Boston Bar Scene

The food is really good at Lord Hobo, that’s the main reason I go. They also get some interesting stuff on tap from time to time, although it is a bit expensive. Not as high as Meadhall though.

 

I feel like I have yet to have a good pint of cask beer. Ever. I love the idea, but every one I've ever purchased has tasted flat. Not lower carbonation, no carbonation.

 

Haha! I got a $9 pour of Italo Disco the other week and Oxbow isn't even distributed here. It's an old topic but the Boston area is a very expensive place to go out for drinks.

 

Ever been to NERAX?

I've had some excellent cask pours at Redbones, but I feel like I've also had some crappy ones there. Can't think of where else I've had some good cask beer off the top of my head, but I've definitely had some.

 

NINE DOLLARS FOR A BE HOPPY

 

How much for the water there?

 

Cambridge Brewing taps a new cask every wednesday so no worries if its fresh or not. Plus the beers are about 50% cheaper than down the street at Lord Hobo.

 

heres the thing people forget when it comes to pricing. most of the new beer everyone wants cost at a MINIMUM $240 for a half barrel where Notch is $156/$180. the reason why beers like Pils and Be Hoppy are $8 a pint is to help offset the cost of the expensive stuff and keep the pricing under $10. Thats a FACT.

I was in a bar yesterday that had $9 pints of Guinness and $7 pints of Whirlpool.

 

They aren't keeping the more expensive beers under $10, many are also in a smaller format. An $8 pint of even the more expensive half barrels still fall well in the 70-80% profit margin bars try to achieve. Go less than a pint and they are making far far beyond that. Go less than a pint and more than $8 and those numbers sky rocket.

The fact is they are using perceived value to charge more. Playing games with their own beer and cheaper beer pricing allows for a $12 8oz pour to look normalized.

 

I haven't been to Meadhall in forever. I think it was their first year in business when I was last there. A few friends asked I meet them there this Monday. I'm afraid of what I'll find. Are the prices still out of whack as they were back then? Or have most other bars caught up and now they're "normal"? To me, Meadhall was the first real expensive beer bar that drove me away because of price.

 

I lived a couple blocks away for a couple years, until recently. The prices are pretty out of whack. You’ll find stuff like $25 10 ounce pours of random beers, I don’t really get it. Some beers are priced more normally though. With such a huge selection, you’ll be okay with a few different beers but will need to be sure to check the prices before you order.

 

I was Lord Hobo for Zwanze Day and wanted to order a German beer I was interested in. I didn’t because it was $12.

 

And it would’ve come with half of it head & the other half with attitude from the server. Seriously eff that place.

 

If you know the ripoff strategies of these bars & still visit them - then YOU’RE part of the problem. Don’t pin this on customers for not knowing the inner workings of publicans.

Reason # 582 why the Boston beer bar scene is unequivocally the worst in the US.

 

Oh shit. If @AlcahueteJ is turning up his nose at prices we know things are *really* getting out of hand!

 

First of all, Sweatshirt just put those numbers to rest in the post below, secondly, charge what you need to on the beers you need to. Clearly there's no significant objection to 6/8/10/12 oz servings, so even if a keg is 50-60% more expensive, you can charge 10/8oz and still have $7 pints of Be Hoppy. I'm not at all here to rationalize NINE DOLLARS FOR A BE HOPPY, not at all.

 

Haha, I was wondering, "Is someone going to point out that I never look at or care about price?"

I have my limits. I just looked it up. It was "Mastodon", a Kellerbier from Mahr's Brau. $12 for 16 oz., no thanks.

 

Traveling to SF this week for work. Now this is a taplist: http://www.toronado.com/whats-on-tap/

Note that Allagash White can ship cross country to a more expensive city and be sold for $5/pint, but it’s $7-9 in Boston.

 

Is there a city outside of Norway or Iceland that is more expensive to drink in than Boston?

 

I used to live in Honolulu and it’s pretty pricey for craft drafts.

 

London

 

You pay the extra $2-4 for that uber freshness.

 

Tokyo and Copenhagen are definitely more expensive for craft beer. But Tokyo can be cheap for other alcohol. There is a popular group of bars called 300 Bar where drinks are 300 yen which is less than $3 USD.

 

It's funny, this is the one and only commodity that's actually way cheaper in NYC due to happy hours, 2-for-1's, that kind of thing vs Boston's puritan ways.

But even here, tip your bartenders and what goes around will come around eventually, folks!

 

If you go above and beyond and/or establish a rapport with your bartender.

In NY buy backs are quite common, not so much around Boston.

 

Olde Magouns, Rosebud diner, and salty pig all have great beer lists and love the atmosphere in each.

 

I travel once a month for work. I get comped a beer like every other trip to NY, Chicago, SF, etc. simply by hanging at a bar and talking to a friendly bartender. I’ve only been comped a beer once in Boston and that was after I drukenly donated $200 to close out a local HS fundraiser the bar was running.

 

I think I figured out what you're doing with your spouse-free vacation. For god's sake, please shower at least every other day and clip your nails

 

Drinking at home and hanging with the cat. Best vacation ever.

 

I live in CT and used to go to Boston once a month for some good beer. The long trip prohibited having too much fun, but the prices ended up stopping those trips.

I am going up soon for a show at Brighton Music Hall, so I may hang around that area and check out Lulu's(never been), or Uber to the Publick House or CBC. I used to love the Sunset..sad to see it gone. To show my age, I really miss Commonwealth Brewing.

 

Oh man Commonwealth! My first cask beer experience was there.

I haven't made it to Lulu's yet to compare, but pretty much right next door is Deep Ellum which is also worth a look. Good food and a great tap list with a heavy emphasis on imports. Just be warned, prices have definitely not improved since you were last here

 

Agreed. I really like Deep Ellum, except the prices.

Is the Silhouette still around

 

If you don't like the prices at Ellum you might as well skip Lulu's.

 

Brighton Music Hall has a second bar towards the back that, at least last time I was there, had a better beer selection than the bars in the front. Common Ground is another Allston spot with a good draft list and I think the prices are decent.

 

Agreed on braineater's comment but I'll say that the 2 places serve different tastes. Go to Deep Ellum if you favor lagers, proper glassware and occasional cask. Go to Lulus if you don't care about any of those things and want NEIPAs, sours, and pastry stouts

 

Thanks brain and jbertsch!

I'm ok with paying for something decent, plus it keeps me from drinking too much.

If I could find Fullers London Pride on tap, I would sit all day and enjoy it.

 

Any of the ~ 10 British Beer Co restaurants would be a good fit for you then. Always 4 Fullers tap lines going. Can’t recommend the food in any way though.

https://britishbeer.com/

 

The Sil's indestructible.

 

I think Cornwall's in Kenmore Square still keeps it on tap.