Beer bar recommendations - by state

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JLem

JLem

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LAST UPDATED on 8/30/13

A recent thread about best beer bars in your state - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/single-best-beer-bar-your-state-426573/index4.html - got me thinking that we could use a single list of suggested establishments organized by state. Perhaps this already exists somewhere, if so, I will happily delete this post. When I have the time, I will also try to keep it updated as more suggestions are added (either here or the aforementioned thread). I hope this isn't obnoxious - I'm not trying to thread-jack the original...just trying to organize it.

As the list grows, additional grouping will probably be necessary...especially for the larger states.

Disclaimer: These recommendations all come from HBT community members. I, personally, cannot vouch for any except the small handful that I myself have visited. Also, obviously, this list is not exhaustive (yet).


Alabama

Alaska

Arizona
  • Brat Haus, Scottsdale
  • 1702, Tucson

Arkansas
  • Flying Saucer, Little Rock

California
  • San Diego
    • Small Bar
    • Churchills
    • The Blind Lady Alehouse
    • Hamilton's Tavern
  • San Francisco
    • Toronado
    • Mikkeller
    • Magnolia
  • Drake’s, San Leandro
  • ØL, Walnut Creek
  • Beer Revolution, Oakland
  • Trappist, Oakland

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware
  • Dogfish Head, Rehoboth
  • Two Stones Pub, Newark
  • Stewart's Brew Pub, Bear
  • Washington Street Ale House, Wilmington

District of Columbia
  • Bier Baron (Dupont Circle)
  • RFD (Chinatown)
  • Churchkey (Logan Circle)
  • Iron Horse (Chinatown)

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana
  • New Albanian
  • The Heurot, Muncie

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky
  • Lexington
    • Pazzo’s
    • The Beer Trappe
    • Lexington Beerworks
    • Country Boy Brewing
  • Holy Grale
  • Cumberland Brew
  • Against the Grain
  • Sergio's World of Beer

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland
  • Max's, Baltimore

Massachusetts

Michigan
  • Ashley's, Ann Arbor - http://www.ashleys.com/
  • Hopcat, Grand Rapids
  • Graydon's Crossing, Grand Rapids
  • One Eyed Betty’s, Ferndale
  • Slow’s BBQ
  • Right Brain Brewery, Traverse City
  • 7 Monks, Traverse City

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri
  • Kansas City
    • The Foundry
    • Antons Taphouse
    • Bier Station
    • Iron Horse Tavern
  • International Taphouse, St. Louis

Montana

Nebraska
  • Omaha
    • The Crescent Moon
    • Krug Park
    • The Lauter Tun
    • Beercade

Nevada

New Hampshire
  • Strangebrew, Manchester

New Jersey
  • The Shepard and the Knucklehead, Haledon
  • Maloney's, Middleton
  • Morris Tap and Grill, Randolph
  • Mohawk house, Sparta
  • Maloney’s, Matawan
  • Cloverleaf Tavern, Caldwell
  • The Copper Mine Pub

New Mexico

New York
  • MacGregor’s, several locations - http://www.macgregorsgrillandtaproom.net/
    • At least a couple HBT members have stated that, while MacGregor’s has an extensive beer menu, they also have some issues (e.g. dirty tap lines, poor service)
  • Tap and Mallet, Rochester - http://www.tapandmallet.com/
  • The Blue Monk, Buffalo
  • Ellicottville Brewing Company
  • Black Sheep Ale House, Mineola
  • Effen Gruven, Bellmore
  • Tap and Barrel, Smithtown
  • Sapsuckers, Huntington
  • Tap Room, Patchouge
  • Tørst, Brooklyn
  • Eddie's Roadhouse, Warwick

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma
  • McNellies Public House, Oklahoma City
  • TapWerks, Oklahoma City

Oregon

Pennsylvania
  • Monk's, Philadelphia
  • Creekhouse, Pittsburgh (also see other locations - http://sharpedgebeer.com/)
  • Fatheads, Pittsburgh
  • The Crane Room, New Castle
  • The Holy Hound, York

Rhode Island

South Carolina
  • Charleston
    • Closed for Business
    • Mt Pleasant House of Brews
    • Beer Exchange
  • Greenville
    • Barleys Tap Room
    • Community Tap
    • Beer Exchange
  • World of Beer, Columbia
  • Flying Saucer, Columbia

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont
  • Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Burlington
  • Prohibition Pig, Waterbury

Virginia

Washington
  • Seattle
    • Brouwer’s Cafe
    • Bravehorse Tavern
    • Noble Fir
    • Naked City
  • Old Ivy Taproom, Vancouver, WA
  • Brickhouse, Vancouver, WA
  • Collective on Tap, Woodinville
  • McKay’s Taphouse, Bellingham

