I'm a bartender! And/or What are your bar expectations...

[GAME05]

yeah, no disrespect intended. i was a couple PBRs in as it was. and since when did PBR become the hipster beer of choice? in Winston-Salem, it's the most popular beer. $2 a glass. one of my bars even has it on tap.

 

i've been thinking about all this "every good bar should have..." stuff. and when it comes down to it, the bars i go back to aren't necessarily the ones with good drink choices, but the ones with the best bartenders. it's not uncommon for a bartender to only acknowledge your existance at the point you need another drink, and that's sad. it doesn't even matter to me if the bartender is a guy or a pretty girl, but a simple "how are you today?" or a "What have you been up to?" really goes a long way for me. there was a bar in Winston where i could genuinely call every bartender there a friend of mine. i never met a single girl there, but that was the bar i always went to. it's such a nice feeling when people know you by name.

 

the #1 way i judge the skill of a bartender: they ask you if you want another drink when you have an inch left of your beer, and not when the glass is already empty.

[NeedMoreFans]

I've also been thinking about what every good bar should have. I'm not a hard alcohol drinker...I stick to beer. When I go to a bar, I expect to have the macrobrews on tap, maybe a cheap beer (PBR, Schlitz), and a couple higher end beers. It depends on what the bar is going for. My favorite bar has about 10 beers on tap, and they range from Old Style to Hacker-Pschorr Weiss. Pitchers of Miller Lite are $6-7. To me it's just as much price as it is selection. The selection can be fantastic, but if a Miller Lite is $3.50, that's a little steep (especially in bottles). I expect to pay more for better beer, of course. There are only a couple of places where the atmosphere trumps the cost (Memorial Union Terrace is one). If a bar is too expensive, I just won't go. It's one of the reasons why I really don't go to the Great Dane anymore...I'm not spending $5.50/pint for a beer, no matter how good it is.

[Mike Felder]

I'll echo what an earlier poster said...for me, any good bar should have some sort of food. If there's no grill or menu, that's fine, but at least have popcorn or peanuts or something small. Makes the whole experience better for me.

 

As far as alcohol goes, I'm really not all that fussy. I have my preferred brands (Ketel One, Bacardi, High Life), but if the bar I'm at doesn't have them, I don't get too upset as long as there's a decent alternative. The only time I was ticked was when a bar I was at (in Milwaukee) only had Bud products on tap. Not only do I not like Bud products, but in Milwaukee, that just seems wrong.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Any bar I expect to find the following:

3-4 taps (Lite, MGD, Bud Light, 1 non-macrobrew)

10-12 bottle choices (MGD, Lite, High Life, Bud, Bud Light, Heineken, Newcastle, Spotted Cow, 1 or 2 seasonal Leinies, 1 pale ale, 1 red, 1 dark)

Man, do I NOT miss the midwest.

 

My favorite bars Tweet their latest beer lists . . .

[GAME05]

I'll echo what an earlier poster said...for me, any good bar should have some sort of food. If there's no grill or menu, that's fine, but at least have popcorn or peanuts or something small. Makes the whole experience better for me.

certainly i wouldn't do it for bars that serve food, but for ones that don't, i've regularly ordered food and had it delivered to the bar. another benefit of non-food bars is that you can bring your own food in and they won't mind. makes it cheaper when i can bring in my own food, too.

[AdvantageSchneider]

Any bar I expect to find the following:

3-4 taps (Lite, MGD, Bud Light, 1 non-macrobrew)

10-12 bottle choices (MGD, Lite, High Life, Bud, Bud Light, Heineken, Newcastle, Spotted Cow, 1 or 2 seasonal Leinies, 1 pale ale, 1 red, 1 dark)

Man, do I NOT miss the midwest.

 

My favorite bars Tweet their latest beer lists . . .

Yeah, cause there aren't any bars in Milwaukee with beers on tap similar to that.

 

[Funketown]

Any bar I expect to find the following:

3-4 taps (Lite, MGD, Bud Light, 1 non-macrobrew)

10-12 bottle choices (MGD, Lite, High Life, Bud, Bud Light, Heineken, Newcastle, Spotted Cow, 1 or 2 seasonal Leinies, 1 pale ale, 1 red, 1 dark)

Man, do I NOT miss the midwest.

 

My favorite bars Tweet their latest beer lists . . .

Huh?

