Welcome!
Some people collect autographs, some collect antiques, others collect stamps. My hobby is a little different, I collect bars. This site represents my collection, documenting each bar I visit.
This is not a review site, there's plenty of those already. Most posts in this bar diary are slice-of-life recaps of the half hour or so I spent having a beer. I hope you enjoy browsing through my collection!
--ScooterJA Few Random Favorites
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Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor
(Oak Ridge, Kansas City, MO) Scooter’s 1384th bar, first visited in 2019. Considering I’ve been coming here for more than two decades, it was stunning to me when I looked…
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#1363: Dragonmead Microbrewery
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Warren, MI) Scooter’s 1363rd bar, first visited in 2019. When I first stepped in here and saw the beer list I had to ask the bartender how to tell which... -
#1362: Elements
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Downtown Square, Newark, OH) Scooter’s 1362nd bar, first visited in 2019. This is the hotel bar for the Doubletree in downtown Newark, though it has a separate entrace so it’s... -
#1361: Trek Brewing Company
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Newark, OH) Scooter’s 1361st bar, first visited in 2019. We arrived just moments after they had done last call, but after learning we had come all the way from Kansas... -
#1360: DankHouse Brewing Company
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Newark, OH) Scooter’s 1360th bar, first visited in 2019. This is a very cool tap room, and in addition to having good beer of their own, they have several guest... -
#1359: Homestead Beer Company
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Heath, OH) Scooter’s 1359th bar, first visited in 2019. This brewery is located on a former military installation (Air Force, I think?) and consequently was rather tricky to find. Even... -
#1358: Buckeye Lake Brewery
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Buckeye Lake, OH) Scooter’s 1358th bar, first visited in 2019. This was the first stop of a mini brewery crawl. Having a restaurant attached next door (accessible through the brewery... -
#1357: Mark Twain Brewing Company
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Hannibal, MO) Scooter’s 1357th bar, first visited in 2019. I’ve had their beer several times, but this was my first visit to the brewery. We rolled in late —... -
#1356: Pierpont’s
Posted on August 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Kansas City, MO) Scooter’s 1356th bar, first visited in 2019. I popped in here to meet my wife and a friend of ours at the bar for drinks and... -
#1355: Cumming Tap
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Cumming, IA) Scooter’s 1355th bar, first visited in 2019. Because it’s adjacent to a trailhead for a major bike path (in fact there’s a path blazed from the trailhead directly... -
#1354: Fox Brewing
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Valley Junction, West Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1354th bar, first visited in 2019. Not technically in Valley Junction, but close enough that it’s the best way to describe it. Located... -
#1353: 1717 Brewing Co
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1353rd bar, first visited in 2019. This is a brand new brewery, only open for a few weeks at the time of our visit, directly... -
#1352: Peace Tree Brewing Co. – Des Moines Branch
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1352nd bar, first visited in 2019. There were a crap-ton of cyclists here. And, despite the rainbow banners outside, in one corner was a small... -
#1351: AJ’s on East Court
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1351st bar, first visited in 2019. This is primarily a karaoke bar but we were here way too early for karaoke. So our entertainment was... -
#1350: Up-Down DSM
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1350th bar, first visited in 2019. The original location! Though it had recently expanded and taken over a second level, it was originally just the... -
#1349: Buddy’s Corral
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1349th bar, first visited in 2019. This is a gay bar, but we got here too early in the day. We kind of felt like... -
#1348: Ernie’s Boondock
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1348th bar, first visited in 2019. This is an odd duck in that it is a new-build dive bar. That’s really hard to do, you... -
#1347: Exile Brewing Company
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1347th bar, first visited in 2019. We walked down here from Carl’s, and despite having had breakfast just 2 hours earlier, we were hungry again and... -
#1346: Carl’s Place
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Sherman Hill, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1346th bar, first visited in 2019. After breakfast we had an uber take us to what Yelp calls the best dive bar in all... -
#1345: Royal Mile
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1345th bar, first visited in 2019. This is a fantastic-looking English pub right in the heart of downtown. Along with the great interior, there is... -
#1344: El Bait Shop
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1344th bar, first visited in 2019. We returned after nearly an hour and found the place still way too crowded. Absolutely no way of getting... -
#1343: Shorty’s Somewhat Fancy Bar
Posted on July 2019 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1343rd bar, first visited in 2019. We tried to go to El Bait Shop next but it was wasn’t happening — far too crowded. So...
