BEST BEER SELECTION

Brewhaus

617 E. Washington St., 525-6399 It is 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday and we are thirsty. A poster of Farah Fawcett, same one that shocked our parents back in junior high school, provides a welcoming smile as we head past the Ms. Pac Man machine and toward the bar, an honest wooden bar that looks like it’s been here since the first Roosevelt was in office. The place is gloriously lacking in flat-screen televisions. Only cathode ray tube devices here at this old-school place that is celebrating its 18th year as a downtown stalwart. A Social Distortion song from two decades back sets the mood: “Take away, take away, take away this ball and chain.” Indeed. But now what? The beer list is boggling, more than 100 choices ranging from Rogue Dead Guy to Ska Modus Hoperandi to Abita Purple Haze to Stone Arrogant Bastard, like so many comic-book characters. We settle on 400 Pound Monkey, an India pale ale from a Colorado brewery. With so many beers in stock, it understandably takes the barkeep a minute or two before he plucks our selection from a treasure chest disguised as a cooler behind the bar. The brew, not as hoppy as your garden-variety IPA, is a bit lighter than expected and absolutely perfect for an Indian summer afternoon. We have found heaven. Tomorrow, who knows? Perhaps some Werewolf, or Moose Drool or even a Scape Goat. There is always plenty to choose from at Brewhaus, and that is why Springfield loves this place. Runner-up: Obed and Isaac’s