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To tend a great beer bar, the beer man needs to craft his or her selection with the care of a museum curator. What good are 200 beers if most of them taste like Budweiser? The taps should satisfy any mood, and there should always be something patrons have never tried before.
The bartender and waitstaff should be like record store clerks without the accompanying snobbery, getting a sense of your palate and surprising you with a new favorite. Ambiance and uniqueness are definite pluses.
But the most important thing for any patron is proximity. Your favorite pub is your local pub, and thank God if you’ve got a good one nearby. “Sometimes you’d like to go where everybody knows your name,” and all that. We happen to have one of the best beer bars in America in downtown Decatur, Ga. But I know that anytime I’m in Chicago, New York or Asheville, N.C., I’m going to be happy to drown my whistle.
All of the pubs you see below were suggestions from our readers, writers and friends. I’ve been to many myself, but I look forward to seeing that number grow. If you’ve got a favorite beer bar the world should know about, add it to the list in the comments section below. We’ve excluded those that are primarily brew pubs, since we’ve already brought you The Best American Breweries of the Decade, many of whom would be hard to beat.
ALABAMA
The J. Clyde (Birmingham, Ala.)
Website: http://jclyde.com/
What we’d order on tap: Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire
The pour: The J. Clyde Hot Rock Tavern and Alehouse just celebrated its third birthday by tapping a trio of Jolly Pumpkin ales. When I turned three, I just wanted a big wheel.
ARIZONA
1702 (Tucson, Ariz.)
Website: http://www.1702az.com
What we’d order on tap: Avery Collaboration not Litigation Ale
The pour: Ostensibly a pizza joint, this pub near The University of Arizona has 50 taps and draft prices to match a college budget. $4.50 for 16 oz. of Duchesse de Bourgogne? There might just be money left for a pie.
CALIFORNIA
The Monk’s Kettle (San Francisco)
Website: http://monkskettle.com
What we’d order on tap: Cask Conditioned Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball (or if it was a really special occasion, a $60 750ml bottle of Abbey de St Bon Chien ‘06, a bière de garde).
The pour: As amazing as the beer selection is, The Monk’s Kettle has made a name for itself as a foodie heaven.
Toronado (San Francisco)
Website: http://www.toronado.com
What we’d order on tap: Russian River Publication
The pour: California is blessed with some great breweries, and their beers often occupy more than half of the nearly 50 taps at San Francisco’s Toronado. It’s a dive bar—cash only, not much in the way of food, metal music on the juke box—but the selection of American beer is nearly unmatched.
The Trappist (Oakland)
Website: http://www.thetrappist.com
What we’d order on tap: Rodenbach Grand Cru
The pour: The Trappist is the opposite of a hole-in-the-wall. Inside the 1870s Victorian building is a pub modeled after Belgian and Dutch pubs, just like the many of the American beers they serve.
COLORADO
Falling Rock Taphouse (Denver)
Website: http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com
What we’d order on tap: Avery Maharaja
The pour: Located a few blocks from Coors Field, the beer on the 75 taps are miles from Coors Light. Colorado’s other breweries are in ample supply, including a few rare selections from Avery.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Churchkey (Washington, D.C.)
Website: http://www.churchkeydc.com
What we’d order on tap: Jan de Lichte Kleinbrouwerij De Glazen Toren
The pour: My favorite thing about this Capitol City beer monument is that all of their many draft beers are available in 4 oz. servings, meaning I could sample seven different Mikkeller Single-Hop IPAs for $28. If President Obama is going to learn about good beer, someone needs to drag him here after his 33rd round of golf.
FLORIDA
Red Light Red Light (Orlando)
Website: http://www.myspace.com/theredlightredlight
What we’d order on tap: De Dolle Extra Export Stout
The pour: No offense, Floridians, but it’s refreshing to find a place with this much soul in Orlando. This isn’t EPCOT Belgium; it’s an internationally acclaimed beer bar with a love for farmhouse ales and Flemish sours and 20 well-chosen taps. Just what you need after a trip to Disney World.
GEORGIA
Photo by Chris Rank
Brick Store Pub (Decatur, Ga.)
Website: http://www.brickstorepub.com
What we’d order on tap: Piraat
The pour: The unofficial pub of Paste magazine (full disclosure: I play on its softball team), Decatur’s Brick Store introduced me to the world of good beer, even before the restrictions on high gravity beer loosened in Georgia. The pub is the very beating heart of our city, on the downtown square, and you’re likely to see city officials, pastors, artists and businessmen all coming together on a Tuesday afternoon or a Saturday night. There are no TVs except during the World Cup, when three HD screens materialize in the Belgian Bar upstairs.
