Any beer pub that DOES NOT serve crap like Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc automatically gets a one star upgrade, which is why this places gets 5 stars. Â This place is in an odd location in a bit of a run down strip mall right smack dab in the middle of the 347/111 intersection.
If you enjoy craft beers and Long island craft beers, this is the place for you. Â There are 50+ taps of wonderful alcoholic goodness flowing behind the bar. Â I'm impressed that depending on the type of beer you order, you'll get the corresponding glass that the beer is intended for. Â While I'm happy with a pint glass for any beer, this is still a classy move.
Another reviewer gave the advice to bring a DD here, because the beer's alcohol contents are higher...and this is very true.
The only downer is that they do not have any food here, which is odd here in the U.S., but reminded me of going to an Irish pub in Dublin that didn't serve any food either. Â Due to this, the staff stocks menus of nearby places behind the bar and will not scoff if you bring in food with you. Â Nice touch.
Absolutely love this place. Â The owner is a young guy and definitely caters to a younger crowd who enjoy great beer. Â They actually have a sign requesting people not order Budweiser/Bud Light/etc since they have rotating 52 beers on tap. Â Great place to try something new with a really fun atmosphere. Â They have pool, darts, video games in the back, and often live music to make the experience that much more enjoyable. Â The only negative I could say about the place is it is somewhat narrow so it does feel crowded easily, but the positives definitely outweigh this small setback. Â Check it out, you won't be disappointed!
Review Source:This place is AWESOME! I really enjoyed myself. The owners are super young and knowledgeable about all their crafts. I sit there and listen to everything they have to say. I especially like when they give you a taste of different beers. SOO GOOD. No food, but there's some eating in the complex and they let you bring food in which is nice. Darts are like super serious here, and I love playing!
Review Source:If this bar were closer to home, I would develop a serious drinking problem. Â Tap and Barrel is a really cool bar with a large selection of tap beer...as the name implies. Â They do not cater to the bud light drinkers of the world, which is something I really appreciate. Â No food, but there is a decent pizza place and a 24 hour bagel place in the shopping center, and they will let you bring food in. Â For entertainment, they have pool tables and dart boards. Â But my personal favorite is the mrs. pacman and GALAGA (!!) table. Â So, I park myself at the Galaga station and relive my childhood while sipping on delicious craft beer. Â
Small piece of advice. Â Tap and Barrel tends to serve higher alcohol beer and they are located at the 347/111 junction. Â Bring a DD!
Tap has the best beer selection on Long Island, hands down. You won't find  PBR or Coors Light here, but rather, an ever changing list of seasonals to rarities. Plus, they have pac man and darts.
Sure, the place is small. But who really cares? When the beer list is this good, space shouldn't really matter. Also, they don't serve food YET, but there is a pizza and bagel place in the shopping center.
Come here for all your craft beer needs. And remember to bring a growler.
Went in on a Tuesday at about 5pm after work. They have over 100 micro beers available, with at least 50+ of them on tap. The bartender was friendly and allowed me and my guests to sample as many beers as we requested. They also sell growlers that you can take home with any beer of your choice. They currently have no food, but the bartender told us the kitchen is supposed to be up and running in a little over a month. The ambiance is dark lighting with music at a suitable level that you can still converse with those around you. The beer prices are higher than normal, but that's because you are drinking micro brews! They do not sell traditional beer like Bud, Bud Light, Miller, Heineken, etc. Instead, they offer recommendations based on what regular beers you drink. They run specials at night with $2 PBRs after midnight and remain open until 4 am. Since there is no food there, the bartender encouraged us to go to the pizza place next door and bring the food back to the bar if we really wanted. Pool table in the back along with a dartboard. Decent size building, long and narrow. Also have Jazz band play once every week.
Review Source:It's a work and progress from the looks of it, but with as many taps as they have and the selection of canned and bottled beers they offer, Tap & Barrel is off to a good start.
The beer selection is tough to rival, and the bar tenders are knowledgeable and always willing to offer a few suggestions if you can't decide. Nice little bonus; if you discover a new brew you love you can always walk out with a growler which is pretty cool.
