What does every college town have, besides a college? Bars. Call them pubs, alehouses or watering holes; these establishments are as big a part of college life as bookstores and dining halls. Even a relatively small college town like Amherst is laden with a wide variety of bars, places that cater to every taste (and thirst) of both the student body and the local community.

With so many places to choose from, how does one know which bar will suit a particular need or mood? That very question prompted this project: a two-part feature on the prominent drinking establishments around the University of Massachusetts. This first section will focus on the major “uptown” bars of North Pleasant Street, while next week’s installment will widen the scope to the various outlying spots.

One distinction does need to be made, however: these are NOT reviews. Each and every bar in town offers something unique and enjoyable, and that is what we have tried to focus on. We are in no way endorsing one establishment over any other, or trying to draw comparisons between bars based on a common criteria. We also acknowledge that not every bar in town is represented here; we have neither the manpower nor the space to do justice to every single business in town with a liquor license. We have tried to cover each of the prominent spots that students frequent.

So without further ado, here is the official Daily Collegian bar survival guide.

Amherst Brewing Company

Bars are all about beer, and nowhere is beer taken more seriously than at the Amherst Brewing Company. Since its opening in 1997, this “full-service brewpub” has offered patrons the freshest handcrafted beers and ales as well as a wide range of premium liquors and a full menu. While the food at the “ABC” gets solid reviews (try the stuffed pork loin) and the small-batch bourbon collection is unparalleled, the operative word in regards to this place is BEER.

“We’ve had so many people come in here and say they don’t even like beer,” said manager O’Brian Tomalin, who has kept watch over the taps more or less since the ABC first opened. “But their experience has been limited to cans of domestic beer. I’ll offer them a Raspberry Brown or something like that, and it opens up something entirely new.”

The ABC’s 10-barrel (310 gallon) setup was pieced together with equipment from literally all around the brewing world. The Roller Mill was previously used to grind corn for feed on a farm in Ashfield. The Mash Tun came from upstate New York, where it was used as a brew kettle by the now-defunct Newman’s Brewery. The fermenters and beer tanks were imported from England and expanded by a stainless steel fabrication company in Canada.

All of this equipment is used to brew nine signature “house beers,” which the ABC serves in conjunction with a variety of seasonal selections. The most popular of the house beers is Honey Pilsner, a golden lager with hints of wildflower honey. The other house beers are North Pleasant Pale Ale, Cascade I.P.A., Massatucky Brown, Righteous Red, Puffer’s Smoked Porter, ESB, Henry Jackson Stout and Raspberry Red.

“With so many different kinds of beers, some new customers don’t know where to start,” Tomalin said. “That’s why we have the sampler. People can try four or six three-ounce samples and figure out which ones they like best.”

Seasonal selections range from Boltwood Bock and Workingman’s Wheat to Half-in-the-Bagpipe, a Scotch ale with a strong malt flavor and a hefty 7.2 percent alcohol by volume (“two beers in one,” according to Tomalin). The brewpub has also recently begun employing cask conditioning with some of its ales, a process by which a keg is substituted for the standard conditioning tank and the ale is allowed to carbonate naturally.

“The cask ale is alive, because it hasn’t been pasteurized,” said Geoff Rogers of Shutesbury, who has been frequenting the brewery since its opening. “It’s not too cold, and it’s not too fizzy.”

Live entertainment is also a fixture at the ABC. The first and third Thursdays of the month bring Karaoke, while the first and third Mondays feature performances by the 17-piece Amherst Jazz Orchestra. Jazz is also offered every Sunday night with no cover. Saturday nights require a cover in exchange for music from some of the area’s better-known bands.

Sometimes the music comes from unlikely sources, too. The Juggler Meadow Morris Men, a performance group that has practiced in Amherst since 1980, uses the ABC as a place to unwind every Tuesday. The members are known to burst into drinking songs and sea shanties even as they are putting back a few pints.

“It’s the only place that won’t throw us out,” said Morris Man Roger Cartwright. “It took a while to train them, but they treat us well.”
That “royal treatment” is perhaps the biggest part of the ABC’s allure, according to Tomalin. The brewery serves all of its beers and drinks in glass right up until closing, and the creative decor (gargoyles, oil paintings and a laminated brass bar surface) give the ABC an overall classy feel.

