When I was first getting into craft beer in the late 1990s and early 2000s, beer lists were nothing more than big-dick contests. Back then it wasn’t so much the quality that mattered — it was pure quantity, with bars bragging about their 30 or 50 or 100 taps of craft beer. Certain places would revel in handing you a pleather-bound menu of a phonebook-thickness when you asked for a mere bottle list. This was also the era of the TOTAL TAP TAKEOVER (always in all-caps), when bars would proudly advertise that they were selling 30 Stone beers, or 45 Brooklyn Brewery offerings, on this one single night.
And that was super cool — back then, at least.
Nowadays? Massive, unwieldy beer lists are seen as a little hokey, something for a soulless chain like World of Beer or Buffalo Wild Wings. Sure, there remain plenty of excellent beer bars that have massive lists, like Denver's Falling Rock Taphouse, one of the original craft beer bars (opened in 1997) and still terrific, 75 taps in all. Or there's Des Moines' El Bait Shop, which boasts a jaw-dropping 185 lines. But for the most part, the new wave of craft-beer bars opening today are focused on just a few draughts of tightly curated, hyper-fresh offerings.
This streamlining makes sense. Back in, say, 2002, when there were so few bars in the world that exclusively sold craft beer, the only way to differentiate one's business was by quantity of tap lines and amount of bottles in the cooler. Now that even dive bars have craft beer available, the way a quality beer bar pulls ahead is by offering the truly spectacular — even if that's just five well-picked pints for you. With the vastness of the beer world today, bars need a new hook, whether it’s exclusively focusing on a region (like Brooklyn’s newly opened Cardiff Giant, which pours only New York state-brewed beer), a style (like The Sovereign with its exotic Belgian-ish tilt), or something altogether unique.
These aren't necessarily the best beer bars in America — plenty of those massive menu-boasting old dogs still have a claim to that crown — but these following 15 bars do have the most thoughtful beer lists going at the moment.
SEE ALSO: Here are the types of wine you should pair with grilled foods this barbecue season
DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Lifestyle page on Facebook!
Proletariat — New York, NY
Address and phone: 102 St. Marks Pl, New York, NY (212-777-6707)
Website:proletariatny.com
Taps: 12
Specialty: "Rare, new, and unusual beer"
Favored breweries: Grimm Artisanal Ales, De DolleBrouwers, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Every time I step foot in the East Village's Proletariat, I know I'm not just going to encounter many beers I've never had — I'm going to come across quite a few I've never even heard of. The hallway of a space can only accommodate a couple dozen drinkers, old-school rap music blasts loudly, and, most importantly, the beer list is way too esoteric for an Average Joe to wanna hang. You come to Proletariat to challenge your palate and have the informed bartenders make you realize there's so much about beer you still don't know.
Gold Star Beer Counter — Brooklyn, NY
Address and phone:176 Underhill Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Website:goldstarbeercounter.com
Taps: 16
Specialty: Sours and barrel-aged beers
Favored breweries: Other Half, OEC, J. Wakefield
Brooklyn has plenty of well-curated beers lists at places like the aforementioned Cardiff Giant, Spuyten Duyvil, and Tørst, but Gold Star might be the best of them all. Set on a Prospect Heights street so quiet you can’t believe it's even zoned for a bar, owner Joshua Van Horn needed a roster of intriguing beers for luring non-local clientele. Many of those offerings are going to be of the limited, barrel-aged, and often sour variety — which, believe me, are inherently not cheap (luckily, Van Horn is quite generous with samples). Having just celebrated their one year anniversary, there’s even a walk-up growler fill window, perfect for the area's dog and stroller set.
Monk's Cafe — Philadelphia, PA
Address and phone:264 S 16th St, Philadelphia, PA (215-545-7005)
Website:monkscafe.com
Taps: 25
Specialty: "Belgian Beer Emporium"
Favored breweries: Russian River, The Lost Abbey, Cantillon
The relaxed back bar mainly pours legitimate Belgian beer, while the front bar often focuses on American interpretations of the styles courtesy of places like The Lost Abbey, Allagash, and Russian River. In fact, Monk’s is one of the only east coast locations that gets kegs from that acclaimed California brewery. They also boast a "well-curated" selection of moules frites (try the "Ghent").
See the rest of the story at Business Insider