The Quest for the Holy Grain |
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The Boneyard |
Alas, nothing lasts forever. Bye and bye, and for various reasons, some of our favorite establishments are forced to close their doors. This then is a page both nostalgic and melancholy, devoted to our Best Brew Pubs, Beer Bars, and Beer Retailers that are no longer with us.
Beer Bars - United States |
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The Canal Street Pub is situated in an old factory, and combines an unusual atmosphere with great food and beer. The 18 taps are well-chosen and well-cared for, combining craft brews, locals, and imports. The styles cover the spectrum. 50-60 bottles are also offered. Our bartender and waitress were friendly and knew their craft. Canal Street hosts brewfests and live music, and is located on top of Reading's Legacy Brewing Company.
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Henry's 12th Street Tavern Henry's. "Don't go there." we were told. It is upscale. It is a meet market. Against local advice, following the Beer Traveler, we went and were glad we did. It is a bit chi-chi. But it has two large dining room areas, and a dark and somewhat depressing bar area with a few big screens hanging languidly. No one is here for sports. What saved it for us was the courtyard seating adjacent to the building in what once was part of an old manufacturing plant of some sort. The young wait staff had neither idea nor interest in the history of the building. Let's cut to the chase. There were two reasons we were glad to have hit this place. First, their beer list has 99 taps listed. Very heavy on the Pacific Northwest and with offerings from many of the better known local brewpubs. So it is a good place to sample Deschutes, Rogue, Bridgeport and others on tap in one place. It also added a Dogfish Head or other Eastern beer for the homesick. Some Belgians and Germans rounded out a nice list. However, they had just run out of my first choice often enough to make me wonder if the beer list had gotten a little outdated on them. The second reason to go to Henry's was the food. It was excellent. Interesting choices and bar stand-bys at reasonable prices. My chili scallops and prawns with fried rice and Henry's off the charts excellent slaw was superb. The orange and honey Oregon beer I ordered to accompany it had just run out though, so I did it with Paulaner Hefe, my go-to summer beer. The bonus for Henry's outdoor seating is the place is a meet market. Young women enter through the bright airy courtyard instead of the dark glass front door. They come in pairs, triples and quads. And it is Portland and everyone is fit and outdoorsy. Sit facing the steps. You're welcome. Henry's Pearl District location abruptly shuttered in September, 2019. but they still have a PDX location. |
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Hellas Restaurant & Lounge Hellas is situated about halfway between Baltimore and Annapolis. Always a favorite with the locals, Hellas Restaurant & Lounge closed for good in 2023. |
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Dan's Restaurant & Taphouse Question: For what is Boonsboro, MD famous? Dan's was forced to close in 2022 due to rising legal fees brought on by a customer claiming he was unnecessarily banned. |
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Stillwater Grille Stillwater Grille is a bar and restaurant in Fort Myers . Stillwater Grille closed in 2023 due to a drop in sales. |
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Ale House at Amato's The Ale House at Amato's is a beer bar just across the river from the Denver Ballpark district. The Ale House is reported as being "temporarily closed" and also as "shuttered." |
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City Hall Tavern/Bistro 33 City Hall Tavern is a new addition to the Davis beer scene. Housed in the town’s old City Hall building, it has a Spartan décor... black ceilings decorated with bicycle tires, apropos for America’s friendliest bike city. Tables and chairs are scattered throughout the first floor bar level with generous spacing and limited seating, but it was not very crowded on our Tuesday visit. There were about eight west coast taps and I had a couple of new beers from North Coast before I looked at the bottle list. The tavern’s tag line is “33 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” so I leave it to you to decipher how long that beer list was. Over the next 20 minutes heaven met earth. I have never had Pliny the Elder in a bottle and when I poured my beer the head was so dense I could not suck any beer through it. Curious, I tilted the glass and the surface did not tilt. In an impulsive dare I turned the glass entirely upside down and the beer did not flow out of the glass, not a drop of it. Amazed I began to shake it then pound the bottom like one would a ketchup bottle. No beer escaped. By now thirsty I sat the beer down, made a hole in the dense head with my finger and the I began to quaff. You can order food from adjoining Bistro 33. Sometime in 2022, City Hall Tavern/Bistro 33 closed. |
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Pizzaria Paradiso Pizzaria Paradiso is an upscale pizza house and beer bar with 3 locations in the Washington, DC region. It appears as if the Pizzeria Paradiso in Alexandria has permanently closed. |
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Hurricane Maggie's
Well blow me down! Hurricane Maggie's closed for good in 2021! |
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165 Walton St. Blue Tusk is located in Syracuse's beer haven known as Armory Square. With one of the area's biggest beer selections, Blue Tusk offers about 69 drafts, most of which are served in 20-oz. imperial pints...23-oz. on Monday and Tuesday! Sadly, Blue Tusk closed permanently in 2021.
