Cheers to the pubs and taverns as they 'beer' up for the future

Nation's Restaurant News, April 22, 1996 by Mort Hochstein

One Saturday night last spring, I socialized until final call at the Goose Tavern in Dublin, Ireland, with Andrew O'Gorman, former president of the Irish Guild of Sommeliers. What struck me about that pub, and others I had visited elsewhere in Ireland and England, was the family atmosphere. Often you would see several generations at table, talking, socializing and, almost incidentally, drinking.

The pub has long enjoyed a great deal of respectability and plays an important part in the social life of both countries. About three-fourths of the drinking done in England takes place in public settings, according to sociologist Ray Oldenburg, author of the book "The Great Good Place."

In attempting to explain the lure of gathering places, Oldenburg defines a successful pub as a good place to engage in social drinking, noting that "people go to pubs because they want to feel welcome."

In Troy, N.Y, Jackie Rourke, an owner of Holmes & Watson Ltd., a historic pub dating back to the 1890s, sounds very much like Oldenburg when she discusses her tavern. "It sounds corny, but this place is like `Cheers,' " she said. "If you didn't know somebody here when you walked in, you will know somebody when you leave."

Rooms at Holmes & Watson flow into each other, passing from wood to brick, reflecting different periods of expansion, down a couple of steps here, up another set there, two staircases, a couple of fireplaces, some easy chairs and a dart game almost always in play. There's no television, never has been.

"Conversation prevails," Rourke explains. "We get a mixed crowd -- professionals, doctors, lawyers, firemen. On any given night you'll have a lot of strangers, but they all converse openly. We think something special happens here. It's not the kind of atmosphere you can create and bottle; it's been acquired over the years," she observes.

Rourke has never seen a real Irish or British pub but has heard the comparison made many times in her years at Holmes & Watson. She expects to see for herself soon. "I'm getting married next year, and my husband and I will spend our honeymoon in Ireland," she says. "We'll do some field research."

In all good drinking places, there are rules. People want to be welcomed, more warmly than they might be by a loan officer. They want to feel at home and never be made to feel out of place. The regulars enjoy giving and receiving friendliness. Fellowship and warmth are prime.

Holmes & Watson, like the fictional "Cheers," seems to live up to those rules, but in its own way. With all its Victorian atmosphere, the pub runs a thoroughly modern program of marketing craft beer and single-malt scotch. Enter its front room and you are greeted by the sight of 70 bottles of scotch on the back bar and 25 -- soon to be 32 -- beer taps.

While other taverns are rushing to embrace beer clubs, Holmes & Watson has been running similar promotions for more than a dozen years. In 1983 it began its first World Tour, offering a golf shirt to patrons who sampled 60 different brews, and a mini-tour, awarding a T-shirt for customers who consumed 30 different selections. More recently, it expanded to offer an American Microbrew Tour and a Master Tour, which requires entrants to try 60 selections in one year.

About 400 beer student participate in the programs each year. Draft beer outsells all other beverages by a 3-to-1 ratio, and Rourke and co-owner Bob Fivel plan to add seven more taps to complement their 300 bottled beers. Harp is the best seller. Other favorites are Sierra Nevada, Bass, Newcastle and Guinness.

Rourke says she'd like to reduce the number of bottled beers since people increasingly favor draft brews for their freshness. The single-malt scotch menu has grown to include Irish single malts from Bushmill and Tyrconnell and Suntory Yamakazi Pure Malt Whiskey.