how many taps at your local bar?

[robofunk]

The Ale House - Binghamton, NY 36 taps
The Chapter House - Ithaca, NY 60 taps (?)

i know that many taps does not a good bar make, but these two places are pretty fantastic. how many taps at your favorite pub?

[Wolf359]

Favorite pub = Freakin' Frog
Number of taps = 8 (most days)
Had lots of good handles yesterday including Red Seal, Oaked AB, Pyramid DPA, SN Celebration, Beamish, Chimay, Framboise...

[newportstorm]

Contrary to what CBS Network might have you believe...numb3rs lie. The bar with the greatest pure # of taps in RI is The Mews Tavern - claims 69 micros on tap. However, many of them are crappy imports, ciders and beers like Rolling Rock (nothing wrong with a Rock, but it's not a micro/craft brew).

More like 20-30 quality taps - and with their willingness to keep things like DFH 60 Minute, SNCA and New England seasonals on tap, it's a cool spot.

Now, for pure quality and variety (numbers be damned), my vote has got to go to Anam Cara in Boston:

http://www.anamcarapublickhouse.com/Draught.html

And just for the sake of it, their bottle list:

http://www.anamcarapublickhouse.com/Bottles.html

Best thing about this place is dedication to freshness & quality. Too many places tout 50, 75, 100+ taps but many are gone, stale or their draft lines are unclean.

Slainte!

[steveh]

Local local - as in: within walking distance? 6, but only 3 good beers.

Local good-beer-bar (short drive)? Let's see... 18 (17 when the cask runs out - which is almost always), 17 good ones (Swiller Lite for the rookies).

Then there's the partner restaurant next door that keeps about 6 good taps - different from the first bar, and the brew-pub across the street that usually keeps 6 or 7 on tap with 2 cask-conditioned duplicates. It's the good-beer triumverate, right Harp and Blues? ;)

S.

[fretlessman71]

So these guys don't count? http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/

[hopjack13]

the goat hill tavern 141 :p
and najas about 70 or 80 and the yardhouse in rancho cucamonga (closer to me then the other two) has about 100!

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
So these guys don't count? http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/

As your local? Don't think so. ;)

C'mon folks - let's define "local." I can't call Goose Island (either of 'em) my "local." Nor The Map Room, for that matter - even though I'd love to move in next door!

S.

I like how they have seceded from the union...

[hops99]

Too many places tout 50, 75, 100+ taps but many are gone, stale or their draft lines are unclean.

Amen brother!

I'd take 20 rotating craft taps that are cared for over 100 "drink at your own risk" taps any day!

[MeridianFC]

The Pharmacy Bar has 3 (Yeungling, Guinness, Hoegaarden)

The Reef has 14 (Fordham Helles, Schneider Weiss, De Konninck, Dogfish Head 60, some new Belgian Framboise that I can't remember but is not lambic or Liefman's, some new cider I can't recall, Dominion Stout, Miller Lite, Eggenberger Pils, Otter Creek Copper, Chimay, Allagash White, Smithwicks, and one more)

Marx Cafe has 5 (Dentergems Wit, Jever Pils, Guinness, Chimay, De Konninck)

The first two are closest to my work, the last one closest to my house (1 block and 2 block repsectively).

[robofunk]

dear newportstorm,

i ruined my keyboard with drool after visiting the anam cara web page. i expect a reimbursement in full.

sincerely,

robofunk.


yes guys i agree it is of the utmost importance to keep the lines as well as the glasses clean. there was one occasion when my friends and i were served a pitcher and glasses, and when raising the glass to my nose to sniff the beer i encountered a most foul, mildew odor. i then realised that the barkeep cleaned the glasses with a dirty old rag. an absolutely repulsive practice...

[Seymour]

Best pub: Mine.

Number of taps: Zip.

Number of bottles: Depends.

Walking distance: Right upstairs!

Just don't do the bar scene anymore. I'm old and deaf, tired of shouting over the cacophony, and would much rather spend that quality time with my wife and daughters. In my "pub", I can spin a few golden oldies on the turntable, admire my steins and beer signs, and play with my kids while I quaff a cold one. And I don't need a DD!

[brewmonkey]

When I was brewing we had 12 beers on and one of our accounts, Barley's Brewhaus, has 100 taps.

