How to find a good bar
When we first started building our list of good beer bars for the original Beer Travelers Guide, we learned early
on that "best" is a dangerous word to use. For some, the best has to be a brewpub, for others, it's the
place with the widest selection, the friendliest bartender, the best happy hour or the most televisions.
Therefore, whether you are a tourist in town for a few days who is looking for good beer, or a local
who wants to broaden your beer experience, where you look for the bars is as important as the questions you ask.
We've got shelves full of books, magazines and brewspapers with information about bars and brewpubs,
we scour the Internet and, whenever we are in a new town, we check the local phone books and newspapers
for clues. You don't have to be as obsessive, but you can do some of these things and acquire some of
these habits. It's like looking for the best green chile in New Mexico, the best barbecue in
Mississippi or the best key lime pie in the Florida Keys.
Phone books make the search a little easier than before - some Yellow Pages even include a listing
for breweries and brewpubs. Before that, your best bet was to look under "Homebrew Supplies." That
doesn't keep us from checking out the listings for taverns or restaurants. Sometimes a place will
run a display ad that mentions its beer selection, or have a promising name (Union Jack Pub, for
instance, or Strasse Haus), though we learned long ago not to get our hopes up for a place with
"ale house" tacked to the end of its name.
Both the staff and patrons at homebrew shops, breweries and brewpubs are much more likely to
know the best places for beer than your average hotel concierge. Ask brewers not only about
the places that serve their beers but about their favorite places to drink. Breweries and homebrew stores are also the best places to find copies of the regional brewspaper. Most brewspapers carry listings of brewpubs, some beer bars and even restaurants that are beer friendly. Don't overlook the ads; the places that go to the trouble to serve quality beer often advertise the fact.
Once you've found one place where beer is important, it's much easier to find more. Just talk
to the other customers. You could stop for happy hour at a popular pub and be looking for a
place with good food, or you could already be enjoying your meal and wondering where to go
for a nightcap, maybe a lounge with a good barleywine on tap. Sometimes, it takes more
than one question. You might not find out if a particular beer is on tap, but you can
get an idea of whether the selection includes British ales, Belgian ales, German favorites
or the best in regional fare. If you are really picky, you might even be able to find out
more. Most customers won't know how often a place cleans its lines, but they may remember if they once ordered a maibock and tasted a hint of raspberry.
Don't forget the basic questions - about food, clientele, music, smoking rules, whatever's
important to you. No question is too silly. For instance, before our 2-year-old daughter
arrived on the scene, we'd make mental notes about places that seemed kid friendly, but
didn't actually ask if children were allowed. So we were disappointed to visit the Archer
Ale House in Bellingham, Wash., and discover that no kids were allowed. Although it's
an immaculately kept, smoke-free pub with good food, civilized customers and a wonderful
beer selection, under Washington state law, no one under 21 is permitted in a place
that doesn't have a restaurant license.
While not everyone shows up in a new town with a list of addresses and a map marked with
locations (that's how we approach most big cities for the first time), that's not always
necessary. Sometimes you can count on luck. We were just looking for Mexican food one Sunday
evening in Corvallis, Ore., when we ventured into the Bombs Away Café. We had already placed
our order at the counter in front when we discovered there was a back room with a bar.
Behind it were 25 tap handles, each pouring a terrific craft beer, most from the Northwest.
So much for careful planning.
January 1999
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