West Virginia
  • Apothecary Ale House, Morgantown

Wisconsin
  • Milwaukee
    • Palm Tavern
    • Sugar Maple,
    • Café Hollander
    • Café Benelux
    • Café Centraal
    • Bayview
    • Romans
  • Bodega, LaCrossee
  • Malt House, Madison

Wyoming
 
new jersey has a couple good spots
the shepard and the knucklehead- haledon NJ
Maloney's- Middleton NJ- insane draft selection. all pouring out of stainless steel lines
Morris Tap and Grill- Randolph NJ. good seasonal menus and rotations. good bottle selection. specials
Mohawk house- Sparta NJ. beautiful bar, impressive selection.

we may be lacking in brewries/brewpubs compared to other states, but we have a few great beer bars
 
If we're making a list, I think The Blind Lady Alehouse in San Diego merits a mention. My list could literally be 20 long for this town, but I'll leave it at those two.
 
In WI - The Malt house in Madison has a good selection. Only visited once, enjoyed it.

In IL- The Firkin in Libertyville. 20-30 taps rotating. Variety of proper glassware. Mostly domestic craft beers, but they do carry some imported, and even have a Miller Lite handle for your friends that just can't handle better beer. Pretty good list of bottles. Some wines on tap, good selection of liquor too.
 
New York: While Southern Tier Brewing gets a lot of press, the Ellicottville Brewing Company (EBC) is my favorite. They just expanded their brewing operation by 3X, so they'll be on the map sooner than latter. I recommend the Oatmeal Stout :)

Virginia: Either Devil's Backbone or Jefferson Street Brewery. Apocalypse Ale Works is delicious if you're a HopHead.

Delaware Without a doubt, Dogfish Head. Great beer, lots of varieties, and the brewery/restaurant is also very nice.
 
I live outside of Phoenix AZ and even though we have a few World of Beer locations and a place called Yard house that all boast over 100 taps, my favorite craft beer spot is called Brat Haus in Scottsdale. 28 taps and over 30 bottles of import (Germany and Belgium primarily) and local to choose from plus rediculous hand made sausages and pretzels. Smaller, but done right.
 
Wisconsin - Sugar Maple in Milwaukee
I'd also add all the restaurants in the Lowlands group - awesome selections of European beers and they even have a house Belgian beer contract brewed in Belgium and shipped over. Their names are: Cafe Hollander (Downer Ave.), Cafe Hollander (Wauwatosa Village), Cafe Benelux, and Cafe Centraal. Cafe Centraal is next door to Sugar Maple, btw.
 
BrewinHooligan said:
I live outside of Phoenix AZ and even though we have a few World of Beer locations and a place called Yard house that all boast over 100 taps, my favorite craft beer spot is called Brat Haus in Scottsdale. 28 taps and over 30 bottles of import (Germany and Belgium primarily) and local to choose from plus rediculous hand made sausages and pretzels. Smaller, but done right.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to agree. Brat Haus is chill, got a lot of different beers. Yard House is also awesome, a bit more classy and pricey. But man, you gotta try the Gulden Draak on tap, when I went it was amazing....
 
NEW YORK
-Long island
--Black Sheep Ale house (Mineola) [Free Hotdogs, always changing 24? tap lines]
--Effen Gruven (Bellmore) [Hipster-esque, poeporie, great bottle list]
--Tap and Barrel (Smithtown) [Great releases thruout the year Ex. Allagash sours, KBS]
--Sapsuckers (Huntington) [Awesome food, quickly changing 14? tap lines]
--Tap Room (Patchouge) [Another great release bar, whiskey fest in a couple weeks]

Gotta be more, just cant think now.
Cheers!

Hope you can continue to update this list, maybe create a googledoc??
Thx!!
Cheers!
 
Vermont: Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Burlington
Prohibition Pig - Waterbury

For brewpubs, there's Vermont Pub & Brewery in Burlington. Not a huge selection to choose from but their brewery puts out some really interesting stuff.

Great thread. I like the Google docs idea as well. :)
 
Louisiana
-The Cove, Baton Rouge (Unbelievable selection 600+ beers)
-Avenue Pub, New Orleans (Good selection of interesting drafts pretty good Bar Food)
-The Bulldog, New Orleans/Baton Rouge (Great Bar Food good selection of drafts)
 
ebeneezers in lovell, maine as well as lions pride in brunswick both should b on that list for sure
 
Hop City in Birmingham Al. Its really a craft beer and wine store that happens to have 60 craft beers on tap. You can get pints or growler fills. You can also get most anything you need for home brewing. Also 20 of the taps are designated for Alabama brewed beers only.
 
For New York I'd have to recommend Eddie's Roadhouse in Warwick (Orange County)

I live in NH now and Strangebrew in Manchester always seems to have more than a handful of tasty crafts on tap.
 
