公眾飲酒場所是被文化所形塑的空間，亦是飲酒文化的具體表徵。臺灣自日治時期以來，在多變的政治經濟環境下，既醞釀了多樣的飲酒文化，亦形塑多元且能體現時代精神的飲酒場所。本文藉由日治與戰後臺灣報紙與相關文獻的蒐集、整理與分析，論述最能體現二十世紀臺灣時代精神的三類公眾飲酒場所，分別是：（1）酒樓╱酒家；（2）美式酒吧；（3）啤酒屋。酒家與酒吧都具有階級與性別的區隔：酒家是臺灣上層社會菁英酬應往來之所，甚至被視為是具政治性的公共發聲場域；酒吧則是因應美軍在亞洲戰事、專供外籍人士消費的娛樂場所。此外，此二者都是「男性專屬、女性禁入」的聚飲場所，女性僅是被消費的對象，因此發展出包廂或雅座、且都是較為封閉昏暗的空間形態。反之，1980年代崛起的啤酒屋，則以其不分階級、不分男女，無拘無束的夜間娛樂形態，在開放且與環境相融的場所中暢飲闊談，預示了臺灣社會的民主開放。

Public drinking places are not only the concrete representation of drinking cultures, but also culturally patterned spaces. Under the changing political and economic circumstances in 20th century Taiwan, varieties of drinking culture took form, and diverse drinking places with different Zeitgeists came into existence. By examining Taiwanese newspapers from the Japanese Colonial Period onward, this article explores three different kinds of public drinking places in Taiwan: drinking parlors, bars, and beer houses.Drinking parlors and bars were places with limitations of class and gender. Drinking parlors flourished from the Japanese Colonial Period onwards and were considered by social elites as the place for their social intercourse and articulation of their political views. Bars were places frequented only by U.S. Army soldiers during the wars in Asia during the 1950s and 1960s, or by foreigners in Taiwan. Additionally, these two kind of drinking places were "exclusively male"; females were seen as com- modities to be consumed. These venues provided closed and dimly lit spaces like drinking boxes and nicely furnished rooms for customers who desired privacy. By contrast, beer houses current in 1980s were open regardless of class and gender. The open atmosphere in the beer house, which was a place where after work everybody could drink and talk, provided open or semi-open spaces integrated with the surroundings, and anticipated the development of democratic society in Taiwan.