So, how do you guys handle a bad draft situation?

At the local "gastropub" here, they serve some stuff from the only local brewery in town. I wanted an IPA, so the bartender suggested their IPA, and I hated it. Wasn't sure if it was infected or just brewed poorly, but it had very heavy medicine and soap overtones. I told him straight up that it was bad. He admitted he also doesn't like their beer, he just tries to promote local stuff, which I get. Anyways, he gave me another beer.

I don't know if anyone likes that beer. I've never seen anyone else drinking it. Judging from the way the bartender acted, it seemed to me that my experience was a regular occurrence with that brewery.

The only other time I thought I noticed something was Stone IPA at a big college bar in town. I mentioned it to my friends and we ordered other beers after that. Didn't say anything to the bartender because it was just a bit stale and still drinkable. I doubt they sell more than 2 or 3 pints of Stone IPA on a regular day at that bar.

 

I've tried to explain that one of the beers at a microbrew pub tasted like butter. The waitress shrugged it off. I almost asked if the owner/brewmaster was there, but I guess I just considered it wasn't really worth my time.

On the opposite end of the spectrum I once had a beer poured for me before the lines were run all the way after cleaning/rinsing them and got a glass of water. That was an odd thing to have to bring up to the bartender. I was surprised that she didn't notice, but she's pretty flighty so whatever.

 

I would say your experience lays across two different tough scenarios. One, the reputable bar, is about a business that can't/won't clean their tap lines. I would stop going to said bar. Who knows why they are reputable but not hard to keep the lines clean. Two, the brewery, the more likely quality is bad fermentation. This is tougher, maybe you should let the brewer know that you think they might have an off batch?

 

I would say something & let them know your opinion as to why. If you're wrong, carry on & drink there. If they're wrong & you see the same problem in the future, I would bail. If they are wrong & fix it, I would stick around, some one cares. Of course all of these answers are possibly wrong, just some general guidance...

 

I think you definitely need to say something. If the bar is doing something wrong, then everyone who has a bad beer from them could blame the brewing company instead. I am sure something like this happenned to all of us, whether it be an old ipa, warm and plastic taste from sitting in the lines too long, etc. Isnt the point of being a beer advocate to advocate for good, quality beer?

Op's post reminds me when I was at one of the most famous beer bars in NYC and ordered a cask ipa. After tasting it, and immediately thinking something was wrong (it was almost black and tasted like a pine tree), and my wife agreed, I told the server. She responded that she thought something was wrong with it, that it could have been mislabeled and really was that same company's Christmas beer. Sure, she gave me another beer free of charge, but how many beer advocates need to tell a bar/server that something is wrong before they stop serving it?

 

Ahh that age old question: When isn't diacetyl diacetyl??
Quick and dirty answer: When it's "toffee". Usually found in carastan or beers with a heavy caramel/crystal malt profile.
Question: When is it diacetyl?
Answer: When both the flavor and the smell resembles microwave popcorn with a slick/oily mouth feel.

What i do when i get a off par pour? I inform the bartender/server, make a mental note of said brewery, enjoy a different beer after drinking something to cleanse the palate then if it really bothers me with other offerings from that brewery, i inform them ( rarely happens).

Bartenders and servers while they should care about what they are serving are often miss/uniformed about the product. Just make sure you speak up and not drink 1/2 the glass before you say something because then you just look like you want to receive something for free ( like eating 1/2 a pizza then saying oh it was burnt).

Also what you are eating can effect the flavor of others eating a burger and fries are often greasy/oily caramelized salty sometimes buttered buns. Some beers scream for a pairing like that while others not such a friendly playground.

Sometimes brewery QC fails and something slips past their defense.

 

If the beer was faulty to start with, that's one thing. But any serious beer establishment should have their own line cleaning gear and a set regimen of cleaning. That so many businesses rely on a distributor(s) to clean their lines is absurd. Beer is a food product and I'm amazed at how often beer presentation isn't taken as seriously as food presentation.