 

The northern midwest is probably the best place to be if you're a beer nerd...At least in this country. New Glarus, Bell's, Founders, Tyranena, Goose Island, Jolly Pumpkin, etc. Not to mention that breweries like DH and Stone have better distribution in the midwest than midwest breweries do on the coasts...

 

But it's okay, us midwesterners have no palate for beer, and don't enjoy anything but macroswill.

 

[TooLiveBrew]

The Pacific NW is definitely a hotspot of craft brewing. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but it would take a lot for the Upper Midwest to be on a par with the Pac NW.

[ewizabeff]

If a bar only had one "non-macro" brew on tap, I wouldn't come back a second time. With so many local breweries, you should be able to have 2 or more craft/micro beers on tap.

 

I think of Rounding Third, which is a pretty basic bar. However, besides the standard macros you can get a Goose Island, Leine's, Spotted Cow, Blue Moon, and at least one other, I think. I do a lot of my drinking at Harry's, and they usually have 3-5 micro brews on tap (more restaurant than bar)

[Funketown]

The Pacific NW is definitely a hotspot of craft brewing. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but it would take a lot for the Upper Midwest to be on a par with the Pac NW.

I really don't think the Pacific NW can hold a candle to the upper midwest.

 

Would you rather have:

 

New Glarus, Bell's, Jolly Pumpkin, Three Floyds, Founders, Kuhnnen (never had their beers but they're awesome from what I've heard), Goose Island, Surly, and Tyranena

 

or

 

Russian River, Rogue, Hair of the Dog and North Coast?

[Principessa21]

The Pacific NW is definitely a hotspot of craft brewing. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but it would take a lot for the Upper Midwest to be on a par with the Pac NW.

I really don't think the Pacific NW can hold a candle to the upper midwest.

 

Would you rather have:

 

New Glarus, Bell's, Jolly Pumpkin, Three Floyds, Founders, Kuhnnen (never had their beers but they're awesome from what I've heard), Goose Island, Surly, and Tyranena

 

or

 

Russian River, Rogue, Hair of the Dog and North Coast?

Just wanted to add, off the top of my head, Oregon also has Bridgeport, Deschutes, Widmer, Full Sail, and Cascade Lakes. EDR will probably add more info since he knows more than I ever will on Pacific NW beer.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

I really don't think the Pacific NW can hold a candle to the upper midwest.

 

Would you rather have:

 

New Glarus, Bell's, Jolly Pumpkin, Three Floyds, Founders, Kuhnnen (never had their beers but they're awesome from what I've heard), Goose Island, Surly, and Tyranena

 

or

 

Russian River, Rogue, Hair of the Dog and North Coast?

Of course we have been hashing this out in the beer thread for years . . . normally it's my Cali bashing that gets me in trouble . . .

 

I lived in the Twin Cites now ten years removed so I know not what it's like now. Summit and Capitol were the "micros". I've had one New Glarus, and several Goose Is. and was underwhelmed, not that that means anything to anybody. Of the four beers you mention, two are from California, which is an entirely different scene. The two Oregon Brewers are what we like to call the "Mid-Majors", meaning they are trying to follow in Red Hook's footsteps and go national. The best brewers don't even bottle their stuff. I would put these breweries up against anybody in the country.

 

Diamond Knot

Boundary Bay

Amnesia

Maritime Pacific

Georgetown

Hopworks

Lucky Lab

Ninkasi

 

and those are just the OUTSTANDING ones . . . many, many more. To the point that it's reached an over-saturation point.

 

Everybody has different tastes, but Micro's are a different world in Washington and Oregon. mainly due to the over abundance of Cascade Hops.

 

EDIT: Fremont Brewing brought in an old Goose Island brewmaster and is off to a FANTASTIC start. Normally with this level of competition, it take a while to get up to speed.

[Funketown]

I was considering NorCal as part of the pacific NW, but I'll take your word on that. We could probably argue about SoCal vs. PacNW vs. Midwest 'til the cows come home, and I don't think anybody would change their minds. If you ever have the chance, I would advise you seek out some brews from Bell's and Founders, particularly Bell's Kalamazoo Stout and Two Hearted Ale and Founders' Breakfast Stout.

 

Edit: I was just on BeerAdvocate and came upon this thread debating the best beer states.

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2951546

For the most part, it's Michigan vs. Oregon, not including California due to sheer size. Not really too surprising.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Edit: I was just on BeerAdvocate and came upon this thread debating the best beer states.

 

For the most part, it's Michigan vs. Oregon, not including California due to sheer size. Not really too surprising.

