Good Beer and Good Places

This may be something of a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg" meditation but in my mind the best public places- bars, restaurants and entertainment venues offer the best beers and most variety of beers.

In my experience, the finest beer drinking establishments tend to be locally owned and have unique character. (Conversely, they are not multiple outlet, cookie cutter chain bars that offer just the top selling national lager beers).

Proprietors of good beer places often seek out the best local or regional brews and then add world class imports to follow the "Think Global, Drink Local" chant. This quality driven melting pot mentality spawns good conversations and helps to build an interesting clientele.

[Of course, an on-premise brewery-pub may also generate the same atmosphere, with ever changing house beers and events. I'll go deeper on brewpubs in upcoming posts].

Longfellow is credited with having said "He who has not been at a tavern knows not what a paradise it is." Quality malt beverages, in my opinion, help stir up the kind of public house discussion that might have prevailed during the American Revolution.

I may be lost in the malt clouds here but I truly think that good beer and people who understand and share it help build good communities. If you look at my book list on the left side here, towards the bottom, two books speak to this in different ways- "The Great Good Place" and the new "Fermenting Revolution" titles.
I'd encourage you to look either of these up for insights.

On a more self serving note, at the top left of this blog are the events that I run as "The Beer Jockey". These, at present are local Kansas City area tastings, bus tours and more "beer-centric" experiences. Please consider attending one or more of these programs. You'll meet good people and sample great beers!

Hope to see you.

Cheers.