What is the strangest or most memorable beer bar experience?

I want to party with that guy!

I don't have a strangest beer bar experience. I tend to hit more brewery tap rooms than go to beer bars for multiple reasons.

It's probably recent-cy basis, but one my more memorable experiences was Hops & Pies in Denver. I had three beers that had been on my want list for many beers. Crazy selection of great beers!

 

I just gotta ask: is mostly going to taprooms a more recent phenomenon?

I have noticed that post pandemic I have been going more to taprooms vs. craft beer bars and this was not a purposeful decision on my part. It just seems that prior to the pandemic I would frequently go to craft beer bars but after the lockdown(s) I mostly went to taprooms instead.

Cheers!

 

It's not really strange, but there was a Pliny drop in Massachusetts about 4 years ago now (time flies...) and the bar in my then town got a keg of it. I was friends with one of the bartenders and she hooked me up with an extra pour of Pliny. (2 allowed, she gave me 3. My wife was driving and not drinking, so I was good on that front.) That's a top 5 beer for me, so that was great.

Another time I went to a now defunct beer bar in Boston (rest in power, Sunset Grill.) They had DFH World Wide Stout on tap, and it was supposed to be a 5oz pour for $8. The bartender poured me a full shaker pint. I sat there and nursed it for probably 2.5 hours.

 

Good question. No, it's not a most recent phenomenon. ironically, when I got into craft beer over ten years ago, it was a visit to the Public House at SF Giants Stadium. I think that it was because there wasn't a lot of great beer bars in the SF South Bay Area. The places with good beer bar were more Irish restaurant/pub and a German restaurant (which had since closed).

 

Most memorable bar experiences I had is when I got the bill... appx 1K on a couple occasions. I was with a group... their chocolate martinis added up I guess.

 

Actually finding, and drinking, in two excellent Belgian beer bars in the middle of India. The Ministry of Beer and the Tilt Bar, both in Hyderabad. It's been three years, so I don't know if they still exist. Good selection of Belgians, good food and good prices. Odd and memorable.

 

How can I ever forget the memorable escapade of walking into a bar for the very first time and being 16 years old and get served a drink? It was the week before Christmas when my brother (17 years old) and I drove to a small country town about 15 miles from home (we didn't want to be recognized ), sat down in a booth and ordered Tom & Jerrys.

In retrospect, maybe the bartender knew we were underage and didn't put any booze in those drinks, but the eggnog was tasty and it's still a fond memory to me.

 

The post by @shadyside reminded me of a good story.

A few years ago, my wife and I traveled to the Czech Republic staying in Prague and two of our friends, Phil and Joanie, were already there visiting people they knew. One day we decided to travel via train to the town of Plzen to tour the Pilsner Urquell brewery and do some sightseeing in town. Once we got back to Prague across the street from the train stop was a Belgian Bar. My buddy Phil said “How about a beer?” so we went in for one (and maybe two?). Phil was not too familiar with some of the Belgian beers on tap so he asked the bartender: Is (beer x) any good?” I can’t recall the name of the beer as I type this and the bartender gave him a slight nod and said it was good. I can’t remember if Phil actually ordered that beer but later on when we were sitting at the table the bartender stopped by and said: “What did you expect me to say about that beer? That we serve beers that suck?” We all laughed at that.

I later further asked Phil what he expected the bartender to tell him. He just shrugged and said “I was hoping he would give me a sample pour”. I replied “Why didn’t you just ask if you could obtain a sample taste?” I think he just told me to shut up at that.

Cheers!

 

A funny story involving my brother in law (my sister's husband). He once worked as a welder and he was under age (under 21) and he and co-workers went out for beers after work. Apparently my brother in law was quite nervous about this and when ordering for beers his physical reaction was to open his eyes very wide open (I don't exactly understand why) but after this visit to this bar his co-workers called him Popeye. I am pretty sure he did not enjoy getting this nickname.

Cheers!

 

Fool me twice...

 

Heck, I would go to bars with him knowing he would pick up the bill!

