Beer, beer, beer! and other Northampton, MA Nightlife Tips

Nightlife Spot: Moan and Dove

The Moan and Dove was the reason for our trip out to Amherst/Northampton, since it was voted number one on beeradvocate.com's 2006 list of the "Top 50 Places to Have a Beer", and we're big fans of the second-placed location, The Publick House.

On the negative side, the Moan and Dove is obviously something of a trek unless you're from the area, and since it's not located downtown (it's at an intersection a couple of miles south of Amherst, at what is to all intents and purposes a country crossroads), you are more or less obligated to drive here, or else make an advance appointment with a local cab service. In addition, to our great surprise they don't serve any food at all here (except for a large barrel of - delicious - peanuts), which is again surprising given the out-of-the-way location (you'd imagine that more than a few people have driven home when they shouldn't). They do allow you to bring in takeout from the nearby establishments (a pizzeria and a Chinese restaurant).

More positively, they do have an excellent beer selection, with some extremely unusual choices on tap: the night we dropped in, they had options like a Cantillon gueuze, a German smoke beer, a Weissebock and an English bitter, among many other selections (the gueuze got very high marks: it's one of the best beers you'll ever try!). They also have an extensive selection of bottles, but quite a few of them were sold out: while they do have a board listing the bottles that are sold out, it's in a dark corner out of sight of the bar, and we felt that they should simply re-print the menus a bit more often rather than carrying many names that aren't in stock (to his credit, though, the barman gave us some excellent alternative recommendations at times, including one beer which we probably would never have spotted). The bar itself is fairly small, and very convivial, with nice booths and a good crowd.

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Phone: (413) 256-1710
Address: 460 West St., Amherst, MA 01002
Directions: On Rt. 116 North in South Amherst between Amherst College and Hampshire College, next to the Citgo station.
Website: http://www.themoananddove.com/