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Primebar You've been to this bar, in the movies. The guys are late 30s and way better looking than you ever were in your best fantasy. They wear expensive dark suits, white shirts with the collar undone. You know they are important. Their women are preternaturally beautiful with legs that say be fruitful and multiply to the lizard deep within your brain. The bar is modern, airy, lots of windows fronting a busy wide boulevard, the ceiling are way to high to ever approach intimacy. A peanut shell will never see the floor here. In fact a peanut in a shell will never enter the door here. This is the part that hurts the most because I really want to dislike this bar—and I do. But, there is always a big but. Let me tell you about my big but. But the beer lists is one of the best in that part of town. And, goddammit, to make things worse the big German pretzels are fantastic. Dammit. It is back to the movies though for some of the real treasures here because they sell a nice selection of 650 and 750 bottles for twenty-some dollars a pop. I enjoyed Delirium Tremens fresh from the tap at a chic-chic price of $10. When I went to the men's room I wanted to live there. Primebar is not for friends, it's for associates. Friends head to Stock and Blondes where it is grimey or Monk's where it is too damn noisy, but at least stuff crunches under your feet there when you go in. Primebar has closed for good.
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House of Brewz The House of Brewz is a beer bar several hundred yards from the sand in Fort Myers Beach, FL. House of Brewz reports on their website that they are permanently closed. |
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Iron Horse Taproom The Iron Horse Taproom stands in the beer-friendly Chinatown neighborhood, just south of the Verizon Center. It resembles a college bar in an upscale part of town, and it was crowded with young professionals. Yelp has it that the Iron Horse Taproom has closed and will reopen as The Boardwalk DC.
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Tap House Grill It was raining. It's Seattle, what did you expect? We wanted a place nearby and the Tap House Grill, no one's first choice, fit the bill. Just up the hill (Q: What isn't? A: Anything that is not just down the hill.) from the Arctic Club hotel and a few blocks over sat this thoroughly modern watering hole.
The Wise Ones at Yelp tell us that Seattle's Tap House Grill is permanently closed.
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11th St. Taphouse Bar & Grille The 11th Street Taphouse is beer bar on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach, VA.
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Blacksburg Taphouse Blacksburg Taphouse lies on the main drag of North Main Street in enticing Blacksburg, Virginia. Yikes! Yelp reports to us that The Blacksburg Taphouse is closed permanently. |
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Ginger Man Dallas is a big city. No doubt it has great unique beer places. But thank goodness for the Ginger Man downtown. It was a welcome oasis from the free Bud, Bud Light and Miller Lite at the lovely old Magnolia Hotel. Grab a cab and $12 later you're at the Ginger Man, a house-like structure that holds a small but cozy and comfortable bar. The few inside tables were all occupied when we arrived so we sat at a friendly bar with a nice view of the 70 or so taps that included more Belgians than anything, more imports than domestics and overall far more winners that losers. More than a few people sat outside, front and back, in the dead 50s of Dallas winter in January. An upstairs provided additional seating and another bar. The domestics covered the breadth of the CONUS with Dogfish Head, Left Hand Brewing, The Great Divide and several California beers including some nice Stones. The styles ran to the dark side of the beer kingdom and they had five new draught entries that would please any Questor from the East, at least. The list of bottles was impressive at well over 100 fine additions to the draught list. On a Wednesday night the crowd swelled on the way to whatever was on for the evening then the swelling subsided, leaving plenty of room to spread out. The food list was less extensive than the beer list, a beer companion with baguette, grapes, cheese, sausage and olives will hold you until dinner will urge you on as it did us. The copper backed bar, through which protrude the lovely taps, each with an authentic handle, gave the place a cozy beery feel. Many beers will be familiar but how often do you get to drink your way through the Spatens ? The staff was helpful if not overly friendly. Ginger Man is owned by the same person as The Old Monk; try the Ginger Man...it's brighter, livlier, and has a broader range of choices. Ginger Man is a Texas-based beer chain. Egads - The Dallas Morning News reports that not only was The Ginger Man closed...it was bulldozed in 2021! |
