Alpine Distribution in NorCal - Its here!

This reminds me of the Amy's Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Except it's not televised, so they won't even the get the curiousity business.

 

What?! really?! Ughhh

 

this comment on their facebook page, regarding what they were charging for BCBS props, has to take the cake...

"And since it happen to be the only keg in California I think we can set what ever price we think is fair."

holy douchebaggery

 

That was a great one because it kept going and going, but the Mother Earth guy's rant was a terrific one-off...

 

Which one was the Mother Earth rant??

 

Maybe we need to start a new thread called "Ranting, Raving & Drooling" and dedicate it to Roger Waters.

 

Wow, I've never been to Out of the Park Pizza and will never go after hearing about this and seeing the horrific official responses. Charging that much for the beer and then responding in such an unprofessional manner? Disgraceful. I hope the Bruery moves to a much better venue if that release party happens, as I won't bother giving these people any money.

For the record, a friend complained to me about their prices for an 8oz pour here, so it was definitely something that went on for multiple people.

 

It was posted on their blog and then taken down, but this is is what it said:

"Rants and raves about beer reviews
Hello fellow beer fans. I felt the need to do a post on the popularity of beer review sites such as beeradvocate and ratebeer. This post really stems from a few different things. First, the lack of qualification and credibility that people that rate beer have, and second the use of these sites in the retail environment. I think its probably more appropriate to provide awareness on this topic rather than criticize people for having their own opinion, so I will do my best to do that; but excuse me if I get curt.


First let me talk about peer reviews. I am in support of them totally. As a consumer, I rely heavily on reviews by sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, Cnet, etc. for various products and services. Restaurants especially require extra scrutiny since they need to be held accountable for producing safe-to-consume food. So, that being said, I am not critical of the spirit of what these sites do, but rather the people posting. Since beer production as a science and art is something that is not commonly understood by the layperson, there is a lot of ignorance and misinformation out there.


Now specifically relating to beer reviews…I think in order to fairly review a beer you have to currently brew or have brewed before, and substantially, to be qualified enough to have a serious opinion. Now you may say, well everyone has an opinion and should be able to express it. But the difference here is that reviews by unqualified individuals affect the perception of businesses and shape peoples’ opinions. Let me provide an example using phrases I have seen on reviews. I will start with the comment (C), followed by my response to it underneath (R):


C: “This beer isn’t dry enough”
R: The perception of dryness encompasses many things. If you know anything about attenuation or specific gravity (the measure of a liquids relative density to water) you would know that fermentation “dries” out the beer since alcohol is lighter than sugar, and thus diminishes mouthfeel as fermentation goes on. A beer may seem sweet when it is in fact dry gravity-wise. For example, Many people accuse the new Stone Vertical epic of being too sweet, but what I know from speaking to their brewers is that it finished as low as any beer I have heard of. So it’s the yeast character and malt profile combination that lends to its sweetness.


C: “The beer isn’t bitter enough” or “is too bitter”
R: Until you know something about a beer’s style guidelines, I don’t want to hear your opinion on bitterness. Its one thing if a Hefeweizen is bittered like an IPA, but just because a beer has 5 more IBUs than you prefer doesn’t mean it’s too bitter. Also, IBUs are a strict mathematical measurement of bitterness, calculated by a hop’s acidity multiplied by the length of the boil. That doesn’t account for how your pallet perceives bitterness relative to the beer’s malt profile. For example, a DIPA at over 100 IBUs may not taste as bitter than a single IPA with half as many IBUs simply because the DIPA is more balanced. That doesn’t mean one is better or worse.


C: “Beer has slight diacetyl”
R: I love when non-brewers try to use words that they heard a brewer use from 30 ft away during tasting hours. Don’t talk about things you have no idea about.


So I think you get the point. I could go on and on about fallacies and ignorant statements, but the point is that beer production is a very complicated process, and without even a high level knowledge of the process or ingredient’s contribution to flavor profiles, etc., you shouldn’t act like you are some kind of expert when evaluating a beer.


Now on to retailers… Many liquor stores are beginning to use peer review sites as a way to guide customers by placing labels under bottles on the shelf like wine retailers do from wine spectator. This really aggravates me. Beer advocate is a consumer based review site. Wine spectator, for example, uses trained wine judges to evaluate wines. Beeradvocate should by no means be used as a barometer for quality. If you feel as strongly as I do, take the time to tell liquor store owners to quit that practice.


