Charging for a brewery tour?

I have been to many that don't charge and a few that do charge. All those who charge compensate u with beer and novelties that are well worth the charge. I have to say one of my favorites (and mentioned previously on this thread) is Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee. $7 and u get 4 pours and a pint glass and 1/2 the people on the tour give u their tokens for their pours so u drink all day for $7 and get enough pint glasses to start ur own pub….and the bartenders and tour guides are so cool! And the brewery reminds me of Germany w/the best German brew house food and atmosphere.

 

My, my daughter and her boyfriend did the tour at Parish brewery in Lafayette (actually Broussard) and it was free. The assistant brewer did the tour, really short, small brewery, but he took time and answered all the questions my daughter had for him (she is in the business). It was totally free, then we went back into the tasting room and had a couple of pints. Tour was memorable, but the tasting room didn't have Ghost in the Machine on tap, which I am a firm believer you should have your best beer on tap at all times. You don't have to sell it in growlers, but you should pimp your best beer.

 

If I'm taking a brewery tour, I'm doing my fair share to keep your brewery in business, so I'm not paying to take a tour. Just my opinion.

 

I don't mind paying for a tour if part of the money goes to charity, you get samples or swag, plus they have bills to cover. The best tour we went on was Yuengling and it was free, but we did spend $150 in the gift shop. LOL Dark Horses' tour you pay $7, they give you samples in the VIP loft and you get a pint glass. Being an enthusiast member of the Michigan Brewers guild they offer free tours at various breweries. My best experience with that was drinking bourbon barrel 4th dimensia straight from the barrel.

 

I'm sure that's true, but they have to consider it a loss leader to build good will and get some word of mouth advertising. It seems to me the more they charge, the less good will they will have. But what do I know. I'm sure nobody needs me to tell them these things.

 

New Jersey might be a little different. You must take a tour in order to drink on premise. I dont mind paying for the tour as long as it comes with samples of beer at the end. If i have to pay for a tour and then pay for a flight at the end, i will not be happy. If a brewery double chargers like that they are just taking advantage of people.

 

That St Louis tour is great. We went through there in '09 and paid for the brewmaster tour (6 people) that culminated in a half hour of sitting in comfy leather chairs and helping ourselves to stocked beer fridges while we chatted with our new friends from the very informative and entertaining 2 hour tour. We photo-opd with the Clydesdales, were given crowns(caps) in the Laverneandshirleyesque bottling factory, and oo'd and ah'd at the stunning hop vine chandeliers from the 1904 Worlds Fair. Well worth the money at a giant historic facility.

I'm generally annoyed by something for nothing folks so the entire idea of gritching about a brewery tour fee leaves me sour. Ive got zero issues with paying a small brewery to pay an employee to entertain me, show me around their place and pour me a sample. Im guessing there are insurance issues with having non-employees around some of the equipment.... maybe the fees help offset?

 

wasnt complaining. just saying how much it costed. i thought i was awesome

 

Most charge here I think, at least the regionals. Ringwood was about £7 iirc, but you get an etched half pint mug and we spent close to an hour at the end getting complementary drinks . Was pretty sozzled . Harveys is only a couple of quid and must be one of the best you can go on, you get taken round by one of the brewers, it lasts a full three hours and you get loads of drinks at the end. They only do a few a week though so the waiting list is years long

 

Up to the 1980s most brewery trips seem to have been free.I went on a few and one visit stands out in my mind, It was Shipstone's Brewery , we were given the full tour and then were taken to the hospitality room. This was in fact a reconstituted pub, the Dolphin, recreated on the brewery premises.We were all handed a pint glass and invited to help ourselves from the rows of casks , there was a table groaning with top quality food and we were invited to stay as long as we liked.
Nowadays the visits are regarded as legitimate sources of income. I know one 25 barrel brewery which offers a trip followed by a float of samples and a pretty good meal for around £10 a head.These trips are immensely popular.

 

sorry.. MAFC_Trainer, I didn't mean that to sound like I thought YOU were gritching.. I was agreeing with you that the St Louis tour is well done and worth the fee. The sour taste was directed at the OP. BTW... Im a razorback transplant. Go Hogs!

 

Seems low haha they basically are a historical Landmark and beer Mecca they could get away with charging much more

 

$7 is nothing if the tour is good and includes a several samples. Most breweries I've been to have a free tour and a special more in depth tour(s) that include deep access and lots more tasting to include special/experimental beers and other items.

 

The Berkshire Brewing Company tour is SWEET. It's free, about an hour to 75 minutes long if I recall correctly, and you get 3 roughly 10 ounce beers to drink. They used to probably be three pints which was wild for free, but the glasses look like maybe 10 to 12 ounces now. Either way, it's a really informative tour and I've been on many, the folks that work there are really nice, and you get to try some beers that they don't put out in stores. I've been a couple of times and I'm always happy to go again.

 

Personally, I don't care about an attached price tag. The content is the kicker, and really what we're looking for is stories, not hardware. The little guys, sometimes you're getting the owner or one of the brewers instead of a cute young thing hired for the summer. Early on, (years ago) I would drop in unannounced when on vacation and have great chats with the guys wiping their hands off to talk. Things are a bit different these days and it has become a commoditized part of the brewery business.

These days more often than not the family is along and I prefer the straight-forward transaction of a tap room. I can't sit and get lubricated, so one very good beer and a walk through the gift shop gives me something memorable next time I pour their beer back home.

Best tour? Another back in the day story. Years ago, New Glarus only gave tours on Fridays, before the castle on the hill was built (absolutely beautiful by the way). Deb Carey led the tour and poured our beers. She was awesome, but I might have weirded her out when I joked that now that they were famous they would have paparazzi going through their garbage. Me now would never say such a thing to Deb, but my best memories are mostly transgressive .

 

Dogfish's tour is free, lasts about 40 minutes, and includes 4 samples of whatever is on tap at the brewery that day. The first time I went I had: BA WWS, 120, Palo Santo, and Burton Baton. I got drunk for free that day. But given DFH's success and all(they could swing the cost), I have no problem paying for a tour if I'm taken care of as most are noting(samples, glasses, etc).

 

haha well im actually originally from Oklahoma so im a boomer sooner

 

as a brewery tour guide, i love seeing your opinions on tours! its so funny because sometimes people complain that it was boring because we explained too much about the brewing process or because we just told a lot of stories. cant please everyone!

that being said if any of you ever go on another brewery tour: ASK QUESTIONS!! more often than not tour guides dont have scripts (do any? lol) and i dont know that you want to hear something specific unless you speak up!

also on charging: where i work its for charity and the price of the glass you are given as a souvenir

 

I would say make it free or don't do it.

 

I don't care what they give away with a fee based tour. I'd rather just buy the glass, a beer or whatever it is they give away and just relax in the taproom and drink.