"Craft beer" at Red Robin?

Welcome back Biff!!! Where have you been?

 

Forget their beer. I have a gripe that goes back decades with this place. They proudly advertise bottomless steak fries but every time Ive gone, they never offer to replenish my plate full of salty, greasy, starchy goodness. They drop the burgers off then ghost you until youre done and then they repel down from the ceiling to drop the check off and disappear right back up into the heavens.

 

What do you mean, no craft beer?

One of the restaurants near me has...

• Blue Moon Belgian White
• Widmer Brothers Omission
• Lagunitas IPA

Aren't those craft?

Oh, they also have Sam Adams! There you go... THAT's craft!

 

I might go to a Red Robin if I was stuck on some Interstate somewhere and was in a hurry. Or maybe to watch the check delivering acrobatic waitstaff. Anyway, it's a big time chain, and I have so many great local options for burgers that I rarely frequent. Here, Hops Burger Bar has great food, nicely managed local, regional, national, and international beers, and I only go once in a blue moon.

 

It seems obvious to me that they have no one in a national decision-making position who knows anything about craft beer. However, they must have a shrewd marketing person.

 

Their tap lineup looks like the average chain joint (Applebees, TGIF, etc):

https://www.redrobin.com/food-drinks/full-menu-rrgb-t2/bar-menu/beers.html
Cold Beers
Blue Moon® Belgian White
The hint of orange in this Belgian-style wheat ale is a perfect match for our tropical Banzai Burger®
Stella Artois®
This sophisticated Belgian pilsner puts the final touch on our most excellent Black & Bleu Burger
Bud Light®
A refreshing favorite that tastes great with our Bacon Cheeseburger
Corona Extra®
Its quintessential twist of lime goes great with our Guacamole Bacon Burger
Michelob Ultra®
A low-calorie lager that gives center stage to the heat of our famous Burnin' Love Burger®
Not Your Father's® Root Beer
This award-winning root beer has 5.9% ABV and offers a silky and smooth finish that pairs well with our Southern Charm Burger®
Angry Orchard® Hard Cider
A refreshing cider with a fresh, full body.
Samuel Adams Seasonal
Ask your server for our current selection.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager®
Full of flavor, yet balanced and complex, just like our A.1.® Peppercorn Burger
Coors Light®
Pure, cold refreshment perfect for putting out the flames of the Fiery Ghost® Tavern Double Burger
Guinness®
This famously rich and creamy stout from the Emerald Isle tastes even better with our Bleu Ribbon Burger
Heineken®
A crisp, pale lager perfect for washing down our Prime Chophouse Burger
Miller Lite®
A light but flavorful beer that pairs perfectly with our Smoke & Pepper™ Burger
Omission® Pale Ale
A delicious, award-winning beer with a smooth finish
Lagunitas IPA®
A well-rounded, drinkable IPA with a bit of Caramel Malt barley to mellow out the hops. Try it with the Buzz Mac 'N' Cheese Tavern Double burger

 

Looks like it's a tap list not worth a visit. Besides, I've never been there but I have heard that their burgers are good.

 

Last time I ordered out from there I had a hair in my burger.

 

RR started here in the Northwest so I feel I should defend them. Naww, they're big kids and can defend themselves. The food is great, never had a bad meal there. Bean Bump is right about the "Bottomless" steak fries, at least in some locations. My local is good about replenishing the "salty, greasy, starchy goodness" although my doctor would be appalled by how much I consume. What is appalling is their beer selection, but they are certainly not alone in that respect. It seems like all the chain restaurants have the same individual deciding on what beer to have on offer, and they don't know shit about craft. When I go there I drink a milkshake.

 

I've had the EXACT same experiences, I have no idea what lucky bastards get bottomless fries. It's surely not me and my wife. I only drink soda with burgers, so I have no idea what the beer list looks like.

 

Hops Burgers are seriously good.

 

It would probably get the same amount of patronage from me as Applebees, Red Lobster and Texas Roadhouse, if it were in town. I do not respect establishments that don't consider craft beer from the state they're in as options...

 

I've never been to one, but the one in my town carries beers from several of the breweries here.

 

If I walked into a national burger chain and had a choice of Lagunitas IPA and the more corporate/established local craft breweries alongside Sam and typical macro stuff, I’d be pretty excited.

I mean, their burgers are a step up from McDs but not on par with quality local places. Why would the beer be any different?

 

A lot goes into getting beer on tap at big chains like that. First, the brewery has to want it to happen. At my current brewery, we wouldn't let Red Robin buy our beer because they won't serve it well and it won't do anything to advance our brand. If we did want it to happen, most chains will require a corporate approval which could be based on sales volume ratings for the area and on price point. Corporate approval can be difficult and the ratings can be nearly impossible. Some distributors will sell a brewery's beer under a different brewery's SKU in order to get beer sold (I've seen this in chain grocery stores before where small breweries get sold in under regional breweries SKU's) which then helps the larger brewery's ratings and doesn't do anything for the smaller brewery.

The only chain we sell to at my current brewery is one specific Chili's account that does a great job promoting us and they focus on server education. If our prices were in line with other small craft breweries, we likely would be at a price point too high for them to be allowed to buy our kegs.

 

BW3 does a pretty good job with the local craft selection, at least around here.

Really like RR burgers (the royal with the egg on it). I always let the waitress know up front to keep the fry baskets full. Usually works, If not, I walk over and ask them.