Worst Brewery Experience?

Did you really want merch from a brewery you had an oxidized beer from?

They probably decided it wasn't worth spending $50 or so to send someone merch who will likely never make a single purchase from the brewery. Don't take it personally.

 

Did you really want merch from a brewery you had an oxidized beer from?

They probably decided it wasn't worth spending $50 or so to send someone merch who will likely never make a single purchase from the brewery. Don't take it personally.

 

I don't have kids, but if I did and I had to cart them around half the damn country every weekend to play hockey against other 7 year olds for some reason (like many of the parents I know do), I might just make them wait in line for beer with me as petty revenge.

Probably good I don't have kids

 

Ha! I can tell you don’t have kids because you’ve got that all wrong.

You’re reward for begrudgingly dragging yourself and your kids (they don’t want to go either, trust me) around the country in traveling teams is the right to get violently drunk and astonishingly emotionally invested in games that mean even less than nothing. Also you get to scream/swear at refs until they throw you out, at the opposing kids until they cry, and take out your hatred of yourself on other drunk parents who also hate their lives! Then you get to cry/drink yourself to sleep and think about how life would have been different if ‘coach had put me in back in ‘85!”

As you can see, I have about as much appreciation for the ‘traveling soccer mom/dad’ crowd as the ‘bring kids to a 2 hour line for beer that tastes like OJ’ crowd.

 

Huh?

 

Man kids these days! I had to go to church, that was not comfortable. I hike in the rain for fun now Of course it does seem a bit selfish to haul them along to get your hype fix. If an isolated incident probably ok though.

 

Almost 3 months old is not old. If they make anything approaching a decent beer, it will hold up for 90 days I would think. It's certainly not old enough to put up a sign about it!
To-go beer at the brewery is actually a good way to move date-challenged product, as the regulars probably give them more turnover and the clientele in general is going to be more forgiving than if they see the same date on the shelf in a store.
At this point I think I'll just say that, if you're so anally invested in freshness dates, you should check the code for yourself and not spend time looking around for a billboard.

 

To me, almost 3 months old is old. Everyone has a different threshold for dates. They even admitted that they had looked into it, so even they thought it was at least a bit of a thing. Up until that point, I had not thought that it would be an issue. From that point on, I have checked dates (I always check at stores) and have not run into that again at a brewery. I guess it depends on your previous brewery experiences. If you go to breweries that only sell super fresh beer because they turn it over quickly than it might not be the first thought in your mind but it you go places that have cases all stacked up and they're not moving... Well, I'm sure we all get the message.

 

Worst experience at a brewery: Green Man in Asheville, about a year ago. I was sitting in their patio and a woman started throwing up and a guy was taking a piss in the bushes right next to me, at the same time. I thought for a second I was outside a seedy dive bar, not a craft brewery.

As far as worst experience with brewery staff: I had extremely rude service at Trophy here in Raleigh, never going back there. I've also experienced unknowledgeable bartenders who can't answer basic questions about their beer at numerous places. Palmetto Brewing in Charleston, SC served me a beer they claimed was on nitro, but I really don't think it was.

 

This would be mine... Instead of typing it out, here was my post about it from last year... Which took place at Forest City Brewing here in CLE... Supposedly the brewer is long gone, which was the person who decided to attack me for being honest about their crappy beer at the time. Still have not gone back there, though... Perhaps it may be worth seeing if it's changed.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/when-breweries-cross-the-line-wow.486432/

 

WOW,,,, I would never go back! What a Jerk!!!

 

So no one associated with that nastiness is still there? My most recent experience there wasn't bad, I wasn't really blown away by the beer, but got no off flavors this time. Probably would be a cozy little neighborhood hangout if I lived nearby, although it's actually surprisingly spacious inside. Still there are so many other great options in Cleveland I probably won't go out of my way unless I'm nearby and jonesing for some Citizen Pie.

 

This is part of the problem with today's craft beer-drinking population. The brewery's threshold for dates is most likely based on rigorous taste-testing and laboratory analysis. They determine the length of time that their beer still tastes like the beer they intended to make and want going out to the public. Your threshold does not take into account any processes or storage and shipping accommodations designed to increase the product's shelf life. It's simply "almost 3 months old". Blind adherence to calendar dates is much of what causes perfectly good beer to waste away on shelves, compounding the problem and validating the consumer's bias.

They admitted testing their product over time, which any good brewery will do. You're making an assumption by stating "even they thought it was a bit of a thing". I'd say they know quite well how long their beer holds up.

 

@Sabtos

Supposedly not!

Glad to hear the beer wasn't atrocious, so it sounds like some improvement then… At the time, it was probably the worst beer next to Aqueduct (Akron) I’ve ever had!

I live like 5mins from the place, so it would be cool if it did indeed improve. Fun little space, but if the beer isn’t good there is no point to go with so many better options around.

 

Oh, Aqueduct. Someone needs to write about them here, but they're not even worth the words. All their beers taste like plastic and it's the weirdest atmosphere, where the brewer will be happy to tell you how much of an expert he is...lmao. I can't believe they've survived this long, but I think they have a sweet deal on the space and they cater to some oddball characters down in that area that likely enjoy some free alcohol for whatever reason. Even better, some business group had the nerve to give them an award recently. Total mind fuck.

 

I'd have to say that it was a place in Rochester, MN, that will remain nameless (though, anyone who knows about the beer scene will know where I'm mentioning).

The place itself wasn't bad. The beer was. It went from average at best, to terrible at worst. The really bad one was their attempt at a pumpkin beer. I like pumpkin beers, but this was awful. They turned their amber/red into a pumpkin by adding the spices. Let's just say that the flavors seriously clashed. It was hardly drinkable. The bartender asked me what I thought of it, and told him exactly that. He looked at me like I was insane!

I haven't been back, and all the other places I've been to in that city are top notch. I've heard that they've gotten better, but, with a 3 hour drive to get there, I have no desire to waste my time there.

 

Holy shit, man! Just finished reading that 2017 post, and also your place review. Gruesome.

Reminded me of my own gruesome experience that I forgot about when I first replied to this thread.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16262/?view=ratings&ba=cavedave#review