As far as eats, there are none, yet anyway. Â When I stopped in they were working on getting a kitchen installed, so you'll have to check back in the future.
I've driven past tap and barrel more times than I can count. I always assumed it was a dive, being that it was located in an unassuming long island strip mall with fluorescent beer lights and dark curtains upfront. I ended up being coerced into going here by a friend and found myself returning plenty of times. Since I'm in a listy type of mood, I give you the top five reasons to check out tap and barrel. Behold:
5) The big lebowski playing constantly on one of the TVs.
"What do you do for recreation? The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback."
4) Working pacman/galaga arcade table:
Taking it back to the early 90's. Bye,Bye quarters, hello nostalgia!
3) Complete lack of long island douchebags:
Sure, you'll get the flannel wearing, thick rimmed glasses types here.*cough* hipsers....Perhaps even a few dudes with slicked back hair and epic mustaches. Okay, sure..why not. I'd much rather hang around that crowd then a bunch of loud, bud-light drinking primates that you find in every other LI bar.
2) ....and then suddenly, a stripper pole! What? When inebriated chicks decide to climb on the pole and swing around it like an orangutan a conveniently placed strobe light comes on. Nice touch, tap and barrel. Keepin' it classy.
1) Selection, selection and more selection!!
I wouldn't define myself as a beer person, per se. I stick my nose up at anything that isn't a quirky craft brew... and even then I might not like it. Despite this, tap and barrel seriously delivers. Cider? Yep, angry orchid. Blueberry beer? Check. Pumpkin beer? Multiple types. Strawberry beer? Hell, yes! They'll even make you a "strawberry shortcake" beer with fruli strawberry and another beer that tastes very pilsnery. Did I mention they have over 50 beers on tap? You're bound to find something to fawn over here. Come, drink and be merry.
Beer!
So we're out and about and the texts are going - seems a bunch of the girls are out in the area and we head over to Tap & Barrel to meet up for some drinks. Â
The place is nothing special from the outside- in fact, I'd go as far as to call it grubby or dive bar-ish looking from the outside. Â That should not deter you at all from going in though as the place is a solid bar full of happy people toasting life. Â
They have a nice long bar and very good bartenders- the beer selection is good and there was enough variety to satisfy any of your beer drinking friends. Â Prices were decent and there was a lot of activity in the place as well as some live jazz trio stationed up front near the door.
Pool table in the rear and decently clean bathrooms make the place a good destination.
Not sure if they have food- we didn't check but for a place to drink beers, this is the spot. Â Hard to spot from the road - and on a goofy intersection so be careful driving in or out.
Parking all around.
Awesome. Love this place. The beer selection is phenomenal and the bartenders will hook you up with great suggestions. No food but 24 hour bagel is always open across the way.
Aside from that, it's great atmosphere and good live music. Sometimes it gets a little loud, but I'll bite the bullet on that one. They also have a pool table.
Long Island needed this place. Over 50 craft brews on tap? I'm in heaven.
The bartenders know their stuff, too, and are happy to let you try different beers if you feel like an adventure.
They have good live music, too. Can get loud and crowded on weekend nights, sometimes there's a cover. Nice crowd though, mostly twenty-somethings.
Three Words for anyone who enjoys an attitude free craft beer experience - go here now!. Any bugs that they may have had in getting this place up and running when they started up are waaay gone, This place is firing on all cylinders (& taps - ha!). Awesome steampunk tap system which in itself is a work of art. I was a bit hesitant going in knowing they had no kitchen, but with a pizza place and a 24 hour bagel store in the same strip mall, it's no hassle at all, you can bring in food.
Tony and his staff are extremely versed in the beers they are pouring, if you have an open mind, but limited experience, they will help find you something to get you on the road to better beer. Also gotta love cool live music with no cover. Very, very well executed beer bar. Any place with 4 beers on Nitro, including the excellent Old Rasputin is doing it right. Word is that they will be adding additional nitros which will only make this place that much more of a destination. Only question is when will they add a firkin night?
Cheers! We'll be back, very soon.
