The Ultimate 8 Taps for Your Bar

1. Whatever Other Half beer is fresh at the time
2. Whatever Grimm beer is fresh at the time
3. Whatever Threes beer is fresh at the time
4. Whatever Singlecut beer is fresh at the time
5. Whatever Barrier beer is fresh at the time
6. Whatever Sand City beer is fresh at the time
7. Whatever Carton beer is fresh at the time
8. Whatever Hill Farmstead beer is available at the time

I think I'm ready to open up shop.

 

If you are talking about a real bar that will actually make a profit, the first three have to be Miller Coors and Bud light, no question. Even though they are also sold by the bottle, more people will want those three on tap than anything else. It's not even close. After that probably Spotted Cow and the Leinie's seasonal considering where you are. The remaining taps you can go with some mainstream craft like SNPA or something from Founders or Sam Adams. That's not what the taps would look like if I had a billion dollars and I bought a bar for the hell of it to hang out in, but if you only have eight taps and you want to pay the bills, you have to give the people what they want.

 

1. Pipeworks Lizard King (Pale Ale)-
2. Saison Dupont (Saison....Obviously ^_^)
3. Founders Mosaic Promise (IPA)
4. Metropolitan Krankshaft (Kolsch)
5. Old Rasputin (Russian Imperial Stout)
6. Bockor Cuvee Des Jacobins (Flemish Belgian Sour)
7. Founders Dirty Bastard (Scotch Ale)
8. Empirical Phase Transition (Robust Porter)
9. 5 Rabbits Gringolandia Super Pils (Pilsner)
10. Uinta Baba (Black Lager)

 

OP from the world class brewers you listed, you literally could stick with those brewers only and just rotate their options.

One or 2 lagers or light ales
a few IPAs/Double IPAs
1-2 big beers (stouts/barleywines etc)
1-2 sours/fruity beers

You'd be a champ!

 

So if I go with beers that I've had, I'd have to go with:
Tap 1- SN Vienna Lager
Tap 2- Weihenstephaner Hefe
Tap 3- Surly Todd the Axe Man
Tap 4- Chimay Grande Reserve
Tap 5- Orval
Tap 6- SN Tumbler
Tap 7- Weihenstephaner Korbinian
Tap 8- Prairie BOMB!

 

1. Sea Hag
2. Gandhi Bot
3.Guinness Extra Stout
4. Enjoy by
5. Elm City Lager
6. Kellerweis
7. Sip of Sunshine
8. Captain's Daughter

These are based on beers that I can get regularly

 

Having just sold our bar, I'll give you some general advice that seemed to work.

We had 16 taps - no BMC, not even in bottles.

We had a cooler of bottles, usually large format, harder to get shit (not big sellers).

We absolutely rotated taps and rarely tapped the same keg twice in a row with a few exceptions.

#1- Always have a wheat beer, our preference was Weihenstephaner or Franziskaner

#2 Some sort of BMC converter , in AZ we had Sunbru, a kolsch style, but any cream ale, pilsner, kolsch is good.

#3 Nitro tap is a nice addition though mixed reviews on styles besides stouts.

#4 IPA's! They might be your largest category, we would have a session, a DIPA, and then a third, whatever was the best fucking IPA at the moment we can get tap.

#5 Just hit your other main categories and if you have enough taps we usually always had a saison, 1 or 2 Belgians, sour or barreled taps.

#6 Make friends with your distributors, sales reps, and brewery reps if you ever want really good beer. The really good shit is on tight allocation that you can't even bribe people to get. For example in our area which is about 100,000 people we sometimes will only get 1 keg of a certain allocated beer. If you have 50 bars and bottle shops in that area, you have to be the best to get that keg or case. We have an awesome liquor & deli that gets most of our top beers because they spend a lot of time doing this and have a great volume of sales. Just because you are cool doesn't mean you're going to get a keg of Vanilla Rye. Money talks! I was able to get a lot of good beers just by being knowledgable as well. Your rep who mainly sells BMC, might not know that Parabola was just released in bottles last week, or whatever.