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Vito's Pizza and Beer As it's name implies, Vito's Pizza and Beer is a pizza restaurant in York that offers a fine selection of brews. After 58 years in business, both Yelp and The York Daily Record report that Vito's closed due to COVID restrictions. |
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Pour Pour, located on gallery row, is urban upscale and its brick walls and non-representational pieces give it an an artsy intimacy. Textures are mixed between polished and rough, with green back-lighting: the place makes a statement. Alack...multiple sources tell us that Pour closed for good in the summer of 2019. |
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Federal Taphouse Located in downtown Lancaster, and boasting 100 taps, the Oh no! |
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The Beer Monger's Beer Monger's is a beer bar and bottle shop located on Route 74 between York and Red Lion. According to Yelp, Beer Mongers is permanently closed. |
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Scharf's Schiller Park Restaurant I'm in Buffalo . It's almost Easter. And its 38 freakin degrees. But inside Scharf's Schiller Park Restaurant it's as warm as grandma's fresh babka from the oven. Scharf's closed its doors for good in 2019. We are informed that the place was torn down.
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Phoenix Emporium For a nice selection of abut 160 bottled beers with a modest rotation rate consider the Phoenix Emporium in Historic Ellicott City. After battling through two terrifying floods and re-opening twice, Phoenix Emporium finally closed when the building was slated for removal for flood mitigation. |
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Centre Park Grill Centre Park Grill is the latest (Spring, 2015) craft beer-friendly bar to open in the Columbia/Ellicott City area. Both Yelp and Opentable tell us that the Centre Park Grill has closed for good.
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The High Spot Gastropub High Street Gastropub is located in charming and scenic downtown Cambridge, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Multiple sources inform us the The High Spot is permanently closed. |
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The Distillery “…and you can't be a real city unless you have a brewery and a beer bar. It helps if you have some kind of a hockey team, or a recycling program, but at the very least you need a beer bar.” While Frank never had a chance to finish his thought, at last Savannah has its beer bar. The renovated Distillery opened in November 2008, offering twenty-one taps of American craft beers and a token Belgian (beer, that is). Another forty or so beers are available in bottles. Outstanding picks on a recent visit included drafts of Avery's Kaiser (imperial Oktoberfest) and Stone's Oaked Arrogant Bastard (welcome to Georgia, Stone!). If you can't decide then check out the beer flights (sweet, hoppy, “sunset”) and even the beer blends. There's bar food and screenings of silent films; owner Michael Volen promises a variety of entertainment in the near future. The Distillery – another reason to be in Savannah .
Yikes! Both Yelp and Tripadvisor report that The Distillery is closed for good. |
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Pickled Pig Pub The Pickled Pig Pub is located in a strip center on the Route 1 highway, a couple of miles north of downtown Rehoboth Beach. It is one of the establishments that makes Rehoboth the Beer Destination of the Eastern Shore. Pickled Pig offers 14 taps, the majority of which rotate, and about 50 bottles. There is also a hand engine with one beer in cask. Patrons sit at a large U-shaped bar or at tables, and most seem to be here for the beer. Our barkeep was knowledgeable and helpful. Beers were also served in the appropriate glasses. Joining the Pub Club will get you 20-ounce pours for the price of a pint. Pickled Pig also hosts beer dinners during the off-season.
