Brewery Pet Peeves (2023)

Then there are the places that close the whole establishment for a "private event" and they only publicize it on their Facebook feed the same day as the event, if at all.

 

Public displays of political stances. If it's truly about the beer (and sometimes the food), there's no need to exclude half the population!
Also, any beers that include a donation to a charity. I don't want to foot the bill for a tax write-off.

 

Assuming it’s also truly about the beer for the consumer as well, wouldn’t it be a display of oversensitivity to turn down a beer that otherwise sounds good just of some perceived “political” stance a brewery takes?

 

Would you buy beer from this place if you were a passionate Republican even if the beer sounded good? Seems like they are willing to forgo 50% of the consumers for what they believe in.
https://minocquabrewingcompany.com/

 

Run into this ALOT. I get that they make good $$ renting out the whole house. Still annoying to drive across town only to find they’re closed to the public. In the long run I’m not sure that’s a good business model. Are you a brew pub or an event center. If you want to be both - have enough space and staff to do both. Sounding like the crabby old fart that I am.

 

I won't buy offensively named/labeled beers like that. It tells me that their political stance is more important to them than their products or profit. I wouldn't buy Trump beer either.

 

People who make partisan politics their whole persona are annoying as fuck. Why you would do that to your business brand is another level. I would avoid that place like the plague, mostly for fear that one of the owners might corner me for a rant about the latest npr stories

 

These owners of much larger breweries had no problem with making political statements:

Boston Beer Founder Invited to Dinner with Trump
Koch "thanked" Trump for signing the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which pre-dated Trump's administration and was a bipartisan piece of legislation "28 Democrats, 22 Republicans and one Independent as co-sponsors in the Senate, and 86 Republicans and 70 Democrats in the House".

You're in luck, those beers (contracted at Pittsburgh Brewing Co.) are no longer brewed!

Nearly 40 years later (so, pre-Facebook ), I'm still annoyed over the time I found a good parking space for my company truck in the Chelsea section of NYC and ran over to get a beer at the New Amsterdam Brewery & Tap Room (technically against ICC rules, IIRC) and was greeted by such a sign on the door. Not sure how I got the matches...

 

And many consumers reacted negatively to those choices as well. The beauty of not making your politics your brand is that most consumers forget things that aren't in their face within a week or a month.

 

OMG OMG let's not go down the politics rabbit hole. "Brewery pet peeves", remember? Like kids and dogs. Like dogs are a plus; kids are a minus.
Or not dating cans.
I get more than enough politics on a daily basis, thank you very much. I've concluded that they're all ignorant assholes. I frequent BA because it's generally not political.

 

Oh, yeah. Just indulging in a little "whataboutism".

My favorite quote on the topic (can't say I've ever verified it in this modern age of excess information/mis-information, I guess 'cause I like it too much). But back in the turbulent late 1960s, someone asked Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken infamy - "What do you think of the hippies?"

He replied, "They eat chicken, don't they?"

(Postscript - Of course, the vegetarian and macrobiotic ones didn't...)

 

Mine is when the bartenders/FOH are never friendly or welcoming. There's one place by me that there's 2 dudes who constantly look pissed that they're there, pissed to be alive and just aren't any sort of friend to any patron.

 

Isn't there some apocrypha about Michael Jordan saying something similar?

"Republicans buy sneakers too."

It doesn't bother me when the people associated with brands make public political statements, but hitching your brand to some narrow band of partisan politics is so off putting

 

I figure it this way, if the proprietor chooses to “start it” by emphasizing political viewpoints, then I will “end it” by walking out if their views conflict with mine, regardless of how tasty their product sounds. If their views are only apparent to close friends in private settings I won’t try to guess their political views and I will patronize based on quality and cost alone.

 

Quite frankly, I don’t care if I agree or disagree (or don’t give a shit) with whatever political spiel is being promoted. I find many businesses use it as a crutch in lieu of providing a quality product or service. I’ll go elsewhere, avoid the nonsense, and enjoy quality beers in peace.

 

I have turned down products from businesses because of their political stances many times. It’s capitalism and we vote with our wallets. Your brewery could make the best beer on the planet, but if you embrace a political stance I have a strong opposition to, then I’m not drinking that beer even if it’s free. To be clear, this isn’t to suggest the brewer can’t have and share their political opinions. They can have them and should share them if they so choose. Everyone should have the right to their opinion and to defend it. But if you do that then you gotta deal with the consequences. I’m sure there will be many more people who still buy the beer and support the brewer and they won’t miss my small amount of money. But I would feel out of alignment with my values if I were to support a business that took a political stance I strongly opposed. Just my $0.02.

 

Funny, I’m the opposite. I wish people debated politics here more. Politics drives everything. The alcohol content beers can be, how it’s distributed, days/times it’s sold, how it can and can’t be made, how brewery and bar workers get paid, etc. It is the foundation of everything we discuss here and I wish we got into it a bit further as I have much to learn from this community. And we can still enjoy beer at the same time. I hate that we’ve landed at this place where enjoying a conversation and conversing about politics are dichotomized. I get that’s where we’re at, but I’d like to change that.

 

Isn't that a discussion more about law than one's political leanings?

I imagine some on here post while buzzed or drunk. A long time ago a friend gave me a wise piece of advice...there's only two topics that should never be discussed when drunk....politics and religion.

 

Reminds me of another pet peeve: no music whatsoever. When things are too quiet, I don't really feel that welcome.