It all started when Mike sent an email with a link to Metromix and a question:Fifty taps. Why haven't we heard about this place?A quick click on the link and I quickly discovered why. You see, even though with this group I fall somewhere in the middle age-wise, everyone agrees that at Hoosier Beer Geek, I represent the AARP readership.
I don't really do much bar hopping. And I don't visit South Meridian Street very often. When I did, I would usually go to Claddagh or the Slippery Noodle (I told you that I'm an old fart). So it isn't a surprise that I hadn't heard of Taps and Dolls, a bar that fills in part of the void left by the former Hollywood Bar and Filmworks.
(If you think the logo looks vaguely like the St. Pauli girl logo, you aren't alone. But the bartender told me that the original logo concept looked even more so like St. Pauli that their attorney told them "not so fast".)
But fifty taps...that sounds intriguing, even to a senior citizen. So on Friday, I headed to Taps and Dolls. On my lunch break. I'm hip. Replacement hip.
They open at noon, but this second floor bar was empty. But my co-worker and I hopped onto a bar stool and looked over the beer menu. What do they have on those 50 taps?
Bud x2
Bud Light x2
Miller Lite x2
Coors Light x2
Blue Moon x2
Blue Moon Seasonal
Miller 64
Bud Am Ale
Bud Select
Leinie's 1888
Leinie's Sunset
Leinie's Amber
PBR
Woodchuck
Amstel Light
Shiner Bock
Mich Ultra
Redhook IPA
Redhook Copperhook
Shock Top
Guinness
Bass
Harp
Smithwick's
Killian's
New Castle
Molson
Pilsner Urquell
Peroni
Stella
Hoegarden
Sam Adams
Sam Adams Seasonal
GI Matilda
GI Kolsch
GI 312
Upland Dragon Fly
Sierra Nevada
Brugge White
Magic Hat No. 9
3F Alpha King
3F Gumballhead
Bells (soon to be) Oberon
plus two mystery taps
So is it a great use of 50 taps? Not in my opinion. Far too many BudMillerCoors products. But I don't suspect that this tap list is aimed at me.
I'm betting that it is one of the best along the South Meridian Street strip. The ambience here isn't bad either. Not overly sports bar, not overly dance club. If anything, it is just a regular bar. So if I were forced to go drinking on South Meridian Street, would I go in here? Yeah, probably. There are a dozen beers that I would happily consume. And with it being on the second floor, I bet it doesn't get as crowded as other bars. Because young people bug me.
Though I'd rather walk the couple of blocks and go to Rock Bottom, Buffalo Wild Wings, or Scotty's.
It will be interesting to see what happens to this beer list after a year. Will the microbrews make way for more macrobrew varieties? Will there be a demand for more microbrews? I suspect that the former is more likely, not the latter. But I hope I'm wrong.
(By the way, while there were plenty of taps, there were absolutely no dolls. A bartender with man-boobs is not what was advertised! That's what I get for going during the day shift.)
Looks interesting, but their selection is seriously lacking for the amount of available taps. Kind of sad really. They need Mike (Gumbos) in there to tell them how to pick out some beers! Or maybe take some hints from Shallo's.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to see what they do with all those taps for sure.
While the number of macro 2X taps is a bit disappointing, I think that they're just focusing the target market they're likely to get on that stretch of Meridian. It'll be interesting to see if they get more requests for craft beers.
ReplyDeleteI think we should pick a day to go in there and buy out their keg of Matilda to prove that we're serious about supporting the place. Then we should start with the demands: get Pere Jacque for the Matilda tap and replace one of their macro taps, say Victory Prima Pils for Peroni.
ReplyDeleteand then we can leave them to flounder and fail as we move on to another bar and they are full of beer they can't sell.
ReplyDeleteMwuhahahaha.
Until they gain a name for themselves they are going to sell swill to keep the doors open I would imagine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went in last friday The bar was full of people. I had a great time! There is so many beers to pick from on tap! I will go back asap I loved it there. A PLACE TO BE TAPS AND DOLLS!
ReplyDeleteSubtle.
ReplyDelete