Best Beer Bar Experience

Dahlia's Pour House in Jacksonville, FL (Riverside neighborhood). Friendly, knowledgable owner and staff, and 80 rotating taps so there is always something new/good. Neighborhood bar vibe. Relaxed.

 

A few years ago we were a Hopleaf finishing up a Chicago pub crawl. It was a Wednesday afternoon and the bar was slow. Once the bartender realized we were out of towners trying local craft she gave us samples of a bunch of local beers and talked about them. Was a really cool experience.

 

Kind of a bar, kind of a brewery story. During my honeymoon my wife and I randomly found what we thought was a brewery in Auckland, New Zealand. Walked in and were told by one of the owners that they were a beer distributor who also served beer and filled growlers. One of the owners asked what styles we enjoyed and proceeding in pouring flights of all the beers they distributed of that style (tried something like 10 IPAs + 4 sours). While trying these beers we discussed the craft beer scene in New Zealand and how it compares to the US. After great beers and an informative discussion we purchased a few recommended beers from local breweries. On hearing that it was our honeymoon the owner gave us some additional beers for free as gifts. You got to love the New Zealand Kiwis and their fantastic beer culture.

 

The Bier Stein in Eugene, Oregon. Spent an hour with an employee who was very knowledgeable about wild ales help me fill a case catered on my tastes. Best service in the industry I've ever experienced.

 

In 1984, I was in Lake Lucerne Switzerland...beautiful summer day, sitting at an outdoor cafe by the lake driinking, what I remember was called Adambrau....really good beer, great scenery, pretty good day for a 20 year old

 

My shout out goes to Ted at Top Hops in NYC, as he regularly lets us use his most excellent pub 3-4 times a year to host the most kick ass fine beer tastings. They always are on a Saturday so I am sure he loses money from folks hesitant to come in when we crazies have taken over 2/3 of his establishment. He does it because he loves fine beer and loves to have other beer geeks enjoying it with him.

Thanks, Ted, this ones to you, man. Cheers!

 

Happy hour at a local place... All their craft beers $2 for 20 ounce pour...

 

About nine years ago I was in the Bridgton area for a wedding. I had heard about Ebenezer's in Lovell, and, since it was close by, went there for lunch. I met Chris Lively for the very first time, and he treated me like family. We talked for over two hours, he suggested some beers to drink, and he gave me some beers to take home with me. I will never forget the hospitality he showed me. He has become a friend for life.

 

Was down in Puerto Vallarta with family. On my own I went into a small bar with a couple dozen people inside. Sat down to have a beverage or two and struck up a conversation with a couple from San Francisco. Told them that I host beer tasting parties/seminars as a side gig. I showed them part of my spiel, why to drink beer out of a glass, which involves a bunch of empty glasses and some sort of macro beer and some eventually gets poured out. The manager and bartender saw this and asked me to show them, which in turn turned out to me doing a tasting for the whole bar which at this time had grown to almost fifty. Didn't have to pay for anything that night and for the next week or so all over PV people would recognize me pull me aside and buy me beers. My wife and family were like "How the hell do you know all these people??" Great experience that started with a conversation with strangers over a beer.

 

I've been fortunate to do many pub crawls in London, EDI and other parts of the UK and have had several epic experiences w the local publicans. In 2013 at the Wenlock Arms in the Hoxton neighborhood of London my buddies and I got to talking to the owner about real ale and before we knew it -- we were in his celler checking out his set up -- my friend grabbed this shot of the various flexible plumbing carrying the 12 or so real ales to the bar. Americans interested in real ale in London are a bit of a rare breed -- and the locals are usually very enthusiastic to help educate them. We got the bonus plan that night.