Brewery Wins

Kind of funny. The only beer I would associate with that brewery.

 

I don't know about Sapporos new ownership and coyld give 2 shits about that since nothing major has change there. I'd argue that it's actually gotten better the taproom.

The reason i went to the now closed Mumford and still visit Stone regularly ( will do till that changes) is the staff. If i see a BA IRS or BW listed online and head over when I walk through the doors they know why I'm there. They know what i like and don't like , know me by name, hook it up with a little extra on the pours sometimes and much more.

 

100%. It’s a great beer when it’s on point, but it’s not consistent. It’s the only one I find that is inconsistently great.

 

Which NYC brewery does this?

 

Wood. Lots and lots of wood. Wood tables, wooden bar, wood in the bathrooms. Adds a very homey old timey feel.

But on a more legitimate note, the service primarily. When I'm sitting there trying to decide and get offered a sample or two? Freakin great, and I usually end up spending more than I would have without them. I know that's going above and beyond, and even just having knowledgeable and enthusiastic bartenders or wait staff is more than good enough for me.

Breweries that have the taproom on site and offer tours of the breweries are freakin rad too.

 

Ok, thanks. Seems like a good idea from them.

 

1. I appreciate when breweries offer seasonally appropriate traditional styles and brew them year after year. Maibock, Hefeweizen, Marzen, Imperial Stout for example. Seasonal appropriateness and consistency mean a lot to me because I enjoy associating drinking experiences with the different combinations of weather and mood that each season brings.

2. I like breweries that offer unique and interesting styles on tap. A local near me has a smoked porter, a traditional Flemish style sour ale (no fruit added), and an English style old ale on right now. Those offerings pull me in much more than the IPAs they brew.

3. I like being able to bring my own food. The beer is expensive enough - let me bring my $3 bag of pretzels instead of buying your $8 french fries.

 

So true, unfortunately.

Cheers!

 

Family and work life does prevent me from going to breweries very often so my are pretty generic.

-fresh cans/bottles for to go

- Multiple pour options. Sierra Nevada does this best. You can get a 5oz taster, 1/2 pint or a full pint. The half pint is great to try multiple new beers. I usually find the 4/5oz tasters too little. Rather have a little more and have less samples

-half pours for half the price. Maybe I am cheap but when I see the half pour $1 to $2 more than 1/2 the cost I always get the full. Most just out of principle.

-good glassware.

-a range of styles. Even better if they have some lagers on tap.

 

It's certainly more difficult to think about what makes a positive experience - I'm sure it varies considerably from person to person. Maybe it's a know it when ya see it kind of thing.

Variable styles - we enjoy breweries that offer a wide range of styles that showcase what the brewer is all about. We've walked out of breweries with flavor of the day IPA only on tap, but we've also revisited some of those breweries as they "mature" and start offering more styles. Definitive would be a good example - almost all IPA when they started out but plenty of variety now.

Knowledgeable or at least friendly staff - we don't need a ton of information most of the time thanks to BA, but sometimes there's a hidden gem or two that can be found. Most enjoyable is just a conversation about "what do ya like" and a server who can find things that we probably will like (Oxbow in Oxford, ME is a recent example - great experience overall). Springdale - used to be in this category...

Clean - seems that should go without saying, but anybody reading the pet peeve version knows how I feel about cleanliness and the actual brewery set up. Lots of examples on both sides of that equation, but an instant walk out the door for me when it's on the negative side. I swear some places don't even try.

Discovery - we like visiting new places and enjoy the "ah-hah" moments. Side By Each somewhere in Maine last summer was an awesome find - a beer CSA business model. Spacious and spotless socializing space, equally spotless brewery area, excellent array of representative styles, a coffee shop and poutine "truck" all in one space and extremely nice folks at all stations. Combination of ideas that really clicked with us.

Places hopefully get busy and that's a good thing, so expecting the same experience all the time seems a bit pointless but there should be some measure of consistency both in terms of the beer, service, and vibe. I don't remember which brewery, but the first couple of times we visited we loved it. The next two times we left shaking our heads but anybody can have a bad day or two. The time after that was the day we said "never again" - absolutely surly treatment and a drop off in the beer quality and variety.

Ahhh - the ever mysterious "vibe" - hard to pin down and certainly not the same for everyone. We don't mind busy, but we also don't like rowdy. We're typically not going for an afternoon or evening long drinking session - we're either exploring new or revisiting favorites. There's definitely a "comfy" thing the missus and I both pick up on regardless of how busy a place might be. Barreled Souls might be the best example I can think of - there's just "something" about that place that draws us back every ride up the Maine coast. We've had some of the best beers we've ever had there and some of the worst, but we always stop. Again, Springdale - we really enjoyed that tap room especially in the afternoon before the evening invasion.

Food is a plus, but not essential - we do like quite a few places that have paired up with food trucks (permanent or in rotation) or "pop ups", and who can complain about the food at a Jack's Abby or a Stoneface with their own kitchens?

 

Already been said but,

-Beer on cask. ( wish I could find more of it close to home)

-Friendly tenders/owners who will answer questions and converse when they have time.

My son and I were at Diamondback Brewing in Baltimore a few years back for a Friday afternoon can release. We showed up just as they opened the doors, grabbed a couple of draft pours and stood off to the side. One of the founder/owners came out, asked if we were there for the release and explained that it would be an hour before they had the cans ready for sale. I said fine and he then started a conversation in the middle of which one of the staff handed him a cold can from Trillium. As I am thinking “oh wow”, he grabs three clean glasses and asks if we want to try it with him. We did and continued the conversation. He hung out for at least twenty minutes before he was called away. Win!

 

…and this

 

Completely agree with the OP. Beer "Writeups" are great. Shows they care enough about their product to write a few sentences describing it. Sometimes they make a video, and even better. Sometimes they give only an Untappd link which says to me that they take pride more in what others think about their beer than they do. Big Red Flags. ...sorry this is not the pet peeve thread... ...
Beer Writeups, I love them!

 

Bring back the Flying Mouflon!

 

So much to be thankful for in our local breweries...

I will echo but re word some of the sentiment expressed here;

A wide array of styles is excellent, as long as they're well done.

I truly appreciate the locals that specialize in a few styles and do several examples really well. You could pick your poison on what styles you favor.

 

Agree. They had an oak barrel aged FM back in 2016? that was excellent.

 

Amen! I really appreciate when a brewery has quality and appropriate glassware

 

Dieu De Ciel in Montreal is one of my favorite places in the world. They do a lot of things right, including:

-No TVs
-Small tables to which you can bring as many chairs as your party needs
-20 oz. pours for lower abv beers
-Kick ass nachos
-Beer served in actual glasses, not plastic cups
-Beer is not ice cold