Sadly, in March of 2021, Pickled Pig was forced to close, another victim of COVID. |
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Gold Dust Lounge This a new location for the I steered some friends to the Gold Dust and said. “Let’s go in here.” A semi-respectable native woman of some vintage turned without prompting and said, “We call it the toilet.” It has the best beer selection in the Union Square area. Ten great European taps and a good selection of bottles make this a must stop for a Questor in Gaytown. It was decorated by a whore with no taste at all...where were the gays when we needed them? Red velvet furniture, couches, and booths; nude paintings, cherubs on the ceiling and a clientele that is ready to go. Entertaining bartenders who ignite lemon rinds and fling bottle caps 90 mph make this a must stop. Everybody needs to use the toilet sooner or later. Multiple sources report that The Gold Dust shuttered up for good in 2019, after 54 years in business.
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T-Bonz Grille & Pub T-Bonz Grille & Pub is described as a "neighborhood hideaway" and that serves as an apt description. Tucked behind a strip center in a nouveau rural part of Ellicott City, T-Bonz proved a dark, cool respite on a 100-degree day. T-Bonz has 40 taps, most of which are microbrews. T-Bonz closed for good in November, 2018. |
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The Nickel Taphouse The Nickel Taphouse is a beer bar in Mt. Washington's cozy restaurant district, brought to you by the same people who own Birroteca...another great beer bar several miles south in Hampden.
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Rheingarten If scary puppets, brown and white food and liters of good German beer served in an authentic German atmosphere are your idea of a good beer night, then the Rheingarten Restaurant in Stafford Virginia is a must stop for you, especially if you are a traveling Questor. Ach du lieber!
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Maplewood Grill Sitting inside the small shopping center of Danor Plaza in the heart of Vienna, Maplewood Grill's exterior does not overwhelm you. The Maplewood is permanently closed. |
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The Industry The Industry is a neighborhood bar in South Philly. Still no great beer bar in Catonsville, and now The Industry is gone too! |
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Alla Spina Alla Spina, meaning "from the tap", is an Italian flavored gastropub with an excellent beer bar just off of Broad Street. "After five years of serving the fine folk of Philadelphia, we have closed our doors. |
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The Drafting Room The Drafting Room is a beer bar in a run-down srtip mall near Exton, PA, that specializes in local beers. They have about 15 taps of beers from local brewpubs as well as over 100 different bottles on the menu, sorted by style. Everything served is available to go... The Drafting Room, which was billed as “Chester County's Original Craft Beer Bar” has served its last draft. |
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Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub Green Dragon, owned by Rogue, does not make its own beer despite the name, but it is one of the three points of the Beermuda Triangle on Portland's eastside (along with the Lucky Lab and Roots). Yelp reports that The Green Dragon has closed for good. |
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Pixel Lounge Look in the alley behind the Subway in Collegetown, and you'll find Pixel...all 24 taps and about 18 bottles. You won't find it now! |
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Metropolitan Coffeehouse & Wine Bar Located in Federal Hill, the Metro is a wine bar that takes beer very seriously. With 6 taps downstairs and six taps upstairs (when open), the Metro offers an excellent selection of microbrews, Belgians, and other imports. The taps are well-chosen and seem to be well cared for, and the menu also offers about 50 bottles. Sadly, the Metropolitan closed at the end of 2017, after serving great food and beer for over 13 years. |
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Alewife Alewife, a Baltimore beer destination, is housed in what was originally the Eutaw Savings Bank Building, dating from 1857. The bar's interior pays due homage to the stately structure, with lots of dark wood and tasteful decoraton. There is lots of seating on the first floor at the long staple-shaped bar, stools, and tables. A balcony overlooks the large bar room, and the third floor contains a second bar. The clientele seemed to be a mix of 30-plus beer sophisticates. Alewife abruptly closed for good in August, 2018 ! |
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Parts & Labor Parts & Labor is a restaurant, beer bar, and butcher shop in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood.
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Brew'd Pub Located just west of Frederick, Brew'd Pub is reported as permanently closed. |
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The Barn Taphouse The Barn is located on Harford Road just outside the beltway. Our sources inform us that the Barn has closed. It may now be called The Charred Rib. |
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21st Street Taphouse 21st Street Taphouse was created to be a neighborhood bar, in the tradition of those from the working towns such as Chicago , Detroit , or Cleveland . Well, now you can do nothing but miss it. |
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Lefty O'Doul's
Lefty O'Doul's closed in January, 2017, due to a " bitter dispute between its landlord and operator, with each asserting rights to ownership of the baseball-focused establishment's name and memorabilia." |
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East Girard Gastropub 'Twas a rainy, windy night on the east edge of Philly. We could not find the East Girard Gastropub as the exterior sported no signage. But when we did enter, it was worth the search. The East Girard Gastropub closed in 2016 to make way for a french fry shop. |
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Bierstube Bierstube is a German-themed bar on Philly's bustling Market Street in Old City.