Tap and Barrel s'aight. It's a good fall back place for a decent selection of microbrews for this area. Definitely not my first choice for a night out involving beer drinking with friends though.  T n B is situated in a small run downed lot off the side of 347 in Hauppauge. Growing up around this area, I have seen the site of T n B change hands sooo many times with each place seemingly seedier than the next.   T n B has cleaned up the décor a bit, but it still retains that tiny dive bar quality.
As for the beer? Yeah, definitely a decent selection of micros from across the country to choose from. They do have a beautiful looking 52 tab dispenser which serves as the centerpiece for the bar, however there are not always that many beers as I have experienced from last few visits. They were out of several of the beers they offer on tap. They also have a very good selection of domestic and foreign bottled beers as well...although a bit pricey for this place. In general I find Tap n Barrel's micro drafts to be overpriced by 1-2 bucks and under poured by 2oz. as compared to other brew houses around like Croxley's or T.J. Finley's.
Service has been pretty ok. It ranges from knowledgeable and helpful to out to lunch and shit faced...which I actually prefer the latter as, in my experience, has been the only time I got a buy back here! Keep drinking bros! Â There is no food served here although there is a pizzeria and a 24 hour bagel shop right next door which they are pretty cool about letting you bring in it the bar to eat.
Tap and Barrel is not a bad place to come have a few beers once in while and offers up a decent selection for the area. Definitely check it out and make you own decision, however there are so much better brew houses around than to head here first. Â Although," the shelf" is not bad to look at - and is better than anything else offered!
I don't even care for beer and I really enjoyed this bar. Â It is a lot nicer on the inside then you would expect driving by. Â
They have a huge beer selection and even if you don't like beer like me (sorry) the bartenders are nice enough to give you samples till you find something that you might eventually grow to like or at least not hate.
Never been here when it was too crowded, always seems to have a nice flow of people.
There's really nothing more I can say about Tap and Barrel that wasn't already covered in the review by Jeremy - he has it spot on. I can make an allusion to Indigo Mantoya..."Lemme 'splain...No, there is too much...Lemme sum up":
Tap and Barrel is to beer what a bodega is to wine. The selection is top notch. The bartenders are pretty knowledgeable, but some could use a bit more education to reach the level congruent to that of a wine sommelier.
Prices vary, sometimes you may be disappointed with your serving size. Overall, an excellent experience. The live music is fantastic, but on nights without live music, don't trust the internet jukebox will have the variety you would hope for. The more eclectic artists cannot be found.
This place is cool, and definitely worth checking out. They have a huge selection of craft and micro brews. The place is small, and can get packed out on the weekends. During the week it's a little more low key, depending on if band is playing. I have gotten free beer and swag from this place...legit!
Review Source:My type of place for sure. Low key relaxed atmosphere with knowledgeable bar tenders and a huge selection of beer. The only thing I would like to see is some lights on that sign, very hard to find this place when its your first time (not unlike some other things in life). Â
I'm really hoping they add some bar food, I would love to see them do a few unique dishes really well. I don't expect a 40 item menu just something salty to go with that beer.
Overall a great local place that I am happy to support.
So usually I stop in at Tap and Barrel in mid afternoon on the weekend for a quick pint...an oasis of good brews ...
Tonight stopped by and was caught by surprise by the happening scene of mostly 20 somethings. Live music and a great deal on Anderson Valley IPA. The music and the brew are quite tasty. Guess I'll be stopping by more often.
This is the kind of bar that every town should have but alas, it's better left a secret.
I came here on Halloween night with fellow Elite Yelper Gaurav P. and had a rockin' time. Our bartendress Callie was patient and helpful in explaining the different types of beers (and we got our fair share of samples!). I had an amazing pumpkin ale and Lord knows what else-- I definitely left the place buzzing. Most every beer is between $5-6.
The service was awesome (thanks to Callie), the beers were terrific, and the bathroom was delightfully spacious and clean. I fell in love with Tap and Barrel, and I plan on coming back again and again.
Yes folks, I'm actually giving a BEER place FIVE stars. Count it, FIVE. If you know ANYTHING about me, you'll know that "I hate beer!" And that's EXACTLY the first thing I said when I sat down at the bar with a buddy 3 Mondays ago and met the bartender Jen (She's fantastic btw, make SURE you go when she's there). She then proceeded to say, "I LOVE customers like you!" After that she said, "Are you ready?" I said, "YUP!" She pulled out 14 glasses and had me try 14 different beers and I actually found a few that I like! Not to mention that FRULI Strawberry Beer is now my favorite because of her!!! AND it's served in a CHAMPAGNE GLASS!!!! YES!
