Welcome to Alehouse Heroes, soon to be a recurring feature on the site where we spotlight a bar, brewer, chef, or anyone who strikes me as particularly intriguing in the blossoming beer climate. We will provide some info, toss out some thoughts, and most importantly, interview some of the associated VIPs. Now, I'm not an interviewer by trade, so forgive me if this turns into some sort of beer-drenched "Chris Farley Show". "You 'member when . . . um . . . you made that brown ale . . . yeah . . . that was AWESOME." Our focus will be on the entrepreneurial side of running a beer business, as well as beer's burgeoning companionship with high-end food. I hope to shed some light on this magnificent culture by talking directly to the people making it happen, whether that be the brewpub in your neighborhood or the brewer 3,000 miles away. I can promise you we have some incredibly well-respected craft pubs, top-notch breweries, and maybe even a celebrity guest(!) lined up for the future. On a personal note, I'm geeking out.
We start with Seattle's small but mighty Uber Tavern. Boasting nearly twenty taps, somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 bottles, special ordered kegs to go, and (this is key) take-home, refillable-on-the-cheap growlers, Uber Tavern is a worthy watering hole for those eager to soak up the immensely active West Coast brewing scene. Most important though is the supportive and friendly regulars that will vouch for this place high and low across the interwebs. (As someone in the restaurant industry, I can personally attest for how wonderful you feel to have a group of people willing to publicly go to bat for you.) Uber Tavern's fantastic manager Mr. Charles Whedbee took some time from his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his bar, their friends, and a fantastic explanation for why it's so damn easy to grab a good beer on the left coast.
T1D: We'll start with the basics. What is your go-to beer/favorite beer, and why?
CW: I don't have a favorite beer. My moods and tastes are in a pretty constant state of flux. Sometimes I'll go nuts on Belgians, then stop drinking them for like a month. It all depends on what I've eaten, how much I'm willing to spend, what I can have and still drive home, and what I haven't tried yet. If I'm at a place with a limited selection, I'll probably pick any IPA they have on.
T1D: I live in NYC. Brooklyn is home to a million artists, and also seems to be the hub of craft beer in the city. Seattle and Portland also have huge artist communities, and they too are craft beer hubs. What's the connection between young artists and craft beer?
CW: There might be some connection through craftsmanship and a desire to buy locally, but I know a lot of artists who are on the constant search for that $1.00 PBR. (Editor's note: Yes.)
T1D: What is your method of choosing a beer for the bar?
CW: We are a small place, so choosing beers can be a challenge. For new beers in the market that I haven't tried I use Ratebeer and Beer Advocate and a lot of word-of-mouth. Some breweries have enough street cred that I'll buy anything they produce on faith. We have 17 taps here and space for about 150 bottles, so I can keep a steady stream of my and our customers' favorites around. Sadly, since most of the importers of craft European beers are based out of New York, some of our favorites have been priced too high for us, but we try to pour a few Belgians and German beers all the time here. I'm a big IPA fan, so I tend to go nuts on those.
T1D: You sell kegs. To me, in the restaurant industry, that sounds like more trouble than it's worth. How do you keep that aspect successful?
CW: You're kinda right, it's a cash flow nightmare. We stock very little, and special order a lot.
T1D: You have a real community around your place. Explain to us who haven't been there what the Uber Bike and Beer Bloodbath is.
CW: Regulars of ours (and other beer bars) do some Biking Pub Crawls. It's got our name on it, but it has grown into a Seattle-wide event.
T1D: Keeping with that feeling of community, one thing that's so exciting to me and many beer lovers is the West Coast's emergence as a craft-brewing mecca. Other than your proximity to wonderful hops, what's the deal?
CW: We all owe the West Coast pioneers of American craft brewing a huge debt for creating the infrastructure of the smaller brewery. Twenty years ago, state and local governments were caught completely by surprise when craft breweries stated started popping up. Building and construction permits simply had no model for approval. It was actually easier to open a 60-100 barrel brewery than it was a 7-10 barrel brewery. Throw in a thoroughly uncooperative ATF (which no longer exists) and a belief by government that any beer over 5%ABV was only consumed by homeless people or was a huge drunk driving risk, and you begin to wonder why more brew-pub owners aren't members of militias. By braving this red tape and establishing a market, the West Coast has helped pave the way toward acceptance and even promotion of craft beer all over the country. So I think the West Coast has a history with craft beer that's entrenched. These days, of course, there are great breweries and beer bars all over the country. I've heard nothing but great things about New York, New England, and the Midwest, and can't wait to visit there myself.
T1D: Other than the rotating menu, how do you keep a specialty place such as yours fresh and exciting?
CW: All we sell is beer, so the rotation is the most important thing. It's really up to the staff to create the atmosphere.
T1D: What is the key to keeping good vibes in the bar? How does it stay fun there?
CW: We try to be a "Yes" place. There are a lot of rules for bars and restaurants, and you have to say "no" to people a lot. Since we don't have a kitchen, we say "Yes, you can bring your own food" or "Yes, you can bring in your dog". It's certainly not "anything goes", but we try to let the customers kind of create the environment rather than force it on them.
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