Nick on the Town

Happy Hour Showdown: Alley Katz v. River Rock Tap House

October 25, 2011 at 10:46 am Leave a comment

In our first of what will hopefully be a long line of Happy Hour Showdowns we pitted Alley Katz against the River Rock Tap House. These first two competitors are fairly new and very beer-heavy. Let’s take a look at the breakdown.

Happy Hour Time
Alley Katz: Every day, 3-7pm
River Rock: M-F, 2-6pm
Winner: Alley Katz. That extra hour goes a long way for folks who can’t get out of work til 6. Plus, a weekend happy hour is a big bonus.

Happy Hour Specials
Alley Katz: $1 off all drinks.
River Rock: $4 Craft Beers, $3 small plates, $3 Wells
Winner: In a tight one, I’m gonna give the nod to River Rock.  At Alley Katz, it’s hard to beat the liter of Alley Katz Honey Amber for $6 (usually $7) and I like the simplicity of just taking a dollar off everything, but River Rock offers food specials and even if the wings are small and sad, at least it’s something. The food at Alley Katz is affordable and potentially tasty, but there are no happy hour food specials of which I am aware.

Stole this photo of River Rock's taps from Yelp...which is why it isn't all blurry.

Selection
Alley Katz: huge beer selection with lots of fancy Belgium bottles. They also offer a little thing called the Beer Tower ($30) which is basically three pitchers of beer poured into one long, tall tube type thing with a spout on the end. Plus, you can get tall boys of your favorite cheapo domestics.
River Rock: About 45 beers on the menu and a full bar. No beer tower, but I like the wall of taps.
Winner: Alley Katz, just because I think they have more options…even though I didn’t count’em or nuthin’. And a beer tower? C’mon.

Ambiance
Alley Katz: A big room with plenty of tvs, a comfy living room type area, pool tables and real nice long bar. When I went there was one guy who was rocking a little too hard to his own jukebox selections, but who am I to harsh his vibe? Also, they had Sex in the City on tv while the World Series and Monday Night Football were on.
River Rock: Friendly folks at the bar and good tvs. It definitely feels more like a restaurant than Alley Katz, but I guess that’s because it’s more of a restaurant than Alley Katz. No weird jukebox guy here.
Winner: I like them both, but I like the crowd at River Rock more because there was no Weird Jukebox Guy. Also, minus points for Alley Katz showing Sex in the City while major sporting events were on. So River Rock gets the nod.

Slyly taken photo of Weird Jukebox Guy making his sweet selections.

Other Notes
Alley Katz: There’s no sign out front that says “Alley Katz” there’s just a big ol’ red cat.  Maybe let people know what’s going on in there with a sign or somethin’.  Also, “Alley Katz” is maybe the worst name for a bar ever. Hmmm…maybe that’s why they don’t put it on the sign.
River Rock: They have a special club that you earn entry into by drinking 41 different beers (not at one sitting). Every time you finish a new brew, you have the bartender sign off on the menu. When you complete the 41 beers you get a free upgrade to a larger mug of beer whenever you order for the rest of your life…I think.  Sweet deal!

What goes on in here? And, yes, this photo was also stolen from Yelp.

Overall Winner: Alley Katz
Right out of the gates we’ve got ourselves a super-close finish to a Happy Hour Showdown. These two beer-friendly joints are similar in a lot of ways and you’d be doing ok for yourself if you hit up either one. I’m giving the coveted Showdown Trophy to Alley Katz though because I really like a happy hour that goes til 7pm and the beer selection is truly spectacular.

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