The Home Bar Essentials

March 13, 2009

Once in awhile we like to post ‘out of the box’ here at The Brew Club, and this is one of those times!  Let’s talk about home bar essentials!  As soon as you start developing an interest in beer (and if you’re visiting The Brew Club then there’s a possibility that you are) then whole new vistas of opportunity open to you, or more accurately to your friends and loved ones!  While you content yourself with searching out rare and exotic brews, (based on our beer reviews, of course) your friends and family can concentrate on buying you the paraphernalia needed to equip a competent home bar!

By adding a few simple pieces to your basement, (or garage depending on what the wife allows) you can easily create a home bar that is as good as the real thing or better – at least in your own mind.   While far from being a definitive list, I offer the following few suggestions for items enhance your beer drinking experience.

For starters, you’re going to need… (hang on now) a bar.  Whether you have a bar installed professionally or you decide on a less expensive free standing type, the home bar itself will be the centerpiece of your entire room. (unless you have one of those cages that hang from the ceiling with the dancers inside – you know what I mean.)

Many home bars come with lots of storage space for your bottles, glasses and the other home bar stuff we’re listing for you here.  A traditional looking wooden bar will obviously give your setup a more rustic look, while a metal bar will appear more modern and ‘hip’. (like me)

Whichever type you choose, look around and find a unit that has plenty of storage space and goes with the rest of your decor.  A set of matching bar stools can also help tie the whole room together.  You want your guests to be comfortable while they oooh and ahhhh, right?  Well then, great bar stools are a must.

Bottle Opener – preferably branded with the name of a favorite brewery.  Bottle openers are often given away for free or bundled in promotions… it’s worth visiting rummage sales, or at worst they can be found on your favorite online auction site.

In the picture you can see (from left to right) bottle openers from Tsing Tao, Bintang (this one’s useful as it’s magnetic and clings to the door of my beer fridge), a couple of Hard Rock Cafe openers (also magnetic), ‘The Key to the Universe’ and (as a last resort) a Swiss Army Knife.

Beer Mats (Coasters (or Bierdeckel in Germany)) – chilled drinks tend to cause condensation on the outside of beer glasses, particularly in humid conditions… amusing ‘insert your name here’ coasters are often available at major tourist venues (if you must) or again ask your friendly local barman. If you want to be really fancy you can store them in a nifty coaster rack, which could also be added to your home bar essentials list!

Be careful though, the collection of beer coasters is known as Tegestology and can distract from the important stuff – the beer!

Bar Towel - these are getting slightly harder to find in the UK, as ‘Health and Safety’ starts to raise its ugly head… but spills happen, particularly when pouring a ‘lively’ ale, and a bar towel often prevents unsightly marks on your home bar and arguments with beloved partners.  I have found that many barmen will turn a blind eye to the appropriation of a bar towel providing a contribution has been made to the bar’s preferred charity collection. 

Beer Glasses – okay, this is where it starts to get complicated… Michael Jackson used to recommend a ‘tulip’ shaped glass, much as used by wine tasters. This allows the ‘nose’ of the beer to concentrate in the neck of the glass, while maximizing the space for the head to dispense its complex aromas.  Other beers have their own preferred glass shapes as well. Most popular are the Tulip Glass, the Chalice Glass and the Pint Glass – sometimes you want to just drink rather than savor, and oversized glasses are ideal for this, allowing room for a comfortable beer head while still holding a full pint.

Drinking Attire - I can strongly recommend The Brew Club’s very own T Shirts as ideal drinking attire!  Wear a Brew Club T Shirt and people know you’re taking your beer (reasonably) seriously!

Neon Sign? Nothing says “open bar” and “class” like a neon beer sign!  Lighted beer signs are a staple of any bar whether it’s commercial or home grown.  Today you can easily buy bar signs online, but there may be an even cheaper way to score one!  Local bars might be looking to upgrade their current neon signs and many bars and liquor stores may even have signs in the back collecting dust that aren’t being using anymore.  Ask nicely if they have any signs that they are willing to part with for a few bucks.  You may get lucky and get one for next to nothing!  How cool is that?

Beer! – finally, the reason for it all… obviously the preferred Brew Club method of buying a six pack to share with 5 other friends is preferable, but if not, just source what you can, keeping an eye out for the unusual.  In my experience your palate can get jaded after a couple of the more unusual beers, so maybe stick to one or two, but have a couple of your regular brew on hand in case you develop a serious thirst.

So there you go, those are The Brew Club’s home bar essentials!  We left out fighting and vomiting intentionally because they don’t need to cost anything with the right friends.  Also optional might be a bouncer, bar fly, and terrible karaoke singers.  Those could probably be outsourced as needed depending on how you want to set the mood for your home bar on a given night.

What else do you think would enhance the perfect bar?  Have you put together your own home bar?  Please feel free to share any comments or suggestions, then maybe we’ll republish this list as it grows before next Christmas as a crib sheet for your loved ones!

Written nicely by Bob the Brit and some help from Scott. 

Posted in Other Stuff, Views from a Brit