Photo by Chris Rank
Trappeze (Athens, Ga.)
Website: http://trappezepub.com
What we’d order on tap: Malheur 12
The pour: Athens, Ga., supposedly has the highest per-capita number of bars of any town in the country. But you won’t find $1 Jaeger shots at Trappeze—just a bar full of beer geeks there to discover and enjoy. With nearly three dozen taps, there’s usually more than a couple extra special entries, like a pair of Mikkeller single hop beers from Denmark. Full disclosure: the proprietor was in my wedding, so don’t just take my word for it; RateBeer has Trappeze listed as #13 beer destination in the world.
The Porter Beer Bar (Atlanta)
Website: http://www.theporterbeerbar.com
What we’d order on tap: Allagash Dubbel cask
The pour: Some of the best pub food in Atlanta pairs with more than 300 beers, including a carefully curated draft list in the heart of Little Five Points. Along with Ormsby’s on the West Side, the upstarts are spreading the beer love around town.
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"No offense, Floridians, but it's refreshing to find a place with this much soul in Orlando."
None taken. It's refreshing to hear a journalist bash the city after openly admitting that he perceives Orlando to be made up of Epcot and this one bar.
For the record, The Abbey in DeLand is probably the best beer bar in Central Florida. Can't speak for the whole state because it's, you know, massive.
Sorry, Mike, just a little friendly neighborly ribbing from a Georgian who's spent a good bit of time in your fair city. I look forward to visiting The Abbey.
Yeah, I know, you can't list every bar in America, but nothing from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia...?
Allow me to recommend the Bier Garden, in Portsmouth:
http://biergarden.com
"The Bier Garden bar boosts a menu of between 300-350 beers from around the world. Our guests enjoy exotic beer selections from Germany, Belgium, Scotland, and many other beer producing countries. Trappist ales, world renowned German brews, and little known farm house ales are all here for sampling and celebrating. The Bier Garden's vast, varied and award winning beer selection is awaiting you and your friends."
too bad you didn't leave Philly and drive across Pennsylvania and come to Pittsburgh, you missed out on one of the best darn Best Belgian Beer Bars in the country/world, The Sharp Edge http://sharpedgebeer.com/beer.htm and some of the best bar eats in the country...thnx for the list nonetheless, there's quite a few spots I need to hit and enjoy a tasty beer at
Disappointed that Chimes (http://www.thechimes.com/beermenu.cfm) Baton Rouge, LA didn't make the list!
Thanks for including McNellie's! Marshall Beer, brewed locally in Tulsa, is always my pick.
An oversight, I'm sure, but Cleveland (OH) has the Great Lakes Brewing Co. and the Coventry neighborhood in Cleveland Heights has the Cave du Vin, which actually has the best selection of beers in the state, if no the whole region.
What never been to Wisconsin? That's a little unfair. I'm a born and bred New Yorker with the beer geek gene, but I've at least been to Wisconsin. Some of these other breweries wouldn't even exist without Wisco innovations. Take Sixpoint in Brooklyn for instance...
Zeno's in State College, PA is probably the best beer bar I've ever been to. They have over 200 beers to try, and they've got a "passport" program called Around the World in 80 Beers, where they reward you for trying 80 different beers by putting your name on a plaque on the wall. Plus it's on BeerAdvocate's top 50 list. It provides a much-needed escape from the typical Penn State bar.
If you're ever in Sarasota, Florida,check out the Cock & Bull.
http://bit.ly/bbKUHm
I am with Will. The Bier Garden is a little slice of Germany in the middle of Old Town Portsmouth. Worth checking out!
Really? Six spots in New York and ONE in Portland? Not that I've got anything against the Horse Brass (much the opposite) but come on. We built this city on hops and scrappiness.
Is there no Maryland bar worthy enough for this list? Between Baltimore and Annapolis alone I know we've got some great ones, not to mention all the little breweries and pubs in between...
The Bayou in Salt Lake City. 300 beers, live jazz and the best sweet potatoe fries in Utah. Plus it's really the only place of its kind between the west coast and Denver. Especially in beer starved Utah.
Good list, but have to say that a great beer bar in Baltimore is the Pratt Street Ale House.
http://www.prattstreetalehouse.com/
Bukowski's is not even the best in greater Boston. Deep Ellum, The Lord Hobo and Publik House all have better selections.
how do you have a list of beer bars without representation from wisconsin? are you crazy???
