So I had to share this with a crowd that might enjoy it. I stopped in to a Yard House to grab a snack. Quick bite, might as well have quick beer on the weekend. Being too lazy to get my phone out and do the beer homework, I asked my server who made their House IPA? Now the menu says "escondido", so I had a general idea of who the usual suspects might be. My server's answer, although I cannot capture it word for word, went something like this, " We make all our House beers ourselves. There is a lady in a brewery behind one of our locations in California who makes all the beer. Then they put it in in kegs and ship it out to the locations." Speechless.
Standard doubletalk. Sounds like the speech was scripted by AI (I'm detecting AI everywhere, probably mostly where it's not). What's a waitress to do? (I'd never heard of Yard House before. Is this a new chilly concept like Miller's Ale House?)
It would appear that your suspicions are correct? “House IPA: Style: American IPA ABV: 6.2% Flavor Profile: Big hop aroma, distinct bitterness, layers of pine, cedar, and citrus flavors. Notes: Brewed by Stone Brewing according to Untappd and according to BeerAdvocate.” Permit me to use my phone to find the above. Cheers!
I actually went to one of the original Yard House locations in Santa Barbara back in the late 1980's. They are different now.
The Stone thing must be at least moderately recent. For a long time their house beers were from Uinta. It said it right on the list, so they weren't secretive about it or anything.
The last time I was in a Yard House was probably around late 2022 and some of the house beers were Stone. I think it was after the Sapporo acquisition. Their house Helles was Schneider's and that started in 2021.
Funny stuff. I go to the Yard House in Hallandale Beach each year after working at a racetrack. Right on the premise, good food and good beers!
Not trying to embarrass anyone, but it is funny that you work at a "beer bar" and you tell a customer that story. It says right on the menu that some if their House beers are not even made in the U.S..
Yeah, no telling how they educate bar tenders. I can't count the weird discussions about beer I've had with bar tenders at places that are supposed to have expertise of the beers they're pouring.
Wait -- really? Schneider Helles? I haven't seen that anywhere in the U.S. Actually never even tasted it -- U.S. or Munich!
They say that their Labatt's is from Labatt Toronto. That can't be, unless their breaking ABInbev's antitrust agreement not to brew it for US distribution.. The Labatt label in the US was sold by AB to FIFCO, and most or all of their beers are brewed at their Genesee brewery in Rochester, NY. Even when Blue was brewed for FIFCO in Canada, Labatt didn't make it.
Well, yuh, how else does it happen? Might be the same lady who lies in a lake, distributing swords as a form of governance.
I haven't been to a Yard House in a minute. Probably since COVID. For a chain restaurant I always thought the food was pretty good and at least 1/4 of their taps tend to be really good, too. The CO locations are some of the few spots where you can get Coors/ACG Barmen Pils, so that's almost always what I go for. The one on the Vegas strip used to randomly undercut the craft beer prices around them, so I'd stop into that one as well. They once gave me an imperial pint of Lindeman's Framboise for $10. That's cheaper than Brussels, mistake or not.
I've also enjoyed the Yard House in Phoenix and the Boston area.My wife ordered the chicken pot pie at the Boston location and it was larger then a Frisbee. We all had a laugh at that.