“We try to provide a true pub experience, of quality over quantity,” Tomalin said. “It’s not too crowded, not one of those ‘wild party crowd’ places. It’s a place where people can just sit and talk; it’s a place for everyone.”
– Adam White
Atlantis

Opened in late April of last year by partners Bam Nguyen, Karl Swanson and Sarah Dorst, Atlantis is literally and stylistically the most modern bar in uptown Amherst. Conscientiously obeying an aquatic motif throughout, the bar offers an interesting alternative to the rest of Amherst’s watering holes.

By day Atlantis is a restaurant of some repute, specializing in vegan and seafood, concocted by resident chef Jerome Boldman. Come 9 or 10 at night however, Atlantis transforms into a nightclub; clearing tables, turning up the music and turning down the lights. Indeed one of Atlantis’s greatest strengths is its large open layout, which facilitates dancing and a real ‘club-like’ atmosphere. The owners/managers have clearly recognized this strength and have carved out a niche within the local scene based on it.

Bam Nguyen seemed particularly proud of the evening schedule, with Drum and Bass on Tuesdays, Soul and Funk on Wednesdays followed by Hip-Hop, House and Hip-Hop again. Nguyen said, “There aren’t that many places to dance in this town, we hope to provide good music that people can enjoy.”

Sunday brunch sees live Jazz in the afternoon. Nguyen also seemed hyped about their newest venture; open mic and decks night on Sunday evening. He hopes to attract talented DJ’s and MC’s from throughout the Valley to show their skills.

Atlantis clearly believes in the power of the DJ. The bar spotlights not only local DJs overseeing events, but also spinners from Boston and New York. Indeed Karl Swanson, a New Yorker, has clearly had a strong effect on the character of the bar, which is conspicuously cosmopolitan.
The eclecticism and diversity of the various nights isn’t lost on the management. On a cold snow-day evening Nguyen said, “Everybody in Amherst has different tastes, we try to cater for all these people.” For those who think that Atlantis might be spreading themselves too thin Nguyen asserts that this heterogeneity of style and crowd is the venue’s biggest plus

“The bar has all these random people coming in – a real mix, which is great.”

Situated behind the back on Antonio’s (surely the Northstar of any Amherst navigation) Atlantis looks fairly innocuous from the outside, with a small one-door entrance below a small one-panel sign. The contrast between the external and internal appearance is marked. The venue, which used to be a Mexican restaurant, was completely gutted and redesigned by the proprietors.

The under water interior design theme is continued in to the drinks cabinet, with blue the prevailing cocktail color (no, none of the beverages contain fish!). Establishment specialties are Aspens, 007s and Blue Cosmos, along with the delicious
sounding Chocolate Martini. The bar is well stocked and caters for pretty much any drinker’s taste.

This categorization does not include the cheap pitcher posse however. Nguyen asserted that, “We don’t do Bud Light here, it’s all good beer!”

Perhaps the strongest indicator as to the type of clientele who frequent Atlantis is that the bar’s most popular drink: Vodka and Redbull.

As draft decisions go, leaving off the drink that many UMass student will consider their primary source of water will appear near sacrilege. For those who doubt the credentials of Atlantis however there is this elucidating snippet of information about the owners: they used to be students at UMass, before dropping out to pursue other interests!
-Tom Frazer
Barsellotti’s

Rob Dullea, one of the Barsellotti bartenders, boasts that having been established in 1933 it is “the oldest place in Amherst, except Hastings.” There are many things that make a good bar: good drinks, a fun atmosphere, a place where everybody knows your name, but one thing can never be replicated or artificially produced: tradition.

Barsies, as the locals call it, makes no pretense about its primary job: inebriating its patrons. The bar is long and sturdy and the blackboard behind it is functional, showing special offers and prizes. The pool table at the rear offers gaming opportunities and acts as a de facto bar to prop oneself up against. The bar wears its age on its sleeve, with the replica of by-gone eras scattered throughout.

Barsies is situated in the heart of uptown Amherst, slap-bang in the middle of ‘Club Sidewalk’ (the stretch of restaurants and bars on North Pleasant Street starting at Barts and ending at Subway). Though situated next door to Judies and part of the same family of enterprises Barsies makes no pretense to gourmet grandeur. Owing however to the idiosyncrasies of Amherst licensing laws (there are no purely bar licenses) it is, in principle, it is possible to get Judies food served in Barsies.

