Are local pubs/taverns seeing decrease in patrons..

The PNW tends to be a bit different than the rest of the country about this in general. I live in a city of 80,000, with a college that has an extra 14,000 undergrads. The 'college" bars aren't hurting, and they pour a lot of craft options. The locals/"blue collar" bars stay steady, as usual. We have 10 breweries, and all are busy, all the time. We only have a couple of what gets referred to as "beer bars" in a lot of places, and they do well too. So, to answer the base question, no, I'm not seeing a decline in patronage.

The NW has always been a bit ahead of the curve, as far as on-site consumption at breweries goes, but it's never seemed to really effect the bars. As consumption of craft beer grows, it just means more room at the table for every avenue of on-site consumption.

 

Well, not in my town at least: http://www.taptrail.com/bellingham-ranked-as-snobbiest-beer-city-in-us/

 

Just reading the handful of comments on that article makes me not want to go there.

 

Locally--the tap room in a craft store serving the local neighborhood is thriving. Feels like a brewery taproom but better with 24 options of which probably half are within an hour or two of here. Alway a sour or two, cider or mead and great array otherwise. Doesn't hurt that the owner is a true local and the building is an old gas station turned beverage store decades ago and craft store in the early 2000s when NC laws finally came around for higher ABV. Taproom opened a few years ago.

Bought my first keg of BUD at the old store over 30 ago from the current owner's dad.

In this age of social media, big box/chains, folks are looking for a local connection. Seems like the cell phones are in the pockets and the bocce court or fire pit in use a bit more.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/6308/ @brawleys

 

There's nothing wrong with drinking bmc beers at those types of bars, but some are starting to carry local craft. I love it when I can get pseudosue a bar in a small town dive bar, but if the night calls for Busch light I'm okay with that too.

 

One of my regular stops actually closed up. Sucks

 

That place sounds pretty danged cool to me. I'd go, and I'd bet it is "local" to the core. I saw places like this in the old Yugoslavia in what is now the new Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina- way out in the boonies. Great food and beer dirt cheap with wonderful people. I was welcomed and will never forget.

 

Ha that would explain why Houston made the top 20, no one uses beer menu in houston, handful of places listed

 

No. Especially not here on Long Beach Island. Dam these bennies. They are key to our economy but the fucking trash and nonsense they leave. There's ship bottom brewery on the island. They ran out of beer last summer so many people. Bars didn't run out. So. It's depending on the area.

 

I think it depends on where you live. I'm in Somerville (just outside Boston) and it's very trendy. Many places don't even offer something like Bud Light on tap. The patrons are more often than not drinking craft. You're a minority if you're drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors.

That being said, the bars are still packed (well, the more popular ones anyway) but I would say the local tap rooms are more packed. They have actual lines.

Where in MA do you live? In the last month or two I've been to Nightshift twice, and one time (in freezing cold weather) I waited for 20 minutes to get in with no where to put my beer, this was a Saturday afternoon. Then the next time I waited nearly 40 minutes. They said the best shot at having it be less crowded was maybe a Thursday night.

I've tried to go to Bone Up Brewing across the street, I've only been in twice. The other times I ran into a line and waited for a bit then headed home (granted that place is MUCH smaller). Then I headed to Lamplighter Brewing in Cambridge, snagged one of the last two seats around 8 pm on a Saturday, and then a line developed there as well.

A few weeks ago I went to Aeronaut in Somerville on a Saturday night around 9 pm, there was a line about 20 - 30 people deep (I think they close at 11 pm). And again, it was very cold out.

All of the places I listed above (and a few other breweries I didn't list), with Uber Pool, sometimes cost just a few dollars to travel to. So it doesn't really matter to me if it's a bar or a tap room. I can get to either of them for just a few dollars (less if I can walk there, but that's for local bars, not tap rooms).

 

In your area, the deciding factor for me would be the crowds, then. I've always preferred going in the afternoon, just to be able to get a seat and some attention. If a place is too crowded I'll just go somewhere else.

 

I used to live about a mile down the road from NightShift in Somerville but that was over a decade ago when that area wasn't as built up as it is now. I now live north of Boston on the border of Hollis NH. I've been to Night Shift at various times, from being the first person at 11 AM on my way to the airport to being there in the evening. You are correct during its busy times its more busy than most bars. I've also been to Aeronaut late at night and it was incredibly packed, barely could get in. I also agree that most bars now are very craft beer heavy. I just noticed 5 Horses opened up in Somerville in addition to their Boston location.

For the most part I still don't think the tap rooms necessarily impact other bars that much, bars in Boston are still packed. That might change if you see someone like Night Shift opening a second tap room in Cambridge or Boston. Night Shift has a very compelling tap room. Aeronaut also is very good at creating events to drive traffic.

 

Some may be. The dive bar ( a place where you order a bottle of beer) and no food . Then ask, when were the beers lines cleaned?

 

I know the is an old thread, but I am always interested in the corner bar. I visit several around Houston on a regular basis. One is about 70 years old (the building is much older) and has Shiner, Lone Pint Yellow Rose, and Saint Arnold 5 O'Clock Pils on tap, that is it. Other than that, wine and a small bottle selection. Oh, and in the oldest building in Houston with the best jukebox you will find. A few others I go to are similar, but have a full bar and even some food that is actually well made. Again, not the best selection when going against Hay Merchant, but more than enough to hold me over.

There are still old traditional Ice Houses in Houston, some still have what is called a "set up license." Which is not given out anymore, but grandfathered in to certain establishments. Basically you can bring your own liquor, like Gin or Whiskey. The bar keeps the bottle till you leave and charges you for a mixer of tonic or soda or whatever per drink. The only alcohol they can sell is beer and wine. These are for places that literally sold blocks of ice to people before refrigeration was widely used in households and many of them are still around.

I have never not been able to find something I find enjoyable to drink a any of these places, and would hate for Houston to lose out on these.

 

Dive bars are a distant recollection of my misspent youth but I remember them as places where you didn't ask questions.

 

I have not noticed any ‘drop off’ at my local (Southeastern PA) craft beer bars. In fact, my local craft beer bars are even ‘supporting’ the new local breweries (which have tasting rooms) by pouring their beers. Last Friday at TJs Everyday I drank a pint of Levante Cloudy and Cumbersome (a tasty so called ‘NE’ style IPA).

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40117/250971/

At the moment it seems to be a case of: A rising tide lifts all boats.

Cheers!

@NeroFiddled

 

A number of the recently opened small craft breweries are keg only (or only sell packaged beer via direct sales). I have yet to go to the Levante tasting room yet so I have no feel what volume of beer sales occur there. I have a suspicion that for some of these small, local breweries they sell a limited number of kegs to craft beer bars as a way to 'get their name out' with the hope that this will get folks to visit their tasting rooms. These small local breweries would prefer to sell direct since that optimizes their profits.

Cheers!