The Taproom Experience

A good food truck....

 

I would say it for it to be considered an excellent taphouse (i.e. not JUST going because of the fantastic beer selections) for me it needs to have good food options. I prefer either barebones inside with a solid patio and frequent food trucks OR a good internal menu.

Some examples that I have frequented in the past:

FFF - I would love this place even if the beer was just slightly above average. The food is fantastic, its not terribly loud for a taproom, and i love the eclectic atmosphere.

Surly Beer Hall - Loud, but the food is great (albeit pricy).

The Porter (Little 5 in Atlanta): Not necessarily a tap house, but my type of place. Its essentially "classed up" bar food (somewhat like FFF) with >200 beers on the menu. The perfect combination for either a quick drink over lunch (and quiet talk with the bartender) or a very long dinner.

The beer definitely plays a roll, but so does the overall setting of the tap house. To some extent, just as much.

 

If they don't have food I definitely appreciate a good food truck. A local brewery has a pizza truck outside fairly regularly that is awesome.

 

I like them to not be overly noisy, other than that I want games on or a good social environment. If you've got that and good beer I'll be there.

 

Somewhere where you can actually order and get a comfortable seat.

Serving goof affordable food helps as well.

 

I like that places have different vibes as one size does not fit all. As noted-great beer is #1.

Some places a bit laid back, that is nice when you want to go with a small group, relax.

Some places are on fire, loud and that can be fun sometimes.

Some places seem better for kids and dogs and there is a time that appeals.

Some places with good food, can sit down and have a "real" meal.

Some are obviously more than one---glad there is a mix.

 

For me, there needs to be some sort of food. It doesn't need to be a full menu, but at least something to snack on and share while drinking.

 

In NJ breweries can't sell food.
For me it is the vibe that matters. I don't need games or tv's. Good music is important. When it comes to a cool vibe Carton and Rushing Duck are just great places to be.

 

Other drinkers who aren't a bunch of jerks!

 

Food trucks are a must IMO, preferably on a rotating schedule posted on the brewery's FB page or website.

 

The beer and the vibe are the only things I care about.

 

There is a local brewery here that has a high ceiling, quiet beer hall - which is marvelous for conversations with friends. They have a large patio area with some games which is great for when you're too drunk to have a good conversation. Otherwise, I prefer quiet taprooms. Not library quiet, but not Buffalo Wild Wings on a college football game day loud.

 

My priorities in a tap room:
- great beers
- frequent rotating taps with beer styles that sound interesting
- vibe (which consists of the ease of getting a seat/ friendly people to converse with / not too loud/not too crowded
- food is an awesome bonus but for my situation if I'm going to spend the extra dollars to drink out at a taproom vs. at home consumption, I want to offset and safe money on food and will eat at home or run through MC'D's to get a $1 menu snack to tide me over. 1 pint @ ~$5 + food truck order ~$10 and now I'm $15-20 lighter in the wallet for just 1 beer. That value is a high quality bomber or six pack.

 

Is there a way to get the big jenga game banned? Been to a few taprooms that have this and it sucks. Oh wow, it fell over and loudly crashed to the cement floor. Who wants to rebuild it and play again?

 

Wow, I am thinking back on all the taprooms I have been to and I realize the range of amenities among them is really wide. Some places are beer playgrounds and some don't even have chairs (no chairs, WTF?).

My ideal place would have as many of these things as possible (not particular order)-

• Chairs (and tables and a bar)
• Music (variety, not the same genre every song, and not too loud).
• Food (preferable on site, but food trucks just as welcome for the variety)
• Dogs and kids (but not too many)
• Enough people for the size of the place that it doesn't feel creepy
• Games (but, but maybe not the loud large Jenga mentioned above).
• Patio or garden for good weather
• Sufficient servers for the size of the crowd
• No TVs
• Either by engineering or accident the place is not an echo chamber

Of course none of the above matters if the beer is mediocre or worse.

Kind of unrelated because its not a brewery, but there is a place in my town called Brush Mill Restaurant and Taproom. They do not have any taps. Bothers me every time I drive by the sign.

 

I like either the brewpub experience (Beachwood BBQ) or the "tasting room only" experience, in which there is no food of any kind but rather a small tasting room that serves about 10 beers (Beachwood Blendery).

 

I'm a big fan of rotating taproom special offerings. E.g. Jack's Abby used to have cask Wednesdays, with a different variation on a beer each week. Stuff like X beer dry-hopped with Y or Z beer with cinnamon. It helps make the taproom something special, especially for breweries that regularly distribute kegs to bars and restaurants.

 

Weird. In Utah, they have to serve food. That was quite the surprise poolside.

 

WW was kind of perfect. They have a split upstairs and downstairs and you can get different but great beers in both with both an upstairs and downstairs patio. The downstairs has cornhole and the like. The food is great with an expanded menu upstairs, potentially kid friendly, while the downstairs has their barrel aged beers and some special stuff. Staff is friendly; bathrooms are weirdly awesome, great vibe.