Why worry about craft beer at wedding receptions?

Sorry, but this makes no sense to me. In most cases the bride is worrying about a hundred other things of equal triviality. Why wouldn't you worry about the beer?

 

Above all else when you peel back the layers of why people go to weddings, booze is at the top of the list. I don't serve or drink low quality beer at my home so I felt the same about my wedding. Some didn't notice, but those that did were very grateful and no one cried about the lack of Silver Bullets. Advocate beer... duh.

 

Blue?

 

Venue: you like the place, it's available. Done.
Venue layout, table types: consult. Decide. Done.
Food quality: hire a caterer you trust. THEY worry about it for you. Done.
The weather: indoors? Just don't hold it in the winter in a snowy area, or in a hurricane area in the summer. Outdoors? You're on your own year-round.
The people: don't invite assholes you don't like.

Wow, that was easy. Why is it so difficult to toss in "since we're spending a shitload of money, can I serve beer that my friends enjoy" into the mix?

 

When I got married twenty years ago, then as now every wedding hall in New Jersey featuring a combination of Bud, Coors Light, and Heineken. The thing I loved about the country club we used was that the executive chief's attitude was "it's your wedding, what do you want" as opposed to all the other places that stuck a pre-printed menu in front of you and said "this is what we do for weddings". That extended to the beer menu, where I included a keg of Sam Adams, which was greatly appreciated by my friends.

 

I'm sorry, but nothing wrecks a perfectly good beer bash like two people using the occasion to get married.

 

don't get married! after the divorce you'll be drinking natty light in your 1 bedroom apartment

 

One keg of something "radio friendly" and widely known (Sam Adams)
One keg something more regional (Summit)
One case or three, 12 oz bottles/cans something a bit more obscure to most (Indeed)
Handful or five of higher end larger format bottles (Chimay/Duvel/Yeti)
One bottle for the groom and bride, and then one more for the bride

 

$400 in beer would last about 15 minutes at a wedding involving my friends

 

This is pretty common actually. A lot of venues have agreements with a distributor to carry only their products. A buddy of mine encountered this last year and I have seen it before as well. Differentiating from their partner's product will come at a premium

 

I went to a wedding this past Friday (who gets married on 4th of July right) and in addition to standard liquor and wine all they had was Bud Light. Of course I would have preferred something else but in the combo of being happy for my friends' marriage and hanging out with old fraternity brothers/college friends that Bud Light tasted pretty fucking good

 

Weird that people on a beer website would talk about the beer they wanted to have on their wedding day. I'm pretty sure if someone started a thread called "what flowers should we have as the centerpiece for our bridal party table" they would be ridiculed mercifully.

 

You call it an agreement that comes at a premium, I call it a rip off. It's dirty business IMO. If you are spending $xxx per head for a wedding and you're asking for a keg of beer, let the venue pay the premium as a throw-in.

 

I will agree $500 is absolutely ridiculous and a total rip off for that keg. They'd be better off just saying no

 

Ok. So with all the things could go wrong, why discourage anyone from trying to get something right? Maybe after an otherwise shitty wedding or reception, maybe getting that beer they were expecting helps to raise spirits. Or maybe nothing goes wrong with the wedding or reception and that beer is just the cherry on top. And maybe some people don't worry so much about all the things that could go wrong, and they just want that beer. Seems odd to bring this up. I mean, why worry about that roast beef while you're at it? Why worry about what kind of cake to get? Why bother having a reception when so much will probably go wrong anyway?

 

Blasphemy !

 

Do whatever makes you happy. For every person that says spending money on craft for a wedding is a waste, there are just as many, like myself, that would rather forgo seat covers and other trivial details that not even my wife would notice for a keg of something tasty.

 

My friend who I brew with and I have brewed a bunch of different beers for some of our friends weddings, seems to be pretty popular lately.

 

If only those questions were actually that easy to resolve...

Plus there's the fact that some venues/caterers have certain arrangements in place for alcohol. For example, the venue we chose (because it was perfect for availability, atmosphere, location, size, format) had a deal where you could either go through them for the alcohol, or you could pay a ridiculous premium to be allowed to contract with an outside alcohol provider.

Given that it was hard enough to find a venue we liked on the date we wanted, the alcohol situation wasn't about to be a deal breaker. Especially when most wedding guests only care about getting free booze. Even at my wedding, with my close circle of friends that love craft beer, I'd guess 10% or fewer of the guests really gave a shit what kind of beer was available. And I have a feeling that the ratio is probably similar for most people--even people in the BA community--unless they are planning on having a really small wedding with only their close circle of friends, in which case the ratio might be higher.

 

Why else would they name it Coors Banquet? The name says it all... its meant to be for a formal wedding right? haha