Brewery Pet Peeves (2024)

I generally agree with this, yet on the other hand sometimes it's much better than the greasy dirty laminated menus at some places.

 

Breweries that make it a point to let you know WIFI is available and then require a password to log on, and that password is posted nowhere. Me things they don't want you to use their WIFI.

 

I experienced the situation this past week of having a printed beer menu in front of with a minimal description of each beer, but when I used the QR code, I got a descriptive paragraph for each beer. The QR codes can be a better choice.

 

Really, 2 cents? Common sense should prevail, do you accommodate your customer, eat the pennies & gain it back on his/her return visits or hold a strict line on your margins & potentially lose the customer? Which in this case they probably did!

We can get beer & all other products anywhere, now days it’s all about the customer service, at least for me it is!

Smart business says eat the 2 cents & satisfy the customer….remember rule # 1, customer is always right!

 

Options are good. I have nothing against available QR codes, as long as a printed or posted version is ALSO available.

 

I suspect that this is a problem for us older guys. My eyes suck, sometimes at an outdoor pub, the glare makes my phone impossible to read, but then again, I can’t read a printed menu any better.

I really don’t get why breweries don’t keep their tap list on their website. Again, I think this is more of an old guy problem. When I asked a brewery why they don’t keep a list their website, he said it was on “our socials”. I don’t have any socials, so I’m out of luck. If there was a list on their website, I’d pick what I want before I left the house and I’d be happy.

 

This may be less of a business decision and more of a nervous employee following the rules exactly to keep out of trouble. I bet the owner would have rounded, it probably costs more than $.02 in labor to count out the change.

 

An open SSID is the last thing you want to connect to in a public setting. Trust me. Just use data even if it's slow

 

Age can be Iman issue there too To add to my story above, I had looked at the beer menu online while still at home but didn't make a decision. However, there was something in the description about the saison on the list that raised a flag for me.

By the time that I got to the brewery, I was still in the mood for a saison. I could remember that I had highlighted the the saison in my mind, but couldn't remember whether it was for a good or bad reason. The printed menu was no help, the server was at the table waiting for my selection, and I couldn't get the QR code to work quickly enough, so I ordered the saison anyway. Fortunately, although the reason that I had highlighted the saison was a red flag, it turned out not to be an issue and I liked the beer. I've gotta' quit killing my brain cells with alcohol. NOT!

 

Nice to know. Thanks.

 

I am not saying I am an expert. This has happened twice to me. Generally, when I chat with brewers (when possible), I ask many questions to understand why they brewed the beer that way. I have gained insight and a greater appreciation for what they offer. Often, I love seeing the passion they have for their craft. I love learning all things about beer. Now that caveat is done, I hate when you go to a brewery and can taste off flavors in the beer or it is oxidized. The two breweries this happened at told me I did not know what I was saying. That is fine, I do not know your brewing process, but when a Helles has a lot of acidic acid, I want to know why. Stout tastes like cooked veggies; again, I want to know why. When I decide to open a brewery, I would rather have a conversation than tell the individual they do not know what they are talking about. Over 18 years of doing beer. I generally get brewers who love to talk about what they craft, and some do not. However, those two cases made me walk out the door instead of sitting down and racking up a bar tab.

 

Generally, I would agree with you. Jester King in Austin is has this massive playground for kids and the have an area for adults, However this is more an open air brewery and not a brew pub. I was at a place in Livingston MT and there was kids running around. I see your point if I have had a bit too much and stumble over a kid, issues ensue.

 

The majority of breweries in Europe I've been to don't have board games and have less than ten taps.

I agree with @LAFreeway the employee was likely just nervous. It's not up to them to do that. Not saying bartenders haven't done that before, but I wouldn't necessarily expect that.

Also, is there a cut off? 8 cents, 5, cents, 3 cents...

 

The QR code menu thing is pretty annoying. If I get one of those I just ask the staff what they have for food or read the chalkboard/display for drinks.

Oozlefinch started putting QR codes on their cans years ago, which would take you to a website that listed all of their beers with their associated canned-on dates. In theory it's a nice idea but in practice it isn't because whoever used to update their website hasn't touched that section in 2 years.

On that note, it is annoying when you can't get any information about when a beer was brewed, canned, kegged, etc. I shouldn't have to go onto social media to find a post that the brewery made about a release to sleuth out a rough date estimate of how fresh something is.

 

Pay with a card if you don't want to get change back. Did you ask to get comped that 2 cents? If so, did you do it in front of other patrons? The bartenders wouldn't say anything, but the folks buying were telling them what an asshole you were.

 

Haha!!! Like I said...common sense....you and the bartender have none, cheers

 

Common cents, you got 98 of them back.

 

Just because something is in Europe doesn't make it good.

 

True, but many US craft breweries today have emulated their breweries after European ones. Specifically the lager-centric breweries.

I'm going to assume breweries the likes of Pilsner Urquell, Augustiner, Weihenstephan...etc. are tourist destinations for a reason (two out of those three I've been to). Heck, Oktoberfest is the biggest beer party in the world with no tvs or board games and they only serve one beer!

To each their own, but I simply enjoy the company of people I'm while drinking from a well curated draft list with a select group of well made beers.

 

Plastic cups. I might just walk out of the next place that serves me a beer in a plastic cup. I hate it so much.