Moan and Dove

I am partial to the location for I am related to the previous owner when it was the Olde Amherst ale house. The beer selection and list was great, the staff is knowledgable and just a nice quiet place to have a few.

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I liked the Moan and Dove. It’s small, cosy and quite basic - made more so as we were there during a power outage and it was lit only by candles. The selection of draught beers was impressive, as was the bottle list. (Visited 29 October 2012).

I did deliberate as to write this review (or non review as it happens) but decided to in the event that anyone else from England decided to pop by without a passport !!! We called by on a Saturday night around 8pm and the place was deserted (hence my low ambiance rating). I went to the bar to order with my friend and was ID’d. For the first time ever on a trip to the states I didnt have my passport on me (ok - my mistake I realise ... ), but did have my UK picture driving licence which clearly displays my date of birth. Now lets put things in perspective, I’m in my mid 30’s and look mid 30’s! The girl behind the bar refused to accept my UK pitcure driving licence as valid ID (It’s a plastic card with hologram etc and actually looks a lot more secure and un-fakable than my friends MASS state driving licence which a budding teenage fraudster could master) I asked her straight out, do i not look 30+? yes she replied you do, but its company policy to ask everyone for ID. Ok - I get that ’jobsworth hat etc’, however I had visited the sister pub, the Dirty Truth the previous evening and was NOT asked for ID !!! No surprise there were only 3 or 4 other people in there !!! Wasted 20 minutes of our time seeking this bar out and headed straight back to the people’s pint!

This is place with a long history and was when I first started checking beeradvocate was the #1 place on their list. The owner that made it into a beer place then went on to Lord Hobo in Cambridge (RIP the B Sides) and Alewife Queens. This is a classic American beer bar. It looks and smells it. The tap list is solid as is the bottle list. Neither are mind blowing but they dont’ need to be for this place to be well worth a visit. Prices are a little high.

Great spot! Was able to bring my dog in and eat peanuts and drink fantastic beer all afternoon long. The selection is very thoughtful and has some nice gems on the list, even if they are expensive. I was perfectly happy hitting the Victory Braumeister Pils and the Maine Beer Mo. Good glassware, good bartender, good crowd. Just the right kind of list selection. This place does a good job to craft beer.

Has sort of a Greenwich Village dive bar feel with its concrete floor, worn wooden furniture, and blood red walls decorated by photos of the interiors of refrigerators. It’s a small space so it gets loud very quickly. They have 20+ taps of local and national craft with a couple of Belgian and German selections. The extensive bottle list includes a number of Belgians including Fantome and 5 Cantillons at big bucks. The prices are reasonable and there’s plenty of parking next door. I’d say it’s a great local and an OK destination.

This place is the balls! I learned so much here about great beer while i was at Umass. Now I live in Worcester and thankfully have Armsby and The Dive. The Moan is an institution. Great beer selection, bartenders and peanuts!.