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John Steven, Ltd.1800 Thames St. John Steven Ltd. is so renowned for being a fine bar & restaurant, it may get overlooked for having a lot of fine beers. Don't make this error! With about 20 taps leaning toward local products, and maybe 25 bottles, John Steven is definitely a great place to go for a beer. And the food is great, too. Aw, rats! John Steven closed in 2014. |
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Jack's Bistro You may remember this venue as Buddy's, but the beer selection and food quality have sure taken a step up since then. Jack's features 8 taps and about 65 bottles, a well-chosen assortment of Belgians, other imports, and microbrews. The staff members were knowledgeable and helpful in making selections. The bar seats a dozen; there are three booths and numerous tables for dining. The place was packed and hopping on a Saturday night. The food is gourmet quality, and prices were high for both food and beer...having stated this, what we ate and drank were worth the cost. Jack's offers a beer dinner for $20 every Thursday. Jack's Bistro will be closing sometime in 2017.
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Liam Flynn's Ale House Liam Flynn's Ale House is in Baltimore's arts district in an area known as Station North. As of 2017, Liam Flynn's is permanently closed. |
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Anthony's Micro Pub Anthony's Micro Pub is a beer bar on Harrisburg's colorful strip known as Restaurant Row. Anthony's Micro Pub and Pizza permanently closed in 2016. |
Cobblestone's Cobblestone's was the first beer bar in York...and it's a great place to visit. It's a huge venue in an old Knights of Columbus hall, so there is plenty of space for electronic games, TV's, poker games, a huge bar, and about 63 different draft beers. Needless to say, the selection is diverse, and food and beverage manager Lucas told us that the taps are well-cared for, and that about half of the taps rotate. They have a compact little beer book telling what's on tap, and what beers are coming up . They also fill growlers. Cobblestone's closed 2016 and everything was auctioned off to pay delinquent taxes. |
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The Barleycorn The Barleycorn is a gastropub on the east end of the Haywood Road corridor in West Asheville. But I won't be! |
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The Chapter House The Chapter House has the feel of a frat house...in a good way. Sadly, The Chapter House burned down in 2015.
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Always Ron's
Always Ron's motto has always been, "Where good friends and good food meet." They are going to have to add a line about the beer. Always is not forever. |
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Hideaway We all want to know who are the doctors the doctors go to. Hideaway is the bar off duty bartenders and hookers go to. Every tourist town has at least one of these places. It is a dive bar for the professionals that is tolerant of a touron with money to spend. “Sunday morning, go see the Reverend”, I was told. “When?” I asked, “around midnight?” That is Sunday morning, right? Wrong. Seven AM or so the Reverend comes on duty. And so I did. It was 730 AM as I turned the corner into a dingy alley (just around the corner from the Irish Rose Saloon). The small parking lot was full, the juke box was blaring and bodies moved behind the windows. In I walked to a full-blown everybody's already drunk party. Working girls with their taxi flag dark playing darts. Working guys seat-belted to their bar stools. The odd biker over there. Bottles held vertical, the better to drain you with my dear. It is grungy with tacky red lights ringing the back of a bar most frat houses would be ashamed of. I saw no taps but that is because I could not really see the bar, there may have been one, but I guarantee you've had it before. PBR's rule here. This a bar. It ain't about beer. It is all about the lifestyle. Drunk at 7:30 Sunday morning and the Reverend is tending to your spiritual needs if it comes in 12 ounces or a shot glass. That is the lifestyle. This is the only bar I have ever reviewed where I didn't have several beers. I confess, I didn't have any. I could not merge into the lane with these folks doing 70 with no safety margin. I walked around, took in the show, climbed past the stack of cardboard boxes propping the door open and left. A green bottle would be a way exotic beer here. So I went back one night. It is a bar that is on the low edge of my kind of place. Women and guts with elaborately tattooed sleeves, lacey tops, and desperate lives. This is not where you go for beer; in an act of grand defiance I had a Heineken. It is where you go because the next stop is the graveyard. Or your hotel room. It is decadent, it is dirty, it is for hard core drinkers. Questors need to check their principles at the door. A Heinie was $3.50 in Waikiki...that absolves a multitude of sins. Can I hear an amen? In the summer of 2017, both Yelp and Foursquare websites reported that The Hideaway Bar was closed for good. |