I wouldn't be ordering chocolate martinis but maybe some very top shelf scotch. Which reminds me of another story. I was in Lake Placid, NY on a ski trip and we decided to visit a fancy bar for one drink before going to dinner. My friend Fred ordered a glass of Johnny Walker Blue (I have heard of this Scotch before but this was my first time seeing it). As the bartender came back with the glass, Fred started to hand him a $50 bill and the bartender replied "That is not enough". I seem to recall it totaled out at $75. I should have taken a photo of that glass (and the expression on Fred's face when he was told his $50 bill was not enough ).

Cheers!

 

My most memorable craft beer experience for me was a few years back when I lost count and ended up downing more than nine Hopslams. Strangest thing is that I actually remember anything about that day. Nearly called an ambulance after my family got me home... Also strange that I still like that beer...

 

I should have clarified... I did not pick up entire bill but just shared with the bill in the group. I largely drink beer, so my share is piddly.

 

I went to Toppling Goliath a couple of weeks ago when I knew they had KBBS on tap. I put in a reservation for a table, then stopped at the bar to get a beer before lunch. I ordered a 4-ounce pour of KBBS and somehow got a pour of KBBS Reserve in addition to that. The server said, "Alright, sir, that comes to $42.80." In fairness to the server, I had intended to order both and I knew the price well in advance. But damn! You better believe I was extra careful walking up two flights of stairs with a beer in each hand.

 

Never had any crazy beer bar experiences. Plenty of typical bar/pub experiences I’m too ashamed to explain, as if you’d be interested to hear anyways. Some of my best brewery experiences have included enjoying a flight with my beautiful wife. Not too many months ago, I enjoyed some pints at a couple locals with @jzeilinger. This event proved to be quite memorable. Cheers.

 

To paraphrase an old saying: the day ain't over yet.

Cheers!

 

Years ago when I 1st moved to MPLS I was downtown and went into a bar for last call b4 going home. I bellied up to the bar next to a dude and ordered a beer. The fella next to me was super hammered and said to me: "I'm fuckin' Billy Squire." He said it again. Then he shouted it to the bartender a few times and the bartender then asked him: "Does he know it yet?" I sprayed my brew across the bar laughing and then bouncers came and 86'd the guy. Guess what? It actually was Billy Squire...quite jagged. Stroke me Stroke me.

 

There's a local spot by me. Regular dive bar. It's a neighborhood thing. There's a dude who's a regular there. He looks like a helleaiser character. He walks in he's covered in blood. Goes into the bathroom. Comes out a minute later all clean. He gets kicked out.

There's so many stories from this place it's insane. I couldn't name them all.

And I quote from the same man one night

"DO U WANT MY GRANDMAS NUMBER? SHE SHAVED HER $#%$ ON THE GRAVITRON AT THE FAIR"

 

So, did you get her number?

Cheers!

P.S. Let me guess... was the number 911

 

In about 1974, one of my friends in San Diego suggested a few of us go to Ensenada and look for Nortena music. When we arrived in Ensenada, we stopped at Hussongs. It was packed, so we left. Then we wandered around town looking for music but we found only nearly empty dive bars (more divey than you can imagine). You might think this could have been dangerous. But all went well until we were heading out of town and were stopped by the local police who demanded a payment. We got together the funds to satisfy them. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough left to cruise back on the new toll highway, so drove back on the old road. No border drama that night (no long waits, no passport needed).

 

This man is there every single day. The place wouldn't be the same without him. He's irreplaceable

 

Once I was at a music festival and an argument between a long time frenemy and myself rose up over a river bar BBQ and unfortunately this argument blossomed into fisticuffs. Bottles were broken on heads, punches were thrown and landed, and ultimately a few rocks were leveraged for their martial applications. When the fracas was defrayed, we were both bleeding profusely from a number of contusions on and about the face. The medics at the festival really wanted to take us to the hospital and the rest of our crew wanted us to go our separate ways for a while, so i told the medics that one of my friends would drive me to the clinic in the nearby town. Being a responsible uninsured American I had my buddy drop me off at the first bar we reached and told him I'd walk back to the festival before nightfall.

Upon arrival, the bartender was not keen on serving the bloody hippy that showed up a little drunk around midday. But she agreed to let me clean myself up in the bathroom and serve me water while I watched the football game that was on the TV. By the time that game was at half, I guess she'd decided that I wasn't too inebriated and I'd convinced her that my head wounds were superficial so she began to serve me beers at that point.

