Three Penny Taproom Montpelier, VT

You know that one place you always want to show off when you have visitors in town? You say "Oh, so and so are going to be here this weekend, we have to take them to such and such place." We've found our place here in Montpelier, and it goes by the name of Three Penny Taproom.

Nestled into an old storefront, this place has only been around for a bit over a month but it's already burrowed its way into our cold little hearts, and not just because of the stellar beer selection either. The staff is friendly and courteous, always willing to sling a small sample of a draught you might not have tried, and the selection is adventurous to say the least. With 16 constantly-rotating taps you're never going to be hard up for a beer, whether it's IPAs, Belgians, Lagers, Stouts, or brews further off the beaten path. Most of the beers are pretty high test, some up near 10 or 12% ABV, so just keep that in mind.

Also, if the taps aren't your thing, they've got a bunch of bottles, a wine list, and a fully-stocked bar. And yes, they serve PBR, but no, that's not why we go there.

@Three Penny Taproom, and don't forget to check out their tap list, which is updated weekly.

5 Bar Conversation Starters

We just found something interesting in our inbox - an email about a new weekly column called lodged in with their liquor articles called The Imbiber. One interesting thing about The Imbiber is it's run by Playboy. Something interesting you might not know about Playboy is that they often feature naked women in their magazine and website. Yes, we were shocked too, but intrigued as well.

When we checked out this Imbiber, we liked the look of a little piece on bar conversations. From writing the bartender's name on your hand to carrying a little make-a-wish kid to the top of Everest, we found it had an answer to every conversation we have encountered in our time holding down a bar stool. These are good gambits, but remember it's up to you to do the heavy lifting while things are underway, or you can watch all the conversational goodwill you're stockpiling dwindle like Madoff's client list.

Have at it over at a little site we like to call Playboy.com (site probably NSFW unless you work somewhere awesome). However, you do have a defense if you click - turns out this time you really are reading it for the articles.

Image via South Park Studios

Kuma's Corner, Chicago

We don't often review bars here on Liquor Snob, but we spent some time in Chicago last week, and this little gem of a place came to our attention. We didn't get to go there, because we didn't hear about it until our last day in town, but it's so on the docket for our next trip. Why the excitement, you might ask? Our hypothesis is that this might be the greatest bar in existence, for these (and possibly other) reasons, in ascending order of greatitude:

• Make Your Own Mac & Cheese: This item should be on every menu of every dining establishment from here to forever.
  
• Bourbon on Tap: Our sources indicate Kuma's Corner serves Buffalo Trace bourbon on tap. Yes, Buffalo Trace. Yes, on tap.
  
• Heavy Metal Hamburgers & Martinis: This one's the coup de grace, at least for us. All of their sandwiches are named after metal bands, from the famous (Slayer, Black Sabbath) to the...more obscure (Hatebeak, Pig Destroyer), and on top of that, they sound friggin' amazing. Gourment toppings on 10 oz burgers, all named after our favorite bands? What's not to love?

Our dream is to go there and order a Mastodon Burger (BBQ Sauce, Cheddar, Bacon, Frizzled Onions) and a Mother Puncher (Vanilla Stoli, Southern Comfort, and Cranberry Juice) to build out the theme (it's either that or the Slayer/Angel of Death combo), then guzzle Buffalo Trace from the tap until we're escorted out. Who's with us?

Food, Beer, and Martinis at Kuma's Corner