There are plenty of places to eat along the dirt-path-framed expanse of Austin’s Rainey Street, not to mention the streets just off of it. Tacos, sausages, Indian food, burgers, noodles … the list goes mouthwateringly on. Makes sense, then, that Craft Pride has such a singular focus: Beer.
The Boston area’s first gastropub was born on July 11th, 2002. David Ciccolo was making beer for Tremont Brewing and bartending to help pay the bills. When he realized his bartending “partner in crime,” Ailish Gilligan, shared his interest in opening a spot, they got to work on The Publick House.
In 2012, Troyo Terorotura opened REAL a Gastropub in Honolulu. Included in the establishment’s 24 taps and more than 200 bottles are beers from mainland breweries like Coronado, Ballast Point and Clown Shoes, right beside locals like Kona, Maui Brewing and Big Island.
Before Jerry Hauck opened Monks House of Ale Repute in 2007, there was not a craft tap in town in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Since then, at least 10 other local bars have developed extensive craft beer selections.
James Westphal’s mini-empire of beer-centric establishments in Kansas City began with the opening of McCoy’s Public House in 1997. He launched the Beer Kitchen in 2001, and then in 2008 opened The Foundry in a connected space next door.
Khyber Pass has seen many incarnations since it opened in the 1850s. These days, it’s a beer bar serving up New Orleans fare (and cult favorite Benton’s Bacon Grease Popcorn); but just a few years ago, the Khyber was a venerable music venue. That rock & roll attitude is still around today.
With a knowledgeable staff to guide patrons through the bar’s 48 taps (Michigan oriented, of course), one cask and around 200 bottles, HopCat is also a friendly place for first-timers.
Mark Alston, his wife Kileen, and their crew have served up the best brews available in Utah alongside Cajun food since 2002. And while Utah’s craft beer drinkers don’t have it as good as some, things have changed a lot.
In the spirit of the gallery district, Bottlecraft has original artwork throughout the shop. Beers featured in their special flight offerings are also displayed as art, lined up on small wooden shelves.
Tørst isn’t your average beer bar. Owned by Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, the man behind Danish gypsy brewery Evil Twin, Tørst offers no wine or spirits, and puts a premium on hospitality and glassware.
Aces & Ales is an oasis of sorts for people in the Capital of Second Chances looking to drink something beyond mass-produced macrobrews. And as Las Vegas’ craft scene has grown to four main breweries, Aces & Ales has been there to support them.
Since opening in early 2008, Thirsty Monk has become more than just a world-class Belgian bar, adding a second floor for American craft selections, and a second location in South Asheville with a nanobrewery. They’re also working on expanding their brewery space and adding a third-floor rooftop deck.
The Pony Bar, with spots in Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper East Side, exclusively sells American-made craft beer, at $5 each on draft. But more than just a cozy spot for trying affordable pours of the best that US craft has to offer, Pony Bar is about forging a sense of community.
In a city that’s standing out from behind the shadow of a certain macrobrewing behemoth, places like Bailey’s Range are introducing locals and tourists alike to all their burgeoning craft-beer scene has to offer.
Opened in 2006 in the Minnesota capital’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood, The Happy Gnome’s drink selection now includes 300 whiskeys and 100 bottled beer selections.
Stepping into Closed for Business, you find yourself transported. The young beer bar and restaurant in Charleston feels more like a renovated rec room than the area’s premiere craft-beer destination.
Aside from the gargantuan outdoors space, which is perfect for Portland’s temperate climate and encourages barflies to bring in their own food, APEX has pinball machines, walls lined with beer labels, and relatively inexpensive, interesting drafts on impeccably clean lines.
Housed in a former high-end furniture shop, The Mayor of Old Town is a minimalist space, set off by high ceilings and lots of natural light and outfitted in mid-century modern décor. This clean design allows visitors to focus on the beer, which is plentiful—to the tune of 100 taps.
When Eric and Julie Michaud opened Portland, Maine’s Novare Res Bier Café in 2008, the husband-and-wife pair hoped to start a revolution, as the bar’s name means in Latin.
Houston’s quickly growing craft scene requires that new establishments find ways to stand out amidst increasingly stiff competition. Hay Merchant’s superlative is an exotic, quickly rotating cask program.
The craft beer scene in Chicago was a bit behind in 1992. But with a bar like Hopleaf and emerging craft brewers popping up, things began to turn around.
When Trappeze Pub opened in 2007, its hometown of Athens, Ga., was known more for its music than its beer. But thanks in no small part to pent-up demand for craft beer in the area, opening night saw people lined up out the door for Trappeze’s expansive beer bible of a menu.
The Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco’s Mission District, hosts 24 drafts and around 180 bottles, including 10–15 vintage selections in the subterranean cellar of the extremely intimate space (the capacity is just 45).
