Graney's Stout

Stout is one of those bars that when I first saw it, I assumed it was part of the chain of the same name that is located in NYC.  That alone was reason enough not to go into the bar every time I visited Albany (especially when the beer garden is across the street).  On my most recent visit to Albany a group of my friends and I were enjoying a liter or two of beer and we noticed Stout was blasting some great tunes.  Once we hit the right level of intoxication we made our way over.  We found out that our previous beliefs were completely wrong.  It was in no way affiliated with the chain in NYC and the bar was pretty awesome.  It's a great environment for the people that like to dance but not want to deal with the frat kids down on Pearl Street.  Plus Sarah M. is one of the best bartenders ever.

This bar has everything it needs to be a great happy hour destination, but the music is SO LOUD that you can't have a normal conversation with people standing right next to you.  I would go here a lot, but the huge speakers they have hanging over every seat in the bar make it annoying to stay for more than one beer - so annoying I can't even give it three or four stars it otherwise deserves.  This seems easy to fix...

The staff and the menu are perfectly fine.  Seems pretty shady to be cash only in this day and age, but I guess that's the IRS's problem.

Pro: 1. The waitresses are very attractive.  2. Beer is reasonably priced.  3. The food is reasonably good.

Con: 1. The music is EXTREMELY LOUD - even during happy hour on slow days.  Even when the bar is empty, the music is so loud you cannot have a conversation with your friends.  The unreasonably loud music keeps me from frequenting Stout.  No need to turn off the music - but there is no need to turn the volume up to 11.

2. They do not take credit cards for some reason.  This is ridiculous in 2013... everybody takes credit cards, except Stout, Beer Garden and English Pub - all on Broadway.  The only reasons I can imagine for this are - they are too cheap to spring for credit card fees (which shifts the cost to customers who need to use the conveniently-placed ATM) or because they want to hide their income from the IRS (which is fraud).  Either way, this is an easily fixable problem that Stout refuses to fix.

3. The location is not great - not a particularly nice or safe part of town.  The parking lot is terrible.

In summary - if they turned down the music, accepted credit cards and paved the parking lot, this would be a reasonable place to have a beer.  Until then there are plenty of other options.