"Insert Name" Ale House

Just a thought: "Ale House" is being used here as a synonym for "bar" or "pub"/"public house", meaning "we serve beer here". I think you just kinda read too much into the name...

 

Yeah. My Environmental Protection Agency is not up to my standards.
Relax friend. Just a name.

 

I once walked into the Acme Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout House and they were serving KBS, BCBS, Parabola, and Keystone Light. Really??? I just walked right out.

 

The nerve! I bet no one lived there either!

 

Nope. But if I found myself in such a place I'd walk right out. Vote with your wallet.

 

I frequent the Library Alehouse and am never disappointed

 

I always assume the worst at "Ale Houses". Just another name for a pub and typically, at least down here, they have a bunch of BMC, Sam Adams, Magic Hat, Arrogant Bastard and Dead Guy. Better than a TGI Fridays, but not really a craft brew establishment. I have been surprised before however. Visiting my buddy in Amesbury Mass, I stopped by their Ale House. Small but very solid selection. They had Cantillon, Troegs, Smuttynose, DFH, etc. Good eats too.

I guess your best bet is do some research or just take a chance and stop in when you see one. Just don't go in expecting much because usually you won't get it.

 

Well technically, if it has hops in it, it's not ale.

(and yes, I am from 1543)

 

That would be because many of the "Ale Houses" are chain restaurants.

http://www.millersalehouse.com/locations

Doesn't look like there's any in RI, but there's plenty in the Northeast that you might have wound up at. They're all over in Florida. Unfortunately, they have my absolute favorite boneless wing anywhere, so I'll wind up there occasionally despite the terrible beer choices.

 

The only place I've ever frequented with "Ale House" in the name was an old man's bar where the taps were all bmc.

I do understand, however, that "Ale House" sounds better than "Macro Lager House."

 

Obviously it was just a ploy to lure in thirsty coyotes.

 

Sounds more like a lager house

 

They don't clean their lines... EVER... at the one's in SC.

 

You don't see the word "ale" used much at all out here, but "tap room" and "pub" have been popping up on bar fronts more and more. Unless it's a well-established beer hot spot all I expect from these new places is that the tap rooms do have taps in rooms and the pubs do serve drinks to the public.

 

More often than not it's just like others have said; a hipstery way of saying "beer here." The ironic thing is that half of these dive bars calling themselves "ale houses" probably don't even serve any ale. Hell, I've met macro drinkers who didn't even know what an ale was; they just think it's another word for beer. Little did they know there's an entire world outside of their pale light lagers.

 

I've only been to 1 ale house in RI and it has way more than that on tap. Without disclosing the name, I really liked it, even though there may have been a lack of really hard to find brews. As for the one you're referring to, which I think I know the name, I've heard that they're overpriced and don't have good choices. That could probably be because it's right in the middle of a college area.

To answer your question, I think at least half of every place that claims to have a great selection really doesn't. Once I find a few places that I really like I'll just continue to go to those establishments.

 

I spent some time in your great Commonwealth and became pretty annoyed when everyone would order "a lager." Of course they meant Yuengling, but who the hell knew that at first? The place I worked at had a lot of BMC and almost all of their beers were lagers.

 

Yeah, in PA, at 90% of the bars if you order "a lager" you will get a Yuengling Lager. If I was going into a place that had any decent craft beers on tap, I wouldn't order a Yuengling Lager anyway but even so I can't imagine a scenario where someone would just go into a bar and say, "give me a lager"....I mean, wouldn't you ask, "what lagers do you have on tap" or something to that nature? I don't go into a craft bar and say, "give me an ale."

 

There's this new brick oven pizza place in town called "Pizzeria & Pour House".
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There is not a single draft handle in the building. LOL. Mediocre craft bottle/can listing. I won't be going back. You cannot call yourself a Pour House without a single, solitary beer on tap. Sorry, that just doesn't work.