How often do you get half pours or flights?

I hate flights/samples. Not a big fan of half-pints or half pours either but I'd take that over a little thimble glass. I always opt for a full serving. I tend to find that a sample sized serving of a beer does not represent it's true flavor. Often times certain beers tend to get better (or in some cases get worse) when having a full serving. Just my personal preference. Cheers!

 

When I was first getting into craft I would often get flights. Why not try as many beers as possible? But over time I realized that I didn't really remember any of the beers I had in flights, and samples I really enjoyed I wished I had a full glass of. So I only go for full glasses now.

 

Flights are stupid.

The sign of a true adult is decisiveness and a commitment to something.

Man up.

 

Half pours: Increasingly more often. I like variety, and I don't like not being able to get myself home at the end of a session. At 27, it seems my metabolism works a bit differently than it did 6 years ago, too. Or maybe I'm just more cautious. Anyway, it also tends to be friendlier on the wallet at the end of the day. Flights: occasionally, usually only for special beer-related events.

 

Only do flights and half pints. To waste your liver and palate on a full pour when there are so many options is an utter waste. Maximize and enjoy the whole menu. Drinking at home is for full pours.

 

I don't see much value in only offering small pours. It could result in a higher demand for staffing and glassware. It also alienates the locals who come in weekly (and thus give the business its sustainability) for a pint or two with friends. In short, regular sized pours* should be pints. Whether a brewery wants to deal with maintaining a fleet of small glasses and pouring flights or not is up to them. Either way, I'll find something to drink

*for regular beers. Not necessarily their seasonal barrel aged stout.

 

Even for folks who visit a brewery regularly with friends or family?

Brewery tap rooms aren't just for checking off brews.

 

I have noticed more and more lately that craft beer places (be it bars, breweries, tasting rooms, etc.) now offer varying sizes in regards to pours. For instance, they might list prices next to each beer for 5/8/12 oz. pours, respectively. This is something that I am highly in favor of. When I go out nowadays, I really prefer to try a couple 5 oz. pours of different beers instead of full pours. Not only does it spare my liver and my waistline, but it prevents my wallet from thinning as well. Anyone else feel the same way or do you prefer getting full pints?

 

I like 4 oz pours if there are more than two or three beers I want to try on tap. Three or less? I can do a couple pints and survive.

 

If it's a Bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout with a 12% ABV, or a DIPA, I'm good for the pint, but if it's one of those American Wild Ales/Sours, I think a 4 oz pour is more than enough.

 

I'm always quite surprised when I'm told "We only serve it in pints".

Fortunately you are correct in that a lot more places, even standard bars, are offering smaller glasses as an option.

What I hate is when they take that as an opportunity to charge you inappropriately ~ I understand that there's another glass to wash, and maybe you want to factor in some loss from the foam at pouring, but that doesn't make a half pint of a $5 beer cost $3.50

 

I love smaller pours myself.

My local bar serves flights, but stocks 6oz glasses as well as pint glasses, I very rarely order flights though.

I love the 6oz pours though. I feel much more satisfied after drinking 3 6oz pours than I do after 1 pint even though it's only 18oz instead of 16oz... I just feel like I've completed more of a drinking session even if I'm drinking the same beer... Plus I don't have to worry about the beer warming up and I can take breaks between pours if I want to.

They sell the beer by the oz so a 6oz pour is exactly 6/16th the cost of a 16oz pour.

 

Nothing can corrupt your palate more than a flight of different beer styles. By the time you get to the 3rd or 4th one that beer won't really taste like it would have if you would have tried it on a clean palate.

Even just trying a flight of different IPA's will really affect how you will taste those different hops once your palate has tried a different one just before it.

 

True, but on the flip side, 16 ounces of some beers is just too much. Certain intense flavors can get grating after a while, even if you absolutely loved the first few ounces. Some NE IPAs spring to mind. In those cases, a half pour seems to be a good choice.

 

It kind of swings both ways...I can think of a few "session ales" that taste better after your third or fourth pint (I'm looking at you, Carton Boat) versus as some IPAs that taste pretty mediocre after your second or third pint (I'm looking at you, Dragoon IPA). All depends on the brewer, the style, etc.

 

If I'm at a new place with unfamiliar beers I will order a flight, then adjust accordingly. Somewhat surprised by all the comments suggesting it is too much trouble for staff in crowded conditions. Really? If it is too difficult to pour a flight, maybe stop offering them or consider some staff changes.

 

I would be in favor of ending flights, I'm totally on board with that.

Or maybe a separate line for the flight wanting folks, like Hill Farmstead used to do for growler fills, and a separate line for folks ordering pours. Ahh, but then it would be the flight wanting folks complaining about the slow lines due to the flight wanting folks.

 

True enough..I guess I'm just not used to lines or overcrowded situations when I go out for a few. That's the problem with getting up early for work and being old..or is that a good thing? But I must admit I can get impatient with slow service so I a see both sides.

 

I agree. That's an absolutely ridiculous mentality. Let me climb onto my soapbox...

Do you order chicken nuggets at a restaurant because they're easier to throw in a microwave than it is to grill a steak to order? Should I only buy half of the items I need at the grocery store so that the lines move a little more quickly, or should the store open more lanes/hire speedier cashiers?

If I'm spending my dollars at a brewery or bar, I will order what I want. If the establishment cannot handle my order without inconveniencing other customers or me, they should either stop offering that item, or else make the staffing/process changes required to make that item sustainable. If said establishment chooses not to instigate change for the better, I don't think it's fair for them or other customers to blame me (the paying customer) for failing to accommodate the establishment's shortcomings.

It's a beertender's job to pour beers. Whether those beers are 2, 4, 8, or 16 ounces is irrelevant. They are getting paid and (hopefully) tipped either way. I say all of this as someone who worked many years in restaurants. I respect the employees, but if pouring a flight is too much to ask of them, they need to get out of the service industry. Likewise, if other customers and lines bother you, stay home and drink.

 

And you've rated over 200 beers here. I think some "adult men" might not view that as commitment. Unless you're committed to trying many different beers. Flights might help you with that.