Reasons for Not Patronizing a Brewery

As others have said, I can get past mediocre/blah beer if it's a cool atmosphere, has good food, etc. Conversely, if a place has great beer, I'll look past it being in a bland, shitty office park or whatever. So neither of those are dealbreakers.

There's only one place in my area I avoid, and have never been, and that's Davidson Bros in Glens Falls. Their owners are dirtbags and there was a huge newspaper article (and subsequent shitstorm) after they went to a no-tipping model and only went from paying their employees $5 to $7.50 in the process. Like, the worst server in the world is gonna make more than $2.50 in tips in an hour, so it was just a profoundly garbage move.

Also their beer is trash, they're stuck in 1994 brewpub mode perpetually, and their food is laughably expensive for what and where it is. I will never go there.

So if a brewery engages in any sort of harmful practices against their employees (culture of sexism/racism/harassment, unpaid labor, etc) that's an instant dealbreaker. I'm not aware of any other places like that anywhere in my area (or among places I travel regularly) though so that's good.

The only other thing that I encounter every once in a great while that would keep me away is price vs. quality. I went to Broken Bow a few months ago, a flight was $16 (so $16 for 20oz, get real) and three of the four beers sucked. Absolutely won't go back there.

 

I would support it, because I'm not a piece of shit. Employees unionizing doesn't inherently mean they're unionizing AGAINST their employee, it means they're unionizing FOR themselves and for future employees.

 

This thread should have a "Poll" feature. Can they be added after it was created?

 

The problem arises when they change recipes. Is “the Lager” you buy today the same “the Lager” you bought last month? Does the current version of “the IPA” feature the same hops as last week's “the IPA”? A beer with a different name indicates a different beer.

 

One of the 'issues' I had with Sixpoint Brewing 'back in the day' was their strategy of continual 'improvement' with their beer brands. Over the years they continually made 'tweaks' to their beer brands and never changed their labeling/branding. While part of me appreciated that they were always seeking 'excellence' there was also a part of me that did not appreciate the continuing tweaking. For example one year they hit a 'home run' with their Jammer Gose and the next purchase I made of this beer (a year later?) the changes they made resulted in a lesser beer for my palate; I was not a fan of the 'improvement' of this beer.

I really think that if brewers are going to choose to make changes they really need to make this known to the consumers. Use a different brand name or at a minimum label the beer like Sixpoint Jammer Gose 2.0.

Cheers!

@ReturnMikey

 

I can understand enjoying the company of man's best friend while visiting a brewery

but bringing a cat?

 

I *like* some beers that taste/smell like cat piss, or skunk (real skunks, or other strong complex odors. But then I share my home with two of the "cat-type" varmints.

Cheers - Jon

 

This is clearly a personal preference, but I tend to avoid breweries that are crazy busy. Surly (prior to unionization shut down) used to be frequently packed with people and there was a long wait time. I'm not really sure how busy they are since reopening. They even used to offer valet parking service. In addition, since Surly was 40 minutes from my house, I often elected to visit places closer to home that I knew would be less crowded and had better beer anyway. My wife and I would most often prefer a little quieter atmosphere where we can talk to the beer tender or servers, and in cases where we are on vacation out of town, maybe even learn a little about the area through conversation.
All this being said, I've driven 5 hours round trip in a single day numerous times to visit Toppling Goliath which for a release can be very busy but.......you make exceptions for high quality beer.

 

I'll definitely avoid if it's too crowded. I literally Nope'd out of Tree House this past Thursday because it was giving me line flashbacks. Imagine standing in a line for 30 minutes to order 2 beers. I hate what I used to be.

If you are selling packaged beer directly from your taproom that isn't fresh. I can understand it not being fresh on the shelf of a liquor store, but if it's in your own taproom?

Being Greater Good Brewing and actually having a taproom.

 

I probably won’t ever buy sixpoint again. I don’t recall the gentleman’s name, but several years back he was on here constantly promoting their (his?) beer. He was very active, and very vocal. Then, they sold (or a majority stake purchased - not sure which) and he disappeared.

i don’t blame that guy for selling, but I do blame the strategy. Felt like a bait and switch.

(Not like it really matters. Six point pretty much doesn’t distribute here anymore, and I haven’t seen any type of stout from them since the purchase. I’m not buying their IPAs, so moot I guess.)

 

You are referring to Shane Welch who previously was the owner of Sixpoint Brewing Co. I personally appreciated his participation on BA. Yes, some of the posts could be argued as being self-serving (the promotion you mention) but he also provided other input on beer and brewing and I personally appreciate when beer industry folks are willing to 'talk' to us.

Yes, Shane made a decision to sell Sixpoint Brewing Co. to Artisanal Beverage Ventures (ABV) which is the 'umbrella company' which also owns Southern Tier and Victory. At the time of sale (and today as well) there were a lot of financial challenges for regional, distributing breweries. The concept of an 'umbrella company' such as ABV was there were financial advantages for consolidating a number of mid-tier breweries; as a larger company there are efficiencies in purchasing ingredients, sharing resources for sales and distribution, etc. One example as regards Sixpoint is that the production of these beers is now done at the Victory brewery in Parkesburg, PA vs. previously the Sixpoint beers were contract brewed by City Brewing in Memphis, TN.

Cheers!

 

Thanks to both of you. You're correct, it was definitely Shane. I was even the recipient of one of his beer givaways to try the beers outside of the stout footprint. I appreciated that.

I have nothing against him - Like I said, I completely understand why he would sell. It just felt like he was driving up hype and then....sold! Just rubbed me the wrong way.

I will buy from corporate-owned overlords - I love Bourbon County for example. I just didn't like the way it went down. it felt icky.

 

Depends on what article you believe, but nothing about a non-compete clause). Brewbound reported at the time:

While Good Beer Hunting's article, complete with a quote from Welch himself, said:

Don't know if this "APP" thing ever came out but I hear they're even less beer-like that FMB's, RTD's and the hard seltzers.

 

I wish there was a way to see which breweries are behind on their liability insurance payments, pay their employees like crap, have unsafe working conditions, don't offer health insurance, have hidden health code violations, and don't operate in environmentally sound ways. I'm sure I would be upset if a brewery I like hired a racist worker who insulted a customer, or if the owner is a real jerk. But the things that would cause me to instantly and permanently not go back are above.

 

"Influencers" in my estimation is one of the strangest terms delivered into common parlance in some time. If someone told me that they were an influencer I'd laugh in their face. It just rankles me badly.....

 

I think it's an ego trip for celebs to have that tag, especially those in the entertainment industry where everyone is an expert on everything.

 

Talk about specialized.
Looks like in 2012, 13, & 14 Sixpoint was developing and promoting an Android & Apple app dedicated to finding Sixpoint beer and purchasing Sixpoint merchandise.
https://sixpoint.com/sixpoint-mobile-for-android/
https://sixpoint.com/sixpoint-mobile-app/
https://sixpoint.com/beerfinder-and-app-updates/

I hope Welch didn't have too much invested in the app 'cause I can't find updates after 2017 and all of the links now go to the website's beer finder page.

 

"Influencers" is more likely social media users who have developed a large following, and use it to 'influence'. They can be paid, and may even work as an 'influencer' for a job. Sometimes they peddle workout plans, equipment, supplements, or in this case - beer. A lot of the time, they are 'regular' people who have adapted their life to social media.

Those 'faulty' lists, such as the recent top 50 list, are just recommendations from members in the industry on beers they enjoyed. No more or less.

@dennisthreeninefiveone