It is a sad day on the Seacoast, my friends. The Barley Pub in Dover, NH is closing. This is yet another body blow to the Dover craft beer scene, after beloved bottle shop Smiley's Discount Beverage closed last February. In both cases, there was and is some mystery and possible subterfuge surrounding the closures. In the case of The Barley Pub, on the night before the announcement, the pub's Facebook announced they would be closed for the night due to a sudden kitchen disaster. The next day, they apologized for the "spin" and blamed their closure on the economy and their recent move.
The Barley Pub had, almost exactly a year ago, expanded and moved locations. Although they just moved across the street from their previous location, the new space was far, far larger and they had hopes of incorporating their own brews into the menu. The new location, and this is possibly telling, was also one of those spots that never seemed to stay open for long. Since I lived in Dover back in about 2007, I think the same spot has featured at least four different bars or clubs.
It would be all too easy to engage in wild speculation here, as it seems we probably don't have the full story. You can assume rent was steep on their little corner, and that moving and expanding certainly requires some capital, but the fact that a place that was doing well enough to want to expand closed within a year of doing so just stinks of something "else" happening. That was the case with Smiley's, who had at first said they were closing for "renovations", and the real story eventually came out that several reasons, including soaring utility bills thanks to a neglectful landlord, contributed to the shop's closure. And we may get some weird and unfortunate story about the Barley Pub. Eventually. Who knows? Still, I'd rather indulge in some of my Barley Pub memories than cry conspiracy.
Who in Dover hadn't been to The Barley Pub when it snowed and "the Guinness flowed"? That means when the white fluffy stuff came down, so did the beer prices. When living in Dover, there was more than a couple of days that an impeding snow storm caused my job to send us all home early... and that was excuse enough to head down to The Barley Pub for some inexpensive pints, some board games, and good times with friends. It's a shame that I wasn't in Dover for more winters. I did visit The Barley Pub at other times and in other seasons, but there was something special and infectious about the mood all of us got in whilst day drinking instead of working. Seriously, what could be better than that? Plus, if you got in early enough, you could totally snag the window seat and watch as the snow fell.
It was also at The Barley Pub that Jay first told me about his plans for Big Red Beard Brewing Company. So, in a way, The Barley Pub is somewhat wrapped up in the genesis of me writing this. Sure, if it hadn't been there, I would have heard his business plan for the first time at another bar, but Barley Pub and it's mug club was the choice of our little circle for a reason, so it's wholly appropriate that that's where it went down.
Fairly recently, some friends and I went on a Seacoast brewery tour. There was no real reason for us to go to Dover. At the time (and at time of writing), there were no brick and mortar brewery locations to visit that far up the Seacoast. But still, we decided to travel a little further and start our day with lunch and pints and the good ol' Barley Pub. Since I'm a transplant to MA, I hadn't actually been to the "new" Barley Pub yet, and this was my first and, sadly, last opportunity to do so. Even without my natural affinity for the new location (when compared to the old), it was still a great kickoff to a great day. The food was amazing (Barley Pub didn't really serve much food before the move), but I got to introduce my friends to a few choice drinks they still buy frequently.
Of course, this news comes at an especially bitter time, not that there ever could be a good time for something like this. And I don't just mean that snow is imminent and that a nice, dry stout pairs nicely with that, but that's also true. More importantly, craft beer is really beginning to boom on the Seacoast. I highlighted both breweries and restaurants along the corridor before, and I've really only scratched the surface. It's a shame that a staple of the community, having been open for 14 years now, wasn't able to ride that lightning. Barley Pub, I'm sad to see you go, but I certainly won't forget the good times.
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