The Publick House in Brookline, Mass.

JUST BEFORE I WENT TO BOSTON this week, thanks to Jay Brooks at Brookston Beer Bulletin I found an article on Forbestraveler.com listing their fix on the best 10 beer bars in the U.S. Their number three was in Brookline, which is next to Boston: Publick House and Monk’s Cell. (The net link isn’t working. See below for address etc.)

So I checked it out. I’ll give it a modified Wow!

I don’t know if it’s really the third-best beer bar in America. I’ve not visited many of the bars on the list, only the Toronado, of course, and Falling Rock in Denver and Hopleaf Bar in Chicago. I’ve heard so much about the Brickskeller in Washington, D.C. and Brouwer’s Cafe in Seattle, that I’m sure they definitely belong. Keeping all those in mind, the Public House fits in well.

First, the list is wrong. It’s the Publick House. They’ve just opened a Belgian beer bar next door. That’s the Monk’s Cell. They’re also about to open a “gourmet grocery” and retail beer store as well. Unfortunately, the Monk’s Cell is closed on Monday and there I was on Monday.

It didn’t matter. There’s no way they could have more Belgian beers next door than they did here. Like I said, wow.

The Publick House is large only in comparison to the Trappist in Oakland or the Toronado: two medium-sized rooms, long bar with many taps on the left, a few tables, walls filled with beer signs. Step down one step to the dining area, which is filled with candelit, bare wood tables, including a couple of long, community tables. Beacon Street’s the main drag from downtown Boston to Brookline, with the T (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency) Green Line Trains running down the center. The pub’s large windows looking out onto (on this day, snowy) Beacon Street are lined with tables. The windows boast Lagunitas and Allagash neon signs. There’s a Chimay sign just like the one outside the Toronado.

It’s a warm friendly place and even at 7 p.m. on a cold, Monday night, the place was nearly full, lots of 20-something to 40-somethngs. I sat at a community table and chatted with somebody who sat near me. The bottled beer list was impressive and ran several pages. Westvleteran Tripel, the world classic Trappist ale, was listed and the waiter said they he thought they had it. But at $25, I skipped it. They also had an extensive list of Jolly Pumpkin Artesianal Ales, also in bottles, each for $20. The Pumpkin (Dexter, MI.) is easily one of America’s most unusual craft breweries. I had tried several of their beers last fall at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, so I passed.

Consulting the on-tap list, I counted 29 beers” La Chouffe and McChouffe, four from Allagash, three from Unibroue, Chimay Blue on the “There” list. On the “Here” list there were some familiar names, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ and Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye.

I ordered Victory Baltic Thunder, 8.5 percent, from Victory, the Downington, PA. brewer of spectacular beers. Great choice: It’s an inky brown, with a skiff of foam. But the glass was cold, so being polite in a strange land, I waited a bit for the beer to warm. In the interim I ordered moulles et frites (mussels and fries, the traditional Belgian fare).

When the beer warmed, it had a enticing, roast malt nose. The taste was quite complex. This is a beer of some real depth. Roasted barley, black malt with a tang of hops in the finish and a teasing lactic note. I give it ***1/2.

The food was very slow to arrive. But I didn’t care. Warmed by the Baltic Thunder, I ordered a Belgian classic: Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueze ($17) from Beersel, south of Brussels. It came with a dry, not cold, Belgian chalice. This is a champion Lambic blend: mildly sour nose “eau d’barnyard. It’s an unfiltered, hazy copper with a head of thick white foam that quickly fades. The initial taste had a bit of malt presence, with a mounting sourness.

Then the mussels arrived. There was a choice of several different beers to cook the mussels in; I chose Allagash Wit, the spicy, wheat. They came in a large pot, the cooking fluid still at the bottom, topped with melted cheese, which they could have skipped.

But mussels was a perfect choice. The seafood saltiness of the mussels eased the sourness of the Gueze, bringing out the malt. I give the combination *****, world classic. Oude Gueze gets ****, a true champion. Mussels get ***, they could have skipped the fancy topping. Fries were OK. This is a place to remember and come back again and again.

The Publick House
1648 Beacon St
Brookline, MA 02445
(617) 277-2880

Last note: The next morning at the Sam Adams tasting, I asked the other tasters, all from greater Boston about their recommendations. They all agreed the Publick House is a champ. The Alstrom brothers, Jason and Todd, (beeradvocate.com) who were on the panel, listed Deep Ellum number two and perhaps Sunset Grill & Tap, which they said boasts 112 taps. Gotta try them both, next time _ if I can tear myself away from the Publick House.

If you like higher altitude beer. That is, beer with a real kick. The place to be this month is in San Francisco at 21st Amendment Restaurant & Brewery, 563 Second St. and Magnolia Pub and Brewery, 1398 Haight St.

Shaun O’Sullivan at 21st and Dave McLean at Magnolia have each brewed six strong beers, ranging from 8.5 percent (Hendrik’s Russian Imperial Expresso Stout 8.5 percent at the 21st, and Double Clutch Doppelweizen at Magnolia) to 10.5 percent – Lower De Boom Barley Wine ‘08 at the 21st and 11.2 percent – Old Thunderpussy Barleywine at Magnolia.

The deal is, have a glass of each of the 12 beers at the two pubs between Feb. 1 and the end of the month and you get a commemorative glass.

This is a gimmick to draw people in during February, a historically slow beer month. But in the world of good beer, that’s old school thinking. We love our pubs and we visit all the time, winter and summer, don’t we. Well, I do.

What Shaun and Dave have done is to use the occasion to make some helliciuously delicious strong beers.

Shaun and Dave will be at the Toronado, 547 Haight St. in San Francisco Thursday night (Jan. 31, 2008) at 6 p.m. to kick off their anti-low-gravity month. Toronado proprietor David Keene says each will bring one of their strong beers.

They’re also bringing a special beer, a blend of two of their beers, Davis says.

Be there or be square and I’ll see ya’ there.