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Pig & Fish Pig & Fish is an outstanding beer bar in Rehoboth, and the sister establishment of The Pickled Pig just up the highway. Sadly, we were informed that as of April, 2017, The Pig & Fish had closed its doors for good. |
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Dawson's If you're a Questor and you find yourself in Dixon, look for Dawson's where Heather sets them up and local folk knock them down. Three beers on tap, Bud, Bud Light and Sierra Nevada assure you'll score few new beers here and the seven bottled beers reenforce the point with Heineken being the exotic one. But Dixon is not big and this is one of the few places where you get to urinate in a trough with constantly running water. They say 80% of California's water goes to irrigation; if Dawson's is any clue, the other 20% goes to flushing. But in Dixon, it's gotta be Dawson's. Tell Heather the cute one says hi. As of 2017, Dawson's was reported as permanently closed |
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Hundreds of beers (mostly bottles) from scores of countries, right across the street from the Metro, in MCI country. With Washington's largest tap selection, RFD boasts 30 taps up front and 10 more in the back. Plus about 300 different bottles. Go 'round the world without leaving your seat. Selections include lagers, ales, hefeweizens, Belgians, and various other imports and micros. If you're a dedicated beer enthusiast, you may want to ask proprietor Dave Alexander if he has anything special planned, such as tastings or slams. RFD is a super beer bar in an exciting beer neighborhood. |
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Le Garage
Whoops - not any more. |
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Royal Mile Pub Just off the main drag of Georgia Avenue in Wheaton, MD, lies the Royal Mile Pub. Friendly and unpretentious, Royal Mile offers 10 taps and about 60 bottles of beer. Although they offer delicious and interesting Scottish food and other pub fare, they are very serious about the beer here. The selection is well-chosen to reflect the best in German, British, and Scottish beers, and American microbrews as well. The staff was friendly and helpful, and, very importantly, the beers were served in their correct glasses. The Royal Mile closed, re-opened, then closed for good in 2014. |
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Leesburg Beer Company Leesburg Beer Company is located just off of King Street in beautiful, downtown Leesburg...Virginia's hidden beer gem. |
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Elliott's Pour House Utilizing a 20-tap tower salvaged from the late Crabby Dick's of Fells Point, owner Jeff Mason has begun elevating |
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Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant We have been to this neighborhood twice in order to review PBR. |
Kona Brewing Company
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JD's Smokehouse Boasting 56 taps, JD's Smokehouse has one of the largest draft beer line-ups in town. As of the spring of 2015, JD's changed ownership and format. |
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The Farmers' Cabinet The Farmers' Cabinet closed in the I had remembered hearing about The Farmers' Cabinet chielfy because they brew their own artisanal beers at the old Shenandoah Brewing Company in Alexandria, VA...a place where Yonan and Walter had previously brewed on several occasions. |
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Townhouse Kitchen + Bar Townhouse closed in January, 2014, before its second anniversary. The owners reportedly owed $235,000 in back rent. With a name like Townhouse, we expected something charming and residential. Townhouse Kitchen + Bar ended up giving us a very different vibe altogether. |
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Ironwood Tavern Ironwood Tavern resides in a stand-alone building in a shopping center on the edge of Leesburg, Virginia. Both yelp.com and foursquare.com report that Ironwood tavern has now closed. At that location now is Leesburg Public House...an even better beer bar! |
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Popkin Tavern closed sometime in 2014. Last tweet read, " Anyone interested in purchasing the pool tables please DM us contact information. Thanks! " Popkin Tavern Popkin Tavern is a beer bar and gastropub in the Richmond sector that I was informed was called Monroe Ward. |
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Keith Street Pub & Grille
