What you like about a/your BAR

The fact that they have the best draft selection in NC, a great staff, great bottle selection, and they let me bring bottles to share. Guess this brewery....

 

I switched bars a while ago. I left one "craft bar" for what I have started to think about as "beer bar" the former is Brick Wall and the later is Bond Street, both are in Asbury Park NJ.
Brick Wall has a giant selection of beers but in general feels like a TGIFridays back in 92 when they figured out if they threw any cocktail in a blender with a scoop of ice cream they could charge $11 for the same exact thing they used to charge $5. The business plan became "we can overcharge for this stuff if we call it this." Brick Wall has nice food and a good crowd with a decently curated beer list but somehow after a couple visits it all felt so curated I felt taken advantage of. $6 dollar beers were always $9 and all they ever talked about if you got a tender that knew beer was "rareness" as justification for price.
On the other hand Bond Street has nowhere near as deep a beer selection but they do have the best 2 local drinking beers Kane Head High and Carton Boat in 16oz mason jars for $4 each, and a mixture of enough other stuff to keep everyone low key happy. The crowd feels organic to the community rather than traveling for a night out and they specialize in lowbrow pleasures like pork roll cheese fries. It's just more comfortable on the whole as a result. The night I first wandered into Bond Street I had just had Head High for $6 in a shaker glass at Brick Wall.
So my bar is the comfortable beer bar with a low brow feel and a decent vibe for a couple pints of fresh local hoppy stuff. These days when the well curated, over priced, mall feeling place gets mentioned because they have 5oz glasses of a Whale for way too much money, I suggest we share some bottles at my house and finish the night at my favorite beer bar for some fresh local pales.

 

Man, mine's a little tough to quantify, because in a town full of great places with outstanding beer selections, my favorite is not one of them.

I mean, the selection is good, they make an effort, but it ain't the Muddy Pig or the Happy Gnome, it's Sweeney's on Dale St., St. Paul MN.

I think one big factor is the history - I've been going there for 25 years, it just feels like "mine". I don't go there often enough for it to be a "NORM" situation, but a friend got married in the upstairs room in 1992, and I went there last week. Same place, same mojo, all those years.

It has a wonderful vibe, I think - open and sunny on the Dale St. side, older but maintained - feels like an authentically older, well-kept St. Paul gathering place for people to hang out with each other and have beer. Nothing kitschy, faddish or trying-too-hard about it. Lots of wood, a nice fireplace inside, well-worn large booths, and the open back yard is really outstanding. Two levels, trees and shade and a giant rock fireplace you could roast a VW in. A July night out in Sweeney's back yard with a couple hours to kill is bliss, man.

As I said, they make an effort with the beer, you can get some good stuff there, but the selection is not going to make a guy say "Whaaaa?"

The food is solid, and they have 50-cent tacos for happy hour.

So, comes down to vibe, I guess - feels like a friendly, good ol' place that's been there a good long time and will be for many years yet, where a guy can get four tacos for two dollars and a cold glass of Odell.

Nothin' wrong with that.

 

I like the place I drink at because it has all the comforts of home - my wife and daughter, my tv and xbox, my guitars and other toys... plus when I'm there, I'm not surrounded by drunks!

 

Things I like:

• Good craft beer (duh)
• No loud music, keep TVs muted, and no gymnasium-like aucoustics when the place gets crowded - I go to a bar to talk to my friends, if I can't hear them or vice-versa I'm leaving.
• Plenty of casual seating at high-top tables - If I'm with a group it's hard to talk to everyone spread out along a bar and I don't want to be jammed in a booth
• Nice outdoor seating when the weather is nice
• Good appetizers, sandwiches, and lighter fare
• Polite staff, and being knowledgeable about beer is a plus, but not required.

 

That sounds like my kind of bar.

 

Jones Radiator in Spokane.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24442/
Why? No TV, cool staff, always reliable beer selection, hard alcohol selection that caters to classic drinks and craft cocktails (In other words, few flavored-vodka drinks and fratboy shots), eclectic clientele, homey space. Other than that, it sucks.

 

My favorite bar has a few comfortable armchairs, usually something from NEBCO on tap, and one of the bartenders is pretty liberal with handing out samples from Hill Farmstead and the Alchemist (free of charge) when he comes back from Vermont.

