When last we spoke to ex-Old Toad manager Joe McBane about his new bar opening in the original MacGregor's building, he was a little vague on the details. By August he had yet to decide on the bar's name and could only allude to a signature brew that was in the works. In fact, one of the only concrete things McBane could tell us was that the bar would be "the best beer bar in Rochester."

Three months later, the bar has been dubbed Tap & Mallet (referring to the process of using a mallet to drive a tap into a cask), the now-revealed signature brew - McBane's Best Bitters - has quickly become the bar's best-seller, and there's a plethora of satisfied patrons who'd be glad to stand behind McBane's initial claim.

"There's lots of really smiley, happy faces," McBane says, now that the bar has just passed its one-month anniversary. "I really want to make my mark as a great destination in Rochester for good beer and I think we're doing it by staying focused on what we are. It makes for a good, relaxed, mellow vibe in here."

On any given night, Tap & Mallet offers more than 100 different beers to choose from (30 on tap and more than 70 bottles) ranging from the familiar - Labatt, Miller, Heineken - to the more exotic - Kasteel Rouge, Blue Point Hoptikal Illusion, Butternuts Snapper Head IPA. What makes Tap & Mallet so unique among other "beer-themed" bars is that the tap lineup changes nightly, so not only can you try something new every night of the week, but you can be assured that the beer coming out of the tap is fresh. In addition, Tap & Mallet allows customers to "try before they buy," providing samples of beers upon request so they can make sure they're happy with their order.

"I want people to be able to come in here and drink what they drink," McBane says. "I don't want to come across as all snobby about beer. We want people to have something they enjoy and make trying something new less risky for them."

Tap & Mallet serves only beer and wine (no liquor), but also offers a full menu of foods that fall somewhere in between casual and fine dining (consider that Mex owner Casey Walpert is a partner in the establishment and you'll get the general vibe). While you'll still find pub grub standbys like chicken wings, nachos and burgers, you'll also find unexpected choices like caramelized shallots with goat cheese tarts, shrimp Diablo, and mussels. Tap & Mallet even serves its own version of bangers and mash (though the menu calls it sausage and mash) made with its own homemade sausage recipe.

"It's all stuff that we like to eat," McBane says. "We wanted it all cooked from fresh and we wanted it to be sort of like comfort food with good flavors, but it's not fine dining."

McBane also has big plans for the bar's future: Tap & Mallet's walls double as a gallery of sorts for work by prominent local artists (works by Paul Dodd and Mark Moore are currently on display), and McBane intends to keep the artwork going up on a rotating basis. He is holding a New Year's Eve beer dinner featuring a four-course meal paired with complementary beers; and as we roll into 2008, McBane plans to begin something akin to a "beer school" offering themed tasting events with discussions led by brewers.

"There's a clear social aspect to beer and I want to focus on that and have fun with it," McBane says. "I just want people to come in, enjoy and be happy."

Tap & Mallet is located at 381 Gregory Street, and is open daily 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Food is served until midnight. For more information call 473-0503.