A Change for the Better.

Having given up on the selection of most of the bars in the area i switched to just buying six packs and drinking at home and visiting my local breweries. The bars never had anything good on tap, most of the crowd was just people looking to get hammered, and the prices were way to high for the kind of beer they were pouring. Two experiences this week are giving me hope that it's time to come out of my cave and head out for a pint. First, being stuck at a wholesale club for two hours waiting for new tires to be put on my truck. And second, heading out just tonight to take a chance and see if anything interesting was on tap.

Well what i found on both occasions was promising. At a Buffalo Wild Wings (a place i never imagined even stepping near) the tap run included, Blue Point, Long Trail, Stone, and some other beers that you don't usually see. After talking with the manager for a while it was apparent that the clients there were controlling the taps. He had bought in other local brews, but all the people wanted was the special that night, which was mostly Coors, Bud, or Miller. So they had to tone it down and reduce the craft beer selection to just a few. But it intrigued me. If Buffalo Wild Wings had Stone, what did other places that weren't as commercial have?

Tonight was a sign of what may be coming true. Craft beer is mainstream. Being so amazed that B.W.W. had Stone on tap, I picked a random place and popped in. Amazing! Ramstein, Long Trail(2), Sam Adams(2), Flying Dog, Harpoon, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, Stone, Smuttynose, Ottercreek, and South Hampton Publick House!! They didn't even have the Big 3 on the tap run. They stored it out of site, nearly under the bar. Could it be they didn't want the Coors and Bud taps disrupting the craft beer image they wanted to display?

Maybe people got fed up being given an option of only 4 beers on tap where ever they went and either demanded more options, or just simply pulled out of the scene and hit the local breweries themselves (my preferred tactic). Either way, there seems to be a wave of change hitting even commercial restaurants. People want good beer!

Head out to a place you haven't visited in a few years. See what's pouring there. You may be very excited to see the pint glass is no longer full of yellow stuff they refer to as beer, but a complex dark ale with a nice thick head.

Cheers!