MT Pub Guide for the World

[Makalakumu]

Place your reports on what, where, and why certain pubs, taverns or bars, are the best in the world!

 

[exile]

Place your reports on what, where, and why certain pubs, taverns or bars, are the best in the world!

I like it! Will be checking in with my favs shortly.

 

[Makalakumu]

Okay, so here is one of my favorites.

The Anchor Bar in Superior Wisconsin. This little place is down by the industrial docks and is frequented by all sorts of types from crusty sailors to lawyers. The decor is basically run down antiques that all sorts of old timers remember using from their time plying the great lakes waters. The beer is great, with over 100 different microbrews from around the region in the cooler and the place literally has the best hamburgers I have ever tasted anywhere in the entire world. That is no boast.

Best of all, its cheap. A burger, fries, and a pint can be had for about 6 dollars.

It's a good place to grab lunch and slum with the locals if you are ever in the area.

 

[exile]

Barley's Brewpubs in Columbus make real ale to a standard which surpasses almost everything I've had in the best British real ale pubs. Their owner and master brewer, Scott Francis, served a three year apprenticeship with one of the larger British regionals, then came back to Columbus with—as he told me at the time—the covert agenda of educating local tastes to increasingly bitter beers, and he has succeeded brilliantly. MBuzzy and I, along with a friend from town, got together last night for Barley's Smokehouse's 10th anniversary celebration, the Hop-IPA-looza, featuring nothing but IPAs—their own and some guest beers—on tap, on the cask (handpump) and in the firkin (a single, 10-gallon barrel, gravity dispense). The real ales—the cask and firkin beers—were good beyond descripion, I'd say. That's Barley's great strength. The food is very good—not haut cuisine, but definitely a couple of steps above standard barfood—but that's not why people descend on the place on Firkin Friday every week, or why the cask beers are often sold out after a week. The level of beermaking is really outstanding—I've had real ale not just in the UK but in Seattle and San Francisco, where it is a Very Big Thing Indeed, and I gotta say, Barley's wins hands down. Scott F. is an artist of the hop, he's spent decades learning how to balance and harmonize several different hop varieties in each bear, and it pays off big...

... and no, I have no financial interest or stake in Barley's (other than a one-way flow of cash to them in exchange for a flow of beer back to me )

 

[terryl965]

The Tarven in Southern California back in the eighties they had every type of beer and brew some of the greatest ale.

 

[Sukerkin]

Just as a quick aside, I'm really pleased to see the genuine love of 'proper' beer being shown here.

Given that all I've ever drank of American extraction is Budweiser (which should go back in it's host horse unless you're simply thirsty) I'm very happy that there's more to beer in America than I thought :rei:.

 

[Nolerama]

JackSons' Restaurant, St. Louis, MO--- My version of "Cheers." I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but it's where I hang out with close friends and enjoy a tasty beverage. The food is good, too.

The Tin Can, St. Louis, MO--- Two locations offer a plethora of beer in, you guessed it, cans! They'll keep a beer cozy for you (after you draw all over it with permanent marker) for the next time you visit. Their softball team wins by luck, though.

The Thirsty Scholar, NYC, NY--- Random pick when visiting, and a great place to end up after getting suckered to pay $15 for watered-down mixed drinks in Times Square.

Cafe Havana, Makati City, Manila, Philippines--- Kinda touristy, but lots of locals hang out there anyway. An entire nights tab between my brother and myself was a grand total of $35 US. Great salsa dancing and a good DJ afterwards.

 

[exile]

Just as a quick aside, I'm really pleased to see the genuine love of 'proper' beer being shown here.

This is a kind of new thing for us—Americans, up until about a generation ago never had a very clear idea about wine or what to do with it, and found it rather intimidating—but beer, everyone knew about: it was basically chilled alcoholic water that someone had dunked a bag of barley quickly in and out of and maybe shown a couple of pictures of a hop plant to. At a typical 5% alcohol, no bady, essentially zero taste, the American devo version of its distant Czech pilsen ancestor was guaranteed to be an easy cheap drunk, which was how a lot of us in my era grew up thinking about beer. That started to changed when a few British beer imports began to convince people there might be more going on, and increasing postwar prosperity gave many more people the chance to visit Britain and Europe, where they were... astonished is probably the right word... at what beer over there was. The villain of the piece was Prohibition, which had a disastrous effect on small regional or local breweries in the US—at the turn of the last century, there were several thousand such in the country; by 1960, there werer something like 100 of these left, and all but the big giants were definitely on the ropes.

