Do you guys and girls go to bars much? One of the first things that people assume when they find out I love beer and co-write a beer website is that I’ve must have been to any number of beer hotspots. When I tell them that I’m not really that interested in it, they seem incredulous. It’s like my beer credentials are in question and could be yanked at any second. I simply don’t do too much with the bar/pub/beer garden scene. I just don’t. Sure, I’ll go to the occasional pub, but I rarely make an extra effort to get this or that beer. I suppose my reasoning is that I’ve got so many bottles of beer to drink at home that it’s hard to justify spending extra money, which can be substantial, to get a pint. Between the homebrews, cellared beer, and commercial buys, I’m spending a ton of dough. I realize that beer on tap is often different than beer in the bottle; we’ve written on the topic before.
More than this, I’ve already tried a lot of the beers at any given place. I’m not saying people that go to the beer place are fledglings by any stretch of the imagination. What I am saying is that there is very little at many beer spots that is interesting enough for me to leave my catacomb, drive or ride through L.A. traffic, and pay tap prices. I suppose this comes across as slightly lazy or, at least, recalcitrant. Allow me to defend for a second and say that I work most nights from 2:00-10:30 p.m. and am getting old enough that I want to go home and have a brew with my wife. She’s a student and very busy. I also like to drink with her, so time constraints are an issue as well. That’s not all.
Perhaps my biggest qualm with going out to get a beer is leaving the quiet comfort of home for the ambience of the beer spot. No doubt, I’ll got to a beer spot during the day when it’s quiet and I can have a conversation without screaming over stentorian music or obstreperous crowds. However, if it’s a loud and popular night spot, then I’m pretty sure not to show my face unless I can find solace in a corner. It’s not that I’m a misanthrope. Honestly, I enjoy being around people. Yet I find too much noise a distraction from being able to concentrate on a beer. What’s the point of ordering the thing if I can’t consider it for what it is. Many a great beer has been made simply okay by the wrong ambient, at least in my experience. For those reasons, I choose to enjoy beer in ways other than the bar.
Drinking with friends and discussing the beer is one of my greatest joys in life. A beer among friends is better than a hundred among strangers…that’s just the way I think about it. Good friends, food, and mutual enjoyment are, in my opinion, among the simplest of pleasures. In that sense, I’m Epicurean in the truest denotation of the word. Is anyone else with me?
The more I thought about, the more I realized this reason for why I don’t like going out to drink (not even mentioning driving a vehicle, even after only one or two). I also realized that I do make exceptions for better getting to know someone, etc. The other exception I make is beer festivals. There’s no choice here. If I want to get a certain beer, then I have to brave the crowds. Let me clarify that this is one case where I love hanging with a crowd. Why? Because we are hanging out while drinking and talking about beer. I have a great time. But what else would get me out of the house?
I think a really special beer might get me to brave a bar, even if it might be a bad ambient. I suppose the desire to try a one time or special beer is enough for me to exit the cave. What about you? Does it take much to get you to the bar? Are you a regular? Are you a homebody like I am? Am I just an old man?
I’m with ya!
I definitely don’t get to the bars like days past. Less time, I suppose, sure its a hassle and if you have to drive that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. Its just easier to be @ home, cost’s less etc, and yeah sometimes the crowd has a bad vibe. OTOH, that’s part of the reason why so many local pubs are shutting down in the UK. everybody drinks @ home now!
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That UK thing is sad. The nitro can and breakdown in public life is horrid to watch. BTW, I loved having brews in the pub. It was a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Too bad about that one.
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The UK’s problem is largely centered around their smoking ban. As much as we Americans detest smoking, I don’t know a single European that doesn’t smoke. And as anyone who has smoked can tell you, drinking makes you want to smoke twice as much. So it’s hard to go to a pub and drink all night when all it does is make you want to smoke, which you have to go outside to do.
As for myself, I went out for one big beer tapping/tasting, and it was fun, but it will have to be something pretty special to get me to do it again. I enjoy drinking at home because I like light and silence, two things that are usually hard to find in a bar. I don’t mind music, but I hate yelling to hold a conversation. Not to mention the dramatic price difference.
Another big thing for me is that beer is a hobby I can enjoy without taking away from family time. I can have a beer while playing a board game with my daughter, or helping my wife organize a grocery list, or while watching TV. Anything that you do at home can include a beer. For the record, I used to drink a beer in the shower occasionally after a long day of work in the college days, but I’ve never tried to bring a beer with me to bed a la George Costanza and his sandwich, although it certainly could be done.
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beer_scientist Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Good point about the family time, Howard. I mentioned that about my wife who is really my whole family right now but I will drink a beer and play with the kids (when they come). The price is a big factor as well. I kind of felt like a bit of heel when I wrote this post but we share a lot of the same reasons for not wanting to go out.
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I too am not a big fan of drinking out in bars. While I occasionally go to a beer hot spot like Falling Rock in Denver, it’s only on those rare occasions that I happen to be in the area and have time for a quick one.
I do most of my beer sampling and sharing at private homes. I simply don’t enjoy noisy environment where you practically need to shout to be heard by the person next to you. I prefer the quiet of a private home and warm surroundings. Besides, you can save a heck of a lot of money by drinking at home over bars and clubs.
Save the pubs and bars for special occasions but give me a quiet glass near home most of the time.
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beer_scientist Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:52 am
@ Dave. The noise seems to be a common factor among us all. The money thing is a huge, too. I love more bang for my buck.