You've probably already learned that they have 52 beers on tap, dozens of others by the bottle and they feature everything from light jazz to ambient music in the background making it atypical from your usual Longuyland Irish Pub. Apparently, it used to be an adult oriented establishment prior and this is seen by their stripper pole in the center of the room, off to the left. :)
They will be featuring a full service kitchen which will open around the New Years 2012 time frame...That's the only thing this place is missing! Can't wait!!!
You guys fucking rock - this is NOW my go to spot for BEER and I can now proudly say, 31 years later, that I enjoy beer! (Just a few types though...). Thanks to Jen and the Tap and Barrel for opening my eyes to some cool stuff!!!
Callie is fantastic (one of the bartenders) and so is Tony who oversees operations...just a bunch of amazing people!
FYI - If you're heading west on 347, it's just before the Hess gas station, in the same shopping strip as Hauppauge 24hour Bagels & Dunkin Donuts; it's actually located next door to Dunkin Donuts.
THIS has been a review by Gaurav
If I want to go somewhere and have a beer that I have never had the opportunity to drink before, I know that Tap and Barrel will allow me to do this. Everybody knows by now...52 taps. Well in all honesty, it's more like high 40 something taps, it always seems like they're out of something and haven't switched over yet. But I digress.
I remember reading about Tap and Barrel and following the underground swell before its opening. I tried to get there as close to the opening as I could and I was not disappointed. It was just what I wanted. A non-discrete watering hole where I could drink craft beer in peace. Hell it's in the same strip mall as Pub 347, two different markets, two different bars. A win win. I went several times between April and May and I noticed the vibe slowly beginning to change. I can't knock a business for wanting to make money, but it went from my quiet hole-in-the-wall house of drinking to a place that had live bands every weekend and charged a cover to get in.
Usually places that charge covers attract a clientele that isn't me. So I backed off for a bit. If they wanted bands and music and covers and events so be it. It doesn't change the beer selection, the people, the vibe or the bar stools. Just when you may have to go to sit and drink in silence.
While killing some time this past weekend I decided to stop by and have a drink. It was 4pm on a Saturday and I was the only patron there. Jackpot. The beers on tap allowed me to cross a couple more off my bucket list (which is just about ever beer I've never tasted). And instead of thinking of how I'm going to find another Tap and Barrel, I realized if I'm that concerned about covers and music...day drinking. The beers taste the same when the sun's out as they do at night.
As for people commenting on the perceived knowledge of the bartenders. I don't get it.
In my opinion if you take offense as to the inability of the bartenders to expound at length what hops and malts are in a beer, where the brewery is, the IBUs, specific gravity, ABV, characteristics of the style and 47 other pieces of beer geek info...chances are you already know the answer. And if you want them to wax poetic about lagers vs. ales, you most likely already have some idea (probably your own bucket list) what your drinking and don't need much help. If somebody doesn't know what they want to drink, hearing that it has Chinook, Cascade and Saaz Hops with Crystal and 2-Row malts isn't going to help.
"I may not know (insert any noun in the world here), but I know what I like"
They seem to be very friendly and accommodating when it comes to trying a beer or three before making a decision...which is a lot more helpful in deciding what you like than learning its made with Rye harvested on the 22nd of September in fields that receive 26.2" of rain per year, which lends a peppery sharpness and notes of caraway and anise....
If you want a beer you've never had before...Go to Tap and Barrel.
