Over the weekend, I finally got to check out Liam Flynn’s Ale House, the unlikely Irish bar in Station North that opened in July. I have found that there’s a pattern. These great places always open up right after my Best Bars deadline, which is truly a shame because this place is a contender.
This bar was opened by the former manager of Liam’s Pint-Size Pub, an Irish bar in Mt. Vernon that closed three years ago. I got a chance to visit that pub as well, and I loved its cavernous basement feel, but the “pint size” was certainly accurate—it felt cramped with more than 20 people there.
Manager Liam Flynn’s newest endeavor, though, is much more spacious. There’s an L-shaped bar up front, table seating on the left, and an area for darts and more tables towards the back. The night we went, it was crowded enough to feel fun, but it was still roomy enough to get a drink.
Speaking of drinks, beer nerds will surely appreciate the selection here. The bar always has two rotating cask ales (fresh and unfiltered beer that matures in the cask), about a dozen beers on tap, and even some gluten-free options. The bottle selection is even more vast, with 12 ciders alone.
I tried one of the cask ales available, Oliver’s 3 Lions Ale, which was creamy with a slight oaky flavor. My favorite beer was from the Williams Brothers, a microbrewery in Scotland. They had an alcholic ginger beer that was just fantastic. The flavor was crisp and full of ginger, with accents of lemon peel and citrus.
The overall vibe of Liam Flynn’s Ale House was lively but mellow as songs from The Cure, MGMT, and Green Day played on the juke box. There were some louder revelers in the back on the high-top tables, but mainly the bar was filled with people sharing casual conversation over outstanding beers. The ale house is a great and unique addition to the Station North landscape.