Surely the smallest bar in Amherst, Barsies uses this to its advantage. “Barsies biggest asset is our size,” Duella said. He argued that, “we are a great off-night bar.” Indeed this is borne out in reality, where Barsies is perhaps the primary Uptown venue of choice on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evening. Like all good barmen Dullea had obviously spent a significant amount of time considering the particularities of his workplace. So it was no surprise that he offered this rationalization, “a few people here make it look busy, so if there are ten or fifteen people at the bar, passers-by are attracted in and the place fills up really fast.”

Dullea humorously asserted that, “Small size is a huge benefit!”

Brendan Sullivan and Nick Plouffe said they were in the bar for two reasons, “to drink and to play Golden Tee,” (a golf arcade game that the other six members of the crowd couldn’t be cleaved away from). Both UMass juniors described themselves as regulars, which is justified by their five nights a week turnout.

Other entertainment includes a poker arcade game, and the requisite number of televisions scattered around the room.

According to Sullivan, Tuesday nights are ladies night, offering a range of incentives to the female customer. Sullivan also considers Barsies to be “the best bar to pick up girls.” While these two statements might seem contradictory for some there are many who would consider this sort of attitude the very life-blood of a good bar and a fun night out.

Of all the Amherst bars Barsies is perhaps the only one with a consistently coed bar staff, not solely employing enticing and exotic barmaids to lure irrational male customers. The staff/customer dynamic seemed to be very positive, with Ploufee describing the barmen as “all good boys!” As a litmus test of any bar the affinity held by patrons for the staff is undoubtedly a powerful indicator of general ambient good will.

At an establishment that focuses on drinking the quality of the liquid refreshment is surely fundamental. Barsies offers a range of micro-brews and any liqueur that you could ever realistically want. Ploufee perhaps gave the most favorable assessment of Barsies beverages saying, “The shots must be illegal – whatever you do, don’t come here on your birthday!”
-Tom Frazer

Delano’s

Picture this: you’ve just taken a long, cool sip of Newcastle and you’re lining up a perfect pool shot on the eight ball. Suddenly, your friend remembers that the Red Sox are on television. Without missing a beat, you reach up and flip to the game on a big TV right next to the table. At the next crack of the bat you drain your shot and your friends, playing arcade games behind you, howl in approval.

Either you’re a rich kid with a fantasy living room, or you’re at Delano’s.

Founded in February of 1977 by Chick Delano, this uptown hot spot may be the quintessential college bar. Not only are the customers allowed to control the television in the back room; two more TVs up front are constantly aglow with college and professional sports. Free pizza is also available every Tuesday (the bar served food up until three years ago).

Should you run out of money while hanging out at Delano’s, don’t despair: help is right there for you. The bar offers Keno as well as a vending machine for scratch-off lottery tickets.

So that’s TV, free food and a chance to win money. What else is there? Oh yeah, music.

Music is a staple at Delano’s, whether it’s blasting out of the CD jukebox or pumping out of the speakers of its twice-a-week DJs. Every Thursday and Saturday night, the place is bumping with non-stop beats and a jam-packed late night crowd of almost exclusively college kids.

“No one really comes out until 10:30, but once they do it’s a full house,” said Scott Pascoe, who has tended bar at Delano’s since 1991. “Our crowd is 99.9 percent students.”

The drinks at Delano’s range from the standard draft pitchers (“it’s a Bud Light town,” says Pascoe) to some highly original concoctions. Ask for a Tree Climber (Rumple Minze, Citron, Peachtree and cranberry juice) or an Aspen (Stoli, Captain Morgan’s, Peachtree, Amaretto, OJ and cranberry juice) and you’ll experience the best of Delano’s creations. There are also periodical bottled beer and mixed drink specials to choose from.

Promotions are also a big part of the Delano’s experience, particularly when the weather gets warmer. Last year, the bar hosted a New Balance Weekend in conjunction with Haigis Hoopla that saw giveaways of sneakers, apparel and other gifts.

But overall the college bar experience is about fun, and Pascoe says that Delano’s certainly has no shortage of that.

