Does drinking at the brewery influence how your beer tastes?

I can't say beer taste better at the brewery. I visit Kane and Carton pretty often and the beer is phenomenal but it taste just as good at local bars around town. However, I do enjoy drinking at the brewery more than local bars for all the reason you mentioned above.

 

Not really. I was at Victory's BrewPub, mind you I don't like "Black IPAs" but I was new to Beer when I was there. I ordered Storm King...bad idea for me looking back at it. I liked a few Stouts and seen "Imperial Stout" with 9.1 ABV, thought it was going to be a Roasted and Sweet brew....I was wrong. I tasted it and was a mess to me fresh. Hops and Roasted malts are not my thing, I love hops but not with roasted malts. Now granted I like Storm King with Age on it, but at their Brew Pub...no thanks.

 

Foe me it is more about freshness vs. specific location (i.e., brewery tasting room). I have visited the Victory brewpub many times and I do enjoy drinking their beers there since they are fresh. Having stated that, I enjoy drinking those same Victory beers at my local beer bars (or from bottles at home) since the Victory beers are fresh there as well.

I can see where the perception of some folks can be positively influenced by a particular brewery's setting but for me it is more about drinking fresh.

Cheers!

 

I think it can. Beyond freshness and serving the beer (hopefully) as intended, I think it can amplify your opinions. Sort of like a variation on the "Red Stripe Effect."

 

And the ‘Guinness effect’ for people vacationing in Ireland.

A couple of decades ago I was regularly traveling to Great Britain (mostly London) and at that time Guinness had the Park Royal, London brewery operating. I was not (and still am not) a fan of Guinness but I drank a few Guinness Stouts at London pubs. That beer tasted exactly to me like the Guinness Stout we got in the US; no ‘Guinness effect’ for me.

Cheers!

 

Some styles it can and others no. I would think anything that should be consumed ASAP would be a marginally better. Conversely beers that maybe should sit a little and grow up would be better from the bottle you find at the store a few weeks later. Overall I'd say it can have a small effect, kinda like using proper glassware can but it can't make a beer that is 3.5 into a 5 or something.

 

I think it influences less how the beer tastes, but more how you perceive the taste. It's fun to drink it at the source which may raise your opinion of it, but really the only thing different about the beer itself is that it may be fresher than you are used to.

 

Next year, try some Nugget Nectar in early February on draught at the Troegs Brewery in Hershey, PA. You will understand how enjoying beer at the brewery can make a HUGE difference.

 

I feel it provides me with the truest sense of what the brewer intended in most cases. In that respect, yes, it does influence my thoughts/feelings toward a brewery/beer. That said, I am always willing to try a breweries product again outside of their own walls regardless of my experience.

 

I enjoy drinking at the source for the "among my people" effect. You'd hope to run into fewer...oh, we'll be kind and say "undesirable folks" at the breweries than you might out at the bars.

 

I think the freshness of the beer is the main player here, but there is something about drinking a beer at the source that makes it a great experience. So yes, drinking at a brewery can make the beer taste better, for me at least.

 

Location totally impacts my ratings. Cantillon Fou' Foune tastes much better in Bruges than it does at my house.

 

I certainly enjoy myself a bit more drinking a brew at the brewery and that probably influences how it tastes. Naturally the freshness factor is there but there are so many subjective things that come into play as well; talking with the brewer, vibe of the place, enjoying time with friends, and/or meeting new ones in the tasting room all would tend to influence how good the beer tastes.

 

Many of the craft breweries around here have the ambiance of a machine shop but I still think their beer tastes better because it is fresher. Although I must admit that Guinness tastes better at Ti Joe Watty's in Kilronan than it does in Dublin.

 

Yeah, I know what you mean... I have been to a few breweries that are located in industrial parks that have that "machine shop" vibe. But the freshness comes through...

 

Depends on the brewery. Some of them are great to visit. Warm, inviting and comfortable - and that makes for a pleasant environment to drink their beer. Some breweries, not so much...

 

In smaller breweries where I can see and definitely smell the brewing process taking place - yes, oh heck yeah. Especially those IPA's

 

I don't think it changes the way it tastes, but it's cool to drink the beer from the source. The enjoyment might be higher because the experience is better, but the beer is the same.

 

And don't forget about the Pabst effect when you are in Milwaukee....