Beer is the new king on Wall Street

Maynard Sikowski doesn’t look like he belongs at Ryan McGuire’s Ale House. With his nice suit and gold cufflinks, the 45-year-old business consultant is clearly in a different tax bracket than the Cliff Street pub’s core jeans-and-T-shirt clientele. He also prefers to drink 1980s vintage Opus One wine, which typically retails for $400 a bottle.

But the recession has made the place his new favorite dive. “I’m at an economic class where nothing at this bar would be a splurge,” Sikowski said as he sipped a $5 pint of Blue Moon.

These days, beer is king for the Wall Street crowd. People are shelving the expensive wines and instead grabbing a beer or hard liquor. And the mood is different too.

“After-work drinks used to be more celebratory,” said Gary Pai, a regular at Ryan McGuire’s. “But now the tone is more sulking.”

Bartender Gavin Doherty offers Gary Pai, 31, and Gladstone Alexander, 49, an after-work Guinness at Ryan Maguire’s Ale House.

That night, the 31-year-old software product manager was nursing a $5 pint of Guinness, which bartender Gavin Doherty said is a top seller because of its affordable price.

“We’ve been selling a lot of beer,” Doherty added. “Miller Genuine Draft is the most popular, because it’s the cheapest. A pint for $3, a pitcher for $10. It’s popular with the young working crowd.”

Wall Street has a bunch of pubs and dive bars that report similar trends. Traditional American beers like Miller, Coors, and Bud Light have always been popular, but they’re really becoming go-to drinks now.

“Very few people are ordering a $9 beer,” Jeremy’s Ale House bartender Gina Carey said. “They’re drinking our $6 quarts of Coors Light or doing a couple of $4 shots.”

And it seems what’s happening on Wall Street is a national trend. Around the country, the sense is that more budget-conscious wine and cocktail drinkers are turning to beer, according to Rick Sellers, beer director for DRAFT Magazine.

“The economy is definitely affecting what people drink,” agreed Julia Herz, craft beer program director for the Brewers Association. “People are trading down in wine and spirits, but beer seems to be more resilient.”

The shift to beer has meant less business for Wall Street’s tony wine bars.

“Instead of coming in four days a week, our customers are coming in two days a week or less,” said Mauricio Ortegón, manager of the chic wine bar Bin No. 220.

Local liquor stores are also feeling the pinch. Though there are still plenty of shoppers, their choices have changed.

“People always buy alcohol, no matter what,” explained Peter Muscat, owner of Maiden Lane Wine and Liquor Store. “But they’re buying less expensive stuff because they have less money. Less expensive wines especially.”

This week, Muscat’s top seller was a 2007 Domaine Barry Côtes du Rhône, on sale for $9.99. On South Street, Pasanella and Son Vintners has also started offering promotions in order to drum up business. The cavernous store’s weekly jam sessions and movie nights, often paired with free wine tastings, have become a big hit.

“We wanted to have events where people didn’t have to spend money to have fun,” owner Marco Pasanella said. “Who doesn’t like to have a free tasting and a movie?”

Even so, area residents are reluctant to spend money on alcohol. Many have cut back on drinks when dining out.

“I’m still going out to eat once a week, but I’m not ordering as much wine,” teacher Mary Broydrick, 27, said.

Health care manager David Smithson has made more drastic cutbacks. The 40-year-old has omitted alcohol completely from his dining experience.

“That’s what kills the bills,” he said.