Having a lot of taps is nice, but only if the staff is knowledgable, the beer is fresh and the lines are maintained.
To have fresh beer they need to make sure they have the proper keg size on tap based on volume sold. Nothing like finding a great location for beer only to find out the beer is so old that is oxidized. I would think the only thing worse is finding the location that has no line cleaning routine in place (many do not) and getting a pint full of butter.

[hopjack13]

Originally posted by steveh
As your local? Don't think so.

C'mon folks - let's define "local." I can't call Goose Island (either of 'em) my "local." Nor The Map Room, for that matter - even though I'd love to move in next door!

okay, my local garage (just a few steps from the kitchen) has 2 taps! currently on tap @ hopjacks we have an anvil esb (alesmith) and an IPA (alesmith)
now you can't get much more local then that!:D

[steveh]

Originally posted by hopjack13
okay, my local garage (just a few steps from the kitchen) has 2 taps! currently on tap @ hopjacks we have an anvil esb (alesmith) and an IPA (alesmith)
now you can't get much more local then that!

Yeah, but I bet all the chicks are taken or too young! ;)

S.

[wortchillergoal]

Clark's Ale House 20-25

The Blut Tusk 60 plus

I would like to know how robofunk lists bars that are 3 or 4 hours away from the location he gives in his user line?

[robofunk]

i'll explain though i know it isn't necessary:

binghamton is my hometown. i turned 21 at the ale house, and was having a great time there drinking beer after beer till my friends turned up the heat and made me down 7 different shots (from jagermeister to j.d. to schnapps).

i lived in ithaca for two years, and spent alot of quality time at the chapter house in between shifts controlling a particle collision detector at cornell university. many nights were spent floating the streets after a visit to "the chappy."

as for the term 'local' it differs from person to person. when you live in the stix, the local pub might be a dozen miles away or so. use your best judgment!

[Seymour]

There is a bar in downtown Waco called Cricket's (pretty sure it's a franchise). They claim 100 beers on tap; most of course are the usual swill, but some are quite nice. They have Real Ale, St. Arnold's, and Yellow Rose from here in Texas, as well as several other micros and imports. We used to go alot, and it's not too far from my house, so I guess it's my "local." Although, as I said before, we're really not barflies anymore. Plus, the service there is atrocious; Baylor co-eds, for the most part, feeling entitled. Doesn't take too many tabletops before they're "in the weeds."

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by robofunk
i'll explain though i know it isn't necessary:

binghamton is my hometown. i turned 21 at the ale house, and was having a great time there drinking beer after beer till my friends turned up the heat and made me down 7 different shots (from jagermeister to j.d. to schnapps).

i lived in ithaca for two years, and spent alot of quality time at the chapter house in between shifts controlling a particle collision detector at cornell university. many nights were spent floating the streets after a visit to "the chappy."

as for the term 'local' it differs from person to person. when you live in the stix, the local pub might be a dozen miles away or so. use your best judgment!

Thanks for clearing that up. Are you upstate now or down in Bronxville? I ask as I go to Binghamton once in awhile and would meet for a beer if you where in that area.

[robofunk]

now living in bronxville. i'm still very new to the scene down here and though i have hit up a few bars, none of them have really stuck as 'the one'. however, i have been to some killer places in manhattan. the best yet was mcsorley's ale house, where they have two taps: "light or dark."

[Fly Creek]

Originally posted by robofunk
The Chapter House - Ithaca, NY

Definitely on the short list of my all-time favorites.

And also:

Meridian: If you rattled off all those taps from memory, the judges will be quite impressed during the talent competition.

Seymour: The pub sounds good to me (I enjoy loud tunes and pubs, but generally not at the same time) Send info on the hours and the DJ's playlist.

Mr. Goalie: We gotta get together at the Tusk or Clark's (30 beers and 1 sandwich - and REAL dartboards!) the next time I'm in the Cuse.

:D

[MeridianFC]

Originally posted by Fly Creek


Meridian: If you rattled off all those taps from memory, the judges will be quite impressed during the talent competition.


I plan to take it home during the swimsuit portion.

[hopjack13]

Originally posted by steveh
Yeah, but I bet all the chicks are taken or too young!

S.

actually....you're right!;) my wife is taken and my daughters are 2 and 7.......on the other hand (you have different fingers)
my wifes sister and cousins and friends are female and of leagal drinking age, and they will come over and hang out from time to time.

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by steveh
Local local - as in: within walking distance? 6, but only 3 good beers.

Local good-beer-bar (short drive)? Let's see... 18 (17 when the cask runs out - which is almost always), 17 good ones (Swiller Lite for the rookies).

