The Bob’s Bar layout is narrow, it’s long, and it’s dotted with enough roadblocks, enclaves and barriers to make a trip to the bathroom on a Saturday night a time for prayer and hope for safe passage. Though the bathrooms have been renovated through the years, the footprint is still small, making for some tricky angles, fleeting privacy and expedient exits.
The beer selection earns the title above the door, a selection that is egalitarian, equal parts High Life and triple dry hopped fruited lactose-infused milkshake IPA. Selections here provide not just outlets for every socioeconomic capability but also endless potential adjustment throughout a beer-soaked night. Bob’s at times features beer on tap found nowhere else in Columbus and potentially found nowhere else in Ohio.
Once a year the rotating beer selection, creative and expansive in its construction, culminates in the Bob’s Bar Extravaganza, a destination event for anyone that values the intoxicating draw of a city-best dive bar selling deliciously diverse beer to a devoted, drunk and feisty fan base.
That’s the real joy of Bob’s, a neighborhood bar in a strip mall adjacent to a big box retailer inexplicably selling some of the world’s best beer without the pretention that so often accompanies the pursuit of funky IPAs or rich stouts. And don’t underestimate the joy involved in asking a friend to meet you at the Cultural Hub of the Midwest.