Craft Beer Education

Not very far, if someone asks me, i'll spread the gospel. Otherwise i mind my own business.

 

I try to give out the knowledge whenever I can. Educate the masses that are still drinking beer a yellow beer with a lime in it.

 

I'll sometimes jump in at beer shops when I hear misinformation being spread, or an employee unsure of as answer and about to make something up. Other than that I'll speak up when asked. I find people being elitist or snobby about beer ridiculous and hilarious.

 

Only when asked really. Its not that I am trying to keep the information, but sometimes people need to find their answer or how far they want to go in the world of craft before they have someone jump on em like a spider monkey with information.

Cheers!

 

The longer I'm into craft beer, the less I talk about it. When I first started drinking craft a few years ago, I got caught up in the zealotry that folks preach around these parts. But with time, I've lost interest in that. It really just comes off as obnoxious 83% of the time anyway.

For me, this 'hobby' is just about enjoying good, tasty beers. I don't care much about the whole "craft beer culture," I'm not interested in trying to convert others, etc. I just want drink damn good beer in the comfort of my own home.

The only time I ever really talk about craft beer with others is when I'm mentioning my cellar. My friends and family tend to get a kick out of seeing it.

 

Why do you ask? I'm sure you have an obligation to do this while you're at work, but the rest of us really don't. And if your customers look like they know what they're doing and don't ask for help there's no reason for even you to interact with them. If you assume they have less craft beer knowledge than they actually have, this can be a turn-off.

 

A simple, "Do you need help with anything?" is good enough without coming across like a pushy beer snob. No need to press your excited opinions on a customer who may only be there to buy a sixer of Corona Light.

 

I think craft beer stores would do themselves a real favor by posting, in large format, a sign indicating that if they have any questions, please ask! Another great thing to do is have a couple books about beer lying around that have obviously been used by many, many folks. This gives the impression that everybody in here is interesting in learning about beers and there is an open forum here.

I recently had an experience wherein the help at the counter put out the vibe they didn't want to help me. This was a well known bottle shop in Seattle (Bottleworks). Dude looked at me several times, obviously making eye contact and never asked if I needed a hand. The store isn't huge, and it should be standard in such a small space to simply say, "you need a hand with anything?" or "you doing okay?"

My only other advise is to make sure people know you're a legit craft brew store by charging the obligatory $22 for all the 750ml DFH beers.

cheers
harry

 

I'm very pleased to see places like Whole Foods have dedicated beer buyers who know their stuff. A lot of my local guys are great to talk about new items and new stuff on the horizon. What I don't appreciate is guys at some stores that know absolutely nothing about beers trying to make recommendations.

 

Although I also like it when there are dedicated beer purchasers at stores, I don't see any problem with folks making recommendations on what they think is good. I believe that when you start assuming people at the stores "know absolutely nothing about beers" before considering if maybe they simply have different tastes, pocket books, or audiences to interact with - then you've become a poor advocate for the community.

 

Maybe they did know something, but that doesn't explain why they offered me bud light platinum.

 

Seth,

Do you think your customers would like to read a guide on craft beer? Something like a Beer 101 guide?

This guide could be something that you post within the store or something that you could hand to the customers.

The Beer 101 tab on BA has a lot of good information which could be utilized to put this guide together. The guide could be as simple as a description of the various beer styles (what the styles are and a description of how the particular beer style will look and taste). If you want to make the guide more detailed you could include aspects like: how to pour and taste a beer, how to pair beer with food, etc.

Cheers!

 

Was it a sixer? Or singles? I've been looking to try that bitch, but can't find it in singles! I would guess you don't come across as the kind of person that would want to try BLP, that's certain. I'm with you that they certainly didn't read into your prerogative.

 

I usually keep to myself when perusing the beer coolers and shelves. If I hear a couple or a group of dudes trying to pick a craft brew I might pipe up and make a suggestion or ask what theyre in the mood for if the mood strikes me. I've had some great conversations with people while standing at the beer coolers.

 

I didn't care to look, I was busy checking out the belgian section.

 

I think craft beer info should be offered like in the matrix. People walk into your store and your sitting in a big leather chair with sunglasses on holding a bud light platinum in one hand and a lagunitas imperial red in the other (had to get the colors right), then tell them they can drink the red beer and see how deep the craft beer rabbit hole really goes. Morpheus that shit, for real.