I would say Washington has caught up with Oregon at this point as the Summer WABL Beer Fest list shows . . . .

 

Oregon (especially PDX) has grown cut-throat in the competition (Roots folded last month, Hopworks buried them). In Washington there's still a feeling of camaraderie. Everybody has a competitor's tap at their breweries and I heard a great story when i checked out the brand new Airways Brewing, that he brewed up a couple of kegs for the Denver fest and outta of the blue, the Boundary Bay owner called and offered to transport it with his stuff since the guy was just starting out.

 

Oregon has a few great new breweries (Seven Brides comes to mind), but there's a TON more that are popping up just trying to cash in on the trend.

 

I feel like I'm cheating on the beer thread . . . . .

[sgtcluels]

Twin Cities? Do you have Surly available around you? And more importantly, would you be willing to ship me some if I paypal you? I know Furious is their flagship beer, but I adore their Bender.

 

I find the Jolly Pumpkin beer always too sour and sweet for my taste. But Founders... thats' good beer.

[danzig6767]

Bacardi is a staple - you'd probably want a light rum to go along with the Captain spiced rum.

I absolutely love rum and think Barcardi is one of the worst tasting rums out there. Barcardi not only tastes like crap IMO, it's overpriced, there are a couple of low priced rums like San Juan for example which tastes way better.

[danzig6767]

TheEndless7[/b]]One thing that has actually annoyed me about Milwaukee bars of late is the distinct lack of Coors Lite. I've always been a Coors fan and thought it would be more common after the Miller/Coors merger, but I've noticed next to no change. But that falls more under what I want than what I expect, I guess.

You could always just order water...pretty much the same thing.

 

While we are on the topic of failed expectations from the Miller/Coors merger, Molson Ice is my favorite beer. I could always get it when I went to school in upstate NY for 2 years. Moving back to the midwest it is almost impossible to find. I will ocasionally see Molson Golden, but its not the same. I wish the distributors would get their act togeather with Molson around here.

 

I will also add that the "new" old Schlitz on tap is a nice touch for any bar in the area.

 

Two thoughts from your post

 

1. Obviously everyone is free to like any beer of their choosing, but i agree with you that beers like Miller Light, Bud Light, and Coors Light are terrible and i might quit drinking beer if they were the only beers left being made. When i go to family gatherings on my mothers side, often Miller Light is the only beer they have and i had one last year at a gathering, it tasted like beer flavored water. I think i could drink a case of that and not catch a buzz.

 

2. I see your a Molson Ice fan. While i wouldn't call it my favorite beer, it used to be my beer of choice if say i was going to tailgait or a picnic, planned to drink plenty of beers, catch a good buzz, and didn't have to drive home. It's a nice tasting beer that packs a punch, but isn't overly heavy like other beers that i prefer somewhat taste wise. Those kind of heavier beers though aren't something i generally like to pound 7-8-9 of at a gathering. I've found like you though that Molson Ice isn't easy to find around me and i pretty much stopped looking for it. Thanks for bringing it up because i kinda forgot about that beer, i'm going to call around and grab me some.

 

3. This summer i've been on a Mike's Hard Lemonade kick, it's very refreshing on hot days. The Black Cherry, Pomegranate Punch, and Lime flavors are delicious and pack a decent 5.5 percent alcohol punch. In fact, i'm drinking a Pomegranate Punch one right now, this stuff is yummy.

[GAME05]

that's the thing, though. i don't doubt at all that there are cheaper and better rums out there (i don't drink rum), but a bar almost has to carry stuff like Captain's and Bacardi. i don't have much faith that the typical bar-goer has a very discerning pallet(sp?), but instead just drinks what's common (Budweiser, Captain, Jack...). assuming that, that a bar has to carry the usual stuff, wouldn't every bar have to stop at some point for space considerations and just specialize in one or two things? or maybe i'm just used to small bars that don't have much space to stock stuff that doesn't move fast.

 

not alcohol related, but i always prefer barstools that have the bars underneath to put your feet on. some places only just have that long rail to rest your feet on, but i'm often turned to talk to someone, meaning my feet have to dangle and that's not as comfortable.

 

also, i would always hope that the owner spend some quality time picking out the jukebox music. bad music isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but good music can keep me going back to a mediocre bar.

[And That]

So where is the nearest place I can buy some Molson Ice?

Guess who has two thumbs and just bought a six-pack of Molson Ice?

 

This guy.

 

It was on sale. But I bought it because I remembered this thread.