Responsibility of Beer Knowledge

We can't expect people to be like us. It's on us.

 

If I am in your neck of the woods, I will ask. And that is the standards in places like Houston, DFW, Austin, SA. But, all the small towns of Texas are (sadly) not as into craft beer.

 

There was one particular dish at the restaurant I waited at years ago that got returned frequently due to its rather esoteric flavors. Same deal, I'd usually politely inquire when someone ordered that to save myself (and them) some trouble later.

Lesson learned: A lot of white people who eat at mexican places don't know what mole is, then they ask wtf I just served them.

 

Why do you need craft beer when you have Shiner, right? Hey Yellow Rose is one of Texas' best beers and it's from small town Magnolia....#HOPE

 

I haven't had yellow rose. Is it from Lone Pint? I'll keep an eye out for it now. Thanks.

 

Yeah, it's not the best beer in the world, but it's one of the best out of Texas.

 

I just ask "What's this one like ?" and straight away I get a sample. I can then make my own judgement rather than take somebody else's word for it.

 

I've gone to a "craft beer bar" and I hate how no one knows nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a damn thing.

 

It's kind of a catch 22. At a bar known as a bona fide beer bar, you would expect Cicerone certified, next level beer knowledge kings and queens as servers while at a pub or restaurant bar where they also had craft, you'd think that the knowledge level would be mediocre at best since appearance of the servers may trump knowledge. The catch 22 part is that at the bona fide beer bar, less knowledge may be needed since they are frequented more by beer geeks with solid knowledge to begin with, while it would be in the best interest of craft if the "happen to have" locations had great knowledge as to properly promote craft to the less knowledgeable public. That make sense at all?

So I'd have to lean heavily towards the scenario which @yemenmocha describes, where a nice list with descriptions is available. Take the dependence of knowledge on either party out of the equation altogether while making sure at least SOMEONE knows a little. Hiring good people and keeping good people is unfortunately becoming more and more difficult. I'd hate to put my investment into the hands of disinterested servers that have revolving door marks on their asses.

 

So, you agree with me, just using different words.

 

I don't think every place can have servers that are beer knowledgeable. All I ask is:
1) Have a beer menu somewhere so I can look at it. If I want to know more about a beer then I can look it up. What's the rush, give me a few mins and I can figure it out.
2) Bring me the right beer that I order - so they should know how to identify the beers.

and bonus points if beer menu is online and updated frequently so I can make my decision on where to go based on an updated menu

 

there's a nice bar in town with an extensive tap list, and even though I know what most of there beers they usually have are about, I still like to ask the bartender, "what beer are you excited about and why?" it's a sure way to get whoever is tending bar to open up and to rediscover a beer you haven't had in a long time or overlooked.

 

It's always a crap shoot. Some places have people tied into good beer with good knowledge. Some places have good beer with variably knowledgeable staff. Some places have crap beer and no one cares. One has to know what they want once they peruse the options. I'll never bitch about other's lack of care or knowledge, it just isn't useful.

 

Sorry--don't follow this one bit.

Replies like this (from you) are embarrassing. Head to head of samples and you are complaining? And having someone give you and 5% pale and 6.8% is totally out of line? That is a joke to even imply that. Totally a jerk response and epitomizes what is wrong with (some of) the BA community. His response to you was just as juvenile.

 

I have no idea what that guy was bitching about. Holy shit, most people have problems and issues and life moves along nicely. I have a lot more questions than I have answers.

 

You should do a show: The Fussy Cicerone/Beer Detective. Try free beer everywhere and find the faults of matchings, brewing, and presentation. Also, why capitalize Newburgh and HF and nothing else?

 

Both, with just very basic knowledge.

 

See I expect the server to know th style of the beer, and possibly anything that makes it different from others in that style, but if the customer can't recognize the basic terminology, then no amount of knowledge on the server's behalf is going to help

 

Both. These days, with the popularity of several different style beers, I believe first, that the customer has to be a bit knowledgeable-at least know some general bits about styles, and the difference between malt and hops and the respective nuances that each brings. The spectrum of IPA flavorings are quite broad- so broad that the casual drinker who "likes IPAs" may be disappointed to receive a British style if they're used to a big citrusy American IPA. I personally have never had a Gose, but I've read up on the style and feel I know what to expect should an opportunity arose for me to order one.

Just as important would be a server who could help navigate you through the specifics of similar styles that are available. I don't expect every server to be a cicerone, but I've definitely had instances where it's clear that the server has no clue about what their suggesting.

 

The OP was very short, so it's a little hard to know exactly what the intent of the question was. In the normal situation, the correct answer is the server. I don't even understand what the opposing point of view would be. The business selling a product clearly has the "responsibility" to know about that product. Period. That said, if the question is whether I expect a server to know more than me, as a practical matter I'd say absolutely not. Like many of you, I spend a bizarre (to the average person) amount of time thinking about, talking about, buying, drinking and trading beer. When I go out drinking, I mostly want the server to give me the beer list and leave me alone to make my decision. But I certainly don't think BAs are the average beer consumer. For the average person, the onus is on the server, not the consumer.