Eulogy for the Chain Brewpub

Jokes on you, because I’ve been a chat bot on here for over a decade.

 

Yes, we had them in Colorado. I can think of 3 for sure. One less than 200 yards from my old office in the Cherry Creek neighborhood in Denver. They were kitted out with 3.5 bbl brew houses from Specific Mechanical which are still very nice nano systems, if you can find one…

 

Yeah, they still have the King of the Hill rewards program that gets you rewards money, free apps, and such. Also do a KOTH member night with discounted drinks and free small bites each month. I have to remember either to use my KOTH card or my Homebrewers Association discount depending on how much I want to save.

 

Many years ago I enjoyed several different very nice beers (I thought) at John Harvard's in Cambridge. We took some great fried squid into JHs from a hole-in-the-wall tiny to go restaurant next door. Also somewhere in the mid-90s I had my first American cask ale at a Mendocino Brewing Co. outpost in Ukiah. It was a Red Tail Ale and I liked it I liked both places quite a bit and they could not have been any more different experiences.

 

I figured it out with some Internet searches @sulldaddy and @pbrian. It was simply called Hops Restaurant and Bar. This was eating at me for two days.
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/63/Hops-Restaurant-Bar-and-Brewery.html

 

Back in the day, maybe a B+/A- in Freshman English Comp. There are complete sentences, no spelling errors, coherent paragraphs, appropriate conclusion. A bit repetitive, sure, but still readable and even clever ("raise a glass").

 

I don't know that an oversaturation of beer killed these restaurants, but maybe an over saturation and overhaul of the restaurant industry. I always thought fondly of Granite City and BJs, but the restaurant industry has changed. More chains now offer better and craft beer options. Similar food options are easily delivered. I haven't stepped foot in a chain restaurant in years. Why eat your food with strangers when you could in your home? Similar to the movie theatre industry.
But maybe the availability of craft beer did contribute to the demise. I think that is a win for craft beer as more distribution, more accessible, and beer you can enjoy in your home and when you want it rather than dependent on dining out for craft beer.

 

How do you feel about robots?

 

What is the karma reward structure for poetry!?!

Cheers!

 

Sort of a shame because I cut my teeth on a lot of them. I see the Gordon Biersch locations in Las Vegas (paradise road) and New Orleans (next to the casino) both seem to be operating. I think our Rock Bottom here in Boston is still open so there are still a few stragglers. As far as Beer Works --the brothers used to fight with each other and take each other to court so things like that usually don't end up well. Oh well...whatcha gonna do....good thread BTW.

 

wow, that’s quite a comprehensive article, down to when they introduced seared sea scallops to the menu. Nice work @woodchipper! Although Hops is probably the only brewpub around here of that time that I never went to

 

WoB doesn't brew their own beer. But I will second that, for a corporate chain, the ones I've been to have always had a decently knowledgeable and friendly staff. Plus, I was just at one in Augusta, GA and saw 16 oz crowler fills for the first time which is a great option IMO

 

The only limerick I know is about the guy from Nantucket!

Cheers!

 

I'm pretty sure that the HopCat chain no longer brews beer so it's not in the 'brewpub' category anymore, but I see that they are up to 10 locations now so growth has been occurring. The original location in Grand Rapids used to always be in the top five of somebody's industry poll for Best Beer Bar, and the place was always on the must-visit list of recommended GR places in these forums, but I don't see that anymore. Maybe there are too many other places that offer 100+ taps and HopCat is just another good beer bar nowadays.

 

I have a whole load of nostalgia for these chains. Like every single one. Probably a product of getting into good beer right as I hit legal age in 2006.

Rock bottom was the first growler I owned in 2006 when a friend gave it to me and I didn't even know what a growler was. I got some similar love for McMennimens because when I started traveling that's where work folks would take me for a Rubynator and some good conversation. Granite City was the spot I'd go to all the time when I was doing my tours of duty in Peoria for the one notable employer in that city.

Gordon Biersch was based out of San Jose, and I lived half a block from their production brewery and a 15 minute walk from the their San Jose pub. If you've never been to the OG pub there I feel bad for you, that place is unique as hell and made every other location look dumb, except for San Diego, but that's only because of Doug. I could go on about that place because I had friends that worked there and I saw some of the underground stuff there (that's a long story for another time). I probably blacked out at GB San Jose more than any other place ever, in part because I was broke as hell in 2007 and I'd get a bill for $10 after I drank a dozen rounds.

BJ's was 200 yards from the employer I had where I'd have to wear white all day and drown the self loathing that place inflicted on you. Not gonna name the employer, because they actually fucking have gone after ex-employees for things they say on the internet. When I wasn't drowning my sorrows, BJ's actually gave me some solid understanding of styles and even had cool stuff like Denoginizer, Racer 5 and Arrogant Bastard on tap just as I was getting into cool beer.

It's a bit sad to me (as evidenced by my mini-essay) that these are becoming relics of a bygone era, but it's also a sign of how much better things have gotten for folks who love a quality pint. Outside of a small selection of places, I can get good beer on tap nearly anywhere that pours beer at all. That was just not a thing a decade ago, let alone 2006.

What's the next "remember when that was a thing" thing? With any luck it's beer slushies. Get right the hell off my lawn.

 

I didn't realize they ever brewed beer. I remember how awesome the original GR location was and I was living near Lansing when they opened their downtown EL location (maybe the first expansion?).

We actually used to sell produce to a chef who moved to that location when they opened and he tried to get some of our stuff into their menu but it didn't fit and we weren't producing any of their staple stuff at scale. He always hooked us up when we came in though and I enjoyed lots of good beer there. Thanks Ryan! Hope you're still living the cheffy dream!

ETA: I was always very impressed with their menu system as well. It was well organized and they would print the next 10 or so kegs on a list on the back so that as kegs kicked they could cross those beers off and check the new beer. It was a great system for making paper menus work at a place like that without having to print hundreds of them every day

 

Yeah, they used to brew but it was probably a small system that couldn't come close to supplying their other locations. They bottled and released at the GR location a few of their beers (here's one https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16713/55639/) but it was probably a hand-bottling process. Many of their beers are listed on the BA page for the GR location. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16713/. Here's the list of their locations in order of their openings: https://www.hopcat.com/about-us

 

Man, those garlic fries. After a few bites of those, it didn't really matter what the beer tasted like