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Barley's and Hop's closed in September, 2013. Barley's & Hop's Barley's and Hop's beer cafe is located in a strip mall in the Bethal Park suburb of Pittsburgh. A small storefront, it has one wall lined with coolers; the other has beers on shelves. One can get a cold beer from the cooler, and drink it there, or a warm beer from the shelves to go. In the back is a bar area with 13 beers on tap. Bring a growler. The few small tables seat perhaps 20, with about 8 at the bar and several small tables outside. They have a very limited menu of basic pub grub. At a Friday Happy Hour, one server was drawing beer, busing tables, taking orders, and delivering food, all quite efficiently, with enough time to give out beer advice and ring up six-packs. This is truly a Questor's type of place !! |
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By 2012, Korova was closed. The place is now called Korova Even though the sign now simply reads "BAR" patrons still know this watering hole as Korova. |
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Blob's Park 8024 Blob's Park Road Blob's Park is a cavernous dining, dancing, and beer hall located between Baltimore and Washington. It was started by Max Blob in the 1930's as a place for his German beer-drinking buddies to congregate. Blob's is not really a "bar" in that it is only open Thursday-Sunday and charges a cover since there is music. But they do have about 80 kinds of beers with about 5 German drafts. |
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Auf Wiedersehen!Blob's Park closed for good in March, 2014. Owner Max Eggerl thanks everyone for 81+ wonderful years! |
Timothy's is permanently closed! Timothy's Tap House & Raw Bar Timothy's, which is located on Rehoboth's main highway, probably has the largest draft selection at the beach. Although many of the taps were the usual macros, craft breweries like Stone, Dogfish Head, Evolution, 16-Mile, Rogue, and Troeg's were also featured,with about 40 bottled beers as well. The place is one big room, with a U-shaped bar that seats about 25. There were many booths and tables, and the place had a spacious feel to it. A raw bar with 6 types of oysters was all the menu I needed to see. |
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The Stable The Stable is a very spacious restaurant in a converted stable; part of the Lemp Mansion in the historic district near downtown St. Louis. As I understand it, it was part of the old Lemp Brewery, and is located near the Anheuser-Busch works.They have 24 guest beers on tap, and none of their own...yet. The guest beers are all "big" beers and are on an aggresive rotation. The bottle beer list has about 50 of the worlds best beers. For lunch they serve a very limited pub grub menu. The 1/4 barrel brewing system is behind glass next to the bar. Though the house brews were not ready for public consumption yet, being a representative of the Quest for the Holy Grain, the brewer brought me a helles, and later a kölsch. He said they soon would be brewing a bock and a dunkel. DON'T KNOW IF THEY EVER STARTED BREWING OR NOT, BUT THE STABLE CLOSED IN 2012! |
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Punk's Backyard Grill PUNK'S CLOSED THEIR DOORS FOR GOOD IN JANUARY, 2013! Punk's Backyard Grill is located in the enoumous Annapolis Mall complex just north of Annapolis proper. |
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Beneluxx Tasting Room Beneluxx Tasting Room is an extension of Eulogy Belgian Tavern, which lies only about two blocks east. Beneluxx boasts the most Trappist ales on tap anywhere in the world. Their total taps number about 35, with about 50 brands in bottles. The innovative twist is that the drafts can be purchased by the glass, or by a sample of several ounces, arriving either in a small snifter or Ehrlenmeyer flask. Beneluxx also excels in pairing cheeses and beers. Never has a Two-Hearted IPA tasted so good as it did with a farmhouse cheddar. The staff was more than attentive, and glad to make suggestions or offer explanations. In a town full of Belgians, this has to be one of the best venues in which to taste them. BENELUXX TASTING ROOM CLOSED SOMETIME IN 2012! |
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KClingers Tavern
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Muggsy's Mug House For those of us still mourning the closing of Sean Bolan's, Muggsy's Mug House has arrived on the beer scene. Occupying the same location in Federal Hill as did Bolan's, Muggsy's offers 18 taps and about 40 bottles for your enjoyment. Danny, the proprietor, promises the arrival of Belgians, firkins, and other sudsy selections, that will attract appreciators of great beer. A large chalkboard lists the ... Sorry - Muggsy's is closed as of the summer of 2011 |