Then there's the partner restaurant next door that keeps about 6 good taps - different from the first bar, and the brew-pub across the street that usually keeps 6 or 7 on tap with 2 cask-conditioned duplicates. It's the good-beer triumverate, right Harp and Blues? ;)

S.

heh, heh...right you are! I was picturing the said establishments in my mind as you listed them. I feel a road trip coming on...
There are a couple smaller places in Milwaukee that actually have a pretty impressive list of beers...but are a bit of a drive.
Since I live in the middle of nowhere, I really only have one choice for good beer - The Delafield Brewhaus. They typically have 7-9 beers on tap (real beer anyway), with 5 standbys and the rest seasonals. The last time I was there, they had a wonderful Trippel and a real nice malty pale ale.
There is a place just up the street that usually has a couple of Tyranena beers, but I can stay home and drink those...

[skahtboi]

Let's see, at Cellarman's in Sherman, (pop. 28,000 and change) there are 30. Plus, another 60 or so decent bottled varieties!

[studentofbeer]

toronado (just a short walk and a trudge up a hill from me) has probably around 30-40 taps, 4 devoted to cask conditioned ales. And I would say not one of the taps is wasted by anything second class.

My other favorite place to go, which is a short bus ride away from my place, and a straight shot down haight from the toronado is magnolia brewpub, which has i think about 10 taps, 3-5 of which are devoted to cask.

there are also a couple of restaurants with decent stuff on tap nearby, most notably suppenkuche, which has a healthy choice of german biers on tap (celebrator never tasted so good). Another restaurant has hoegaarden and one or two other things on tap, plus duvel and chimay red in the bottle, so i often grab a duvel when i'm there.

[21st-Amendment]

http://www.anamcarapublickhouse.com/_images/genimage.jpg

I like that cool Rogue tap-handle pictured on the left

[noby]

4. Guinness & 3 lagers

Then again, a good local is way more than the amount of taps on offer. More to do with atmosphere, people etc.


FWIW, my defenition of 'local' is the pub you frequent the most, be it next door or a hundred miles away.

Cormac

[steveh]

Originally posted by 21st-Amendment
http://www.anamcarapublickhouse.com/_images/genimage.jpg

I like that cool Rogue tap-handle pictured on the left

What's with the chalk-board commentary in the background?

S.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by steveh
What's with the chalk-board commentary in the background?

S.

Must be a joke. If you knew the owner(s), you'd know why. Or just take a look at their beer list - Belgian heavy.

Cheers!

[chazwicke]

what I consider my home establishment occasionally pours casks but is mainly bottles. (The most in the world according to Guinness's book of records.) I don't mind traveling for good beer or tap houses. But I envy our British bretheren for the "real" pub culture and their locals only need a couple of good pulls to be great.

[I'mRocketMan]

Well, MY favorite pub is my Launch Pad Brewery!! In the Mission Ready Room, one finds the Neptune Nut Brown Ale (7.3% abv) is pouring nicely. The Outer Limits Oatmeal Stout (8.7%) has the (Almost Perfect) stout head... The Guinness faucet makes it right (even with only CO2!) ... The incomparable Charon Grand Cru (9.7%) still entices... Unfortunately, Padme's Pale Ale (7.1%) ran out a few days ago... I've got to brew it again...(10 gallon batch???)
Next Mission: Klingon Kolsch (~5.3%)

In the wings next Yule, Triple Moon Tripel (12.25%!!)

Cheers!! Rocket... recovering from a heart attack! I FEEL GREAT!

[I'mRocketMan]

Originally posted by chazwicke
what I consider my home establishment occasionally pours casks but is mainly bottles. (The most in the world according to Guinness's book of records.) I don't mind traveling for good beer or tap houses. But I envy our British bretheren for the "real" pub culture and their locals only need a couple of good pulls to be great.

Amen, Chaz! Easy walking distance from your B&B!! I loved the Kings Head in Holmbury St Mary!! Excellent company as well as great casks!!

Rocket

[chazwicke]

Heart attack! I hope you are OK and recovery is complete. Beer is supposed to be good for your heart.

[fretlessman71]

Obviously you weren't drinking enough beer, IRM... I sure hope you learned your lesson! :D Glad to hear you're on the mend - I was starting to wonder about you!

[chazwicke]

Same here. I have enjoyed the pictures you have posted greatly.

