More Ways to Maximize Your Pub Crawl Mar 14 '05    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Refrigerators LG LFC25765ST Glass (24.9 cu. ft.) Bottom Freezer French Door Refrigerator From $1600 Frigidaire FFTR2126LB (20.6 cu. ft.) Top Freezer Refrigerator From $565 The Bottom Line Being American means never having to say you're sorry. While brugru recently listed the five basic ways to not wake up sick or dead after a pub crawl, I was inspired to extend the list to add more real-world suggestions and helpful hints in order to further your enjoyment of beer. Here then, is a hodgepodge of helpful advice which works virtually anywhere, with any size group up to maybe eight. I'm in New York, but you'll bear with me: the Rules have served me well from North Carolina to San Francisco to Montreal. 1) Plan well. On paper. If no beer guide exists for your designated city, then you'll need to make one yourself. Find a cluster of bars serving good beer, or bars linked by public transportation. New York, for example, has several such pods of good beer bars in Manhattan and even a couple in Brooklyn. Without a sympathetic spousal type and a minivan, your pub crawl is going to be cut pretty short. Taxis are lovely, but there's no shame in stumbling onto a bus or a subway to head to the next beer destination. I personally never leave home without my Beer Compass. If you are using the non-driver route, and the town is unfamiliar to any of your group, make sure they have maps. I don't care if it's a cocktail napkin map, because assuredly one or more of your group will be left behind talking to a cute girl (or guy, I suppose) they just met, and trying to talk them to the next stop via cell phone is a royal PITA. Maps they can show to vagrants, and for a shiny quarter, be pointed in the proper direction. 2) Bring cool people with you. You know your friends. Hopefully, they're open to new ideas, or more importantly, better beer. Don't drink something you can have everywhere, and make sure your friends are willing to experiment, too. NO, not like that. Invite friends that are fun when they drink and drink like you do. If you drink good beer. If you drink crappy beer, don't drag me along. 3) Stretch. And since you're reading this, I'll assume you, at least, like good beer and new beer; try not to drink anything you've had before and weren't thoroughly orgasmic over. If you can help it, of course. For the love of all that is holy, though, bring along some open-minded friends. If a friend orders Budweiser repeatedly, then it's not a pub crawl any more, it's an excuse to get drunk for that person. It should be BOTH, people. BOTH. 4) Pretend you're rich. Don't worry about how much you're spending. Since you've scheduled this as a fun day out with your friends, you have no responsibilities for anything except staying out of jail. Enjoy yourself, kick back, and don't worry about the real world for a day. An immediate buzzkill is the guy who won't drink as he ought to, and whines when someone else orders good beer when it's his round to buy. If you can't throw a few extra bucks around to have fun and try something new, without worrying, then you need to find some odd jobs so you're prepared for the next pub crawl. 5) Relax if you find a good crowd. Sometimes location, of course, trumps beer selection,and making your friends happy is part of the joy of organizing a crawl. For instance, if you're having a pub crawl in the East Village, you'll probably want to visit McSorley's. McSorley's is, shall we say, not about the beer. Don't be afraid to stay and drink if the place is cool. This goes double if someone in your group is single and you find interesting conversational partners of the preferred sex. After all, the point isn't to see how many bars you can visit, it's to see how many beers you can dr... er, it's to see how much quality you can extract from your pub crawl. 6) Bring a camera. After you've lost the ability to think for yourself, taking pictures of seemingly random events will help piece together the evening's events. Make sure it's a digital camera, and make sure you put the memory card in a safe place before getting home, if you live with someone. Trust me. 7) Slow down if you have to, but don't skip your round. There's no shame in skipping a round, as long as it's not the round you're on the hook for. Go sneak in a slice of pizza or two, or a cheesesteak, or a Vienna Beef, or a big cone of pommes frites, or a fish taco, while your friends drink a round. This will of course mitigate the effects of alcohol somewhat, and keep you going a while longer. 8) Make sure everyone gets home safely. Okay, this is a lie. Make sure everyone is capable of getting home safely. You're not their moms. Get your ownself home safely, and call them tomorrow after you've gone home, taken two Advil (not Tylenol) and a half-gallon of water. 9) The element of surprise is your best friend. When all else fails, remember that drunk people don't expect you to lead with your left hand. Follow these simple guidelines to a successful, fun pub crawl. And post the pictures somewhere safe.

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