Length matters at American Taproom, where beer travels a very short distance on its fateful journey from keg to tap to glass. Here at this cozy, convivial craft beer bar unveiled in April 2018, the cold room sits right behind the bar’s good-looking wall of 32 taps, which in theory means, among other things, that the short tap hoses are easier to clean and the beer more easily retains its intended temperature. In general, it means that the veteran beermen running the show here are serious about keeping its products in the best condition possible.
Indeed, quality control is and will continue to be essential when you’re the new king of Singapore’s keg mountain. With a fine selection of 32 craft beers on tap, American Taproom has seven more taps than its nearest competitor. It’s a bold power play and a strong bet on the island’s evolving beer culture.
We’re all for it.
On one of the bar’s first-ever Friday nights, before its official launch party has even been announced, staff pours beers from the likes of Pirate Life, Stone Brewing, Brewlander, Garage Project, and Heretic Brewing. There are accessible beers for the casual, craft-curious drinker—Deschutes’ Mirror Pond pale ale and Kona Brewing’s Longboard Island lager among them—and more esoteric options for the dedicated beer enthusiast, like Anderson Valley’s Huge Arker (a bourbon barrel-aged stout), To Øl’s Dangerously Close to Stupid Amount of Guava, and a shitload of hoppy IPAs. Tasting glasses start at SGD$6, while most US-sized pints (473ml) run $10 – 15; pints of certain beers, like To Øl’s DCSAG and another from Mikkeller, breach the $20 mark.
In other words, there’s something appropriate for all tastes and all budgets. It’s early days at American Taproom, but it seems safe to say that Singapore’s essential beer trail has just gotten longer.
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American Taproom is located at 261 Waterloo Street, #01-23, in Singapore. +65 9632 1570. Open daily 4pm – midnight.