The rest of the afternoon was a hoot, watching football with some crusty old rural bar flys, smoking doobies of their home grown on the back porch, and generally keeping the festival vibes going. I walked/hitched a ride back to the event that night and remained friendly with my adversary for a couple years after that. But I never really liked that fucker.

 

Lots of weird stories, but the one that stuck with me most was... I was 18 and had planned to go to Amsterdam for 3 weeks with my uncle, this was in 1982.
Uncle pulled out but i said WTF I am doing this.
Got a mattress on the floor of a decrepit canal barge and set off on my first night.
After several genevers at nice bars..saw this bar that looked like an old British pub to my young eyes.
Strode in as only an 18 year old idiot could and stopped dead in my tracks.
Every guy was in leather. Some in chaps! They all turned and looked.
I was a daft 18 year old full of myself so went right up to the bar and began to order.
I never paid for a drink all night.. Lovely people.
Quite the experience for a kid from rural macho Scotland. They even paid for my cab back to the canal boat

 

I don't suppose it qualifies as a beer bar but partying until dawn drinking beer with Mexican pimps wearing sidearms in a bar in 1973 San Blas probably qualifies as most memorable. There are many memorable experiences at Rattle and Hum back in the day, and lots of great memories at other fine beer bars, including partying with Chief at Blind Tiger and with Tommy Keegan at Keegan Ales, but if I had to pick out the most blown away I have ever been by a beer it was a beer I never heard of called Hunahpu's stout, just put on tap at Rattle N Hum. I still can recall that moment the explosion of deepest darkest malts and perfectly dynamic hops detonated into the pleasure center of my brain. Kind of forever changed me in the way I looked at stout and in my expectations that since have been met so many times by so many great stouts by so many Great American Brewers.

 

I used to go to the Sunset Grill there in Allston. Just around the corner from Blanchard's Liquors. They had great beers there. Cheers!

 

I'll never forget the "Fuck Stone" event at Mr. Beery's in Sarasota, FL back in 2011 (different owners now). They were raffling off all their cellared Stone beers because the owner at the time was aggravated over his interactions with the sales rep and the company in general. Whoever won the beers determined their fate. Some people allowed some to be dumped in the toilet, but one regular, Frank the Tank, won the Double Bastard 3L bottle and shared it with the entire bar. But then they threw the empty bottle off the roof into the parking lot lol. I should still have video of that deep in the annals of my archives

 

I remember being at Kay's Hillside Tavern in San Diego after dropping off my friend a the county courthouse to begin his sentence for selling a ton of weed to a fed in New Orleans. This guy wasn't there likely back in '72 but maybe he was. It was surreal with the cast of characters. I had two beers and had Argus the big beautiful Golden poised for a drive cross country towards NOLA. I think I remember this guy. Nah, I ran The Pickwick for years and have a bevy of tales. But the Irish group dropping buy for a free performance at the front table even stopped the juke box and a rendition of Brubeck's Take Five. It was mesmerizing and still is.....

 

Hand dryers work wonders.

 

The days of me acting foolish in public are over, fortunately for me; unfortunately for onlookers and bystanders

 

Maybe not as exotic as most posts here, our little adventure was on a trip when we (my wife, our son and myself) explored the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in June of 2015. After a day of hiking in Pictured Rocks National Park, we decided to go back to our cabin along some very rural byways along Lake Superior, eventually arriving at the tiny unincorporated burg of Grand Marais, MI. Population of about 200 hardy souls, a post office, gas station / general store and the home of Lake Superior Brewing Company. Serving bar food, pizza and beer from their bedroom sized brewhouse. We couldn't pass up trying it out.

A few battered-looking cars and trucks were parked in front. (Virtually everything on the road in this part of America fits that description). The three of us went in. The dining room was crowded and we were clearly tourists, but we were treated like long-lost family. Tables and people were moved around, we were seated and ordered beer and pizza. The one server was busy but friendly and amazingly efficient. She called everyone "Honey" and "Sweetie" and "Dearie", all with a big smile and almost no teeth! Pizza was ok, beer was so-so, but that was our most memorable beer-bar experience.

