Roeg's Picks for 2012: Best Tap House

Best Tap House: Alright, I may have made up a new category for me to talk about.  Although any bar with taps could be considered a tap house, I prefer to think of it as a place that features the beers of a particular brewery.  This is to cover some great places that I’ve been to recently that don’t brew on the premises (like a brewpub) but showcase what a brewery has to offer.  The staff is extremely knowledgeable on that brewery’s offerings, history, and upcoming events.

Gold: Of Love and Regret, Baltimore, MD - Of Love and Regret (http://ofloveandregret.com/) recently opened to showcase Brian Stillwater’s saison.  The bar doesn’t look like much from the outside, but has been well restored inside with updated brick work, a long bar, and a friendly staff that were very knowledgeable on the different beer offerings.  Of Love and Regret is working on their upstairs area, and I even got a chance to get a whiff of the Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrel that a version of their Folklore beer is aged in.  I got the Stillwater Eggs Benedict; andouille sausage, potato hash, and covered with a beer cheese sauce, as well as the As Follows and the Bronze Age on draft.  Great beers, great food, and a new stopping place when I’m travelling through Baltimore.

Silver: Sheffield Tap, Sheffield, UK - The Tap is a Thornbridge pub, located at the train station.  The food menu is limited, but they offer almost twenty of their beers, all on cask.  They also had a bottle selection that allows you to have some quaff of quality for your train ride.  I had the Thornbridge Brother Rabbit, a well balanced English bitter, and the Topaz for the evening.  Since Sheffield is a busy train connection location, don’t be afraid of being scheduled for a layover at this spot.

Bronze: Spring House Taproom, Lancaster, PA – Spring House (http://springhousebeer.com/) is a relatively new brewery in the area, and I’ve been able to try several of the bottled products before.  They had close to 10 taps, and their sampler included them all.  I really liked the Pecan Sandie Porter and the Planet Bean Coffee Stout (I liked this so much I got a bottle to go).  I needed a snack, so I got their version of a ploughman’s: Wisconsin cheddar cheese, local bologna, and a soft pretzel with hot mustard.  It was all delicious, and I can’t wait for my next trip.
 
Honorable Mention: Brewdog was one of my favorite breweries for the year, so I thought it would be unfair to also anoint them as one of the best taprooms (although they probably are).  The Brewery Tap is the home of Derby brewing, and I’m quite fond of the place (but not the home made pork scratching) since it is so close to my hotel when I’m staying in Derby.  Brewery Ommegang opened a great restaurant at the brewery where they have all their beers on tap.  And the VAT and Fiddle is the taproom for Castle Rock and is only a quick walk from the Nottingham train station or Hooters of Nottingham.

"In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer." – AJ P. Taylor, British Historian