No More Taproom Samples

So, wishing for no more beers made over 8% abv AND wishing for no more samples at breweries. I think you’re a frustrated craft beer enthusiast!

 

So I went to a couple breweries with my two brothers-in-law over Labor Day weekend. At Wallenpaupack brewery, there were a lot of styles. One of my b-I-l is a professional brewer and craft beer guy like me - we know what we like and ordered what we wanted - and one only drinks craft beer because of us. He wanted small samples before ordering each round. The place was busy but the bartender quickly poured an ounce of a couple beers in small plastic cups and he chose what he wanted. Pouring the samples literally took 5 seconds. I can be as impatient as the next person on lines but jeez, sometimes things are just not that big a deal!

 

Yup. 20oz 4.5% brown ales for everyone.

 

Come to think of it, I haven't actually *asked* for a sample at a brewery in years. I either order a flight or small (2-8 oz pour)
If the brewery offers me a sample of something, I will gladly accept.

Often. It's especially a risk when it comes to hazy IPAs. They could either be delicious tropical juice or sludgy murky thick sweet green yeasty hop burn. More often the latter.

 

I am sorry I cannot bite my tongue on this one:

Beer is not a luxury item. Historically and currently. In my state (Pennsylvania) beer and wine are not taxed in grocery stores exactly because beer is not a luxury item it is a staple it is food and is not the same as purchasing a luxury item (e.g. a fancy tv screen, a fancy cup to put your staple beer in, and a watch to look at the time) all of which are taxed items.

Now, my argument isn't that anything which is taxed is luxurious or that items that aren't taxed = are staples. I am saying beer and wine historically were not luxurious items (even more so beer) and that is why (in part) it is not taxed. If you read about beer history in the USA you find this: Beer was seen as a nutritious part of the American diet. To me, that is exactly the opposite of a "luxury item." Beer has been and is drunk by all classes of people rich to poor. The idea of calling something luxurious that was drunken by everyone really broadens the term to a point where it becomes obsolete. I guess if bread in a jar is considered luxurious I must be quite the luxurious guy for I drink a lot of it. LOL

This thread has been something to read through. But honestly, I never would have thought people would be so upset over some people having a sip of beer. To me, it really isn't a big deal. Everyone should just open a fresh one and have a swig and relax: it's going to be alright.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/722/has-beer-become-a-luxury-item/

Here is an interesting article to read from BA! It's old, but I think it (still) isn't a luxury item. Not yet! Cheers!

 

Your point about beer is a luxury item is being mixed up with 'taxable' item and will vary by state. Beer, wine and liquor are taxed in Michigan even if bought in a food store or supermarket. Your point is correct, beer is not a luxury item, but rather is a discretionary food item.

 

Well, you see, the problem is that other people had to wait for this demon sip to be had and the bar keep had to wash said sip glass! Plus, one time I heard a guy took like 8 sips! It's an outrage!

 

Perhaps luxury item isn’t the right phrase. Beer is not a necessity, so using phrases like “prying money out of my hands” can’t apply to buying beer. You don’t need beer to live, you’re buying it because you have extra money to spend. So this notion of needing samples less your hard earned dollar be ripped from you by the robber barons who own craft breweries, seems off.

Also, I’m not like foaming at the mouth in anger against samples. I just wish people were more adventurous with beer, is all. I see samples as playing it safe and playing not to lose, which, in my opinion, kind of goes against the spirit of craft. If people are going to get samples, fine. I won’t get samples myself, but I’m not going to dump pig’s blood on those who do.

 

You haven’t asked for a sample in years but the frequency of you ordering a sample of beer that you ended up disliking is “often?”

 

Yes.

 

I don't need samples ever. I've never asked for one but have been given a few. I know beer well enough to order and what to likely taste. It's no mystery. Don't drive the bartenders crazy. It is not a big deal to sometimes not like a beer. It happens.

 

If a taproom offers samples, then I don't see anything wrong with somebody asking for one. If a taproom does not offer samples that is their choice as well. Some people might choose not to go to that taproom in either scenario. Feels kind of similar to OPs prior thread around kids - most of these places probably have a policy in place that they think gives them the most opportunity to succeed, there is no definitively right/wrong answer.

