Cask Republic

No Longer In Business

Right in downtown New Haven, this is an excellent stop. Not really specializing in casks (which is fine by me), they boast a solid tap selection (just over 20). Flights of 4 available for $12, rather steep. Service a bit slow, but somewhat friendly. Worth a visit if in New Haven.

Quick visit on Sunday, not much other customers. Had 2 flights which were pretty expensive. Pretty solid beer list. Definitely worth of visiting but don't wxpect anything cheap. Around 40 taps and lots of interesting bottles too.

One of my favourite beer bars in New Haven - interesting selection and solid range of unusual beers on tap.

---Rated via Beer Buddy for Android

A very nice place which ticked all the boxes for me. It’s stylish, comfortable and relaxed with a great beer list. In addition, the music was played at a low level and there were only two relatively unobtrusive television screens. There are areas at either side of the front door with comfy looking armchairs and settees and towards the back there’s an area for dining. There’s also a small glass fronted room which at first I thought was a shop but it’s actually where they keep their kegs and bottles, all very neatly stored and on display. It’s my kind of place and deservedly at the top of Ratebeer’s list of places in New Haven. (Visited 30 October 2012).

Stopped here during my Nepenthia CT trip. The place is located in downtown New Haven, a really beautiful city (moreso than expected). The inside of the bar is pretty nice too, kind of an english-pub feel. Place was mostly empty at 2pm on a Saturday. The high-tables in the center were a bit crowded for our group of 12, so I moved over to the bar. Yes the place has a decent selection of locals, as well as a solid selection of 12 Percent imports. Of the 53 or so beers on tap (a few were empty), I found 12 beers new for me, so I ordered 3 flights of 4. The flights are individually priced, but my total for the 3 flights was $48 -- that’s $4 a 4oz. Needless to say, I was shocked by the price. I mentioned my surprise casually to the bartender, curious for his response. He gave me the usual schpiel about how kegs can be really expensive. He mentioned one keg they recently tapped they served for $12 a pour and still lost money on it. Yeah, bull shit (it’d have to be a $700+ 20 L -- unheard of). Food was surprisngly expensive too. I opted for one of the cheaper items on the menu, the $7 chili bowl, which was decent but not special. Bit too chunky. Can’t complain about the service, waitresses and bartenders were both helpful. Overall, this is a good place to stop to find some new beers, but be wary of the prices -- especially for the flights. The bill left me with a bad taste. I’m going to start to pay more attention to the "value" score more when I choose the bars I want to visit. If I ever return to New Haven and can only visit one bar, I’ll give Prime 16 a try.

Great place. Wnted to stay longer. My bartender was supremely friendly and knowledgeable. Great selection. Area beers were interesting and well priced. Theynhad lots of interesting Belgians as well, though they were quitr pricy and could not tempt me. Would definitely go back, again during happy hour, as it seems to be a madhouse at later times.

Visited June 1, 2014.

This wasn’t a planned stop but it is on the same street as BruRm so why not? It’s a pretty interesting setup in the sense that it’s a lounge. There are couches and they had the doors open in front so you can sit on a couch that’s basically out on the sidewalk and enjoy your drink. They’ve also got a pretty large tap list. After scanning through it there were several new beers to try but the one that I went with was the new eisbock from BFM. It’s not every day that I get to try a new eisbock. Unfortunately it was not very good. It was vinegary and clearly messed up. Oh well, a tick is a tick. Prices were high but the atmosphere was pleasant. I didn’t see too many of the bros referenced in the last rating but it was a Sunday afternoon so maybe that had something to do with it. Cool place.

Where New Haven’s bros go to get their preppy on. OK, that’s not quite fair. This is where New Haven’s preppies go to let their bro sides go wild. Whichever, it’s a kind of cheesy, wood-paneled paean to yesteryear, with about 30+ beers on tap (60? ha!), evenly split between varieties. Nothing unusual or rare, just usuals from around the US and Europe, with a commendable selection of NY and New England beers. Not cheap. Meh food. Music so loud that you couldn’t hear the clientele discussing the new new shades of pink available at Vineyard Vines. Glad it’s here, but not eager to return.

October 10, 2012. To be fair, I was in a bad mood the last time I was here and let the douchey clientel bother me. I keep coming back, though, because the draft selection is nice and the bartenders have been attentive and friendly. Once you get past the crowd, you find a thoughtfully selected list and a cozy back of the bar that has a beer cellar feel to it, with some fun things on shelves behind glass. The big set back are the prices. It’s not hard to find a 12oz pour of something that will set you back more than $10.

September 5, 2012. Feeling kind of crappy about New Haven, the general atmosphere of this place didn’t help. Old, wood-paneled, and crawling with starched white corporate suits stuffing overcooked pizza, sliders, and wings into their face as fast as they could, chasing it down with whatever had a lot of alcohol and was expensive. A little too much for the "gentry" in my opinion. The one shining star was the bartender who was friendly, bright eyed, and quick. The beer was in a decent glass and at the right temperature. Prices were high.

Very fun and unique place. Diamond in the rough beers available!