The first social network in America wasn't a network. It was a tavern. The Green Dragon. The City Tavern. Fraunces. The Indian Queen. These were the rooms where colonists became citizens — where a barkeep heard the same argument three nights in a row and a stranger across the table could change your mind by morning. Ideas spread. Plans were made. The blueprint of a new country was drafted. We've spent three decades trying to recreate that online, and instead built the loudest, loneliest room in history. I started this community because I think the cure is older than the disease. We're going to dig into the history of the Great American Tavern, what it actually did for civic life, and how we bring some of that back - both in the bars we run and the way we talk to our neighbors. No algorithms. No outrage. Just the long conversation we should've been having all along. Please join me - over a pint, of course.

I wouldn't be able to celebrate the Great American Tavern without some 'tech talk' now and again, so I've put together the first of several how-to guides for our beloved barkeeps and proprietors. Retrotaps has published a complete draft beer troubleshooting guide covering foamy pours, off-flavors, CO₂ leaks, and hardware problems. Covers commercial taprooms, residential kegerators, and mobile draft beer systems. Download for $12 at the link below. https://retrotaps.gumroad.com/l/draftguide

I’ve spent 18 years making sure the beer stays cold and the lines stay clean. But lately, I’ve noticed the atmosphere in our taprooms is getting 'dirty.' We’re more connected to our phones than the person on the stool next to us. Clean beer is great, but it's so much more enjoyable with a clean conversation. Let’s look back at where we came from as a nation, learn from the grit of our founders, and remember how to be neighbors again. I'm opening the doors to Retrotaps because I’m tired of seeing empty hearts in crowded taprooms. Are you ready to put down the phone and pick up a pint? Tell me about your favorite bar!