CraftBeer.com’s 2014 Great American Beer Bars

This past month CraftBeer.com asked its readers to vote for their favorite craft beer bars in their annual Great American Beer Bars competition. Eugene, Oregon’s The Bier Stein won top honors in the Pacific region and Portland’s APEX Bar and Seattle’s The Pine Box also finished in the region’s top 5 finalists.

CraftBeer.com, the Brewers Association (BA) website for beer fans, surveyed its audience from August 15 to September 5 for its annual Great American Beer Bars competition. The United States was divided up into five different regions that received over 3,400 nominations from 19,000 craft beer fans. Then these nominations were narrowed down to the 10 most-nominated bars in each of these five regions.

“This year’s Great American Beer Bars competition truly shows the advancement and popularity of craft beer throughout the country,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and craft beer program director of the Brewers Association. “Each region has so many dedicated beer bars, which lead to our decision to honor the top five establishments of each. Their hard work and commitment has helped shape and advance the craft beer culture in our country—and that is something to toast and celebrate.”

Since 2005, The Bier Stein has been serving the best in craft brewed beer to the patrons of the Pacific Northwest. The establishment serves over 1,000 different craft beers in bottles and cans and always has 30 rotating beers on draft. The Bier Stein establishment also has a monthly food and beer pairing menu that uses fresh local ingredients from local farmers and pairs with the seasonal beer style of the month.

“We are honored and super excited to be recognized by the craft beer-loving public as one of America’s best craft beer bars,” said Chip Hardy, owner of The Bier Stein. “Being recognized means we are doing something great here in our local beer community. Offering many craft beer choices, craft beer education, and having an awesome knowledgeable and friendly staff has made The Bier Stein a great American craft beer bar!”

Regional Winners include the alphabetical listing below for each region.

Mountain West
Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe*, Denver, CO
Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO
Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids, Longmont, CO
The Attic*, Phoenix, AZ
The Mayor of Old Town, Fort Collins, CO

Northeast
Bulls Head Public House*, Lititz, PA
Cloverleaf Tavern, Caldwell, NJ
Growler & Gill Craft Beer Shoppe*,  Nanuet, NY
The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Burlington, VT
The Ruck, Troy, NY

North Central
Ashley’s, Ann Arbor, MI
HopCat, Grand Rapids, MI
Lizardville Beer Store & Whiskey Bar*, Bedford Heights, OH
The Bavarian Lodge, Lisle, IL
The Cellar Peanut Pub*, Oskaloosa, IA

Pacific
38 Degrees Ale House & Bar*, Alhambra, CA
APEX Bar, Portland, OR
Beer Stein Bottle Shop & Pub, Eugene, OR
Prospectors Pizzeria & Alehouse, Denali National Park, AK
The Pine Box, Seattle, WA

South
Blue 5 Restaurant*, Roanoke, VA
Mekong Restaurant, Richmond, VA
The Birch Bar, Norfolk, VA
The Porter Beer Bar*, Atlanta, GA
The Thirsty Monk, Asheville, NC

?2014 Great American Beer Bars (Overall from each region and listed in alphabetical order)
Beer Stein Bottle Shop & Pub, Eugene, OR
Cloverleaf Tavern, Caldwell, NJ
Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO
HopCat, Grand Rapids, MI
Mekong Restaurant, Richmond, VA

*Represents newcomer to Great American Beer Bars competition finals