In summary, beer is meant to be enjoyed. I think people get so geeked out on it, especially in San Diego, that they feel the need to develop some sort of reputation as an expert reviewer. Unless you really know about beer…I mean really know…like you have before, or currently brew it…stop being a poser. Everyone can enjoy beer, but no one should prevent others from enjoying it too by spreading misinformation. Its one thing to say, I don’t like it. Its another to say that it has flaws that aren’t even there.


Here’s me going on the record as officially boycotting these sites."

 

Looks like another douche

 

I have to admit, he makes some good points.

 

I'm not familiar with this guy aside from his rant above. What has he done to warrant being called a douche? He does come off as bitter in his rant, but at least he supports his frustrations with some good arguments. I tend to think beer geeks get so enthusiastic about beer, especially when they're noobs, that they speak the loudest when it comes to expressing their opinions. I know I've been guilty of this in the past and am now trying to be a little bit more level-headed in my approach.

 

The rant @riko quoted was of the Mother Earth guy. The OOTP dude is still douchey.

 

I'm Sorry but I think it's amazing that 4oz of one beer is enough to say your gone from my place. When so many other places over charge for every other beer and I offer great pricing on just about everything else. If 4oz is enough for you to say your done with my place I think you weren't ever going to come back anyway.

 

Oh Lord, why did you have to comment. I'm getting the popcorn and will enjoy the show.

 

Who cares about your shit prices...your attitude is enough reason to stay away.

 

I believe it's less about the 4oz and more about your piss poor customer service, your inability to take any criticism and/or respond to it in any manner that is above your child's temper tantrums.

Your whole "Well, if you don't like it, the drive to alpine is way worse" and "we got the only keg so we can do what we want" just screams of an immature person taking their toys and huffing away.

Just looking at a handful of your responses to yelp reviews as well as on here, it's pretty clear that you really don't know how to fix a situation other than to escalate it to unprofessional levels.

I have been to OOTPP a good amount of times. I've enjoyed your Chuck Norris on many of nights. But after reading your post here, on facebook and other social media outlets. I'm more than fine to never give your business another cent.

 

So he's hypocritical and uninformed and outspoken about his idiocy. He has JUST ENOUGH information to be dangerous.

There's so much wrong about his arguments that it's almost unfathomable, but they're also so clearly determined by intentional thought.

What a shame when people choose to put their ignorance and prejudices on display as something to be proud of.

 

Hey guys, this is my business and I am sorry I get hot headed about posts like this. We are a small family owned place and we are trying to have fair prices on beer and food for everybody. Honestly thanks for bringing it to my attention that my posts and responses are coming off rude and douchy, they are usually written in the heat of the moment and I am passionate about my business and take it personally. If anyone wants to come in and talk to me about what you would like to see as a customer feel free to come by and we can chat about it over a beer, I'll even buy the first round. And a quote from my wife "yeah, you can be pretty douchy at times"

 

Does he really though? I'll give him the Wine Spectator one, but some of these are still kind of valid opinions to have. His rebuttal to people thinking Stone's Vertical Epic is too sweet isn't necessarily a negation of someone's opinion (even though he tries to phrase it as an invalidation), but it seems to be more of an explanation of what they're tasting, which doesn't really "disprove" any "fallacy." I guess I kind of agree that it's annoying when someone calls a beer "too bitter" or "not bitter enough," but I haven't really heard people (in San Diego craft beer community at least) complain that way exactly; his rant here is really half-baked. Also, you don't need to be a commercial or home brewer to be able to detect diacetyl character in beer, nor do you need to be a chemist to understand its presence. That is what reading is for: education.

In my opinion, I don't think he makes any particular "good" or "novel" points. It really just seems to be a rant, venting frustration about having to deal with the occasional arrogant know-it-all in the tasting room. I understand his frustration. I used to work in specialty coffee, which many of you may find to be a joke, but there's a definite correlation between the craft approach to beer and the craft approach to coffee, and it used to be mind-numbingly frustrating hearing people spew out bullshit about something they knew NOTHING about, but MOST people aren't like this. That's why I don't think it necessitates a douchey/asshole-y blog post where he tears down people and calls them posers if they don't brew beer. And is there really rampant propagation of misinformation among the San Diego craft beer community? This is just a knee-jerk reaction to hearing one too many dipshits in his tasting room talk out of their asses, and it's unfair to everyone else.

Thank you for posting this. That's a pretty ridiculous post. I'm glad they took it down because it's embarrassing. I've never liked Mother Earth. I don't think their beer is particularly good, and there's something off-putting about their branding, which yes that's shallow and superficial of me but so what, if the beer's good I'll put up with stupid names and stupid logos, but in this case it's all just kind of mediocre and uninspired. I wish them well, I guess, but that kind of rant is really immature and petty.

 

YES