I missed a day yesterday, namely because I was indulging in this very topic and got lost in afternoon fun of doing some yard work and building a roaring fire in the backyard. Listening to music, knocking back a few cold ones, smoking some chicken, and a huge fire. Insert caveman grunts here. Apologies, scamps.
Anyway, to make up for the miss, I’m proposing two, which blend into one beautiful one:
The Black and Tan. You can technically make this with Guinness and any other beer, but for me, I cut my teeth on this with Harp as the lighter end of the combo, and I could easily substitute Harp with Bass. The one-two combo of the lighter Guinness top that ends with the denser and crisper finish is something else. Just thinking about it takes me back to this place in Athens:
My main hangout was either Washington Street or Nowhere Bar, and for a while, Mellow Mushroom, where we worked progressively to get our names on the 100 Beer wall of honor.
So a fun little Sunday question, where was your favorite hangout in Athens…or if not Athens, where was your happy place to enjoy a pint or twenty, back in the day?
Allen’s hands down. Pitcher and a couple of burgers. Shoot some pool, Normaltown Flyers. Head down to Foxz if liquor became desirable.
Depended on the day! Uptown Lounge happy hour to Flanagan’s or Washington Street to Bissett’s was my magical Friday night rotation. Wednesday night was Allen’s and Kevn Kinney. Thursday was Sons and Steve’s. Saturday was the Theater for a show and Half Moon.
Favorite Athens haunts were always Cutter’s, Nowhere Bar, and The Georgia Theatre before the fire with those nasty hoses for their draft beer.
Sounds like you had a good Saturday. I took my daughter to softball practice, worked in the garden, she and I went and picked blueberries, then we rode over to Cordele for supper. Good times.
I love a black and tan (or half and half). Harp or Bass? Don’t matter. An Irish car bomb or a night when you want to tie one on works, too.
It depended on the situation. For relaxing with a beer and buddies, it was Allen’s or the 5th Quarter. Chasing women, O’Malley’s or the Frog Pond (depending on the hour).
Athens didn’t lack for options.
Well first of all who needs a bar. I enjoyed riding the country back roads to avoid the men in blue, a cooler full of beer and hot women snuggled next to you.
Oh I’ve done a whole lot of that. Around here the law would just give you the dirt roads. We would ride dirt for hours slow rollin, stoppin to get out and get another one and/or take a leak. Good times. People that have never done that show it in their behavior. They’re just not as happy.
My favorite place for a Black and Tan was the original Fado in Buckhead. Due to finding a flexible well paying part time day job in college, major changes, and other factors, I graduated from Georgia State. My roommates were a mix of friends who went to other north metro Atlanta Schools or were on their way to police academy.
Anyways, the roommate who would go on to police academy and I would go to Fado on Sunday night for drinks and possibly dinner while listening to live music. Good times.
When I saw you listed your haunts as Washington St Tavern, Nowhere Bar & Mellow Mushroom, I had to make sure I didn’t make the actual post. Throw Uptown Lounge in there and occasionally City Bar for $1 PBRs and GA Theater or 40 Watt for late nights and that was it.
Washington St had some good “non-macro” beers and at Uptown you could get Dixie or Lone Star for $1.75 as a Domestic, but you had to be smart about your bartender because the guys would charge you $2.25 which was the import price. But there was this brunette- IYKYK and she was always good for the $1.75 and much easier on the eyes.
I liked Harp also and have had “black and tans”, but now that I work with 2 people from Northern Ireland, we don’t use that name. Also, where the heck did Harp disappear to? I didn’t even see it in Ireland in 2022 when I was there.
I also completed the 100 bottle club at MM.
Good post. Tied for best black and tan:
The End Zone, Beatrice Nebraska. Watched a Nebraska football game there. My dyed in the wool Bulldog hunting buddy: “They’re making a weird noise with their hands…” “That’s what corn sounds like being shucked” “Barking is better”…
Nameless corner pub, Mainz Germany. Halb und Halb and the best goulash on the planet.
NCO Club Hardt Kaserne, Schwaebisch Gmuend FRG 81-86
Mutlanger Hefe Weisen or a Heubacher pils. If it was payday. I ‘d throw in a few shots of Black Jack or maybe Schnapps or even some Uzo.
Besides Allens on Wednesdays, The Foundry was good to play pool (in the late 80s way before the recent upgrades). There was another pool hall at the hotel on the corner of Milledge and Broad–forgot the name. Also there was a dive bar at the old hotel in five points. I think it was Hogs Head or Hogs Breath Saloon? Don’t remember much craft beer then, but I did drink a lot of “oil cans” (Fosters) at the 40 Watt when Jason and the Scorchers came to town.
Love the post about the glorious old watering holes in Athens as it brings back great memories but you will never find a (Catholic) Irishman drinking a black and tan (maybe you would as a protestant N. Irishman)…thankfully none of those troubles exist in the USA…besides why would you ever dilute the greatest beer invented by God west of Belgium with a lesser beer?
Boxcar Pizza at Five Points. Mainly because a pitcher of beer was $1.50.