“I’ve seen lots of crazy stuff go on in here,” Pascoe said. “We had a kid in here last semester who was going to perform on Jackass, doing some of his tricks. And that was on a Tuesday. It’s a lot of fun.”
– Adam White
McMurphy’s Uptown Tavern

When a long-standing tradition Time Out closed its doors three years ago a piece of Amherst tradition seemed to disappear.

Uptown was without a bar amidst the scene for nearly year, but the void was filled when McMurphy’s Uptown Tavern was established. Since it has become a part of the scenery of uptown-Amherst, McMurphy’s has been the hangout of many different crowds.

The name McMurphy’s is a combination of its two owners surnames, Mike MacLaughlin and Tom Murphy – hence McMurphy’s.

McMurphy’s offers an environment conducive to the average drinker or just someone looking to have a good time.

The bar offers live entertainment of both Sundays and Wednesdays. Every Sunday the styling of Ross the singer substitutes the jukebox, while the always-popular Guitar Dudes play to the mid-week crowd. Both acts attract large crowds and have loyal followers among the UMass community.

But on most nights it is not the live entertainment that is in the spotlight, it is the environment that is offered that keeps the students coming. According to Keri Karney, a bartender on Sunday and Tue
sday nights, the newest edition to Uptown fancies itself as “a traditional Irish bar.”

As a traditional Irish bar McMurphy’s does not specialize in cocktails or offer drink specials. Although the bar does make its share of mixed drinks what is flowing most at this place is the beer. At any point in a stay at McMurphy’s one will be able to glimpse around and see someone drinking a Guinness or a pitcher of Budweiser or Bud Light being handed over the counter.

The counter breaks the bar into two halves. It is suffice as to say an upstairs and a downstairs. Upon entering one is in the upstairs part. This is where the bar is and a series of six tables – downstairs are a few arcade games and a couple overflow tables. Very rarely will one find a table unoccupied and more often than not there will a slew of people hovering around trying to maneuver their way into a comfortable spot.

People often search for a comfortable spot because people are shoulder-to-shoulder on most nights. This just goes to show how popular that McMurphy’s has become in only a few years of existence.

McMurphy’s is place to go if one wants to just hang out. It is especially popular on nights in which there is a UMass game, either on television or after one is over on campus.

“We’re very proud of our UMass connections and roots,” Karney said.

It is evident upon entering that game nights would be a popular time for McMurphy’s as the walls are covered in sports memorabilia, mostly old UMass jerseys that have been framed. This creates an environment in which athletes feel comfortable and therefore most athletes frequent the bar.

McMurphy’s does not serve food or have a dress code, something that most people who enjoy nightlife are not looking for. It is a place to where a beer drinker would love to go and those looking to have a good time would enjoy as well.

McMurphy’s had big shoes to fill in the aftermath of the Time Out closing, but it has done a very nice job in recreating a culture in which most would appreciate.
-Bryan Smith

The Monkey Bar

A year and a half ago, a new and fresh bar emerged in the small town of Amherst, MA that challenged the club like scene of the Pub, but offered a more adult atmosphere; you had to be 21 to get in.

The Monkey Bar offers up appetizers, lunch and dinner during the mellow dramatic hours of the day and entertainment and music at night.

The Monkey Bar is made up of an arrangement of elements that make it one of Amherst’s most up beat bars in town, one that many relate to as a club.

It has been recognized for many different aspects, from the drinks it serves, to the music it plays. The crowds that the Monkey Bar attracts and draws in have been related to that of a frat party, and the dress code is generally enforced by common knowledge.

The Monkey Bar is one of few bars in Amherst that does however have a cover charge of two dollars, unless the night calls for a difference.

“We hold different events every night, and it generally depends on the D.J. that we have,” manager Matt Filmore said.

Many students expressed the fact that they enjoyed that the Monkey Bar was more like a club than a normal sit down bar.

The bar itself offers a wide variety of beverages, ranging from beer to mixed drinks to shots of whatever suits your fancy. Like all bars in Amherst it is open till 1 a.m., and is know for having a line to get in.

The staff and service is pleasurable, and is quick when it comes to service, even on the most crowded of nights.

To ensure safety of those who do attend the bar, it is one of the few bars in town to have bouncers at the door to ensure maximum security. They are recognizable because they are always dressed in black and mainly spend their time controlling the crowds.

Dancing and overall good times can be found at the Monkey Bar, whether it be for dinner or night life, it offers the best of both worlds.

-Kristen Shrewsbury