On Tap: Taproom No. 307

By Amanda Gabriele

Welcome to On Tap, a weekly column that explores the brews and beer trends that are currently being served at restaurants and bars across the country.

This week, we’re chatting with Mickey Alexander, the beer sommelier at Taproom No. 307 in New York’s Gramercy neighborhood. With 40 beers on tap and 60 seasonal bottled beers available, Taproom No. 307 is in the business of helping people find new beers to try and love. It recently launched its Ultimate Craft Beer Experience, a beer tasting that uses all five senses to learn about the ingredients, brewing process and flavors of different brews. Here, Alexander discusses how he chooses beers for Taproom No. 307’s draft lines and what he’s drinking right now.

Draft and Beers

Draft and Beers

When choosing beers for your on-tap program, do you always go to the same brands, or are you constantly looking for new breweries to feature?

With more than 400 breweries in New York state alone, we have an enormously diverse selection to choose from. We try to support as many local breweries as possible. There are breweries that are local favorites, but we definitely try to spread the love. Rather than trying to chase fads, we strive to offer a diverse selection of quality brews that we believe are worthy of sharing.

How often do you rotate your tap selections and why?

I typically only buy one keg of each beer at a time. Because of that, we have a constant rotation of new beers to share with our guests. It’s a fun way to share the fantastic local selection with tourists and regulars alike. We have 40 draft lines and a large selection of bottles and cans. This means that we constantly have new brews to share with even our most frequent regulars.

Patrons Enjoying Guys

Patrons Enjoying Guys

What is your favorite beer that’s being served on tap right now?

I’m really enjoying a collaboration IPA we have on draft right now. It’s a collaboration between three amazing local breweries: Interboro, Equilibrium and Evil Twin. Each one of these breweries makes fantastic beers on their own, and this DIPA, Slang Rap Democracy, showcases their combined skills wonderfully.

Taproom No. 307 serves delicious, elevated pub fare with something for everyone. Alexander chooses a few favorites from the menu and pairs them with the current beers on tap.

Half Acre Beer Co. Bodem with Truffle Burrata Flatbread

The flatbread is so rich and creamy. I find that Bodem has a strong enough hop backbone to hold up to the burrata while being well-balanced enough to not be overpowering.

Fifth Hammer Brewing Co. Lester Leaps In with Bacon Brussels Sprouts

This farmhouse ale is funky enough to hold its own against the Brussels sprouts, and it washes down the richness of the bacon just as easily.

Taproom No. 307

Taproom No. 307

Ayinger Brauweisse with 307 House Salad

This traditional weisse beer is a refreshing and lightly sweet addition to our house salad. The subtle banana-like notes of the beer add a little extra level of flavor to an already complex salad.

Twin Fork Beer Co. Sonata with The Killa Burger

The Killa has so much going on that I feel a cold refreshing Kolsch is just the way to chase it. Kolsch is not a style that everyone is familiar with, but it should be. It’s just as clean and refreshing as a typical lager with a little added body to stand up to the richness of our special Killa sauce.

Ithaca Beer Co. Cascazilla with Pork Quesadilla

This wonderfully hoppy red IPA is great with our pulled pork that we smoke in-house. Both are rich and flavorful with an aftertaste that leaves you wanting more.

Maine Beer Co. Fall Coffee Stout with Chocolate Chip Cookies

I mean, who doesn’t love coffee and cookies? Stouts are pretty much a no-brainer with chocolate desserts, and the addition of coffee to this rich brew is perfectly complementary.

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