Tap room turn offs

Excessive noise by jackasses who can't handle good beer, oh and crappy beer. Southern Connecticut has one brewery that takes the cake for both.

 

Not to rub salt into your wounds, but doesn't Dave Matthews own a winery in your state (Blenheim Vineyards)? I used to know this lady who was married and also in love with Dave. Took a cross country trip with her girlfriend just to go to those vinyards. You never can tell about those wine geeks. Nothing like beer geeks that fly across the ocean for a good chug-a-lug!!

 

Perfume. Perfume in the cleaner to clean the place. Perfume in the hand soap in the bathroom. Perfume on women who work there or patronize the place.

 

No menu, I always feel like a dick having the server rattle off what's on tap.

 

Rude staff , not clean....those get a thumbs down from me.

 

I hate walking into a tap room with wall to wall people and not having an idea where to sit or how I am even going to find a place to stand. For me visiting a tap room is a destination trip so its a bummer to be in a room with wall to wall to people. I also am not a fan of beer tour buses pulling up, because it creats a crush of people all wanting beers at the same time.

 

Tap Room Turn Ons:

• Brewers that also pour beers. It's awesome to go to a tap room like Kingdom Brewing in Newport VT or Common Roots in Glens Falls NY and get to talk to the folks that are making the beer. It really adds to the experience.
• Destination-worthy food. There's quite nothing like pairing a great beer with a perfect meal. Here's looking at you ProPig in Waterbury VT and Moat Mountain in North Conway NH.
• Non-hyped, under the radar tap houses cranking out awesome stuff. I don't want to fight for a beer. I'll usually avoid places that attract lines. In the past year or so we've visited Wormtown, Night Shift, Schilling, Aardwolf, Holy City, Spring House, among others. They we all comfortable, friendly, clean, and served great bears with no pretensions.

 

kids...

 

There are two in Southern Ct that fit this description. Curious which one you mean? I am not a fan of either by the way.....

 

Kudos to you if my list agrees with yours (apologies if your tired of hearing the same things):

1. Sanitizer aroma mixing with beer nose due to improper washing/rinsing/equipment
2. Bartenders who have to pour for the house AND pick up tables near the bar
3. Lists without info as to serving size, price, style, ABV...
4. Double standards for a chosen few customers and then the inevitable argument when you expect the same sort of treatment
5. No half pours, sample sizes (5 oz. is fine with me). I understand flights are a pain in the ass, especially at busy times and when the beer everyone wants is pouring shitty.
5a. Don't clown me (like Pizza Boy) by offering half pours at usury rates. i.e. a $5 pint is offered in 8oz pour for $4. Really? Really.
6. The hipsterdoofus/badge of the idiot/neckbeard general annoyances
7. "Pints" that are actually 14oz. or whatever (see #3)
8. Overly loud music, tv or group behavior.

 

Kids,children,cryin'ass babies,anyone under 18...

 

Stony Creek. They aim for glitz/popularity rather than quality in my opinion. Big Cranky has potential, unlike their other beers. It'd be nice if they turned things around and made Branford/surrounding towns' residents something to be proud of. Which ones did you have in mind?

 

Ah -yeah dude.

 

Yep that's one. The other is in Stamford....

 

Main ones for me have already been mentioned:
• Dogs - How is this okay with the health department?!
• The whole concept of Taprooms - They offer nothing unique to visitors. You can often find the same beer in stores, there is no/bad ambiance, and there is often nothing to do but drink. I'll usually only visit a brewery to pick up a special release unless they have a full service restaurant. If I wanted to just stare at the wall and drink, I'd stay at home and save my money!

 

Virginia has recently began cracking down on this. whether the brewery serves food or not, dogs are only allowed outside, except for true "service" dogs (not "my Chihuahua is my mental/emotional service dog" some people try to get away with)

 

Most of mine have been touched on. I will still give it a go.

• A "sports bar" theme. Actually, I don't want TVs at all. I want to be able to sit and talk to people.
• I understand having kids if it is a restaurant and taproom and there can be a separate family/dining area. If it is just a place to drink, I don't want kids running around, throwing tantrums, etc. In fact, I really want to get away from that.
• Long wait times to get in. I honestly don't care how hip or trendy your place is. I will go elsewhere.
• Glassware issues. Dirty glasses. "Frosty" glasses. Glasses with a chip in them. Bud Light shaker pints for every beer. Actually, I am really impressed when a place has correct styles of glassware for the type of beer I am drinking. It tells me that they know about the beer and they care about beer.
• Dirty lines. A dirty bar. Flies/fruit flies. If you can't be bothered to clean, I don't want any part of your place.

 

1) Too few options for taking stuff home. There was one local brewery near a place that I used to live that had this. The flights were free and fairly generous, which was cool, but they had very limited options for beer to take home. Sometimes they had bottles, but usually the only choice was to buy an expensive 64 oz growler at usually ended up over $20. I wanted to support them and give them money and not drink samples for free, but I didnt want to drop that much money on a large growler each time. It made it hard to casually visit often. There are only so many times you can buy a pint glass with the logo...

2) Places that are not conducive to a casual experience. I usually just want to try a couple beers out in a flight while i sit down and check out the brewery. I dont like when the only option is to wait for a table and feel bad drinking one flight of samples while everyone else is eating full dinners around us at other tables, and I dont like when a place has no option to hang out or do anything other than pound a couple quick samples and get out.

3) Nothing interesting to try. Maine Beer Co has some awesome beers, but they were one of my least favorite stops in a trip to maine that I took over the summer. All the beers that they had at the brewery were beers that I've already had plenty of times in distributed bottles. Theres not much point to take a long trip to visit somewhere if I could have just stayed at home and drank all the same beers after going to a local package store. Having a line of pilot beers just for the tap room makes things so much more interesting. I dont even care if the pilot beers suck, as long as they give me a reason to come try something new.