I grew up in a small farming town in Northwest Ohio where the local bars are the hangouts. From the time I could ride my bike to purchase all the giant Pixie Stix my babysitting cash could buy to the time I could legally drink a beer, the bars are where people in my small town go to relax, run into friends and catch up on the gossip. When I walked into The Bierstube, I felt like I was at a bar back home ready to run into familiar faces.
Unlike so many of the readers of Drink Up Columbus, I have the benefit/handicap of only living in this fine city for a little more than a year. How I went more than an entire year without visiting The Stube is beyond me.
The Bierstube is a campus favorite loved by OSU alumni pretty equally, and with good reason. The wooden walls are carved with decades of graffiti to create a cozy warmth that only generations of barflies can offer. Both times I’ve been to The Stube suited my fancy quite nicely–the crowd was jovial but more or less tame. While I was concerned about feeling old among a campus crowd, the bar was comfortable and totally fine with me in my post-mowing attire. (Chucks stained green included, like the class act that I am.)
The beer list ranges from impressive to impressively cheap. $1.75 Yuengling Lights on the cheap domestic end all the way up to $6.50 Dragonsmilk and $4 Dogfish Head 90-minute offer a good range for all moods and wallets. The bar features a Rumpleminze/Jager machine, as well as a good selection of drunk food such as pizzas and subs. It makes sense that this hangout plays well with both 21-year-olds and the more seasoned drinkers.
The old jukebox (CDs! Not Internet! Affordable!) is pretty incredible. Five bucks will get you 25 plays, and the selection is truly fantastic as it ranges from ’80s rap to classic rock to heavy metal to, well, it’s a good range. A patio sits in front of The Stube with a fair number of tables, and since the bar is set so far back from High Street, it’s not an overwhelmingly noisy place to relax.
A tabletop Pac-man game as well as darts offer entertainment along with a Megatouch machine if your companions are boring you. I was having fine conversation with my husband, but I have a hard time passing up a few rounds of Photo Hunt. Plenty of televisions show sports, and the bartenders seem happy to chat if you’re in the mood to strike up a conversation.
It’s clear that The Bierstube holds generations of memories. Both times I’ve been in a range of clientele enjoyed their evenings. College students are hanging out with people who likely visited The Stube in the ’70s and are thrilled to come back to relive the good ole days over a pitcher or two. Booths like picnic tables are perfect for groups and conversations. Several bar crawls went through including a bachelorette party with a four-foot dildo. No one blinked twice, and everyone welcomed the new friends to the party with their ridiculous penis paraphernalia. Plenty of Buckeyes stuff covers the walls and various beer lights add to the sparse but warm lighting. The seats are cozy, the drop ceiling is only minimally stained and the bathroom was only out of commission 50% of the time I visited. This is a good ole dive bar right on High Street, and I can’t say enough how much I loved it.
The Bierstube is comfortable and familiar to me despite only visiting twice. Partially I know it’s my connection to the trips to The Bombshelter during my youth in small town Ohio. Partially it’s because the bartenders, the atmosphere and the other customers are all happy to have a new smile to add to the bar. And the range of cheap domestics with decently priced craft bottles doesn’t hurt, either.
My guess is most folks have already checked out The Bierstube and are fans. But if you haven’t, I highly recommend stopping by for a good bottle or two or a cheap pitcher. And don’t worry if you show up in your jorts and grass-stained tennis shoes. The Stube welcomes all.
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