Drinks 2024 | Cover Story

Keys to a Quality Beer Bar

New and expanding taprooms and bottle shops that are hidden neighborhood gems.

When I walk into a bar with 20-plus taps, my beer quality radar sounds, often clouding my excitement about the variety. How long have these kegs been on? When do these lines get cleaned?

I’ve had too many stale or dirty beers than I can count at the hands of overworked, underpaid bartenders from establishments that, for some reason — perhaps lack of knowledge, poor time management, or pure apathy from the establishment’s ownership — don’t seem to give a hoot about beer quality and still charge top dollar for a pint. The taps at these places are typically commandeered by macro brands. I am not here for that.

I am here for the beer bars and bottle shops that support other small (and local) businesses and elevate the reputation of beer overall, because in an industry flooded with products created by a few huge brands, it feels like the right (and fun) way to operate.

Fresh Selection
One of the common signs of a reputable taproom is the rotation of kegs on tap and cans in the cooler. Final Draught in Sparks takes pride in offering 24 “ever-changing” taps so folks don’t have to leave their neighborhood to find a fresh, craft pint. Owner/operator Becca Blaisdell listens to her guests’ requests to offer “a little something for everyone” — even a few non-beer options.

By rotating taps often, guests get a new experience each time they return. This keeps regulars coming back for more, which in turn allows patrons and staff to build lasting relationships.

Because, as Blaisdell says, “The best universal way to educate yourself in beer is to drink it and share it with others.”

Cheers to that!

Beers and Ciders for Everyone
Speaking of education, another telltale sign of a good beer bar is knowledgeable staff — a priority for Piñon Bottle Co., which recently opened a new location on Wedge Parkway in South Reno.

“Bars like this have brought educational and accessibility components [along with] a greater variety of beer to the region,” says general manager Nigel Teekasingh.

What Piñon accomplishes is twofold: working with distributors to curate a diverse, fresh inventory and ensuring staff members are trained to talk about beer.

“Our staff being Cicerone-certified gives our employees the tools to help customers find what they are looking for,” Teekasingh says.

At Piñon, a cocktail drinker might fall in love with a local sour ale, or a whiskey drinker might go all in on a whiskey-barrel-aged stout.

This is exactly what’s happening at Piñon’s newest spot.

“We’ve been getting a lot of wine drinkers coming into our store and learning that there are beers out there for them,” Teekasingh says.

The transition to beer isn’t confined to taprooms or pubs; businesses such as Piñon have taken part in raising the reputation of beer to new heights throughout the larger food-and-beverage industry.

“Helping customers understand that they can treat beer and cider in the same ways as wine has led to the advent of beer dinners throughout the city and local chefs looking to beer as an option for their pairing menus,” Teekasingh says. “Beer’s place in the consumer’s mind has changed tremendously in the years we have been open.”

Craft as a Mission, Not Marketing Ploy
One might think Truckee has enough beer businesses for a mountain town, but Craft & Logic Taproom filled a hole in the market in the right place and at the right time. Owner/operator Austin Harrington and his wife, Catherine, lovers of both beer and people, had been planning the concept for years before jumping on a location opportunity.

The owners’ concept is simple but serious: curate a beer list that includes only the “highest quality, freshest, and most interesting beers available,” Austin says, adding that the focus is on “beer crafted by under-represented groups, including Black-owned, woman-owned, and LGBTQ-inclusive brands. This diversity truly elevates our craft offerings.”

As you might guess, the culture of craft is baked into Craft & Logic’s business model — “craft” being an important term “in an industry dominated by a handful of big brands,” Austin says — and so are diversity, inclusion, and education (the “logic” part of the name, as evidenced by bartenders who are Cicerone certified).

Independence also is a key component of Craft & Logic’s operations.

“We do not use the billion-dollar corporations, nor do we support macro brands that attempt to represent themselves as craft,” Austin says.

Austin worked in sales for self-distributed breweries for nearly a decade and formed relationships with the independent breweries that now provide beers to his own business. These close relationships allow him to procure limited releases or kegs from breweries that are particular about retailers to whom they sell products. And the select distributors Craft & Logic uses are “boutique and committed to independence in craft beer,” he says.

“These industry relationships are the reason we are able to offer such a broad variety of artisan beers, ciders, seltzers, and hard kombuchas,” he explains, adding that he often uses his days off to secure fresh kegs and cans from these hand-picked producers.

So far, the Truckee community has responded positively to Craft & Logic’s commitment to quality, its diverse beer, as well as its concise, tapas-style menu.

“With such a strong beer culture in Truckee-Tahoe, we felt like there was a lot of potential to open people’s eyes to what’s available outside our local market and offer a tasting experience that didn’t exist,” Austin says. “We are so excited that this project has come to fruition and that the community is embracing it.”