2 Minnesota Bars on National ‘Best Bars for Beer’ List

If you love beer, you don't have to drive too far to visit two of the Best Beer Bars in the country, because two Minnesota bars have again made the list of the Top 100 Bars for Beer.

Draft Magazine, which just published its 2016 list of the Best Beer Bars, has once again singled out both The Happy Gnome in St. Paul and Republic in Minneapolis-- both within a little over an hour's drive from Rochester. And, this isn't the first time they've both made the list, either; both have made the cut since 2013.

So just how did Draft decide to include these two Minnesota bars? It's subjective, of course, but the survey said they looked for "Bars with a purpose, ones that have a reason for serving what they do and with a well-trained staff that can tell you all about what you're enjoying in your glass."

It goes without saying, of course, that each bar on the list has a massive selection of beers on tap-- including both Minnesota bars. In singling out St. Paul's Happy Gnome, the magazine said it featured an "'extensive, while still thoughtful,' draft list that’s divided into broad categories of beer styles, noting there are 89 draft lines to choose from representing a mix of local and national breweries," the publication noted.

Republic, in Minneapolis, was cited for having "100 taps featuring the latest national breweries to hit the area, as well as the best beers in the local market," the survey said.

I've been to the The Happy Gnome several times and was, indeed, wowed by their massive beer selection-- so much so that it was sometimes tough to choose which beer I wanted to try.

Closer to home, though, I've gotta give a shout-out to the The Tap House, on Historic Third Street in Rochester. While I'm not sure off-hand just how many beer varieties they have on-tap (it's a lot!), I think they have a really good selection, no matter what kind of beer you're looking for. And, their food's pretty good, too. So, how do we go about nominating them for the list?