And then along came CAMRA...

Given that all I've ever drank of American extraction is Budweiser (which should go back in it's host horse unless you're simply thirsty) I'm very happy that there's more to beer in America than I thought :rei:.

The British real ale movement didn't just rescue English beer; you could make the argument that it saved the American brewing industry as well—the careful, craftsmanlike part of it, at least, that put its money into quality ingredients and careful methods, rather than advertising and cheap additives. The resurgence of interest in the UK in traditional ales lead to a kind of resonance in this country in which people started getting curious about what the ale style really was—a lot of people had no clue that there was such a thing as top-fermented beer, let alone how different in character it is from lager-style beer. And a whole gang of new enterprises, spearheaded by Anchor in San Francisco (their Liberty Ale is one of Michael Jackson's four-star 'best of kind') and several Washington state outfits (Bert Grant's, Red Hook and a few others) started brewing prototype 'best bitter' style ales with major hop impact. Things took off from there, and what happened in the wine industry (where now Washington state cabernets like Quilceda Creek regularly trounce Premier Cru clarets—La Tour, Chateau Margeaux and the rest—in blind-refereed competitions held in France) has happened in the beer industry: Michael Jackson considers the Stone Brewing Company's Ruination Ale the equal of, or superior to, any British real ale in existence. The so-called San Diego style of 'Double IPA'—massive hops, with smooth malt balance and complex flavors, but weighing in at up to 8% strength—strength you don't even notice (till you try to stand up! ) because the beer has so much depth of flavor—is a distinctly American development built on the platform of the classical Burton/IPA style. There are now literally hundreds of new breweries in this country, producing a great variety of new and exciting beers, some in these very traditional patterns, some wildly experimental, and IMO we owe it all, or most of it, to the fact that the long arm of the Campaign for Real Ale reached up from the grass roots in late 1960s Britain and saved English beer.

 

[Sukerkin]

{smacks forhead} Of course! Prohibition. How could I have forgotten about that? No wonder the American brewing industry took a dive.

Thanks for reminding me of that, Bob. Thanks also for the thumbnail of what is developing and growing in the industry over the Pond

.

I'm so glad that CAMRA survived its period of being mildly lampooned as a bunch of 'beardies' in fishermans jumpers listening to folk music and achieved something good for everyone in a decent pub.

 

[Kacey]

Boulder, which is quite close to Denver, is the home of the mountain bike and the micro-brewery - the two together being why one of my favorite micro-brews (although it's a bit too widespread now to be a micro any more) is Fat Tire. I don't frequent bars enough to find a good one, although I did quite enjoy the ones I found when I toured England - but there are quite a few decent beers around the Denver area that aren't available elsewhere - and given the proximity of both Boulder and Golden (home of Coors - which also makes quite a few of the no-longer-micros and European imports) they are all fresh - which makes them taste so much better!

 

[exile]

{smacks forhead} Of course! Prohibition. How could I have forgotten about that? No wonder the American brewing industry took a dive.

It just killed the American beer industry, and did something similar to the developing California wine business. The giants had the resources to weather the storm, but a lot of their smaller competitors went down and never got up.

I'm so glad that CAMRA survived its period of being mildly lampooned as a bunch of 'beardies' in fishermans jumpers listening to folk music and achieved something good for everyone in a decent pub.

It's true, they had their rough spots and bumps early on (the funny thing is, a lot of the early CAMRA stalwarts were solidly established professionals—journalists, lawyers, academics and the like—anything but what we used to call 'country hippies')... but my feeling is, they were bound to succeed, because at some level the British public wanted quality beer, and valued the priceless virtues that the traditional cozy English pub embodies. Sometimes, real progress means moving backward, and this was one of those times.

