Crystal Beer Parlor

Let’s talk about something really sad and true, that can be summed up in one word. Prohibition. It happened, and not just in America. It was a time where the government thought they could control the happiness of innocent people by taking away their liquor. This made people almost as mad as realizing they actually paid their hard earned money to go see a Jeff Dunham show. In 1933, Uncle Sam pulled his head out his assets and allowed the straight walking drunks to soon walk crooked once more! But where did they go to do that? Well in Savannah, Georgia, they went to a place called Crystal Beer Parlor.

It has been said that the owners of CBP were secretly running hooch out of the bottom, but I guess they decided to keep Turner. They are still doing the same thing today, only legally. This post-speakeasy is now a family environment beer diner that serves up some solid food to the patrons of Savannah. They have a wonder wall of domestic and local beer on tap and they can make you any mixed drink in the book. Inside, it looks a lot like Diversity, the old wooden ship. It has a very laid back, comfortable, welcoming feel to it that gladly invites your drinking or dining tendencies for the evening. All the walls are covered in memorabilia from simpler times, keeping your eyes busy, but not asking for nearly as much attention as the increasingly desperate, Rev Run. But you don’t have to imagine it, take a look!

My girlfriend and I showed up on a Saturday around 11:30 AM, on a somewhat busy graduation weekend. After a quick 10 minute wait, we were escorted to a nice 2 person booth, and eventually looked over the bunchless menu. I knew that a burger was in my forte. After my girlfriend had mentally switched over to a lunch/dinner menu, we ordered. The waitress informed us that the dessert takes a while because it is prepared freshly, if we were interested. Since we had not had our share of Georgia peaches, we comply and order the peach cobbler. We were hungry before the journey to CBP so when the food came we were excited, and here is why. Ladies and gentlemen, the Brown Ale Burger.

The Brown Ale Burger is 100% ground chuck seasoned with Savannah Brown Ale (a local beer), topped with jalapeño cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The star of this burger would definitely be the patty. It was a super tender, very well cooked piece of meat, that lightly finished with a dark sweet lingering flavor, from which I presume was from the brown ale, reduced down and charred on the grill. The marinade could have been more pungent, but overall it was nice. As you know, I’m always on the lookout for the most interesting toppings, and at this burger joint, the cream cheese was it. It left a creamy, buttery texture with each bite, and surprisingly had a dominant spicy jalapeño flavor. The crunch from the crisp onion was necessary for a texture change and the tomato was fresh and juicy. The bun was thick enough to mop up the juices on the bottom, but was light and airy enough to have a firm grip on the tasty sangwich. The almost perfectly fried sweet potato weren’t too greasy, and made for a perfect side.

My girlfriend ended up ordering a club sandwich which looked amazing. The only downfall was the bacon. You’re probably thinking “Why would you ever say that about bacon?! I’m going to kill you and only invite pigs to your funeral!”, but hear me out! Sheesh! The bacon wasn’t fresh and crispy like we all know and love. It just seemed to have been cooked earlier that day and had somewhat of a ‘pull and tear’ to it. And remember that peach cobbler from earlier? Well it showed up in the form of our check. And it didn’t even taste like peaches. Our waitress had unfortunately forgotten to put it on our ticket. Which somewhat worked out for the best, because that burger was huge. Overall, pretty solid food, and I will give this hamburger 3 out of 5 burgz.

I do recommend this historical beer parlor if you’re stopping by Savannah for a day or two. There are some great local breweries and odds are you can celebrate the end of prohibition by drinking through the wonderful tap selection and dining on some righteous food. That’s if you’re not too full from visiting the Country Crock factory that somehow got mislabeled Paula Deen’s restaurant/gift shop.

Crystal Beer Parlor

301 W Jones St.

Savannah, GA 31401

Monday - Thursday: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Friday - Saturday: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Sunday: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM