"bars" news and stories

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

Dublin isn't just the capital and largest city of Ireland. A number of Dublins exist right here in the United States. One of the largest is Dublin, Ohio, a growing suburb outside of Columbus. It also boasts one of the best places to grab a craft beer, Matt the Miller's Tavern.

Since opening in October of 2008, Matt the Miller's has prided itself on offering great food, wine and beer, and Dublin has reacted enthusiastically. Even more so than owner Craig Barnum expected. "[Craft beer] is huge these days. If I could do it over again, I would have put in more draft lines."

Barnum tries to keep the average drinker content by keeping five standard choices on tap, leaving just 9 spots to venture into the craft world. They had their system custom-made in Italy with a beautiful backlit display, otherwise he'd consider expanding to 21 or even 28 taps. Barnum helps make up for the paucity of lines with a strong bottle selection as well. He knows that having the better beer selection gives him the edge.

Read on about Matt the Miller's Tavern and its recent draft list after the jump...

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

Despite being the second least populous state in the nation (ranking just below Wyoming), Vermont is well-known as a craft beer haven. The state ranks #1 in craft breweries per capita and is home to recognizable brewery names like Magic Hat, Long Trail and Harpoon. So as the state capital, Montpelier, Vt. really has no choice but to represent!

But for years, the minuscule capital (with just over 8,000 people) didn't have a craft beer bar to call its own. Three Penny Taproom came to the rescue.

"We're our country's smallest state capital," says owner Scott Kerner. "The only one without a McDonald's." Now, since May 1, 2009, the city finally has a top-flight beer bar. And though representing this beer-friendly state from its capital might seemingly create some pressure, Kerner believes they've risen to the task, "In our nine months, we've created quite a stir in not just Vermont, but in New England."

Read more about Three Penny Taproom and find their recent draft list after the jump...

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

California has always been known as a great craft-beer state. Back in 1977, San Francisco's Anchor Brewing received some of Michael Jackson's highest praise in his seminal book, The World Guide to Beer. Over the past decade, Sierra Nevada took hopped up craft beer mainstream before it was mainstream, making their Pale Ale one of the few ubiquitous craft brews. More recently, breweries such as Stone and Firestone Walker have been recognized as industry leaders and international award-winners.

So why for so many years has California's largest city, Los Angeles, lagged behind as a home to great beer bars?

A newcomer on the block, Blue Palms Brewhouse, opened on July 8, 2008, with aims to rectify the situation. "My girlfriend and I were tired of driving to San Diego and San Francisco for great beers," says owner Brian Lenzo. "L.A. was an empty market. Now since we've opened, about eight other places have followed."

More on the Blue Palms Brewhouse -- and its recent draft list -- after the jump...

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

As the mid-Atlantic region gets buried under its second major snowstorm in the past week, people have been tossing around words like "snowmageddon" and "snowpocalypse," but in parts of New York state a foot of snow or more a day is just business as usual. So for this week's What's On Tap, we took the opportunity to explore America's second snowiest city (according to NSIDC.org): Rochester, N.Y.

For the past 20 years, the Old Toad has been a mainstay in the Rochester area and even has a regional claim to fame as the first bar in the eastern U.S. to serve cask ale. "We're a British-inspired pub," says bar manager Kevin Roman, explaining the reason for selling beer the way they do across the pond. "The Rochester community has taken to it. We see a lot of demand for cask."

But what do Rochesterians drink in snowy weather? The rest of the East Coast wants to know!

"During this time of year people are really interested in porters and stouts," Roman explains. "Maltier, heavier beers. Darker stuff." Turns out in cold weather, patrons demand a little more oomph from their brews. Stouts seem to be the logical selection, but IPAs are also popular, with their added hoppy bite.

See what the Old Toad keeps on draft for their snow-fairing drinkers after the jump...

Photo: House of Sims/Flickr

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

Imagine walking into a bar with 39 beers on tap, four more on cask. Limiting things down to your favorite style doesn't help: There are 10 IPAs available on draft alone.

As more and more establishments become beer-friendly and focus on offering up as many taps as possible, this scenario is not uncommon. It plays out at beer bars all across the country. In fact, the initial example is precisely what happened to this writer last night.

Luckily, this particular bar has drinkers best interests in mind. New York City's Rattle N Hum is one of many establishments that have taken to offering beer flights, small (yet reasonable) pours of a number of the different brews available. Rattle N Hum ups the ante by make their flights affordable. Patrons can procure 4 ozs. of any four drafts for the same price as a pint.

And why not? 16 ounces of beer is 16 ounces of beer. Flights might take a little more pouring and glassware to accommodate, but the bartender is still moving product at the same cost per ounce. And is it any more work than serving up an infinite number of free tasters many drinkers demand before investing in a full glass? Drinkers appreciate the effort, and those four ounce pours can go down pretty fast, causing big beer drinkers to go for more. Plus trying his new favorite brew might just be the reason a person buys that next drink.