[fretlessman71]

Speaking of pictures, when do we get to see updated pics of your "favorite" tap room? :)

[MeridianFC]

Jaysus, rocketman get better so you can enjoy more beer. or maybe enjoy more beer so you can get better.

[I'mRocketMan]

Thanks everyone!! I DO feel great, now!! I am sampling a few each day.... I guess it was a wake up call! Now I'm an EX-smoker!!

I hope to have the Ready room fixed up enough to shoot some pics this week! I'll upload them then!

Cheers! Rocket

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by I'mRocketMan
Thanks everyone!! I DO feel great, now!! I am sampling a few each day.... I guess it was a wake up call! Now I'm an EX-smoker!! HOORAY!!!!!!!
That's great news! One more for our side! Here's hoping you can keep up the good fight and not ever go back to the coffin nails. Besides, if you thought your beers were tasty before, just wait until all that stuff clears out of your system - the difference is night and day! :D

[skahtboi]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
HOORAY!!!!!!!
That's great news!... Besides, if you thought your beers were tasty before, just wait until all that stuff clears out of your system - the difference is night and day! :D

How true how true!!!! That also includes all foods.

I am a reformed smoker of almost seven years myself!

[I'mRocketMan]

Thanks for the support guys!! I'm feeling the charge of being alive!! Although a pint or two of good beer DOES help!

Cheers! Rocket

[Xaos]

Cheers Rocket, I'm drinking one to your health right now!

As for my local pub (in Utrecht, whereto I will move back in a year): Cafe Jan Primus. I think they have 8 tabs, one's always the same: Gulpener (lager). The others are rotating, some changing weekly, others monthly. I like the place not only for the the excellent choice of beers they have, but also for the place itself: It's a really quiet, very small bar, the owner (who's also the one behind the bar) insist on never playing any music to enhance conversation. They also have an impressive amount of bottled beers, and the owner keeps an open mind about all kinds of beers from all over the world. I've actually tasted micros from the US there (which is really rare in the Netherlands)!

[BluesHarp]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
HOORAY!!!!!!!
That's great news! One more for our side! Here's hoping you can keep up the good fight and not ever go back to the coffin nails. Besides, if you thought your beers were tasty before, just wait until all that stuff clears out of your system - the difference is night and day! :D

No doubt...five years and counting for me. Subtle flavors will soon be yours!
Congrats on kicking the habit and best of luck on a full recovery and future health!

[I'mRocketMan]

Thanks again, BluesHarp!! I've been enjoying being alive! My Neptune Nut Brown ale and the Outer Limits Oatmeal stout are tasting MIGHTY fine right now!! And the Charon Grand Cru is simply awesome!

Cheers! Rocket (16th day with out the nails...)

[chazwicke]

Never been a smoker myself. Other than an occasional cigar or pipe. Never the less I would never condemn those who do smoke though I think it is a poor choice. Let us know if you notice changes in the tastes of beer that you have sampled previously and if your preferences have changed. Will you now like a certain beer more or less.

[MiScusi]

Originally posted by hopjack13
the goat hill tavern 141 :p
and najas about 70 or 80 and the yardhouse in rancho cucamonga (closer to me then the other two) has about 100!

HopJack13- You're right around the corner from me! Have you ever been to T.Phillips Steak and Alehouse in La Verne (D-Street and Bonita)???? That is probably my favorite place right now. I like the yardhouse but it gets to busy at night. Tequillahoppers on Mountain and below Arrow has a ton on Tap (they say over 80).

T.Phillips is the best though.

[hopjack13]

no i haven't been to either, proly gunna have to go check them out now :D
you going to go to Lucky Baldwins on the 12th? (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?threadid=5821)

[MiScusi]

Originally posted by hopjack13
no i haven't been to either, proly gunna have to go check them out now :D
you going to go to Lucky Baldwins on the 12th? (http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?threadid=5821)

I just found out about that a couple hours ago. This is only my second day on this board and I have learned a ton of stuff already especially about the beer festivals. I might make a good effort to go to this Lucky Baldwins, maybe get my sis to go since she lives in Glendale.

I really want to try to get to the Belgian Beer fest on March 19th down in Carslbad since then my good beer drinking buddy from San Diego would be able to go too.

Oh yeah, forgot to add, T. Phillips is good because they give you free packages of peanuts (like you get at Dodger games). I'll probably go there tonight. Little warning although the ages do range there, i'de say it's mostly dominated by local 21-25 year olds (me)- especially that go to ULV. But really a great place no matter what age- families go there for good meals as well.