 

@Relik really does lay out all the salient points here. Multiple beers from multiple breweries=the bar's problem, multiple examples of a single beer=possible brewery issue, possible bar issue.
Etiquette relates that you don't complain about a nearly empty glass.

 

It seems like many people on this thread believe that diacetyl is a flaw that can be caused by poorly kept draft lines. This is not the case. If diacetyl is present, it formed in the beer during fermentation and the brewer is to blame, not the bar owner. Also keep in mind that diacetyl is not always considered a flaw in beer -- it depends on the style. In the OP's case I think he was drinking at the brewery; the brewer and bar owner were one and the same. In that case I'd expect a little more sympathy and understanding on their part and willingness to pour you something else.

 

yep I know dirty lines from off flavors. and I also know after 1 sip ( I TAKE BIG FIRST SIPS). and I know if its a new place to me to pay cash after I taste the beer. I never have a problem saying the beer is bad....I go out and over pay for beer (bar prices) you damn right I will raise hell if I have too.

new micros is always tasting flights if they are cheap enough or free samples. if they not doing free and there are new, its a strike against them right off the bat IMHO.

how do you tell a pine tar bomb is bad?, lol. I kidd.

 

I had an experience like this at a local brewery Ale Asylum. I orderded a Big Slick Stout, which I had never had so I was stoked to try it. When the girl behind the bar poured it and set it in front of me it looked like chocolate milk... Like I said I had never had it, or seen it for that matter, so I tried it. It tasted off, but again my ignorance of the beer kept me from saying something to her. Then one of the brewers came out of the back room, looked at my beer with a look of horror/annoyance and asked me what was I drinking. After I told him he instructed the girl behind the bar to refund my money and get me a different beer on the house.

Turns out the line was bad and too much oxygen was getting in - I put that one on the girl behind the bar, not the brewery as she should have known what the beer is supposed to look like before giving it to a customer. If it's a training issue then that's on the business

 

You're doing the bar a favor by telling them something's wrong. It's free quality control which benefits their business. Hell, they owe you a free beer at the very. If they don't believe "the customer is always right" (even if they're aren't) then you shouldn't go back.

 

The bigger question is.....
How many breweries would dump an entire batch on the taste of Diacetyl?


Pretty sure you're talking about Griffin Claw, what beer was it?

 

I've only done this 2 or 3 times but I just simply tell the bartender (after only a few sips) that I REALLY don't care for the beer, either my palate or just not a quality beer. It's pretty hard not to finish a beer but if it's that bad, tell someone and ask if they can swap it for something else. If they are an establishment that cares, they'll happily do it and hopefully remember for the future to see if it's a trend. I just did this last week, no issue.

 

It's happened to me once, and it was obviously diacetyl because it was strong microwave buttered popcorn. This was a new brewery that had just been open about 6 months, and the only probable quality control is likely to be the brewer tasting the beer before it goes on tap. In this case, the bartender was the brewer, and this was a new beer for the brewery and had just gone on tap. As soon as I said something to the brewer he commented something to the effect, "I knew we rushed that beer too quickly," and he said that he was going to take it offline. He never said whether he had tasted it prior to my pour, but he graciously replaced the beer with another. I think he learned a lesson that day.

 

Happily I very rarely get any grief about bringing a bad beer back to the bar, most of which I put down to having worked and drank in cask ale specialist pubs and festivals for many years, know the good pubs and the staff know me.
The last time I was served a beer full of dregs/lees that, due to its temperature,had obviously sat in the pipe all day, I complained, then voted with my feet when I got fobbed off. The place closed down not long afterwards, shame really as they had an interesting array of cask ales and the only craft keg beers in town.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Had a Norm's the last time I was there that tasted like a stick of butter....

 

Griffin Claw, that is a surprise. Ashley's, not so much.