Pennsylvania -- can't believe no one has yet mentioned Fat Heads (South Side, Pittsburgh); also when it comes to Pittsburgh, the Creekhouse is only one of Sharp Edge's (site.sharpedgebeer.com) 5 sites in Pgh and greater area.

Virginia -- By far the most impressive taproom I've ever seen was at the Yard House in Virginia Beach. Well over 100 beers on tap -- they have two huge walk in coolers you pass by on the way to the bathrooms that are both just full of kegs...must easily be a full time job for one person just to maintain the inventory and lines! The food was top notch too!

BTW, are we counting brewpubs, or just beer bars/tap houses, etc.?

EDIT: just thought of another one, and I can't believe I forgot b/c I just ate there yesterday. In New Castle, PA, a place called The Crane Room -- good draft beer selections, and excellent food.
 
Missouri- Kansas City/ parkville. A place called Iron Horse Tavern ( I think that's right). Has a really good craft beer selection and the burgers are exceptional.
 
beerclone said:
Missouri- Kansas City/ parkville. A place called Iron Horse Tavern ( I think that's right). Has a really good craft beer selection and the burgers are exceptional.
Click to expand...

Actually I think it is Rusty Horse Tavern. ( still not positive though)
 
There are four Gingerman locations in DFW, plus the original in Houston and one in Austin. That’s Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Southlake, Austin and Houston.

I haven’t been to all of them, but the feedback is excellent. Good food, and good service. Best of all a rotating beer selection.
 
Hamilton's Tavern, in San Diego, California. They've even got dueling Casks, from local breweries, on most Fridays.

There are too many to name, in San Diego alone, and that's besides the rest of California.
 
Virginia:
Mekong - Richmond - huge selection, especially Belgians and sours. Great Vietnamese food. An, the owner, is a hoot! The local homebrew club meets there monthly.

Commercial Taphouse - Richmond - smaller selection, about 15 draft, 15 bottle, constantly rotating. Really good stuff. Co-owned by a homebrewer.

ExtraBilly BBQ - Midlothian (NOT the Richmond location) - Small brewpub/BBQ joint recently got a new head brewer (homebrewer from the local club) who's changing up the beer menu. His Citra IPA is pretty tasty. Richmond location doesn't have a brewery.

Capital Ale House - Richmond (3 locations) - 50-80 on draft, depending on location, over 250 bottles. Service at the downtown location can be spotty sometimes. Not sure about the other locations.
 
Recently visited on beercation and worthy of being a great indie beer spot/bar:

The Distillery - Savannah, GA. Hundreds of bottles. Lots of taps. Awesome food. Website: http://www.distillerysavannah.com/
Bruisin' Ales - Asheville, NC. Thousand bottle bottleshop and small tap station. Website: http://bruisin-ales.com/
Pack's Tavern - Asheville, NC. 35 taps. Lots of bottles. Good food. Website: http://packstavern.com/
Wicked Weed - Asheville, NC. Constantly rotating taps. Great food. Website: http://www.wickedweedbrewing.com/

Hometown:

Brewer's Pizza - Orange Park, FL. Best Pizza anywhere, 40+ taps. Website: http://brewerspizza.com/
Dahlias Pour House - Jacksonville, FL. 85 taps. No food. Website: http://www.dahliaspourhouse.com/
Beer30 - Jacksonville, FL. Bottle shop. Hundreds of choices. Website: http://beer30jax.com/
Grassroots Market - Jacksonville, FL. Bottle shop and Grocery. Hundreds of bottles. Website: http://www.thegrassrootsmarket.com/
 
Great to see Lunar on the list for IL... A close second that's not on the list yet is Bigby's Pour House in Addison, IL. 15 craft beers on tap that they rotate often and a ton of bottles and cans. Plus they'll do a flight of any 5 beers they have on tap for like $15.
 
Sober - Trendy yuppie bars are best. They have the most attractive women per patron.

Half-Tilt - Biker bars. decent women, more of a let loose bar policy. Women have lower standards.

Full-Tilt - Titty bar. They are used to drunken slobs.

Oh, wait, you mean state as in geography?

McNellies Public House - Oklahoma City or TapWerks - Oklahoma City
 
FermentedTed said:
Great to see Lunar on the list for IL... A close second that's not on the list yet is Bigby's Pour House in Addison, IL. 15 craft beers on tap that they rotate often and a ton of bottles and cans. Plus they'll do a flight of any 5 beers they have on tap for like $15.
Click to expand...

I tossed Lunar out there in the original thread Ted, I don't get there nearly enough, but every time I do I'm always impressed. I need to make it a much more frequent destination! One of these days I'll see you there, we keep missing each other!
 

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