"Draft list last updated: April 22nd, 2013"

Maybe it's because the person that was in charge of updating the online beer menu went to their newer location in Warwick. That's my guess.

 

I hate when bars don't update their lists online. Why have one at all? Usually, FB is the choice of most bars for this purpose. Bars that update are most likely BA friendly. They are more likely to handle the beer properly and be able to make recommendations.
If you manage a bar and are offering craft you are only helping yourself by keeping an up to date list.
BTW this thread reminded me to check FB and Winter Storm is on tap at the Hulmeville. Hopefully it's up to date. Off I go.

 

This is a complete non-issue for me. I can't recall ever checking a bars website to see what they had on tap. I'd rather they spend the time actually running the bar, than worrying about maybe grabbing a handful of beer geeks from on line. Those of us that are active on the various on-line presences are still a tiny minority of craft beer drinkers. I am also not a person that has to check my phone before I make every decision in life, so there's that.

 

Sometimes I go to a bar with the intention of ordering a specific beer from their online list. It's annoying when they tell me they no longer have that beer, or the next two or three that I try to order instead. I also don't like hearing that I missed out on something because they didn't update their list.

 

If you're running a bar with 30, 50, 100 taps and you don't want to have any sort of updated beer list online to accommodate those pesky "beer geeks," then you need to reassess your business plan.

 

I know nothing about running a restaurant, but I assume that most beer bars have an electronic POS system into which they enter every beer as it becomes available on draft. How difficult would it be to create a simple program that would update all your internet sources (webpage, FB, Twitter, etc.) automatically when the POS is updated? I'll bet that feature already exists in some POS systems.

 

Most POS systems are not permited to access the web due to PCI credit card security compliance.

 

Truthfully I cant ever recall somone calling and asking what we have on tap. Now, the majority of our regulars will come in and just ask what we have new. But the website is up to date within one day (if a keg kicks in the middle of a Friday night rush im not about to take the time to update it then haha). If im in a new place or planning on going to a new bar, I will always check to see if they have a beer list online. If not I'll probably still go,but it is nice to see.

 

Ths is a huge pet peeve of mine for beer focused bars. Old taplist on the website and irregular updates on Twitter or Facebook makes me wonder why a place would bother mainting these things at all. I don't go to bars very often and hate stopping into a beer spot by my work on the way home for something I'm particularly interested in only to find out it was gone last week.

 

I always wonder the same thing myself. If you're not going to update in a timely manner than why don't just unsubscribe to the website.

 

I don't have a smart phone, but I do use the web including FB. Why wouldn't you use the tech available to help you find what you like whether it's beer or anything else?
Not to mention that craft beer involves seasonal offerings. When the beer you like comes around for that one time of year, you want to catch it while it's available. I like to be able to grab a couple when it's there. I am too busy to go to a bar every night after work and check. Hey is Mad Elf on tap yet?

 

I don't run a bar, I'm coming at it from a consumer point of view. I know my local bars have a good variety, and rotate taps often. So, I know the odds are excellent that I'm going to get something I like just by walking through the door. Nationally, craft beer sales are about 6% of all beer sales. Those of us active on-line (thus most likely to look up a bars tap list on-line) are a very small percentage of that 6%. If someone owns a bar and reads this thread, sees that some aren't coming to his bar based on what is, or isn't, listed on his site, why would they have a list at all? They want you in the door. If they don't have the Walez of the Week that us geeks are looking for, he's telling people to stay away. Why would a business owner do that?

 

BeerMenus.com.

I'm lucky that the few places I tend to go to update their list at least once a week.

 

I use FB too, but I can't keep up with all the posts from every bar and brewery I follow. I know that living in the PNW, where good beer is expected (maybe even demanded) everywhere, probably skews my view. Maybe if I lived somewhere without the beer culture my attitude might be different.

 

My point is that if you are marketing a beer bar but not catering to those beer geeks in that 6% you are taking an already small demographic and alienating a portion of them. There is no upside to doing so, in my view.

Plus, as someone else has pointed out, I'm not really looking for anything rare, just the seasonals, etc. For instance, I have to travel at least 30-40 minutes each way to go into Boston to any of the fine beer bars there. I often use websites to decide which one I should shlep to. Today I go online to see that Lord Hobo, as fine an establishment as it is, hasn't updated their list since Christmas day. Deep Ellum's was updated yesterday, and they have a couple of cool things I'd like to try. Deep Ellum FTW.

Does that mean that LH wouldn't have something excellent as well? I'm certain they would, but driving an hour plus for a mystery tap list is not as enticing as knowing what I'll find when I arrive.

 

Hey OP-curious what management said when you asked them about this?

 

I'm in Albany, NY. I ALWAYS check for updated tap lists and as said above it irritates the hell out of me if there are no updates. Lionheart is a great beer bar and are constantly rotating but update nothing. The Ruck in Troy is CONSTANTLY updating. I blindly trust Lionheart enough that there will be something new and that I'll enjoy but I just wish there were updates. Brew Crew is also very good at updating their growler station info.

I also travel a lot to Columbus, OH so I like to find bars with a few beers I can't get in NY. Places rarely update there either and I tend to just go to the dive bar by my hotel. It's such a simple thing to do...