Then take it OFF THE BOARD!

I noticed that craft beer bars and pubs in London take more than their sweet time in removing kicked beers from their draft lists. There was a great outdoor beer stand right by my hotel that always had a killer draft list. Unfortunately, the workers could never be bothered to remove kicked beers from the dry erase board tap list. It always took 2 or 3 tries to order a beer they actually still had. Same thing happened at 2 other well-regarded bars/pubs. You just have to laugh when the bartender says "Sorry, that kicked yesterday".

 

On the rare occasion that I go to a chain restaurant I do not expect great food, nor do I expect good beer.

 

I think it would be fair say were in the vast minority of beer drinkers. So is a place like Buffalo Wild Wings as an example off the mark with Sam Adams, Budweiser, Bud Light etc? I’d also suggest they’re right on the mark for over 90% of their customers, and even a well heeled BA can surely stomach a Sam Adams Lager? I would hope so. They’re not a craft beer bar so why bash them for serving their customer base? If no one was ordering beer with their wings they might take notice, but I’d bet very heavily that’s certainly not the case. The flight thing I can’t fathom, but that a totally different thing.

 

If an item was 86-ed it NEEDED to get updated on the board back when I worked in food service many years ago.
I dislike when posted items are not available but I don't see this as a big deal unless it happens often.
Waddaya gunna do, I voted let it go.

 

Your right , been to the Yard House in Raleigh. When I think chains Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday, Buffalo Wild Wings etc pop into my mind.

 

I would not expect a great beer selection at a chain restaurant.

But, and here it seems I might disagree w most of you. If, one is going to post beers xyz etc. as available then they should be. Once they are gone change the list - no exceptions. It's called attention to detail. If one does not pay attention to the detail of the beer offering I wonder what attention they spend to the routine food offerings. Get it right !

 

If a restaurant doesn't care about updating their tap list, then I wouldn't expect this to change upon talking to anyone involved with them (manager/corporate office), but perhaps I'm a cynic. And the idea of walking out of an establishment just because of the principle that they haven't updated their list generally seems like an overreaction to me. Getting anything more than mildly annoyed by this is probably overdoing it.

Having said that, I will never understand why businesses will sell something and not make that item known to the customer. How are people going to buy an item if it's not listed as being for sale? Who will buy the unlisted beer that's sitting in a keg? If you're going to bother selling 8 or 12 or 24 different beers, then you should be able to tell customers what those beers are. If that's beyond your bandwidth as a seller, then don't bother selling those items to begin with. If you can't rotate your menu, then don't rotate your taps.

 

Which chain?

 

At this point in life I would just let it go and get another beer or water or Diet Coke. I definitely won’t waste the calories on a beer I’m not in the mood to drink and it doesn’t seem worth the effort to stop and try to engage an Applebee’s manager (or whatever) about the taplist.

I grew up in manhattan in an era with very few chains so I am still highly resistant to going to them, can almost always come up with an alternative, and never go in expectIng a good beer experience.

Semi-related, I went to cambrinus in Bruges, Belgium, which has a very high rating here, and has a book of 3oo+ beers - and they didn’t have the first five I asked for. Their suggested alternatives were schlocky b list beers that collect dust all over the states. Not impressive. But, they did nail the chain restaurant vibe (cheap decor, ditzy servers, middling food prepared without any perceptible love) so there’s that.

 

It does if you don't like macro / low brow craft beer. I won't blow a bunch of calories on beer I don't particularly like simply because it's beer.

 

That's fine, but when did I say anything to the contrary?

 

Yeah and like I said if nothing tickles your fancy and you’re a calorie-conscious fellow, there’s water. Not only does it check the cheaper box like Diet Coke; it’s free.

I’m not suggesting people have to drink a beer because it’s beer, but personally-speaking I can’t get on board with the idea that someone’s palate is too refined to drink a certain beer, yet Diet Coke is a viable option.

 

"Low brow craft beer" - I'd love to hear how you define that.

 

I should've put it in quotes. Oh, wait...

 

Has anyone here claimed that his palate was "too refined to drink a certain beer"? I haven't. I don't drink macro swill simply because I don't derive any enjoyment from it. If that's the only thing available, I'll drink something else.

 

Yeah I hear you. And I’m saying that to me personally (remember you responded to me not the other way round), passing up macro “swill” in favor of a Diet Coke is....well....interesting I guess.

 

I'll go wherever the kids want and cheerfully drink the macro which is also the freshest beer the place offers.