Prime 16

A pretty nice pub well located in the lively part of town. A good list of taps focussing on New-England and NY breweries. I remember drinking a pint of Blue Point 10th Anniversary IPA which was in very good condition. The pub itself is part-beer-bar, part restaurant. Medium size place that can probably sit 100 people max. Patrons are a younger well-behaved crowd, we are right next to the prestigious Yale university after all. The one thing I remember this pub for is the french fries. Not only are their sweet potatoes french fries just as good as the now defunct The Alchemist (and because The Alchemist pub is closed, Prime 16 now has the best sweet potatoes fries on the planet) and their cheese french fries were also sublime. The rest of the food was standard pub fare. Whether you want to party with good beer or want a meal with good beer, this is the place to go when you are downtown New-Haven. The best tap selection I found downtown New-Haven, but an even better tap selection at Delaney’s, but this one is off-center and not a cool place like Prime 16.

This place always has a great selection of moderately rare and great local beers. Servers are great. It can get a little dark at times which is fine for drinking but not eating. Menu consists of mostly burgers and sandwiches but they are some great burgers.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The ambiance and setting are hip, but cozy. The draft list is ample enough (although, I’d like to see some more session beers) and the happy hour prices were unbeatable. I paid 5.75 for two beers?!? However, service was sluggish. Nobody came to the table we sat at, and when I went to the bar to buy a second round and close out and told her that nobody had been by, she got really snotty and offended. The food is also a little over-hyped and heavy-headed.

Feels a lot like Bar and Plan B. They all feature a commitment to craft brew and artisanal liquor and they attract a younger crowd. The bar area was crowded but not obnoxiously so. They had a nice selection of taps and bottles mainly regional craft although they had a couple of belgians thrown in. The ubiquitous hamburger was one of the best ones I’ve had in a while. Not better then Delaney’s but a giant leap superior to cask republic.

Located between BAR and Cask Republic. The tap selection here tends more toward the regional brewers. This place gets extremely crowded and making your way to the bar can be challenging during the busiest times. The best this bar has to offer are usually on one of their two casks. They also do tower takeovers where a brewer is featured on the majority of their taps. The burgers are excellent. Definitely worth a visit, though Cask Republic’s draught list is usually more interesting.

Low lighting a pretty groovy tunes. The first guy who served us was near the end of his shift but was still a bit rude. He also couldn’t tell me where the brewer of a beer I asked about was from. The next chap seemed a little more friendly but I didn’t quiz him. The tap selection was reasonable but with nothing too hard to find on it. The bottles were pretty standard for the state. Had some BANGING parmesan/truffle fries. Beers were reasonably pricey but as soon as 4pm rolled around they halved and we could just go for it. Got to love that.

thought this to be the best bar in downtown New Haven, though still not saying too much. Kind of crowded, a little noisy. Good selecion of taps, quanity-wise in New Haven, some really good ones like Allagash Curieux A few taps were stale, or the gas mixture is off or what, so that thes beers tasted off. A smallish bar, unfortunatley too small for the two bartenders to get around each other. A couple of notches below Delayney’s as a bar. Staff was knowledgeable about beer, though not very knowledgeable. Worth a stop as you may find a good tap on, and they do have a cask.

Pretty decent selection of beers of tap, most notably Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale, Oskar Blues Gordon IPA, and Great Divide Titan IPA (I’m a hophead). I went with Stone’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard and North Coast Old Stock, a barleywine that was actually presented in a Snifter (it’s hard to come by). Yale vs. Harvard football was playing the next day so the place was pretty crowded. The bartenders knew how to handle it. Dimly lit lighting, good food. Oh, and props for having a month devoted to a specific brewery on tap (Avery, Southern Tier, Capt. Lawrence...). Overall: Decent selection. Good atmosphere. Return: Yes. #27 on 21112009, DG.

This place is pretty nice, lots of good beer. The bar manager was working when I was there and he was a really nice guy who loved to talk beer. The music was good and the beer was all in the proper glassware. Just a really nice little beer bar.

GO there during 1/2 price draft time. Otherwise it gets a bit pricey. Correct glassware adds to the wonderful expertise of the bartenders and they are friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely a top notch beer bar and great burgers and food also.