Loved reading Michael Roper's responses (guy who owns Hopleaf) as I've often wondered about the taproom / brewpub dynamic vs. dedicated beer bars. I think it is well documented that I greatly prefer going to the source and talking to the folks who are serving / producing the product vs. going to a place that is "reselling" it as a retail beer bar. However, this isn't to speak ill of beer bars, it's just a reflection of how I like to spend my spare time.
In New York last year with
lurchingbeast I greatly preferred to check out the beer bar scene (Fools Gold, Blind Tiger, Gingerman, Rattle & Hum, Torst, etc...), but we still ended up hitting at least a couple of breweries (Other Half / and one that served cocktails on draft that is escaping me at the moment). However, I think I enjoyed the beer bars more up in that region as I wasn't familiar with a majority of the breweries, and I preferred choice over a selection of a particular brewery for the most part.
I'm a huge proponent of the small brewery for a localized neighborhood model, but I never really thought about the externalities of that model for the beer bar owner. I wonder what the owners of Bavarian Lodge would say compared to places in the city as I feel like they haven't felt any hit at all because of their stellar kitchen.