Tap and Barrel has the potential to be a really great bar, but it bears a few crucial and unfortunate flaws. Â One first walks into the bar and observes the truly admirable list of beer, it is like a beer geek's mecca. Â The first disappointment is the general lack of knowledge from the bartenders; ideally, and especially in a bar such as this, one that touts itself as a "micropub," a bartender should be a beer geek. Â In fact, he should be geekier than your average beer geek. Â If a customer inquires about, say, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, the response should not be simply "It's good, you'll like it". Â I'd be impressed if the bartender were willing to pontificate so eloquently as to utter "it's a big beer that drinks like a super hoppy barleywine when it's fresh, but because the recipe uses so much malt to bump the gravity up to balance the bitterness from hopping continuously for a full two hour boil, the hop aroma and flavor recedes very rapidly as the beer ages; you don't really ever get the full hop effect unless you drink it at the brewery in Delaware." Â No, I don't expect that much of a diatribe, but the description should tend more toward that extreme rather than a vague summary of the beer's subjective quality, Â
The next disappointment is the failure to pour a beer properly, as Angel mentioned. Â I expect a full glass of beer, but give me some foam, dammit. Â I shouldn't feel the need to agitate a freshly poured glass to take in the aroma.
The owner should seriously consider recruiting better staff and lowering the volume of the music.
I really, really, really want to love this place, but after visiting the Tap and Barrel a few times, I gotta say that there are a couple of issues that have kept me away. I know all of the reviews posted for this place so far are glowing, but there are definitely some problems that the owner needs to address. When I first heard the concept for Tap and Barrel, 52 taps of craft brews, I was really excited. There's no place on LI that I know of that has an extensive selection of craft brews like this. However, the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
My biggest issue is that about half of the bartenders that I've come in contact here cannot properly pour a beer. I could not believe that a place that carries an extensive selection of craft beer employed bartenders that did not have this basic skill. On top of this, since most of the brews are craft beers, you are paying a premium, so it hurts a bit more not to get a full pint or goblet. Besides the pouring issue, some of the bartenders are just slow and not very attentive. To be fair, no one has ever been outright rude, it just seems like they are not very experienced. And as I mentioned, half of the bartenders cannot pour a beer, so the other half actually knew how to pour a beer and were attentive. However, I always feel like I'm playing Russian roulette when I order a beer.
The other issue I have with this place is the atmosphere. The space itself isn't bad and the customers tend to be a good crowd. My major gripe with the atmosphere is the volume levels of the music and live bands. I realize that music taste tends to be subjective, so I don't expect the music to be to my taste. However, it would be nice if the music wasn't played at deafening levels. If I go to a bar with friends, I want to be able to talk to them without having to shout into their ear. Same goes for the bands, since the space fairly small, the bands tend to sound really loud to the point that even shouting into someone's ear is useless. So when a band shows up, that tends to be my cue to leave.
Anyway, I'm sure that I'll be going back here eventually, hopefully these issues will be addressed by then.
This place probably has the best beer selection I've seen in this area. Fifty two beers on tap? I'm game. Long Island seems to be a void of good beer selection, but this place may redeem the area.
The only downside is they don't serve food. There's a twenty-four hour bagel place and a pizza joint in the same plaza which suffice for some stomach filling food so you can maximize your beer enjoyment.
I know many people, including myself, try to shy away from bars in strip malls. I find them usually small, townsy and full of old divorcees. I couldn't be more wrong about this place. Brick walls, cool lights and full of 20 year olds. They gave out paper menus (should at least be laminated) to show their enlarged selection of beers on tap and basically half of them were pumpkin ales. Sugar on the top rim made all three different pumpkin spices I had tasted great. Â i didnt see a beer less than $6, but these beers are rare and you can taste anyone you like to find that perfect brew.
It was a speak easy night (1920's atmosphere) and was done wonderfully. People had fedoras and arm bands on, live jazz music and also an unexpected show where a person got hit in the head with a bottle. Someone who puts that much effort in a themed night and into the ambiance of their bar, deserves a five star. My experience reminded me of the movie 'midnight in Paris' where you can easily forget what the present time is. As I understand they have many bands playing so you can check out the schedule on facebook.
Tap & Barrel was the choice for the birthday venue of the lovely miss Nicole C. and it was a blast. The crowd was a pleasure, the drinks were delicious, and the atmosphere was ultra comfortable. The 5-star description says it perfect, This is as good as it gets.
* The beer selection is impressive to say the least and I was somewhat intimidated. It really is a marvel how the beer tower is set up and it's a thing of beauty everyone with an interest in gastronomy should check out. It would be a pleasure to go down the line  of 52 beers over the course of the summer, which is one of my many aspirations.
