I'm stoked about Prost! I mean come on anything is better than what the prior owner *cough* turned that place into...

Hi Amy, glad to see you jumped right in to this blog. I’m looking forward to your reviews. Since you mentioned you haven’t been there yet, let me recommend that you try Novare Res soon, despite your complaint that they don’t have local micros. Don’t let that deter you. It’s the kind of bar you go to to not drink the same Shipyard and Geary’s selections everyone else in town has. It’s about expanding your pallet and trying something exciting and new. And, even if you are on a locals only kick, they have plenty of the great Allagash beers that no one else has.

Even better, you don’t have to deal with clueless waitstaff in gimmicky costumes. Novare Res’ staff is very knowledgeable and have always been able to offer me a suggestion or recommendation. Don’t expect them to have tried every beer availble (there are well over 200), but you can get an opinion on any style available. I see it as a bonus that you don’t have to worry about being offered a shooter or some silly combination of flavored vodkas presented as a martini. It’s all beer, with a few choice wines, ports and tequilas, all made for sipping and savoring, not for getting you drunk. That should keep away the “dude-bags.”

As for alienating their loyal customers, I have seen nothing that would suggest that. [Should they expand their hours? Sure, but that's because I can't get enough, not because I've been shooed out the door.] If anything, I think they are catering to the loyal customer, not the guy from Massachusetts who’s up for the weekend. Like a good librarian knows what kinds of books you’ll like, the waitstaff there wants to know what kind of beers you enjoy. They want to have your drink ready when you sit down, not because you always order the same thing, but because they know you’ll love the new Trappist that was just delivered.

I have yet to try out Prost!, so I won’t say that I won’t like it there, but everything you said about it (and what I’ve read on the other beer blogs in town) makes me want to avoid it. A bar that wants to cater to beer connesseurs that is attached to a dance club and offers Goldschlager and Jagermeister shots makes question it’s true motives. I guess I’m looking at it this way: Prost! is like an Applebees or Chilis (silly, gimmicky and trying to pull in as many passerbys as possible) and Novare Res is like Street & Co. or Bresca (a restaurant/bar for people who are passionate about food/beer). There is so much offered at Novare Res, why would I go to a competitor that offers a lesser experience?

One last note: Novare Res also had some issues with taps when they first opened. Maybe it’s the ghost of Neal Dow haunting the new bars in town that’s causing problems with the free flow of alcohol? I hope not! Anyway, good luck with the blog. One question for you: how soon until the banner with John’s goofy expression is replaced?

From Beer Advocate review....

Prost........Although the web site says 100 beers on tap, there were actually 41 when we were there. Of these, 24 were imports and 17 were domestic. The bartender said that they would eventually have all 100 taps up and running. They also have daily beer specials, with the beers being 25 to 50% off. They had a good selection of beers. I had a Warsteiner pilsner and a Duchess, both good. My wife had a Long Trail White, which she also enjoyed. One small quibble: the Duchess was served in a pint glass, not a tulip. There were plenty of tulips behind the bar.

From Beer Advocate review....

Prost........Although the web site says 100 beers on tap, there were actually 41 when we were there. Of these, 24 were imports and 17 were domestic. The bartender said that they would eventually have all 100 taps up and running. They also have daily beer specials, with the beers being 25 to 50% off. They had a good selection of beers. I had a Warsteiner pilsner and a Duchess, both good. My wife had a Long Trail White, which she also enjoyed. One small quibble: the Duchess was served in a pint glass, not a tulip. There were plenty of tulips behind the bar.

As the only person who's posted on this blog that has been to both bars (Proust and Novare Res), skip Proust for the love of God. It's just Diggers with a face lift. I went in on a Sunday afternoon and felt like I was back in college. The bouncer looked like a brain dead Goldberg from WWE wrestling and I felt as if he was just waiting for a chance to bust heads.

The same crowd from Diggers was there drinking their Bud Light, Coors, and PBR. I saw a few more adventurous souls drinking tap beers. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and bellied up to the bar. The bartender came over, looking ridiculous in her "traditional" German dress, tossed two menus to my companion and I, and proceeded to tell us that over half the tap beers were kicked.

Taking a glance at their beer selection on draft, I was shocked to see that while they promote themselves as an "International Tap House" less than half of the beers on draft were in fact International Brews. And most of them weren't available to boot.

After ordering some forgettable beer (that tasted like a fancied up Bud Light), I went downstairs to use the facilitates. I have to disagree that it didn't feel like you were entering a dungeon. I felt like I was back in Diggers. When I went to open the door, I knocked over a young man that was doing COCAINE off the sink. I turned around, went upstairs, finished my drink as fast as I could and left.

And where did I go, do you ask? Novare Res, a real beer bar. Obviously, you can put a pig in a suit, but it's still a pig. If you enjoy good beer, try out Novare Res!

Got to agree with you, Jake. Prost is a joke, and won't be around all that long. Too bad, but this aint Jersey.