The BA listing for Lake Superior Brewing still shows as being active, so that's heartening. Just wondering if that server is still there and if that generous tip we left her went towards getting some new teeth...

 

I have many a memorable bar experience, but none of them at craft beer bars. Craft beer bars are too tame.

 

Not to change the thread conversation, but Jack here are some of my theories (not sure if they apply to your situation however, but just thinking the same is true with myself as well...:
1) your local brewery taprooms are offering better quality beers now than they were pre-pandemic
2) your craft beer bar may be putting on tap less high-quality beers/less interesting beers now vs pre-pandemic
3) in combination with 1&2 your local taproom has better prices now than the craft beer bar and you don't want to pay the premium prices
4) social component (either how you like to chat with staff or people you are with talk about what brewery to visit and forget about the craft beer bar
4) combination of the above, perhaps the brewery is more convenient to get to vs. the craft beer bar?

 

Hanging out talking beer & drinking beers on the house after closing hours with Chris Demetri when he was at the Old Bay Restaurant in New Brunswick, N.J. back in the 90's is my most treasured beer experience/memory. He practically escorted my buddy and I to the hotel across the street where we crashed around 3 a.m. after he locked up. A perfect night.

 

Most memorable funny experiences have always centered around some old guys at the bar:
1) When in college, some friends and myself visited an Irish bar on St. Patty's day. Some old Irish guy (by himself of course) broke into the "7 Drunken Nights song" in Irish accent. We were like "WTF was that"? To this day, when my friends get together, we now always sing that rediculous quote from that song but we heard it a little differently that night than the true lyrics. We always recalled "so drunk, so drunk, so stinkin' drunk, so drunk you cannot see".
2) I was in Salisbury England on business trip staying at the Red Lion Hotel with a really nice small/quaint hotel bar. Despite it being mostly a tourist bar, there was this one old local guy who stopped in each night for beer. I say him standing against the wall asleep, then would wake up and break into conversation with the barkeep, fall back asleep for 20-30 seconds, wake up and talk again. Repeated this for like a 1/2 hour or so. My wife and I just laughed continuously for about that 1/2 hr.
3) Was in Boston at a very large beer hall/bar with a bunch of college friends (we were about 21 I suppose) and my 1 friend who had both a drinking and gambling problem, got in some big arguement at the bar with some 80 year old guy (only guy over age of 40 in there out of hundreds of people). Everyone in the bar started to circle around them to see what was going down here. All I remember was the old guy screamed at my friend "you're nothign but a nickel and dime betting bum" I think all of the rest of us fell on the floor laughing in tears after that. Both the old guy and my friend got tossed out by the bouncers. Then 5 minutes later on the street they were both hugging each other and talking peacefully about what great racetracks are the best for winning bets or something. Rediculous.

 

Another college story from early 90's..a good friend of mine turned 21 so naturally we took him out bar-hopping which was a right of passage back then. Eventually he was gettting pretty slammed drunk. We thought we could do 1 more bar before taking him back to the dorm. My pal was really starting to lose his ability to walk, so my other friend and myself had to prop him between us to help him walk. With a big blue sombrero on, as we were basically carrying our friend by that point, the door man looked at us walking up toward the door. Didn't get but 10 feet from our car and still 30+ft from the door and the doorman said to us "not a chance" and just pointed us back to our car.

 

Maybe a BA repeat but:
In about 1977 on a warm summer night in Chicago, a visiting friend from out of town and I ventured out in my 60 Valiant, out to look for Blues Clubs on the west side not too far from my wife and my apartment. We checked out some addresses, and we were down to the last possibility, a bar on Lake Street under the El tracks somewhere just east of Ashland. In those days that location was pretty desolate at night. Inside we found a lively crowd and an R&B band playing. Beer choices (worst ever encountered) were Schlitz, Miller Lite, and Golden and Pink Champale. We downed a couple of pink beers and enjoyed the scene. When we went out to the car, the battery was missing. No El station near, buses rare. We hoofed it the 2 miles back to the apartment. We then commandeered a battery, borrowed my wife's car, and retrieved the Valiant (that car lasted until 84). What was to be a reasonably short outing ended at dawn.