Until recently America’s beer offerings to the world (Coors, Budweiser, Miller, etc.) had been globally viewed as the liquid equivalent to England’s traditional cuisine… boring, bland, underwhelming, insipid, and basically un-sipable.
This is actually just a common mis-conception about English food, but still a valid point nonetheless.
Fortunately, with the growth of the Food Channel, the rise in popularity of “star chefs”, and a wider re-acceptance of home cooking in general, the American palate has begun to experience a taste Renaissance and we are clamoring for more variety and flavor across the board, which translates to better beer for the people!
Phenomenal small-batch, hand-crafted, micro-breweries and brew pubs are popping up all over the country, creating some incredible, earth-shattering, and award-winning beverages, matching brew-blows with the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and England.
Unequaled U.S. IPA’s, stouts, Belgian-style triples, and ales are coming out of the woodwork, and Dallas is currently experiencing its own “beer boom”. In 2012 Dallas hosted no less than five beer festivals, and it’s never been easier to find a really good beer in DFW than it is right now.
So, if you’re looking to expand your hop-horizons here are a few pubs that are pushing more than just Pilsner. These places have extraordinary selections that allow you to explore the wonderful world that is beer. I’ve listed a good number of “dens of drinkery” with the highest total number of beers available in DFW, in order from Big selection to BIGGEST (btw - these numbers are approximate for you damn obsessive-compulsive counters – you know who you are…).
The Londoner
2909 Thomas Ave. Dallas, TX 75204 (214) 979-2333 and 14930 Midway Rd. Addison, TX 75001 (972) 458-2444 – 10 on tap – 50 bottled (there is a Frisco location too in Watter's Creek Shopping Center) - www.thelondonerpub.com
Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House
1154 Peavy Rd. Dallas, TX 75218 (214) 324-3335 – 16 on tap (at least six of which are constantly rotating) and at least 50 bottled - http://goodfrienddallas.com
The Dubliner
2818 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75206 (214) 818-0911 – 12 draughts and 75 bottled - http://www.dallasdubliner.com
The Common Table
2917 Fairmount Dallas, TX 75201 (214) 880-7414 – 24 on tap – 70 bottled - http://thecommontable.com
Libertine Bar
2101 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75206 (214) 824-7900 – 9 on tap – 90 bottled - http://www.libertinebar.com
Fillmore Pub
1004 E. 15th St. Plano, TX 75074 (972) 423-2400 – 12 draughts – 90 bottled - http://www.thefillmorepub.com
Black Friar
2621 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75204 (214) 953-0599 - 20 on tap – 100 bottled - http://www.blackfriarpub.com
Idle Rich Pub
2614 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75204 (214) 965-9926 - 20 on tap – 100 bottled - http://www.idlerichpub.com
The Old Monk
2847 N. Henderson Ave. Dallas, TX 75206 (214) 821-1880 –20 on tap – 100 bottled - http://www.oldmonkdallas.com
British Beverage Company
2800 Routh St. Dallas, TX 75201 (214) 922-8220 – 50 on tap – 75 bottles - http://bbcpub.com
Meddlesome Moth
1621 Oak Lawn Ave. Dallas, TX 75207 (214) 628-7900 – 35 on tap – 110 bottles - http://www.mothinthe.net
The Ginger Man
2718 Boll St. Dallas, TX 75204 (214) 754-8771 – 75 beers on tap – 100 bottled - http://dallas.gingermanpub.com
Trinity Hall
5321 E. Mockingbird Ln. Suite 250 Dallas, TX 75206 (214) 887-3600 – 20 on tap – over 200 total! - http://www.trinityhall.tv
AND THE WINNER IS…
The Flying Saucer
14999 Montfort Dr. Dallas, TX 75254 (972) 991-7093 – With almost 250 beers total – approximately 95 Draft and 150 bottled, the Flying Saucer offers Dallasites the widest selection of beers in the city and we salute them for their malty, hoppy efforts! - http://www.beerknurd.com/stores/addison
For those of you who like your ex-beer-ience to be a little more secluded, or private, or you just like to drink in the nude (Mr. Mark Beneventi, I’m talking to you…),
here is a list of stores all over Dallas (so you’ll always be close to a good beer) that also carry a fine selection of brews for you to choose and imbibe intimately.
Mr. G’s - 1453 Coit Rd. at 15th St., Plano (972) 867–2821 http://mrgsbeverage.com
Pogo’s - 5360 W. Lovers Ln., Dallas (214) 350-8989 www.pogoswine.com
Sigel’s #5 Addison - 15003 Inwood Rd., Addison (972) 387-9873 http://www.sigels.com
World Market – Five DFW locations – visit http://www.worldmarket.com
Spec’s – Six DFW locations – visit http://www.specsonline.com
Central Market – Five DFW locations – visit http://www.centralmarket.com (OK, it’s a division of H.E.B. - so sue me!)
A special note for those of you in my neighborhood (North Oak Cliff); David DeLeon and his family have opened up a wonderful little place called North Oak Cliff Beer and Wine, and have carefully selected a good-sized offering of really great beers. They can get kegs for you and even have a delivery service - beer right to your freakin’ door!
They are located just across the street from Pour House Dallas, cate-cornered from The Kessler, and right next door to Urban Acres, at 1301 W. Davis St. Oak Cliff, TX (214) 943-3300 http://www.northoakcliffbeerandwine.com.
Stop by, grab some brew, support small business, and tell them that Greg sent you!
Finally, these last two shops kind of bridge the gap between bar and store. The Bottle Shop,
located at 2116 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75026 (214) 828-2873 - http://worldbeercompany.com offers about 500 beers at any given time and here’s the beauty… they’re licensed to both pour and sell packaged beer and wine! That means that you can try a new beer at the bar, and if you like it, you can just turn around and grab a six-pack off the shelf and take it home. The only sad note is that their packaged beer is not refrigerated.
World of Beer
Originally based out of Tampa, FL, is a small chain that offers a simply stunning selection of tasty malt-based beverages. They sell close to 600 varieties of beer, with many selections from Texas. They have a location in Arlington (5005 South Cooper St. Arlington, TX 76017 (817) 471-1101) and a new store that just opened in Dallas at 5600 SMU Blvd. (214) 444-4484. Both sell beer on tap and have live music as well. Check out their info here - http://wobusa.com.
With this big list of bustling businesses with butt-loads of bad-ass beers, you should have no problem bellying up to the bar (or going to the fridge) and grabbing a hearty pint to sip by the hearth and have some happy hoppy-holiday cheer. I see good beer in your future...
Cheers my friends!
