Best beer bar experience ever!

1702 - In Tucson, AZ is the best place to get a beer in Arizona. Worth the 2 hours drive from Phoenix, 40+ beers on tap and none of the usual suspects. They even had Hopslam about 2 or so weeks ago.(very rare for AZ).
In U of A territory - 1702 E speedway

 

Beer Revolution in Oakland last March had a 52 imperial stout tap takeover. Still can't believe what I had that night! Samples included Abyss '10, '11, DFH Bitches Brew, Drakes Halle Berry and Drew Berrymore and many, many more. Sooo much goodness!

 

Brickstore Pub. Decatur GA. I giggle a little just thinking about it.

 

You had a glass of Hopslam, Oracle, Batch 9000, and Palate Wrecker? How long were you there?

 

I stopped at Rogue in Newport OR on a trip from Seattle to CA.

Had no idea they had a small pub on premises, employee dominated mostly. They brought out a fresh superb cask Brutal Bitter.

Got a room across the street and stayed another night

 

I would hardly describe CK as... shitty...

 

You went at a time it was a complete mad house. Hopslam twitter CK post about it being on cask equals... Zoo.

Same thing happened last year, I walked in, then walked out.

Went in last week... de Struisse mini takeover.. Black Damnation V on tap... no major crowds.. no problems.. just insane beer and probably one of the best experiences of many I have ever had, for probably one of the best beers I have ever had in my life.

long story short, you got the best and the worst of it.

 

Here's what's the irony of it. 2 weeks ago, all those people standing in line could have walked 1/2 block down P street, gone into Whole Foods and bought a six pack of Hopslam, saved their money... and go home... and drink the beer in peace. Sure it wouldn't have been in a firkin but seriously...

 

Dude.... not cool... I am only 8 hours away though.

 

Ran out of time in DC over the summer and didn't get to go. my 4 year old kept asking to eat different ethnic foods... so ended-up doing thai, indian, and ethiopean. no beer for me!

 

I had a great experience when I went to Churchkey. Maybe if it weren't for all the beer geeks there for the Hopslam cask, the atmosphere may have been more pleasant. Nothing against beer geeks, by the way...

 

I took a spur of the moment trip to Portland, ME and did a quick search on my phone to look for a beer bar in the area. I found Novare Res Bier Cafe and decided to check it out. Holy hell that place is amazing, over 25 rotating taps with some choice and hard to find brews, plus it was some sort of stout week, so they had 10 extra stouts on tap. Everyone there was really cool and knew their stuff. This place was definitely the highlight of my trip and would be worth going back to Maine for.

 

Great topic. Chruchkey is very good. Has anyone had the Guinness at Kehoe's in Dublin? Also Craft Beer Co in London is great - London is really coming on with better options each day. My favorite howoever is the Kulminator in Antwerp. I mean, who can compete with a bar that has its beer menu organized by year?

 

My unexpected but wonderful bar experience was last year at this time. I drove from Vegas to southern California for a little rest and relaxation. There's a place I usually stop at for a beer or two whenever I'm in that area, and this time I happened to get there right as they were opening their doors.

Sitting alone at the empty establishment I looked up at the chalkboard to make my first beery choice and what do I see? Pliny the Younger! That was completely unexpected. On top of that, I'd never had Younger before so this would be the first. Just moments after I ordered it the owner of the place came over to me and asked "How did you know we had this?". I explained that I had no idea, I just happened to walk in and my jaw hit the floor when I saw it listed on the board.

Even before I finished my first one a couple of other people trickled in and had the same reaction as I did. One difference though was that I could tell the owner wanted to keep everything low key and had made no announcements beforehand whatsoever in regards to having Younger. They wanted to avoid long lines of people waiting outside and massive throngs inside. However the other patrons in the place were on their phones within minutes calling everyone they knew and before I even finished my second Younger the place was already getting quite busy. From what I heard later it tapped out not long after I left, but to this day I'd say that was my luckiest and most unexpected bar experience so far.

 

What bar?

 

The Heorot is the greatest bar to ever exist!

 

my best beer bar experience happens every time i go to my neighborhood haunt. j ryan's in syracuse. this bar has great BA reviews (see here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/21557/?view=beerfly&sort=&start=0) but thats not why i love it. its only two blocks away, has decent food and a great selection of well priced beers (particularly ipa's) and was one of the primary catalysts that sparked my interest in craft beer. no place i'd rather spend my hard earned.

cheers j ryan's

 

While in Shanghai, China i was able to purchase 3 bottles of Cantillon at Keiba Beer Bar
2002 Vigneronne - about $18usd
2010 Rose' - about $19usd
2008 Kriek Lambic - about $18usd

To me this was a score! Plus I bought another bottle of the Rose and brought it home to the states with me. Rules dont apply in China!