I'm disappointed that the great state of Rhode Island didn't make the list. Any brew fan would enjoy Mew's Tavern (http://www.mewstavern.com/) in Wakefield. Not only do they have 69 beers on tap on the main level, but also a pretty cool Irish style pub on the second level.
Whoa Paste Magazine. You didn't even hit the mark.
There's a stellar little German joint in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania called "Das Spike." Great brews and they put on this really awesome, annual event called the "Bierschenshaften Showdown" where your waitstaff shows up, drops a dead rat in your beer and then punches you in the face. Swords are optional. It's probably the most authentic German pub in the States.
Also what about the infamous "Duder Pub." This place is a mind-blowing good time, located in the heart of a little collegetown called Briansville, Missouri. Some local fraternity brothers got together and formed a microbrew called "The Caskholes"...their beer is corn-based. They play this really fun game every night, where the manager buys the whole bar a round and then drops a roofie in only one (sometimes two) beer, and the whole bar has to figure out who just got roofied. It's Hilarious!
Also I'm not surprised you didn't mention "The Outhouse Pub and Taco Shack" in Eugene, Oregon. It's a total dive and hardly anybody has ever heard of it, it is THAT great! The tables are actually manhole covers, and they only serve Red Dog. It's super cool.
A total miss, Paste Magazine. For shame.
Beer is for breakfast. Drink or be gone.
How could you leave out "The Publick House" in Brookeline, MA? Considered by many to be one of the top beer bars in the world...
And not a single bar in the state of Wisconsin?
Sugar Maple in Milwaukee gets my vote.
Milwaukee is known for 1 thing; Beer. Voted "Drunkest City in America", competes with Las Vegas for consumption and yet not 1 bar in Milwaukee makes the cut? May want to have a chat with the list maker.
I think you mean that Bukowski's is a 'paean' to those authors, not a "peon" to them. I don't think bars can be peons.
Since there is really no reason for a Paste writer to come to Fayetteville, AR it is an understandable oversight, but Brewski's can run with the best of em. 271 beers and some of the best bartenders I have ever seen bar none. Head next door and grab a Brewski's burger and get to drinking
You all ever hear of Wisconsin? Pretty big state, kind of known for making and drinking beer.
Some of these bars are even closed on Sundays, which by definition should eliminate them. The worst bar in the world is better than a closed bar.
The Porter Beer Bar, while certainly not a bad place, is DEFINITELY NOT one of the top 30 places in the U.S. Not even close. Cmon, I understand hometown bias but including Porter on this list makes it lose credibility.
Trappeze and Brick Store, yes. Porter...uhn uhn.
As good as Bukoski's is - you missed a few classics here in the Greater Boston Area. I'd add to that list the Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston, MA:
http://www.allstonsfinest.com
and the Publik House in Brookline, MA:
http://www.eatgoodfooddrinkbetterbeer.com
Sunset has 112 Beers on Tap and 380 bottles with exotic imports and microbrews. Publik House also has an extensive beer list - with a crazy selection of Belgians and hard to find imports.
Soooooo many tasty beers and soooo little time.
Regarding Paste's hometown salutes...no Corner Pub?!
I'm in NY, and your list is great. The Ginger Man and Rattle 'n' Hum are two others that are obvious favorites, but for my money The Pony Bar is the best beer bar in the city. They have 20 taps and 2 casks with a super rotation. And all beers are $5...
http://www.theponybar.com/
Amanda, I gotta second that about Zeno's at Penn State being amazing... BUT i have to clear up an error too. They actually have over 300 different bottled beers, 30 taps, and 2 pumps. Its the place that taught me to have an appreciation for good beer.
For all you Atlantans, Its got a vibe somewhat closer to the Porter, with the crowd of the Brickstore, but then throw all of that in a basement bar with a crappy pool table, darts, and EXCELLENT live music almost every night. Its a fricken gem!
I'm disappointed that NYC got like 5 entries, Colorado (the entire state?!) got only one, and New Mexico got none! Sad, sad, sad.
Yeah, you definitely got Massachusetts all wrong. Publick House for sure. Though in its infancy, American Craft is fantastic as well.
The Brickstore in Decatur is usually too crowded and just isn't worth waiting all that time for. That and the fact that once you get inside you're surrounded by the hipster army of Atlanta fresh from Rag-o-Rama or Passion City Church. The fact that they only play the World Cup on television only adds to this. Trappeze is a great alternative, albeit in Athens. Great prices, not usually too long a wait, spacious when you get there, and great variety of non-cool guys/gals. The Porter indeed has some of the best food around.