 

This place could fit the bill. The main negative for me is that the bar manager isn't into rotating taps as much as I would like.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16769/?view=ratings

 

My favorite bar is Barley Johns in New Brighton MN.
They brew their own excellent beer with only a couple guest taps. Their food is outstanding. And the clientele is mostly locals with an average age of 40-50. Everyone is very friendly, and I look forward to every visit.

 

My favorite spot has great food, staff, draft selection, a wonderful old neighborhood setting, friendly atmosphere for everyone and especially kids, unique decor, and best of all, a mix of clientele from around the world. TV is muted and quieter music is well chosen and not a focus. I have made friendships with staff and patrons that I cherish. I knock down a Foothills Jade about every weekday.

 

1. >6 craft beers on tap including something I haven't had
2. $2 pabst or genny cream pints
3. Friendly service
4. Plenty of places to sit
5. Nice patio
6. Good music, preferably live
7. Pleasant crowd (lack of a-holes)

 

Most have covered the basics. Here's my take on one particular aspect:

I prefer having a few TVs, especially if my goal is to catch a game with a "crowd". Regardless, I can watch a game if there aren't other people around [that want to engage in conversation] or something. It can also be a temporary sidetrack if conversation wanes, or someone heads to the john.

Anyhow, that is not the main point. The point, which is a peeve, really: why do you have a TV at a bar on the news channel (not inherently bad) or SportCenter on mute (definitely preferred), but don't have the closed captioning on? Why bother having the TV on at all?

 

I hardly go to bars anymore. It's more of a going out to eat thing where there's at least some SN or Sam on the menu. As far as TV goes, I prefer gathering with friends and family to watch a game and act stoopid. Everybody brings their choice of drank and it's way cheeper than going out. Sometimes they drag me kickin' and screamin' to shoot some pool, though. I'd rather be at home in my skivvies with a good porter that I paid less for a sixpack than what a pitcher of Bud Lite costs. I've slept on enough pool tables to last me a lifetime.

 

Walk into my garage and drink, stumble out of the garage into the house. Sleep......repeat

 

Grey Lodge.....Memphis Taproom...........Monk's........All three have great food and great people, although
different places with different vibes. Philly kills.

 

It needs to be open at reasonable hours. And have good beer.

 

The Blind Pig

I love this brewpub and her sister bar for several reasons.

The beer they brew has never once disappointed me. It all ranges from well above average to some of the best I have had in the style.

The brewmaster not only makes great beers, but is a great person and he will talk to you about beer and brewing whenever he has a spare moment.

The bartenders are friendly and don't last long unless they are very knowledgeable and friendly. Don't believe the reviews that say they are better at one or the other because they work at both, but know that the best bartenders prefer the brewpub on their schedule. And once they know that you are a serious beer person you will get great treatment.

The regulars are really friendly if you are serious about the beer you drink and give the best "why the hell are you in here" glares when someone orders a macro beer. But any beer advocate will feel right at home at the bar.

The mug club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is a steal with 1 or 2 dollars off pretty much anything on tap, beer club on Mondays means $2 off any bottle and Sunday they choose a beer to sell $12 pitchers and you get to keep 2 pint glasses.

The atmosphere is great. A real pub feel with no televisions and music at a level you can hear without having to yell over. They don't offer food outside a couple bags of snacks, but outside food is warmly accepted. You can even have it delivered to your table or barstool. A really great place to hang out and talk with people while enjoying a few beers.

Overall an amazing environment for a beer lover. There may be places in Champaign-Urbana with better beers on tap on during certain weeks, but the Blind Pig is the best place to enjoy beer because it is a bar that celebrates beer every day. If any BA is in CU for any reason these two pubs are the places to go.

 

LOVE a bloke with a guitar in the corner...especially when he's murdering some tired staple you already hate; now that's a good conversation starter among the faithful.

 

And as far as the damn boob tube goes, how brain dead does the staff have to be to A) not have CC on or B) not put something on that requires ZERO volume if we can't hear it anyway, a game of some type is perfect for no volume.
I do agree with several postings calling for at least an alternative to sports bar nation. I like sports as much as the next swingin dick but alternatives are nice; I'll stay home & watch sports.