Re Kacey's mention of Colorodo micros: Breckenridge and the Boulder Beer Company are just two of the very fine ale producers in that state. We're lucky in Columbus: there are a couple of places that regularly bring in beers from the Colorado micros. I used to ski in Colorodo—this was well before the microbrewery boom there got started; but the bars, as they were called, in the mountain areas really were very pub-like: they had that rustic rough-hewn charm, wonderful huge fireplaces, and terrific food.

 

[theletch1]

I brew my own so my favorite pub would be my living room. I guarantee I get better service than anyone else. My favorite "store bought" is Guinness so of course my favorite home brew is stout. I've brewed an oktoberfest and an English brown ale here as well. For taste, freshness and just the all around "neat" factor homebrew is the way to go.

 

[jks9199]

There was a time when there were lots of local brews... and that time may return.

I'm reasonably partial to Yuengling , and Dominion Ale (used to be an independent brewery, but it was recently bought out -- though they've reportedly stayed true to their roots so far) has a good rep. Old Dominion Brewery still has a small restuarant/bar which is conveniently right off of the W&OD Trail (an old rail bed converted to a multi-use path).

 

[exile]

I brew my own so my favorite pub would be my living room. I guarantee I get better service than anyone else. My favorite "store bought" is Guinness so of course my favorite home brew is stout. I've brewed an oktoberfest and an English brown ale here as well. For taste, freshness and just the all around "neat" factor homebrew is the way to go.

Home brewing is terrific if you're someone who can work carefully on a complex task. I'm not, but one of my colleagues is an accomplished home brewer: you can lay his stuff down for two or three years and it's just brilliant when you open it up... he's a real technician: cracks his own barley malt to prepare the wort and does experiments with different yeast and hop combinations, keeping notes on the whole thing. I wish I had the patience to do that... mine doesn't extend much past the wait to get my hands on the opener... :drinkbeer

There was a time when there were lots of local brews... and that time may return.

I think we're seeing the beginning of it. In all kinds of areas, local production is becoming the hot thing, and it's leading to a huge diversity in areas that were once dominated by a few large mass-producers. A very exciting, hopeful time, I believe...

 

[Makalakumu]

Does anyone have any experience with Dogfishhead brewpub in Deleware? I've heard that their beer is absolutely to die for. Some friends have said its the best beer in the whole US.

I'm really surprised at the lack of any real pub or tavern culture in Hawaii. Sure we have the clubs and the tourist joints, but I haven't really come across anything that seems authentic.

The closest I've come to is a Mai Tai tent up by Haleiwa on the North Shore. You can get a good stiff one and sit on the dune, sip it, and watch the sunset.

 

[theletch1]

I've never been to their brewpub but have had some of the Dogfishhead brew at a micro-brewers festival in Roanoke, Va. Great beer.

 

[terryl965]

I brew my own so my favorite pub would be my living room. I guarantee I get better service than anyone else. My favorite "store bought" is Guinness so of course my favorite home brew is stout. I've brewed an oktoberfest and an English brown ale here as well. For taste, freshness and just the all around "neat" factor homebrew is the way to go.

So when I am in your neck of the woods I need to stop ne for some of that brew Right

 

[theletch1]

So when I am in your neck of the woods I need to stop ne for some of that brew Right

Of course, Terry. It's a very rare occurrance when I don't have any on hand. I only have about a six pack of stout left but that just means I'll get to brew another batch soon.

 

[terryl965]

Of course, Terry. It's a very rare occurrance when I don't have any on hand. I only have about a six pack of stout left but that just means I'll get to brew another batch soon.

I have to remember that when I go though Roanoake the next time.

 

[shesulsa]

We are low-volume vintners here and personally ... I prefer the service and the product here at my home (that which *I* am involved in making) to almost anything else, but for many factors. We use all fruit for our berry wines with a carefully calculated alcohol contents between 18 and 20 percent. This allows the fermentation process to naturally destroy any potentially harmful bacteria. I know when and how the fruit is picked and washed, chosen and crushed/juiced. I know *exactly* what's in my wine and as a result, we have a higher quality product with no unnecessary additives, clarifiers, artificial flavorings or colors or aging accelerants.

At our place you could find a dessert wine pared with smoked spring salmon and whole grain wafers, cheeses and pates or just plain old snacks over by the spa. And you likely won't get a headache or hangover in the morning.

I can wear whatever I want, it never closes ... who could ask for more?