Samples. How many is too many?

At most I will ask for two when I am debating which full glass I want.

 

I don't think we need to worry ourselves with how a business operates. If customers asking for samples get out of hand the bar/restaurant can create policies or pricing to address it and they don't need my help.

Personally, if I ask for a sample it will be 1 or 2 max and then I'll order a full pour. I also don't begrudge a bar charging $1-$3 for a small 2-4 oz tasting pour either.

 

^This is exactly the rule I live by.

 

Same here.

 

This. I don't mind paying a $2-3 for something I don't like. If the establishment doesn't offer flights, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for a couple of .25-.5 oz samples to decide on a beer that is $7-10 for 8-16 oz. I'm more likely to try new beers and possibly buy more if I like all of the beers they let me sample.

 

Place I frequent doesn't offer flights, and lets folks know they limit samples at 5. My M.O. is usually to try a few heavier samples to set up my next beer after I've decided upon what IPA I'm going to have. Sounds silly probably, but I'd rather roll the dice on a new IPA or stick with an old reliable instead of choking down a massive ABV beer that I don't like. So long story short, I am one of those that may have a few samples and then order something completely different next.

If I am at a flight offering place, than yes, I'll do a flight, choose a growler worthy beer and choose a lighter "enjoy at the bar" beer based on said flight.

 

2 max if no flights.

If you can't figure out what you want by then, you're in the wrong place or you don't know what your doing.

 

No need for a hard a fast rule, as every situation is a bit different. How busy is the bar? Do I know the bartender? Do they offer samples willingly or are they making a special exception because I asked? Do they sell flights? This boils down to common sense and my general rule that applies to pretty much everything in life: Don't be a douche.

It's generally not hard to tell, and if you have to ask, you're probably being douchey.

 

This is my approach. I don't expect anything for free.

 

Or if you want to look at it that way, it saved them 15 cents from your request, and the next person's, and the next person's, and the next person's, and the next...... Water is cheaper than beer. Why not save that beer for the paying customers? It is a business after all.

(Plus, that sample costs more than 15 cents.) That 16 oz beer, if it costs you $7, means they just lost roughly $0.43-$0.44 cents on that 1 oz. sample. That may not seem like a lot to you, but as someone has already stated, profit margins are smaller than you think. It quickly adds up after multiple patrons take multiple samples per visit.

 

Serious question - what makes the beer different than your food? Your meal was probably more than $7, and you didn't get to sample that before ordering. You went on good faith based on what the description in the menu is. Why not the same with the beer list?

 

While I think that it is probably good customer service to offer samples, I don't have any expectation as a customer of being entitled to samples. Also, I don't think that I'm somehow entitled to like what I order. If I order a beer and don't like it, that's on me unless there is an actual flaw with the product (taplines aren't clean, it's old, etc). Same with food...if I order a steak, and it's cooked correctly, but I just don't like the sauce...that's on me. If it's overcooked, well, that's another story.

 

I never ask for more than 2 samples. If the 1st sample is ok I just order it.

 

Man I can't tell you how many times I've been *this close* to losing my shit because Joey Indecisive has to sample all 20 beers, only to end up choosing our Bud Light-iest one. Not to mention this happens frequently when we are clearly slammed and trying to be efficient at getting everyone their beers in a timely manner. We even offer individual flight-size (4 oz.) pours of all of our beers for $2 each, so ordering that many samples is absurd.

I think the term "tasting room" gets taken a bit too literally sometimes...

 

Whoa, so much going on here.

First and foremost, judge a book by its cover much? "Cagey fellow" ?? "... and he just seemed like the type that would have asked for more" ?? Snob much?? I mean really. You may well have been right but, really? Isn't the fellowship of the beer community about more than that somehow?

If a place OFFERS free samples, they WANT you to take them. I'm in the 2-3 per visit group but to look down your nose at someone for taking more than YOU deem acceptable is poor form.

I travel a lot and see many areas where craft beer has just not caught on yet. The owners do what they can to further the enjoyment of clients. How is offering free shots of beer any different than handing out ink pens?

Also, let's say flights and free samples are both available. The owner has obviously determined he wants BOTH of these tools at his disposal. Maybe he realizes there is a wide variety of people in the world, cagey people and snobby people, as well as people who like free samples and people who want to pay for flights.

 

I work in a taproom and most people that ask for samples are doing it to try the newest beer to see if they want to order a pint or take home a growler. A few people each night don't know much about beer so they like to try a few things before ordering. We do a good job of asking what beer they do like so we can direct them to a few styles that they will likely enjoy, so I'd say we have to give them a maximum of three samples before they make a decision. We don't really get people who seem to abuse the system very often. Either way, it is good customer service to allow them to decide what they will like to drink before they have to pay for something. We don't really want people ordering something blindly and then deciding they don't like our brewery because they don't enjoy the beer they ordered. But this doesn't apply to beer bars, which it seems like OP was talking about

 

You can buy them, you know

 

Agreed. Great points and excellent analogy.

 

Ask for as many samples as you want. The bar will let you know when it's enough.

Personally, I almost never ask for a sample. Sometimes a bartender or waitress will offer me one without me asking for it, in which case I never turn it down.