Beer Bar Finds (2019)

The Gaff in Waltham had a nice range of draft options ( Rothaus, Oxbow, Honest Weight, among others), Cantillon bottles, and the sandwich I had was tasty. Haven't seen it mentioned on here, but didn't really look either.

 

Beat Brew Hall has Mornin Delight on still. $14 for 4oz but you get to keep the glass. Also there's a secret tap menu that has some great Belgian stuff.

 

went to Banners a couple of weeks ago, pretty good tap list but a little pricey. We went on a Saturday at 630. It was a shit show since there was a Bruins game but once the game started a lot of people cleared out and it was enjoyable.

 

$50 for 2 oz of Utopias is high/low/acceptable?

 

that was my immediate question

 

It’s very high. I’ve generally paid around $25 for that amount around Boston.

 

Given that you wouldn't even notice the $300 bill on your AMEX I'm curious what you thought after drinking 12 oz. of Utopia?

 

Where? I've only had it once in Boston, and paid ~40 at Post 390 several years ago.

 

Off the top of my head, I’ve had it at sunset grill (RIP) and Mead Hall.

 

Oh come on, you can't bail out on this long running joke now!

 

Word.

 

6 X 2 oz. @ $50 each = 12 oz. for $300

I guess I must have overspecified my joke and blew it!! When you're explaining you're losing...

 

I got it haha

 

The big tv is like sitting front row at a movie theatre if you’re not sitting at the restaurant.

The Ginger Man has a very deep list. I’ve had equilibrium Photon there, a Voodoo Brewing last week. Find myself wanting to try a ton of stuff every time I’m there

 

I hate myself for asking - but can you explain? I still don’t get it. I get the math. I just don’t get the joke / jump to 12oz bit?

I do obviously get the overall banter that $50/2oz is not remotely a find by any definition! Sorry @AlcahueteJ !

 

Man did I blow this one!

To overexplain things to death, we have a running joke here about how wealthy @AlcahueteJ is. I was trying to work in a reference to his AMEX card which he recently mentioned in another jokey post about his spending habits. So I was just reaching for an exorbitant dollar amount for him to have spent, and 6 (2 oz) Utopias for $300 seemed like a nicely round and absurd number. That's it. Disappointing huh?

Let's rewind the tape and let me try a different take:

"So, exactly how many of those $50 Utopias ended up on your AMEX card?"

Marginally better, perhaps.

ETA: and I must thank @jlordi12 for navigating that mess of a joke and following what the hell I was talking about.

 

haha, I didn't think it was that hard to decipher. Might be spending too much time in the NE Forum ...

 

Are you the guy that the movie A Beautiful Mind is about?

 

Had a pour last night and it was very good. I'm to pay $14 for a beer that is otherwise a pain (or impossible) to get a bottle of. I wasn't offered a secret menu, but I did notice some bottles of 3F in the fridge that weren't on the menu I was handed.

 

"Ludicrous price-gouging" would be a kind understatement.

Even if they bought it at the same price you or I would pay at a beer store (call it $220) they're making $380 profit per bottle. But given what a bar could get Utopias for the profit is actually higher.

 

Bartender seemed to imply it was only for special events, couldn't really quite tell.

 

Bluebird Bitter and Celebration pints at Fortune Bar in Amesbury

 

Great wee spot they got going on there

 

Would it kill someone to have a bar with dedicated Fantome, 3F, Oxbow, Allagash, JK, SARA, Casey, and Russian River lines?

maybe ten lines and you get the other two for like a bitter and a pilsner?

 

Two weeks ago I saw that Armsby Abbey in Worcester had Gänstaller Kellerbier on tap so I headed over for a half liter. I was in Franconia this summer and have been jonesing for fresh Kellerbier. They don’t list their prices online (and they don’t list their pour sizes online or even at the bar) but I figured it would be around $9 because that was what I usually have to pay for similar beers there. When I get there it is $12! I was already there and hungry and thirsty so I ordered it despite the price (it was delicious by the way and so was my hamburger) but $50 for two beers (I also had an Oxbow Luppolo) and a hamburger is something I will splurge for only a few times a year.
A week later I found out that they had this beer on tap at Deep Ellum for $9.50 for a half liter (yes they list the price and pour size online). How the hell could they charge so much more for this beer In Worcester where the costs have to be lower than Allston? So I’m pretty much done with Armsby Abbey. It is close to my house but my wife hates it there since they are militantly anti-vegan. Deep Ellum is close to work so I think I’ll get my German beer fixes there instead.

 

Deep Ellum has one of the best (if not the best) German centric taplists in the Boston area, and at decent prices as well. Not exactly "pro-vegan" but they usually have something on their menu.

To @DroppinBiscuits , they had the Bluebird Bitter on for a few months this past summer....love that f*cking beer!

 

I appreciate this thread, and will definitely add some stuff whenever i see an interesting beer on draft at the places I frequent. In the meantime i would like to say that The Archives in Burlington, VT has one of the best draft lists I've seen...and it's a barcade.

 

I've been enjoying the Mayflower Porter that's popping up on cask around town. Had a nice pour at Olde Magoun's earlier this week. Also had a pint from a cask at Stoddard's that had been charged with cacao nibs. Absolutely delicious in this weather.

 

How about beer bar prices - I think Beat Brew Hall in Harvard Sq is trying to take the title from Tip Tap Room - $14-16 for IPA cans, $10-12 for session IPA 10 oz pours - jeez.

 

That place is rough pricing wise. I was in there awhile back-February- and they had Notch's Cerne Pivo on the "special" cans list. It was $10 for a 16 ounce can(!). At the time Cerne was available at retail spots for around $12/4-pack.

 

Also not sure how pouring this out of a bottle implicates things. If they opened the bottle 2 months ago for someone's pour is there something different about this beer that makes you less concerned about the pour you're getting now?

On the topic of Banner's, I had a KBS on draft there last weekend and it had a hot sauce taste. Come to find later after talking to my buddy that hot sauce is definitely not an adjunct in this beer (my first time trying). Take that for what you will.

 

The alcohol content. This beer holds up for a looong time, like a bottle of liquor. No concern about it oxidizing like a typical beer.

 

Branchline has (had?) it on nitro as well