For all the vehement anti-samplers out there - if you buy some other product and it turns out to be broken or the wrong size or you just don't like it, do you refuse to return it and chalk it up to "can't win 'em all" the same way as you would with a beer you don't like? Obviously not a perfect analogy but isn't a bar explicitly allowing/forbidding samples kind of similar to a store explicitly allowing/prohibiting returns? In both cases there's some small cost to the business to increase the likelihood of a satisfied customer. For some places that cost may be worth it, for others may not be but I certainly wouldn't blame the customer for using an available option.

 

Oh, I see where the point of confusion was. I should have stated I haven't asked for *free* samples of beer in years. I typically don't ask to try a free sample unless the brewery offers it to me. But if I actually order a small (2-4 oz) pour to try a beer, it's often something I end up disliking. Like if I want to try their hazy IPA I'll spend a couple of dollars on a small pour and then I end up not liking it.

 

As a taproom employee/beer/bartender I am okay with offering samples but sometimes the patron gets out of hand when they plus 3 samples and then it turns into someone feeling so privileged and then my charm starts waning.

if I send off tasters of a new beer to someone who had not asked, I’m only doing this to raise my tip. It’s not a friendly gesture except the occasional time I actually like the patron

 

Ordering a beer isn’t like ordering a burger. Burgers are more consistent. Beers can be wildly different. Brewers also lie about the style sometimes. If a brewery will take a beer back and not charge me for something I can’t (and won’t) drink, then fine, make me pay. But if they aren’t going to accept it back if I can’t drink it, then yea, give me a taster.

A taster is really (for me) to make sure it is something tolerable. It’s not about finding the best beer on the menu. It’s to make sure I don’t waste my money or return the beer. It should be a two-way street, as the brewery should be willing to stand behind their beer and not charge someone if they can’t drink it, if they weren’t given a sample and they asked.

 

I am also reminded of being at the grocery. Do people not taste the fruit before they buy it? Or not ask for a sample of lunch meat before you buy it? What if it is horribly sweet and you are sensitive to sweet meat (and it isn’t described as sweet)? What if it is too wet? And so on. Samples just make sense in some circumstances.

 

Tell me more about this tasting of fruit. How does this go down? Is it at a grocery store that you’re doing this? A farm? Some place else? I’m curious. I buy 90% of my fruit at grocery stores. I have never thought about biting into in apple, chewing it, swallowing it, and then putting that apple down and saying, “nah, I’m not going to buy this after all.” Is this an option in Ohio? I’m generally curious.

 

I think you're trolling , but on the off chance you're not: I will taste any type of fruit that I can before buying. That means all berries, grapes and cherries. I also meticulously try to 'hand weigh' all melons to feel which is the most dense for the size (which correlates to amount of water, which usually correlates to sweetest). Some stores will allow you to try all fruit before you buy it, which includes coring a watermelon, but that's not something I have done. However, most grocery stores will give you zero flack if you buy a watermelon (for example, but pretty much any fruit will do), go home, and open it, and say it is inedible, throw it away, and go back with a receipt. You don't even need the item.

So, the point here to me is getting a refund. I don't mind buying a beer blind if I have to, conditional on the brewery, tap room or bar being willing to take it back if I think it's terrible or undrinkable to my palate. I have a bitter and sour sensitivity, and I hate funk. There are lots of beers within the categories that I enjoy that I just can't do. All of this can be avoided by giving me a 1oz sample.

 

Definitely not trolling, just wanted more info. You suggested all fruit was available for tasting, but it seems as if it’s just berries and grapes, which is quite different. And hand weighing is not tasting. Returning fruit that is bad is also wildly different than tasting it in the store and not buying more because you didn’t like it.

And just to be clear, I’m not trying to draw any connections to beer here, I’m just trying to learn more about your previous post. Thanks for the clarification.

 

Craft breweries are more oriented to the customer experience, everyone in this Thread have been by one first time in their lives in a craft brewery or pub, and if you remember that first time you usually did not know nothing about the craft beer universe, for this reason is necessary to give small samples to newbies (usually a shot glass). But if you are a craft beer lover, with many years of experience tasting different beers, probably you will have a couple of friend who make their own beer, in that case they will offer you a complete pint of their new brewed. As you can see, by this way the size of your sample improves with the years.