Pet Peeve: Tap Takeovers

I can't say I love or hate tap takeovers, it's all about the Brewery and the beers on tap.
Locally, I have been to many Kane tap takeovers where there were a number of amazing beers to sample.
Also been to a Firestone Walker TTO's with great IPA's and Barrel Aged Stouts on tap.
If I stumbled into a bar in Boston and they had a Trillium or Treehouse tap takeover I would be thrilled. If that same bar the following week had a BBC or Harpoon takeover, I'd probably pass.

 

Thanks Todd. Love those tap handles!

 

Most of almost all the tap takeovers around me are pretty much strictly to sell beer. Troegs,Brooklyn,Von Trapp( just a few I've seen locally recently) etc...They pick places around the city that have a pretty good draft list, and or trying to sell more of their product in the general area. They normally don't pick "OUR" local beer bars because they know we all have had them over and over. They pick places like local pubs with 10 or so drafts to get the bud light drinkers away from the ordinary beer. Plus they give away free stuff. People go nuts over free stuff,even if its a freaking coaster with a logo on it (especially all the new BRO DUDES that drink craft beer now haha). Jacks Abby did one last year and had all their normal beers but then they tapped PB & J Framinghammer and nerds everywhere went crazy. I would rather stay home. I have been to a few awesome Tap Takeovers but they weren't anywhere near me.

 

Also 40 Crooked Stave beers last month...

 

A lot of the tap takeovers (TT) are done at the urging of the either the distributor rep or the Brewery rep. Think about it, I am a sales rep for a distributor and I carry founders. I have xy bar that does a TT one or twice a year and orders founders stuff regularly. I have bar ab that does not do TT but does order Founders regularly. When I have a few kegs of KBS in the market I am going to offer it to bar xy first. Why? Because they have taken care of me all year long AND I sold 10-15 extra kegs to them for the TT.

 

Jeff doesn't screw around!

 

It's hard to pick where to go when neither place posts their tap list on line.

 

SAY WHAT? Norey's in Newport has a World Class Tap Takeover every month- see BA events & Bottles & Cans Just Clap Hands.

 

A local bar does featured brewery/tap takeovers regularly. Usually there is no representative and no merchandise. I usually refer to them as "brewery the distributor had on sale" night. Often these events include a keg of the seasonal which was just replaced. If it works for them, who am I to complain? I just don't go.

 

I disagree with the OP. Tap takeovers are pretty cool for a lot of people who want to try a breweries offerings. If you do not want to try or have had all of the beers, no one would be offended if you did not attend. I am sure there are plenty of people that would take your seat at the bar and enjoy !!

 

I like tap takeovers, personally. I don't know what it's like around where OP's at, but around these parts, taphouses doing tap takeovers almost always tap several special offerings that are hard to find on tap in order to entice people to show up. And even when I'm not interested in the brewery that's doing the takeover, they only last a couple hours at most and rarely take up every tap at a given taphouse. And even if that weren't the case, there are six different beer bars near me, the farthest of which is only a ten minute bike ride, so I'm not exactly starving for choice If I really want to grab a pint. On top of that, even if by some astonishing coincidence, all six of those places near me are doing a tap takeover from the same brewery I dislike, I can still choose not to have a beer that night.

So I guess my point is this: even if you really don't like a given tap takeover, they're brief and generally infrequent enough that I don't get why it's that much of an issue.

 

I definitely agree that it's not worth doing if the brewery isn't new to market or doesn't bring anything that can't be picked up off the shelf.