* The crowd is really awesome. When you read in other reviews how the people who come are pleasant to be around, it's true. I felt very comfortable the whole night and everyone seemed to be meshing well and enjoying each others company. It was a retreat away from the typical bar scene.
* The staff seemed really sweet and were ready to join in on the good time without thinking twice which is always a good sign, if they are having fun, we are having fun.
* The music was live as promised and although I forgot all the songs that were played I do remember that they are the songs that should be played, great/fun choices. More importantly the volume wasn't at an annoyingly loud level (overpowering bar/club music vexes me).
Tap & Barrel lives up to the hype and delivers on all cylinders, I have yet to even scratch the surface of this place and look forward to trying the food and trying more of the ridiculous beer selection. Bravo
The 52 (yep 5-2) tap system is a copper & brass masterpiece (I'd also consider it a small engineering marvel) which serves as a frame for the real art here: fifty freakin' two craft brews.
I'm only knocking off a half star for the lack of on-site food (although free pizza arrived for trivia night, so I'm probably being a spoiled jerk) and the sometimes unsatisfactory pours (I want a decent head on my beer, but at $7/8 for some 12oz's I don't really like seeing 1/3 is head).. I have absolute confidence these little wrinkles will be ironed out.
There's a "dancer" pole but since it seems like most of the girls here have been brought there by their boyfriends, so I don't hold much hope for an impromptu show (*tear*). That said, the crowd here is friendly and douchebag free (a rarity for the LI area in general).
Live music (jazz, reggae, hippy jammies), trivia night, internet juke-box, old school T2 shooter game(!), and amazing brew selection? Â Sign me up.
What a relief to know that a great bar like this actually exists on long island. The beer selection was fantastic and had a ton of variety from a wide range of breweries. They also didn't carry only "the classics" from each brewery but had a nice mix of seasonals and more. Definitely check out dogfishhead aprihop, an awesome apricot ipa, if you stop by.
The bartender, collin, was also really helpful and knowledgeable about all the beer on tap and will have no problem letting you sample anything you're interested in. Prices were reasonable starting around $5 going up to $11 for some of the higher abv brews. Overall a great experience and highly reccomended to any beer lovers.
Okay. I think it's safe to say that Tap & Barrel is my new favorite bar. Since I'm the First To Review, I will write about it comprehensively.
First, let's get the formalities out of the way:
LOCATION: It's at an easy to get to location right on 347 & 111, and there's ample parking. It's right next to a 24 hour bagel shop, a pizza joint, a Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins, and across the street from Palace Diner. Perfect for all your drunk eats.
ATMOSPHERE: Chill vibe, and it's much bigger than it looks from the outside. The bar is long with plenty of bar stools and tables to the side. It's not a sports bar, but they have 6 TVs showing different games. There's a pool table, juke box, and a Terminator 2: Judgement Day arcade in the back. Oh yeah, let's not forget about the stripper pole in the middle!
Now on to the good stuff: Â
52 BEERS ON TAP!: They just opened not too long ago, and they're still trying to set up their beer tower. They're only at 39 beers right now... wait, did I just say, "only 39 beers?" That number should already blow your mind, and there's more to come! Most pints will cost you $5-$6.
GREAT STAFF: Barkeep/Owner Tony is super friendly and knows his stuff when it comes to brews. He even uses proper glassware! He's enthusiastic about his bar, and makes sure your glass is filled at all times. If you can't decide what you want next, he'll let you try different beers, or he can make great recommendations based on your tastes.
NO DOUCHEBAGS: As I was looking around the bar on Friday night, I noticed there were no typical LI dbags around. -- Was this for real? I asked Tony how the "crowd" is as the night progresses. He knew exactly what I was talking about and said that's exactly why he doesn't serve any Bud, Bud Light, Miller etc. etc. Awesome.
FUTURE BONUSES: They're eventually going to have a menu with all food cooked with beer! We also asked him if he had any idea what the other 13 taps were going to be. He named a few brews, and then you'll never believe what he said-- Young's Double Chocolate Stout!
BOOOOOOM. I'll be here every night, thank you.