"Beer Bars" news and stories

Trappeze Pub in Athens, Ga. Image: Trappeze Pub.

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

It's summer. School is out of session. Probably seems like the wrong time to be hitting up bars in a college town like Athens, Ga. , home to the University of Georgia. But Trappeze Pub sees slightly smaller crowds during the summer months, making July and August the perfect time to stop by this sophisticated suds spot.

"Some bars close down for a month and a half in the summer," explains owner Eric Johnson about the fate of other neighborhood watering holes in need of student bodies to fill their spaces. "The lion's share are all about who has the best keg deal on. Even the local beer geeks said [Trappeze] would never work!"

But work it did. With 39 taps and a beer engine containing only "the best of the best" in the brew world, this pub quickly made a name for itself. After being open for only three months, in early 2008, the pub bought the coffee house next door to accommodate crowds. "Turns out there was a sizable group of folks in Athens that were just waiting for a place to do craft beer well," Johnson told us.

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

A giant thanks to all the Slashfood readers who responded to last week's call for shoutouts of favorite beer-friendly bars. We received a whopping 43 comments naming almost 50 watering holes in 19 states.

Beyond giving Slashfoodies a chance to chime in, What's On Tap's goal was to compile a list of new bars to draw upon for future WOT posts. We've already featured places like Chicago's The Map Room, Houston's The Ginger Man and San Diego's O'Brien's Pub (though they are always worth revisiting). It's also worth noting that WOT strives to vary metropolitan areas as much as possible. For example, San Francisco's Toronado received by far the most comments, but we visited SF suds relatively recently, so don't expect a Toronado post anytime soon. (For those who cry foul, remember, WOT isn't a list of the best beer bars in each city -- just an interesting choice. Sometimes it's more adventurous to go off the beaten path.)

Using that criteria, a lot of great pubs may be bumped towards the back of the queue, such as those in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Cambridge, Mass., and Santa Monica, Calif. After the jump, a list of bars you're likely to see in future WOT posts based on your comments.

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

For 20 weeks now, What's On Tap has taken a peek at some amazing beer-friendly bars from all across the country (and once, even beyond). Problem is, the US of A is massive and new brew-based establishments are opening all the time. So this week, What's On Tap is asking you, our readers, for your favorites.

The only restriction? The locales must serve draft beer of noteworthy quality. Sure, a lot of great bars serve pitchers of PBR and nothing else, but save those joints for a list of Best Places For Boys' Night Out [Or Girls! -- Ed]. Extensive local selections and rare abbey imports are the kinds of things that make a bar WOT-worthy. (Also, though brewpubs are awesome for unique finds, for this post, let's try to stick to bars.)

Leave your favorite spots for sipping suds in the comments and check back later for a compiled list of our readers' top beer-centric watering holes. You may even see your suggestion featured in an upcoming edition of What's On Tap!

To my regular readers, I apologize as it appears I inadvertently happened upon an almost two-week hiatus. The bad news: You missed me.

The good news: We have plenty to catch up on in this week's addition of the Beer Blog Round-Up!

Let's dive right in:

1. Sick of the same old beer events? Here's a new one for you: a "Simul-cask." Apparently, Dogfish Head has decided to debut their new 75 Minute IPA by simultaneously tapping casks of the brew in four different cities on the East coast at precisely 7:50 EST today. Find additional details as well as participating locations on Beernews.org.
2. Always worried about his weight, Joe Sixpack discusses the not so easy job of beer calorie-counting (though supposedly mandatory beer labeling is on its way). The post was inspired by the recent release of Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer? -- a guide to the nutritional information of over 2,000 beers worldwide.
3. Beer Examiner Charlie Papazian wants you to vote for "Beer City, USA." Go help him out and lend your hometown or favorite beer destination some support.

Read the next five after the jump. ...