Biggest beer pet peeves

Why not? It's not like I put my son down and let him run around knocking over bottles. And if he does get upset, I do walk out the store out of respect of other customers.

 

Brewery websites that always make me scan the dates to verify my age. On the flipside, I appreciate when the websites give you a simple yes/no option.

 

I definitely agree with number 2. I recently was at a restaurant that had a beer list which only listed breweries, no specific beers. I asked which Dogfish Head beer they had. The response, "the regular one" in an unsure tone. So of course I asked which that was. And he responded, "Flying Dog, I think". Eventually I just walked up to the bar to take a look for myself. And ordered a "regular" (60 Minute IPA) Dogfish Head.

 

Without a second thought when I saw the title of this thread (and it may sound a little picayune, but I was actually thinking it was was due its own thread some day)--- napkins served under beer (or coasters). WTF. Thanks, so you overfilled my beer and made it spill over, now when I pick this thing up, the napkin will go with it PART WAY, then fall on the table or ON ME. Thanks a lot. And by the way, I don't think you or I give a shit about the owners bar/table surface and fuck him if he didn't understand they would serve drinks here and sometimes spill.

 

people who 'know' beer.
"oh, if you like double IPAs, you'll love Blue Moon."

 

Stores that misplace beer, finds it 2-3 years later, cleans off the dust and puts it out like it's brand new (you's be surprised how often I've come across this in nyc). For some beers that may be a turn on, but this stuff sat in NYC 100 DEGREE HEAT ALL SUMMER LONG x2-3, no thanks and pass.

 

Reminds me of the time I asked for a particular stout and was informed they stopped carrying it on tap, the server 'helpfully' recommended a bottle of Guinness Blonde instead.

 

Going to a trendy beer/wine/food place and only finding PA's and IPA's on tap. Where are my stouts and porters?!

 

My biggest pet pev is when people say bottled on dates should be mandatory without understanding the huge expense involved in making that happen. These people don't understand *ANY* of the expenses involved in running a brewery, and should probably just hold their tongues.

Should a large brewery with multi-state distribution date their bottles? Of course they should. They can afford it, and due to their distribution, they need it; and their customers should demand it.

But for a small brewery with very limited (local only) distribution and limited funds, there are a lot of better things they can spend their money on. Things that will actually improve what is *IN* the bottle, and help it keep fresh longer.

When each of your bottling runs sell out in under a month or two and you don't have a microscope, hemocytometer, DO (dissolved oxygen) meters etc... you don't need to spend money on equipment to date your bottles. Most small breweries can't even afford DO testing equipment, let alone packaging machines that minimize DO. Until you know what your DO levels are, and where the DO is being picked up, bottled on dates don't really matter much. Knowing that an IPA is only a month old isn't a big help to the consumer when the DO levels are so high that the beer at 1 month is more oxidized than Torpedo is at 6 months.

Mandatory bottle dating is a really, really stupid idea. I know it seems paradoxical, but mandatory bottling dates would *hurt* the overall quality of craft beer. Shocking, yes, but that is how shockingly uninformed people asking for mandatory bottling dates are about what it actually takes to do it.

So I guess my pet pev is when people think they understand what goes into making beer just because they drink a lot of it.

Bottled-on dates are a great thing, but sadly the machinery needed is prohibitively expensive for most breweries.

[/rant]

 

Old drinking tip to alleviate this problem -- grab the salt shaker and sprinkle salt over the wet areas on the napkin. Works every time.

 

When people say, "i don't like dark beer. " As if all "dark beers" taste the same.

 

Hoarders and obscene prices.

 

Treating beer like a competition.

Conflating intensity of flavor with complexity of flavor.

Calling your U.S.-style blonde/amber/brown a Koelsch/Maerzen/Dunkel because it sounds (and sells) better.

 

The east coast vs. west coast conversation.. Oh wait... that is still going on. Let it all stop please. Let IPA be IPA.

 

Old stale beer on the shelf clearly stamped best by.____ And that was two months ago. Sup with that.

 

The Albertson's near me actually has a decent beer selection. I was in there last December (2014), and decided to grab a bomber of Alesmith IPA. The date on the bottle? March 2013. Unacceptable.

 

I know this has been said at least 20 times, but bottle dating is EASILY, MOST DEFINITELY my biggest pet peeve when it comes to beer. No bottling date is the number 1 reason why I won't buy a beer.

 

The 50 something wannabe "craft" beer aficionados that live in Grand Rapids.

 

Going to a beautiful place like a gorgeous stream or mountaintop and seeing beer cans and bottles!
If you pack it in pack it the F#@% out!!

 

While I agree with the bold part as being a huge pet peeve of mine, another huge one of mine is when people say they "collect" beer.