No More Taproom Samples

All good. Just making a joke. I worked in the service industry for like 10 years so I get it. Also, I think since I did work in the service I always try to be a considerate customer and tip appropriately. Cheers

 

Did I miss the list?

 

There are plenty of times I've wanted a sample:

1) I can't decide between two beers that on paper look the same
2) An expensive beer I'm not sure I'll like
3) An interesting or unique beer that I'm curious about

I think samples are a privilege we have as craft beer drinkers, not to be abused. Buying a subpar beer or a beer I didn't know I didn't want can be frustrating. The curiosity and the craft of beer are the reason we as Beer Advocates are at the brewery. Samples have provided me a lot. They can be powerful and I think often provide a mutual respect between me and the brewery. Let's not abuse them.

 

I’ve never once asked for a sample of a beer. The consequences of failure are just too small. What is the worst thing that can happen? I don’t like it very much and I’m out $7? Small potatoes.

 

Like Larry, I don’t like when people abuse their sample privileges. Otherwise I think it’s fine.

 

I was hanging at my neighborhood beer bar in NYC several years ago. Watched a guy walk in, get 6 or 7 samples, then leave. Don't know who was more pissed, me or the bartender.

 

Well said.

 

I once drank 2 pints of borderline mediocre IPA because my wife had 3 or 4 samples that she did NOT like. Don’t remember what brewery it was. All of it was bad but I felt like I HAD to order something.

 

I wish America would do away with allowing samples. Know the styles, ask for a recommendation, read the description, then make your choice. This idea that every single restaurant/bar experience has to be perfectly curated to meet ones expectation and hopes is ludicrous. It's a beer, not a new car. Worse thing that happens is you're not into the beer and you learn from it, as the OP suggests. Maybe someone your with will want to drink it. Or, gasp, maybe, just maybe you'll need to spend another $8. You've got the money to spend the $8, because your hobby is drinking craft beer, so don't worry about it.

Side note, it's also massively annoying to the people in line behind you when you're asking for samples. I was at Shaidzon brewery a few months back and there were two dudes at the head of the line who must have gotten five samples between them. There were probably eight people in line behind them. Fuck outta here. I'm not opposed to waiting for a beer at a bar. I think the assumption that you get instant service is also ludicrous. But waiting in line when two grown-ass men are acting like children at a jelly bean counter is bullshit.

 

Liquor store got all upset when I cracked one to make sure before I bought the $12 six pack. It’s like customer service is dead.

 

Oh the horror!

I remember when in Connecticut the only thing you could get at a brewery were samples. If a brewery or restaurant won't offer samples I'm not spending my hard earned money at that establishment full stop (especially restaurants or beer bars b/c of the dirty tap line problem). I have my locals that I frequent and I don't even have to ask for samples most of the time. If they have a new beer on tap I am usually offered a sample. Now that I think about it I can't remember a brewery ever refusing to offer me a sample nor have I ever experienced a prima donna bartender get all temperamental about it. I guess I just frequent well run establishments.

edit: I find myself trying to imagine the logistics of this interaction. So the bartender ignores the rest of the customers while pouring five samples for "two dudes"? Is this bartender not well trained? In the establishments I patronize bartenders will typically serve someone a sample and move on to the next customer and then come back to the sampler after they have finished their sample. I guess it all depends on the floor plan of the taproom but it seems odd to me that someone getting a sample or two would be that much of an impediment to a bartender doing their job. It actually sounds more like management not wanting to give out free samples.

 

The 3oz pour effectively killed off the sample pour in my opinion. It's effectively "You want a sample, pay for 3ozs."

 

Odd that you would crack one in the store instead of just buying a single can and sampling at home.

 

I think part of the issue was that these guys were asking all sorts of questions of the bartender about the beers. The bartender knew the beers well and was answering their questions. I think some would see that as the bartender being trained well and doing their job too. Either way, the guys reminded me of dudes at the homebrew shop, chopping it up about various nuances in tastes. Seemed like the wrong place and time for it. They were inconsiderate, in my experience, though I recognize others would think very differently.

 

Guilty as charged. I'm generally ornery when it comes to craft beer enthusiasts.

 

the thing is not all customers are well versed on all things beer. Maybe they are new to craft and trying to learn. Sounds like they were trying to learn and the bartender was helping them. Sounds like a positive experience.

 

I often find myself wondering about this exact thing when these threads come up. At all the bars I've been to, if the bartenders can't deftly handle a large group of people waiting to order then they are considered bad bartenders. If there is a line and they are just casually chatting some people up about samples without taking the orders or the next in line they are not doing a good job, it's not the fault of the flight or the sample.

 

Whoosh!