Last Call for the Beer Bar?

This is a great point. For example, Armsby Abby in MA is the only place that I know of outside of VT in New England that has Hill Farmstead on tap (all the time, and multiple lines).

I still go to "beer bars", although they're mostly just restaurants that also have great tap lists.

Sure, I go to breweries more often because, well, there's just so damn many of them around.

But I still love going to bars to try multiple local craft breweries offerings in one spot. As opposed to traveling all over the place to hit different breweries.

Not to mention, I still dig imports, especially during Oktoberfest season.

Finally, I'm not a big food truck guy. I kind of like going to a restaurant and eating.

 

Sounds exactly like my 1974 and before. At one point my future and still wife asked me why the dishes were in the bathtub. It was a long story.

 

I've been meaning to try Armsby Abby. I go to shows at the Palladium frequently so I'll have to stop in there beforehand one of these days. You recommend it I assume?

 

Agree with all your points. And food trucks are very hit or miss. Only thing consistent is they are generally expensive, at least the “foodie” ones that show up at the local breweries.

 

I never was one to frequent a bar.
Just can't seem to justify spending that much money on drinking.
Now, if the bar has good food and a decent tap list, that's a different story altogether.

 

Do you care to share the name of what sounds like a treasure we should all consider visiting in California?

Chicago doesn’t even have a distributor for Cantillon after the Shelton Brothers became bankrupt, in large part due to a $2.1M judgement against them awarded to their OG Chicago “Red House” distributor. Shelton Brothers left them for another, and they were sued as a result.

Illinois has the worst (or Wirtz) set of laws benefiting distributors / hurting breweries. We previously lost great American breweries like Bell’s for years and New Glarus forever, as a result of these laws.

There was no Zwanze Day here last month because there Cantillon has stopped distributing here to their most recent distributor, or any other, after conclusion of the lawsuit.

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/sightlines/2020/11/5/shelton-brothers-ceases-operations

 

I probably don't have a view that extends to other cities or towns, but I frequent a lot of the beer bars in NYC and have to say that they always have a place in our local beer culture. It's pretty common for my wife and I to go to dinner and grab some drinks once a week, and thanks to the number of interesting beer bars in NYC, we're able to stop by somewhere with at least a couple of things for each of us to matter what part of town we are in. Additionally, with the pandemic a lot of these establishments offer cans and bottles to go that would otherwise mean trading or travelling to acquire.

The cost itself, while higher than buying cans and drinking at home, is well-justified in my opinion. Many places have a nicer taplist than my fridge, many bars have nice sidepull taps (one even specializing in Mliko pours), and the beertenders themselves are often worth the visit alone - a local bar to me has 2-3 beertenders, all of whom are cicerones, make stellar suggestions and know far more about the history of beer than I do, and have a personal knowledge of breweries and people who own breweries and are in the industry.

I still like having a nice beer at home and watching a movie, but bar culture at least in NYC is an essential, inseparable part of beer culture. I'm not sure how true that is of other cities, but I think it's at least true here.

 

Wow hope my stopping beer consumption didn't cut into profits and contribute to this unfortunate trend haha.

I can think of three beer bars at which I had some of my best drinking experiences, and even though I don't and can't go now I'll be sad if they close. One example I can think of was at DeCicco's back in the day, having a night long side by side tasting of CBS, KBS, Black Biscuit, and FIS on tap, with friends, and the server too (also a friend). Love tap rooms as anyone who even slightly knows me can vouch, but a great beer bar is a treasure.

 

I'm all in on whisk(e)y bars these days.

 

Of course, just saw the headline and thought it was the perfect compliment to this thread.

Definitely, Dead Reckoning in lovely Arcata, CA. Its home to nice record shop too. And the tap list is consistently impressive, and at times like now, down right astonishing.

 

Not surprising news in the NYTimes article about the closure of beer bars. Restaurants, bars, and brewery outlets are all under pressure. Covid is a primary cause of the problems. But breweries and beer bars are especially at risk because of the proliferation of outlets, as well as the instability of the product mix.

 

Craft beer bars don't get the "hype" (all the pastry stouts, fruited sours..) beer 75% of the beer world creams their pants over. This this huge segment of the crowd, having very good and well rounded selection (what was considered great 6 yrs ago, is "Meh" to many now) isn't worth it.

To me, where I go is all about the service and vibe. I go to Solemn Oath sill in IL because the bartenders are great and so are many of the regulars. The bars I like going to have a solid list, and I can watch football at the same time. And there's girls there too.

 

Ha, I've never actually been (going for the first time in December). But I've heard countless stories on here about how awesome that place is. Heard the food is stellar too, especially the burger.

 

There's several great beer bars in and near my city, but I prefer to walk when imbibing whenever I can, and there's 5 good-to-great local breweries within a 15 minute walk from my digs, so they get the most love from me. Consequently, those beer bars don't see as much of me.

 

I just hope the holy trinity of beer bars in Waterbury (Pro Pig, Reservior, Black Back Pub) survive, that is beer Mecca of the US IMO, but I still have a few more places to visit in my journeys. They all have great food, so I think they’ll pull thru.

 

I consider them restaurants more than strictly “beer bars”.

 

Lots of excellent beer bars in my area (Brooklyn) and Manhattan.

One of my favorites did close down, Mission Dolores.

Spuytin Duyvil was closed for a while but reopened a couple weeks ago.

 

We lost Preyer Brewing just before Covid. They were always marginal at best. Joymongers, Little Brother, and Natty Greene's down Elm Street are doing well. Along with Oden just over on Lee Street (West Gate City Blvd.) These are still good days for really local beer.....There are more here and there. Avett Brothers at Greensboro Coliseum New Year's Eve. The third best live show I've seen there behind Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. Along with everything else, tickets are more expensive than ever.

 

Good to know lol

 

I think the guys at The Onion read the NYT article.
https://www.theonion.com/city-of-denver-shuts-down-bar-for-operating-without-a-b-1847937806