The Perfect Beer Bar
Does this exist? It may. There are hints and teases but has anyone ever truly put it all together?
I wonder.
Let me take you on a grand adventure into this ‘Perfect’ Beer Bar.
There are many ways we can categorize and I would say Ambience is one of those big ones that you just can’t overlook. What does the place look like? Does it give off that groove that you are looking for? I know this may be extremely subjective and also is dictated by what ‘kind’ of beer bar we are truly looking for… so I will clarify.
I mean a true Beer Bar that is just that. No TVs. Just Taps and good cheer.
The now defunct Gasser Lounge in Hermosa, Beach.
Now that we have that out of the way… Ambience. Again. Good art is absolutely necessary. Bare walls? Come on… who wants that? No one. I want an experience when I go somewhere. I want a place to take me somewhere. Tell me a story with the decorations that the bar has. Is this bar from another country or is it extremely local? I don’t know… I want the bar to tell me.
Next we have to talk about the Beers themselves. How many on draft? I would say you would have to have at least 20 taps. Bare minimum. Any fewer… it's just not enough. The bar can sit at 15 or so beers on draft and be completely fine but that flex of having five extra lines. Key. I will also say that the establishment has to have a good variety. I mean of styles and rarity. When I go to a place… I really want to be ‘wowed’ by the draft list. This will be a key decision maker for how long I will stay and imbibe. Local breweries are always a good thing to have but maybe have a beer from across the country on tap every once and a while? I like it. There is a bar here in Portland called Saraveza that has an OUTSTANDING draft list and they bring in some extremely rare stuff from places across the country. It's incredible and makes me want to go there right now.
Glassware. This one maaaay be on the low side for some people but for a Craft Beer fan… it kinda matters. I order a Lager/Pils and it comes in the proper glassware? I’m honestly impressed. I don’t mean that the place has to have EVERY single glass for every style. That would be asinine. I know the odd place that does it but I think it might be a bit much. If they have 3-ish styles of glassware. I’m a happy camper.
Location. Location. Location. Can’t be said enough. It might as well be drilled into our heads when we were in Kindergarten. If you have an amazing place that is 50 miles away from the nearest city… you will not get as much business as if you were downtown or even five miles away from downtown. It's just a sad matter of fact. You do have to take into account people drinking and driving. Unless AI really steps up and can taxi us around without a person behind the wheel… but that's been the dream for over five years and it has yet to happen. I’m hopeful… but we are still probably five to ten years out from that.
<Sigh>
So we have great Ambience. Great Beers. Glassware… perhaps. And then Location. We can talk about the Character of the bar itself. It's a bit more ephemeral but it is there. The style of management. Is there a happy hour? Are there random deals on beers throughout the week? What kind of system do you use to display the beers to the public? Untappd? That weird system that weighs the kegs and shows how much is left in each one? Or just custom chalk writing? Each one has its own style and appeal. Like I said… it's really ephemeral. Are the bartenders super nice? A little rough around the edges but have a heart of gold? These are the things that can sometimes make or break a bar. Devil is in the details… or so they say.
I would love to hear back from people if they know of the Perfect Bar. Because I want to go to it.
