Craft Beer at a Hotel Bar

I would say stick to a few (10ish) crafty options 50/50 local and widely available. If you get to many labels in there is a good chance they would go stale. Unless you become the hotel known for craft beer and then people stay just for that reason.

 

So if I sort through your list you'll have:

1 Tap--Bud Lite or equivalent
1 Tap--Yuengling Lager
1 Tap--Sierra Nevada (I'd guess and/or recommend Pale Ale)
1 Tap--Sam Adams (I'd guess Boston Lager or a rotating tap for their seasonals)

And you want suggestions for the other 4-5 offerings:

1 Tap rotating Penn Brewing beers unless over time customers display a clear preference for one over the rest
1 Tap Victory Hop Devil IPA
1 Tap Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
1 Tap Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat
1 Tap Full Pint Chinookie IPA

I'd also suggest you drop the idea of a tap for BMC lite, and have bottled versions available. In SEPA I've seen several places manage that quite successfully and the folks I know who drink BMC lite will be quite happy with either tap or bottle. If you do bag the BMC lite tap you could then replace it with Straub's American Light on tap, or do a rotation amongst Straub's beers. Seems to me as Straub's has a pretty strong and loyal following in your part of PA.

 

Since you are in PA and IPAs are very trendy now, I would go with Victory HopDevil. SN Pale Ale for another tap.

 

Very happy to roll into my Chicago hotel last week and find Matilda, Anti-Hero IPA, and a couple others on tap.
They also had bottles of 90min and Delerium Tremens. Nice.

 

I like your idea so far. For craft I think it's a good idea to start with a bottle selection that offers some of the better options like in this case Nugget Nectar should definitely be one of the offerings. I would say start locally first and offer selections from Troegs, Victory, and Penn Brewing, and see how the public responds to it. If its a favorable reception, then branch out from there and offer some regional brews etc.

 

I'm confused. I took the OP as saying they have 2 taps, and is looking for bottle rec's be a use the 2 taps will always be swill. No?

 

I was in a Chicago hotel recently that had Two Brothers Domaine DuPage and not much else beyond the usual. I was more than happy with that though.

I never expect much from hotels so anything is a bonus.

 

I was in Pittsburgh this weekend staying at the Doubletree. I didn't have anything to drink from the restaurant but I did notice they had a Bell's Beer Dinner there. You might want to check out one of their beer dinners and see how well it goes over. Could be something you might want to incorporate at the hotel.

In regards to bottle selection I would go with trying to be as local as you can. Great Lakes, Rivertown, Penn, Troegs etc. Victory can be had in many states so it wouldn't so special to someone from say California that a Troegs or Rivertown might be.

 

I like my hotel bars to concentrate on local/regional beers. The assumption being that I don't live in the area and I would be looking to sample the local fare. For me its disappointing to walk into a hotel bar and not find something new to try (I at least want to have the option).

I suggest the Penn Pilsner/Vienna Lager - a great beer and something you can use to turn on those who always default to BMC. This beer was quite the suprise the first time I had it at the Pittsburgh Airport (a long day with a nice beer surprise at the end). I have rcommended, with great success, this beer as well as the Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager to my BMC friends.

 

Like I previously posted (WHERE'd that go?!?), and agree with Sludgeman.
Local Pils and Lagers, try to convert those that are stuck in their BMC rut.

 

On re-reading it you're right.

I read this "we only have two taps that will never be anything but Miller/Coors/Bud Light and Yuengling" to mean two of the taps would always be BMC and Yuengling rather than "we have only two taps."

I think, however, if he drops my listing out of taps and in to bottles it will still work. Glad you caught that error.

 

I'm not sure you're likely to be successful converting anyone, especially in a hotel bar. I think the better approach is to cater to the guests who already have some knowledge/appreciation of good beer by introducing them (as other posters have suggested) to local offerings they may be unfamiliar with -- and including a selection of different styles. Maybe rotate in a way that you always have an IPA, a Porter or Stout, a Pils, etc, but not always the same beers from the same breweries. Troegs, Penn, Victory are all great PA options. On a more regional level, Great Lakes offers some outstanding selections. If you have decent Bell's or Founders distribution out there, those are other great options. I'm not a huge Terrapin (MD) fan myself, but they'd qualify as something people visiting Pittsburgh might not be familiar with. You could go all the way east to Joisy and bring in DFH, Flying Fish, etc, but those are pretty well known. Together with a couple SN/Sam Adams selections for those who want something familiar, you should make most beer-savvy travelers smile.

Another suggestion -- if you do build a bit of a rep for offering better beer and your hotel does events, make that a selling point in your promotions for weddings, reunions, proms , etc. Sometimes it's things like offering decent beer for your guests that can tip a decision.

 

If I'm reading it the same as the rest and you have 2 taps available for craft offerings, I'd suggest you go a couple of options that you know will appeal to most folks. Troegs Dreamweaver is a good fit, and I've seen Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold in hotel bars in Chicago & Cleveland. I'd be concenred about turning kegs regularly so sessionable styles are probably better. Personally, I'd be happy being in a hotel and seeing that there are *any* local craft options at the bar.

 

I think its a great idea to bring craft into the hotel. My thoughts are to take small steps though. Get some stuff that will age well, and not a lot of it, just in case the idea is slow to catch on. There certainly is a market for craft just about anywhere, the trick is getting the market to come to you. Certainly a knowledgable bartender is a must. Someone who can get a BMC fan to try some craft. Maybe a little beer list on the website and see where things go. Start small and smart, thats my thoughts. Good Luck

 

I dont think you need two taps to be BMC always. I used to think that then soon realized if people want that they can just drink it out of the bottle and I have had no issues at my hotel bar. I started doing craft bottles only but soon realized that to hit my margin the price came off as too high and I wasn't moving much product, so I switched out all my draft BMC and went straight local craft and prices that were more palatable. Would I make more money off BMC? Of course, but I think I have given tourists something unique that you don't find normally in hotel bars. I say go craft everything and make your money on the hard stuff to offset your costs.