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Swift Half Pub Swift Half is located in the new 80,000 sq. ft. courtyard known as the Piazza in Northern Liberties. During our visit, the Piazza was packed with screaming kids, dancers, vendors, and loud, mind-numbing club music. Since the doors to the bar were thrown wide open, this ambiance insinuated itself into the restaurant. The bar seats about 20, with booths and tables. There were 10 taps, and about 20 bottles. The beer selection was well-chosen and well-delivered. Our visit would have been a lot more pleasant without the courtyard chaos...whoa! Don't get too excited about this one. Swift Half is closed as of the summer of 2011. |
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Clark's Ale House Clark's has about 21 beers on a nice rotation; when a keg is done, something different replaces it. Clark's is popular also for their half-gallon milk containers that they fill with beer to go...popular for parades and other outdoor events. They have no TV, jukebox, or electronic games, there is nothing to do except drink beer with your friends. A cask or two will be on tap, and there's always that roast beef sandwich. Clark's has been called a "beer bar set in a lunch counter." It has also been declared that bars like Clark's make Syracuse a great, if underrated, beer town. |
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The Parkside Located conveniently near the intersection of Harford Rd. and Cold Spring Lane/Moravia Rd., Parkside is the newest establishment along Harford Rd. that features an impressive beer selection. The place is spacious, with a long L-shaped bar and perhaps 20 tables in a large dining area. Owner
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The Tiedhouse The Tiedhouse is situated on the ground floor of the Cityview Condominium in Philly's Art Museum area. This beer bar is tied to the General Lafayette Brew Pub in Lafayette Hill and features 13 of the General's outstanding beers on tap. Six guest taps and about a dozen bottles round out the brew menu. There is something for every beer palate, from a light lager to a number of high-octane beers....uh oh... |
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Cantina del Cabo
139 G Street, Davis, CA (530) 756-2226 The Cantina has over 50 beers on tap and all but the most advanced Questors are guaranteed to find a few new beers here. Go for the beer, leave for the ambiance. Featuring plastic chairs and picnic tables, its decor is strictly Spring Break and it is very popular with the UC Davis crowd. |
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Kelly Cole's Improper
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Dr. Dremo's Taphouse Housed in the facility that used to be Bardo Rodeo, Dr. Dremo's occupies that niche between beer bar and brew pub. Dremo boasts about 40 draft beers and some half-dozen bottles. They also feature seasonal brews, such as their Chocolate Donut Beer. This is a particular favorite of one of our unnamed Charter Questors, who is taking the idea and running with it. We just don't know where. You may view this Donut Stout below, if you dare.Dremo's house beers are brewed by Shenandoah Brewing Co. of Alexandria, VA. Dr. Dremo's has been described as an "abandoned warehouse" with "minimalist ambiance." The establishment is also known for their music, pool tables, and happy hours. Sad News - Dremo's closed its doors on January 27, 2008. Property is being developed. Dremo's is hoping to open at a new location.
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Ludwig's Garten In a town that boasts of it's Belgians and rapidly moves it's microbrews, Ludwig's is an oasis of outstanding German draft beer. The bier menu features about 20 taps and maybe 40 bottles, including such noted names as Jever, Engel, Spaten, Schneider, Franziskaner, and many others of German and Austrian origin...there were |
even a few Belgians. Styles included Bock, Schwarzbier, Kolsch, Lager, Weisse, Hefeweizen and Pils. |
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Jackie Blue
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Sean Bolan's Irish Pub1236 Light Street Sean Bolan's is most definitely one of Baltimore's top 3 beer bars. With about 12 taps and well over 50 bottles, the selection is well-cared for and well-chosen. Ken is the beer man, and will be glad to chat about the various brews. Nearly half of the taps rotate and a firkin is tapped on Thursdays. Ask about getting on their email list. The chalkboard lists the beers with ABV's, the food is excellent, and the peanuts are free. Yikes - this came as a shock. In October, 2005, Sean Bolan's closed its doors. They still have the place in Bel Air, but the Federal Hill site is gone! It was a great one. |
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"Life is Uncertain. ...Lagunitas Brewing Co.
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