#7 Don't be a dick! It's easy to be a beer snob on-line, but you're running a business. I chose not to carry BMC, but I also understand there are a lot of people out there that drink Coors and don't give a fuck about Lambics. I'd rather treat them with respect because thats what they grew up with and try to open their mind. I did this for about 5 years and overwhemingly the guy that only drinks Bud, when forced, will drink a Kolsch and be like 'oh this is pretty good.'

#8 If you decide to go for it, good luck. Anything is possible with a good plan and hard work. I owned two bars over the past five years and built a really good clientele. It's a lot of fun but you can easily get fucked if you don't have everything worked out, I have two little girls now so decided to dial back the entrepreneurship for a while. Enjoying it!

 

If I could do 8 taps locally I would try and get these in CA:

1) Grey Monday
2) Chocolate Rain
3) Black Tuesday
4) Can You Smell What The Wakas Cookin
5) Naughty Sauce
6) BBA Speedway
7) Fundamental Observation
8) Track #8

Probably have to be a special event night, but if I could have those on tap year round I certainly would.

 

I have two lists: 8 static beers that never change, and a list of 8 beers that would practically always change.
The static list would be my "take it or leave it" beer selection that I would hope people would never grow weary of.
My changing list would be more practical, and would appeal to the general population.

Static list:
• Sierra Nevada: Pale Ale
• Societe: The Pupil
• Modern Times: Blazing World
• Pliny the Elder
• Boulevard: Tank 7
• Anchor: Porter
• Alesmith: Speedway Stout
• Lost Abbey: Angel's Share

General list (widespread appeal):
• Sierra Nevada: Pale Ale
• Sierra Nevada: rotating seasonal (Celebration Ale, Bigfoot, Narwhal, Hoptimum, etc.)
• Anchor: rotating seasonal (Winter Wheat, Christmas Ale, Summer Wheat, etc.)
• Stone: rotating seasonal (Old Guardian, IRS, Double Bastard, etc.)
• Societe: The Pupil
• Lost Abbey: rotating Belgian offering
• Lost Abbey: rotating barrel-aged offering
• Founders: Rubaeus (on nitro)

 

I'll play..

SN Summerfest
Stone IRS
Duvel
Ivan the Terrible
Bomb!
La Fin du Monde
Dreadnaught
Last year's SN Oktoberfest

 

Edit: Fremont Bourbon Abominable and Dark Star knock a couple of those off... Creature Comforts Tropicalia as well... Only 8 is tough

 

With Texas easy to find beers....

St Arnold Endeavor
Community Mosaic
Southern Star Buried Hatchet
Oasis Metamodern
St Arnold Lawnmower
Live Oak Hefe
Independence Red Bud
Lone Pint Yellow Rose

A little hop heavy, but it would keep me happy.

 

If there was only a place that had an endless wellspring of that SN Oktoberfest. Best damn beer I've had in recent memory...

 

Zombie Dust
PseudoSue
SUCKS
Prima Pils
Gumballhead
Death by Coconut
Born Yesterday (If not available PINNER)
Deschutes fresh squeezed

 

Props on #8; #9 Old Nick?, #10 RamRod Ale?...Damn the Well's merger

 

Funny I know places that sell pints of Bud or Bud light on tap for less than they sell 12 oc bottles for and people buy the bottles.

 

1. PseudoSue
2. Heady topper
3. Expedition stout
4. Rochefort 10
5. Avery Uncle Jacob's
6. Tilquin geuze
7. Allagash curieux
8. Russian river supplication

Tried to hit a lot of styles, different breweries and some of my favorites.

 

Trying to hit a couple styles for the options but still picking my favorite beers is tough. However I am up for the challenge!

1) Maine Beer Company- Mean Old Tom (Stout)
2) Lost Nation- Gose
3) Rushing Duck Brewing- Divided By Zero (IPA)
4) Peak Organic- IPA
5) Sloop Brewing Company- Confliction (American Wild Ale)
6) Founders- KBS (Stout)
7) Pizza Boy Brewing- Simcoe SamuRYE (American Amber/Red Ale)
8) Bunker Brewing Company- Cypher (American Pale Lager)

 

Some have mentioned FBS but worried about the year-round requirement. Depends on how much you plan to serve and how much storage you'll have, but I suspect FBS is available in kegs much of the year, and you could stock up because it would keep and only get better. Also would like to put in a vote for Prairie Bomb.