We had a flight of everything on tap and they were all solid, well made beers. No off flavors, or beers that should be dry finishing abnormally sweet, and the beers that should be hoppy are. The Misery Whip IPA and Stump Humper IPA both had the right bitterness and hop flavor/​aroma one would expect. 10 taps of house made beers, and they had cider for the non beer drinkers.
Nice logging and firefighting theme décor.
Located toward the Salem airport but just a short distance from Mission Street/​Hwy 22 and I-​5.

Come for the pretzels. Stay for the beer.
A great addition to the ever growing beer scene. Quaint tasting room, 10 beers on tap. Good dudes, good beer.
Now I’m just trying to make this review long enough.
May the hops be with you.

This is my new watering hole. The beer is great and the company is fantastic.
Worth checking out, and please do say hi to the crazy Aussie (me) if I’m around.

Interesting beers in a small quaint environment. No food onsite but you can bring your own.

A great little brewery in Salem, and hopefully the beginning of a vibrant beer scene in the Oregon state capitol. Jake and Justin have built something great here, and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the future.
These guys brew craft beer on a 3 barrel system and typically have 10 beers available in the taproom. Expect to see their Misery Whip IPA and Hootenanny Honey Basil as well as several other adventurous seasonal offerings.
The tasting room is right in their brewery. You’ll be able to see all the equipment that the beer was made on while you drink it. Expect the staff to be knowledgeable about the brewing process. Maybe you’ll even be lucky enough to get a basic tour.
The Salem beer scene is better with these guys involved. I hope they grow and have lots of success in their community.

This is a wonderful place with great beer. If you can end your day here, you will end on a high note!

This is by far the BEST Craft Beer in town. The owners are very down to earth, friendly and passionate about brewing. It’s a place where they always remember your name. Love Jen, the Tap Tender!

Disclaimer, I love beer! So I finally got a chance to try Salem Ale Works due to the fact the my wife was getting her hair did next door at AW Designs. I like doing samples because I usually find one or two I really like. I tried five samples (a buck apiece) and found five beers I really liked. It took me another hour to figure out what flavor I wanted in my growler. I will be getting many different growler fills here.

this is a fun little place that makes really wonderful beer. it’s nice to see the Salem is getting a lot of new places, that make fine beer. I love there ales. this is a very straightforward Brewhouse.

This is another great example of a good, local brewery serving awesome beer. I did not know about this place until I was told by the owners of Vagabond Brewing to give them a try to expand my beer experience and support craft beer in Salem.
I stopped in for the first time on their one year anniversary and have been a fan ever since. True, as stated in other reviews, the place is small, but this adds to the style of coolness that is SAW. Most of the time you will find one of the owners behind the bar poring their line of outstanding beers.
Currently I go between their Spike Out Smoked Porter and their Hootenanny Honey Basil. Both are a credit to the rising craft beer scene in Salem.
SAW also gives you a choice of having your beer in either a standard 16oz, or for typically a dollar more, a 20oz.
If you get a chance, stop by SAW. You will not be disappointed!

Some of the best beer being made in Salem right now. Definitely top 10 in the state as well. Super nice owner. Great prices. Very welcoming atmosphere from the place. I go there 2 – 3 a month. Great, great, great.

An ale snob here. My hubby is a brewery enthusiast, and I happen to work at a nearby business, so I was «in the know» about when they were going to open. They truly make some superb ales! All sorts of them! Their IPA was amazing, and it’s sold out usually! The CDA was super yummy. I recall they host an outside cider. They have a lot of specialty recipes that I suggest a taster tray for! It has been really, super cool to see when they host pub crawls with a cool buss on Saturdays. Seems so big city. Wish the other half and I could get out someday and do that new crawl.
On my 3^rd visit, I wanted to take the hubs home a growler, but they were out of the glass ones. I bought the 50 dollar SAW hydroflask and they gave me a few fills complimentary. I have to give that a nod.
I have to disagree with the two star rating of the food trucks. Man, they fill my tummy on Saturdays. I look forward to them. I actually just SAW (no pun intended) a public notice for a liquor license and that must mean they are starting to serve some food! Good job guys, looks like we have another option when us HANGRY hairstylists forget our lunches!!!
This truly is a great and upcoming business. The ale is yummy and always changing with their artistry. Good job SAW!

Wonderful hand crafted beers, served by the owners in the spot where they make it. Smokey Porter and IPAs are very tasty. Tucked away location in the Airport Business Park. Well worth the trip.

So happy to witness the boom in breweries in Salem. This is the newest one in town.
The taproom consists of 4 bar chairs looking out to the parking lot, two indoor picnic tables, and 6 – 7 stools at the bar. Really nice guys working there and a solid IPA.
The major drawback is their limited hours– only a few hours here and there. It sounds like they may be reigning it in more too over the winter — not positive though.
Check it out.

Awesome new brewery. This nano brewery has excellent beer and a really cool atmosphere. You get to sit in the brewery enjoying beer served up by the owner. My favorite was the Pulaski.