Beer, Food & Conversation
31 July 2009 - 31 July 2009
The Tap Exchange isn't your typical "drink 'em as fast as you can pour them" bar. It isn't your typical "we're all wearing turtlenecks and drinking martinis while listening to ambient trance" bar. This isn't your typical "dive" bar. It's not even your typical Texas "icehouse." The Tap Exchange is a "pub" in the greatest sense of the word. Having traveled the globe and drank in some of the best pub's on earth, it's something I consider myself an expert on. Having an English wife only makes me a little more of a pub-aficionado.
What is different between a "pub" and a "bar"? Well, technically there may be no difference in most people's mind, but a good pub provides three things in my experience. Awesome beer. Awesome food. Great atmosphere for conversation. And here in San Antonio, we have what I would call a Class A example of a pub - The Tap Exchange.
I first was introduced to The Tap Exchange on Twitter. Someone I knew here in San Antonio had mentioned Franziskaner Hefeweissen on tap. Having spent a lot of time in Germany, this is perhaps one of my all time favorite beers. My ears perked up and I tweeted, "Where?" The answer came in the form of Jimmy from The Tap Exchange. I didn't know it then, but Jimmy is the owner.
Jimmy immediately started talking beer with me and you could tell he was excited to talk about his passion. We chatted back and forth about beers of the world and his knowledge was beyond my own. I know what I like, he knows why I like it and how they make it. A man with a passion for quality and a wide variety of tastes, Jimmy loves his job. You can hear it in every word he says.
My own experience at The Tap Exchange.
I was sold on The Tap Exchange before I ever went there. I knew it would be a great place. When I did visit, not only did I experience the three points of beer, food, and conversation; but I also got to watch Stanley Cup Playoff Hockey with Jimmy himself. The staff knows their beer and are more than willing to provide suggestions. Once they saw what I liked most, they provided other suggestions to play off of the ones I enjoyed. They were all friendly and talkative and sitting with Jimmy, we covered beer to hockey to business to real estate to social media. A true "pub" allows you to do this. It fosters it. It requires it to thrive.
After a few beers, I was getting a little hungry, so I ordered up a Patty Melt. I am a huge fan of the Patty Melt and it takes a superb one to get me excited. The Tap Exchange didn't disappoint. When I lived in Los Angeles, I was hooked on Jerry's Famous Deli and their Patty Melt. Move over Jerry's there's a new favorite in town...and San Antonio is a lot closer than Los Angeles! Talk about delicious. To top it off, I had the sweet potato fries (I asked for a mix and match order of half sweet potato, half regular fries). One bite of the sweet potato fries and I was ready to ditch the regular french fry for good.
Specialty Beers at The Tap Exchange.
To top off their already enormous selection of beers, Jimmy finds ways of getting beers that are in limited supply or are short term offerings. If you follow them on Twitter (I've written about their use of Twitter before in "Twitter For Business - Would you like fries with that?"), you'll get updates when new arrivals get tapped. Just to show you how serious this list of beers is, I asked Jimmy to supply me with a sampling of the special beers he's brought in. Here's his (incomplete) list: Green Flash West Coast IPA, Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA, St. Arnold's Cask-Conditioned Elissa IPA, Victory Cask-Conditioned Hop Devil IPA, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine, Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, Czechvar Pilsner, Maredsous 10 Belgian Tripel, Unibroue Maudite Abbey Strong Ale, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Franziskaner Hefeweizen, Ayinger Brau Weisse, Rogue XS Imperial IPA, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Ska Pinstripe Red, Summit Extra Pale Ale, Guinness 250, Real Ale Real Heavy Scotch Ale, Real Ale Full Moon Rye Ale, and Real Ale Dunkelroggen.
That's serious beer right there.
So if you're thinking of relaxing, having a pint or two, and enjoying some conversation with a few friends (or Jimmy himself), head on over to The Tap Exchange in San Antonio, Texas. Tell them @rerockstar sent you. You can find The Tap Exchange at 22250 Bulverde Rd, #106 (at Evans Road), San Antonio TX 78259 or call them at (210) 396-7917 or email them at info@thetapexchange.com.