What's On Tap, Brooklyn - Barcade

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

What does it take to be a great beer bar? Some things are obvious: A rotating lineup of interesting, hand-selected draft beers that covers a variety of styles is a good first step. But other factors play into the equation.

I'm a huge fan of bars that regularly update their draft list online. Give a big check to Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Barcade. Right on the front of their Web site they post their own What's On Tap column. And they do you one better: Click on any beer in the list to be taken to its BeerAdvocate review page, meaning you can create your own scouting report before even leaving home.

Friendly knowledgeable staff is also a plus. Score another point for Barcade's bartenders who show a lot of passion for beer and keep their cool even on the bar's busiest nights.

But Barcade also knows it never hurts to have an ace up your sleeve, and at this Williamsburg neighborhood drinking hot spot, that means vintage arcade games. Whether dodging traffic on one of their most popular machines like Frogger, or trying your hand at some "lost" classics (if you can call games like Ludy Bug, Pengo or Sinistar "classics"), Barcade may be the only establishment in the country who's selection of dozens of vintage arcade games rivals the uniqueness of their draft list. (And speaking of rivals, the bar posts the all-time top scores for their machines. Take down the champ and your name goes up on the wall.)

Luckily, though most of the arcade machines come from the 1980s, the beers on draft are all fresh. Let's take a look at what Barcade is currently serving after the jump. ...

• Abita Turbo Dog
• Allagash Double
• Allagash White
• Avery The Maharaja
• Avery White Rascal
• Brooklyn Intensified Coffee Stout
• Brown's Rauch
• Captain Lawrence Brown Ale
• Chelsea 90 Schilling Scotch Ale
• Chelsea Sunset Red
• Chelsea Imperial Stout (on cask)
• Climax ESB
• Climax IPA
• Climax Porter
• Doc's Draft Cider
• Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre
• Fisherman's Ale
• Fisherman's Navigator
• Ohio Hibernian Ale
• Rogue Brutal Bitter
• Smuttynose Gravitation
• Troeg Troegenator Double Bock
• Victory Abbey 8
• Victory Donnybrook Stout
• Weyerbacher Insanity

That's 24 taps and one gravity cask, for a grand total of 25 beers (OK, one is a cider) from 17 different breweries. The list has a strong regional focus, yet still covers a number of styles, all without leaving the U.S. (I've heard Barcade never has imports on draft.)

Twenty-four taps leave plenty of room for session beers among the bigger selections: Perfect for someone who needs to maintain a level of hand-eye coordination as they attempt to beat their favorite classic game.

Barcade also semi-regularly holds special events where the taps lean towards a certain theme. During the recent Dogfish Head "Simul-Cask" event, the bar sported nine different Dogfish drafts; Pennsylvania Night on Thursday, April 23, also sounds like it could be a winner.

I'm not 100 percent sure what the proper beer pairing is for a game of Ms. Pac-Man (Is it sexist to suggest a cider?! Yes? It is? OK, sorry.), but Barcade maintains a perfect atmosphere for causal drinkers and beer aficionados alike.

Not a gamer? You'll find a number of tables (most of them for sitting and one of them of the "pool" variety) as well as more than enough bar seats and standing room for just hanging out. Because that's what you do in Brooklyn: You hang out.

Barcade is located at 388 Union Ave. in Brooklyn, N.Y. www.barcadebrooklyn.com.