Pilgrimage To Beer-Drinker Mecca

A fan of the traditional brewery, I usually stick to drinking where my beer is made and packaged, rather than locations offering ales you can buy anywhere. It’s partly out of a desire for a fresh product and partially because I like hearing the bartender tell customers how that product was brewed. I got into this habit while living in California’s “wine country,” where the beer is much better than the wine and breweries are numerous.

Despite my predilections, this pub far exceeded my expectations of settling for a normal Friday-night bar. The Yard House has the most beers on tap in the world (it has also spawned a chain, but my local is the original). It took me a second to get the bartender to deliver an exact number, as the place is always full, but when I did, it was a simple, “Two-fifty.”

I was glad he replied, even briefly, as I had been counting the small-print menu. It’s a miracle, truth be told. Most places around here carry the occasional trendy micro-brew, but mainly stick to low-brow beers and the standard Stella, Guinness, and Hoegaarden.

Long Beach has the wine bars and Irish pubs that come standard packed into any young town, but the Yard House has what they all offer, and a lot more. As I descended into liquid abyss, I found that the pub also offers two of its own fine brews to top off the other 248. There are also interesting cocktails, some of which involve no hard liquor, like the Black and Blue (a Sea Dog Bluepaw Wheat mixed with Guinness Stout) or a snakebite (consisting of pear cider and Harp).

Yes, there are many ways to get drunk in this pub.