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I’m with you on this too. I would LOVE to go to a place with the right atmosphere should I find that place. The only place in town to get a good draft beer is noisy, full of drunks dancing to the house band, and the door is opening and closing so frequently letting the frigid air, that the beer suffers.
I know there are good places out there…like cousins pizza. that place was always quiet.
I’m gonna piggy back off this post today or tomorrow with a nother reason why to stay inside.
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beer_scientist Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:53 am
@Nate. I really got my beer bearings at the place. I loved Cousins. Great beer and pizza.
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I prefer my beer at home too. One reason is economical. Another is the quiet that I can experience at home. However, I do venture out from time to time with the guys to go to one of the local brew pubs. One thing the brew pubs have over other establishments is that their beer is primarily if not exclusively served on premises. As luck would have it, the two establishments that come to mind aren’t overly expensive (no middle man), are relatively quiet as bars go (no band), and aren’t terribly crowded. For whatever reason, these establishments aren’t the typical meat-market of young singles you’d see, say down on 6th Street in Austin.
However, back to the point… I am starting to be more of a homebody. I drink most of my beer at home or at a friend’s home (kegerators are nice). Increasingly, aside from my local brewpubs, I am finding the beer bars to have a more corporate feel, with more and more beer available, yet the offerings are rather mediocre.
At the end of the day, I say thank heaven for homebrew, growlers, pubs that will fill your corny-keg and good friends to share it all with.
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beer_scientist Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:55 am
@Tex. I drove at the same point of beer selection a few months back. It’s quality and not quantity. Like I said, there is a place near by that has over 200 beers but very very little of the great local beer.
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Well, I have a slightly different take on things. I used to hate to drink at home. When the kids were young, the drink would make me loose my focus, and parenting became a chore, and I didn’t want that at all to be the case, so I gave up drinking at home. I would drink exclusively when I traveled and at bars or restaurants.
That habit has been a formative one for me. I do drink at home now, usually two or three nights a week, but only one or two drinks, now that my youngest is about to turn 11. I like to drink at bars, but not the meat market type places, more of the hole in the wall establishments. I found a great bar and restaurant called Capones in Coeur d”Alene Idaho. It has about 100 beers on tap and specializes in local northwest brews. It’s a great place with a great atmosphere and good food too.
So, I am into quiet, or great atmosphere, and lots of choice. But mostly I like to drink outside the home. Maybe because my wife is a real tea totaler too. It isn’t a lot of fun to be drinking when she isn’t into it. That’s my take.
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beer_scientist Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:59 am
My wife took a while to start loving beer, Don. Point well taken. I wanted some different views on it, so I’m glad you could offer one. You said two key words about that place you go “atmosphere” and “food”. If I can get both, I don’t mind going out sometimes.
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Yeah Mike it is a great place while I’m traveling. It is close to the hotel (although not within walking distance) and it is a sports bar so in the summer I can watch the Brewers play every game, or in the winter I can see any Bball game that interests me too.
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My theory is that it is a control issue (not in a bad way). At home, you don’t have to find an open seat or tune out a too loud TV or find out a tap has expired. At home, you get what you want, when you want it, in the atmosphere you want.
Bars require some trial and error to find a place with a good list and educated staff and decent prices. All of which can be found in the cities that I have lived in. (Los Angeles and Portland)
I enjoy a mixture of both. I certainly am not a regular by any “Norm” style standard but I enjoy trying beers that you can’t get in bottles and to converse with the bartender or other beer geeks. Plus because I am thinking about driving home safely, I am forced to really enjoy the smaller amount that I order.
I attempt to be 60% at home and 40% bars. A visit to a good beer bar can cleanse the palate so to speak and vice versa. Don’t give up on it. There is a good craic out there waiting for you!
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I like the Back Abbey and My Father’s Office, just to name a couple. I’ve not written them off completely, I just like the control for sure.
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I prefer staying home as much as possible. Drinking, working out, watching movies, you name it. I’m actually a really social guy, but I’ve always loved being home. A homebody, you’d say.
I do love a good beer festival, however, and have a list of breweries to visit (this may start impacting vacation choices), so it’s not all about what’s in the garage.
But there’s a lot of good stuff in that old garage. Why go out and pay more just to watch yuppies order Stella?
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Agreed. The beer festival thing is simply a blast (if it’s a good one). My vacations are being built around breweries (or beer) also. Speaking of yuppies, I have one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen come into the store sometimes. Unbearable.
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Do you sell your Yuppie pseudo-beer-geek stufflike Stella, or do you point him to the most expensive stuff you can think of along with recommended expensive food pairings? “Have you tried Cantillion St. Lamvinus? It goes exquisitely with the Texas Black-Eyed caviar. Can I help you carry that out to your BMW?”
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Funny! I just hope he starts drinking better beer and loosing the attitude. I talk to him and suggest beer to him. Actually, he tried to correct me about a beer style one time. Not that I don’t have stuff to learn but it was pretty basic and I politely told him that he was wrong. Luckily, he does drink decent stuff but is stuck on a particular brewer.
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P.S. I wish we carried some Cantillion stuff.
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I’m more apt to drink at home but there are places I love to go specifically for the beer… Stuffed Sandwich, Beachwood BBQ, Pizza Port, to name a few. I also enjoy going to places like Oinkster or the Bucket for beer lunches or happy hours. And then there are the places like the Verdugo that get things like casks of dry-hopped Sculpin or Pliney the Younger or Lucky Baldwin’s with the Belgian Beer Fest that make me brave the stinking hordes in order to get some beer that would otherwise be unattainable.
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That’s precisely what I’ll do. I deal with it if I have to in order to get a good brew.
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