Off-site "Tasting Rooms"

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BBThunderbolt, Jun 6, 2014.

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  1. Joshmistake

    Joshmistake Initiate (0) Sep 4, 2012 Minnesota

    I'm curious...for the actual Craft Beer fan: Why would tap rooms be a bad thing? Getting more excellent Craft Beer out there is always a good thing, and if a brewery can open up a "satellite" tap room to show off their beer why not? Here in San Diego we have numerous breweries doing it. Ballast Point, Stone, Modern Times, Hess, and Coronado to name a few...with more coming. I am always a fan of someone not being familiar with our scene here in SD being able to sample amazing beer away from the actual brewery location. If someone from Ohio comes to visit SD and they are stuck downtown for a conference...they might not make it to Ballast Point or Stone. If those breweries can have a place in a cool location for people to be exposed to what SD has to offer...hell yes I am for it. Someone earlier likened it to British brewery-owned pubs. Maybe it is like that...if only we had more Samuel Smith tap rooms in California! You can argue the impression that it's "skirting" laws or whatever...but THE GOAL is to get great beer into peoples' hands/minds. I applaud what's going on here in SD...more people are being exposed to real beer...and it's one customer at a time that will continue to chip away from the BMC bad-beer empire.
     
    #21 Joshmistake, Jun 8, 2014
  2. Joshmistake

    Joshmistake Initiate (0) Sep 4, 2012 Minnesota

    If anything tap rooms are bringing the beer to the people...and at least in SD I sense very little "snobbery". More like "come in and try our awesome beers"! I appreciate going in to Hess or Modern Times or one of the satellite Stone tap rooms and being able to enjoy a great beer in a cool environment that's less "pub" and more "nice place to hang out".
     
    #22 Joshmistake, Jun 8, 2014
    BBThunderbolt likes this.
  3. frazbri

    frazbri Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2003 Ohio

    If I owned a bar, and the "tasting room" owner doesn't need to meet the same basic health and safety codes that my place does, I'd be upset. (but I'd be upset with those that make the rules)
     
    #23 frazbri, Jun 8, 2014
    dennis3951 and BBThunderbolt like this.
  4. ManforallSaisons

    ManforallSaisons Pooh-Bah (1,554) Mar 20, 2008 Belgium
    Pooh-Bah

    I think that brewers owning bars is by itself a problem only if it's an area with limited licenses, and so tied houses can restrict supply. Otherwise it just adds to the market. It was like that when a new local opened near my office with great promise, but some disappointment to find the place tied to not one of my favorite brewers.

    But the fact that this question got asked at all is, to me, a sign that brewers should tread a bit carefully -- if some part of the customer base sees it as something less than authentic, that can't help your brand...
     
    #24 ManforallSaisons, Jun 9, 2014
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  5. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I tried, and failed, to find the stories (and, IIRC, a couple of threads here) from 4-ish years ago, when the city of San Diego closed down/ refused to give permits to a few "tasting rooms" because they didn't meet codes. Again IIRC, it was mostly health department stuff, lack of hand wash sinks behind the bar, lack of proper drainage, etc. But the brewery owners point was "we're not a bar, we're a tasting room, rules for bars don't apply to us", and the neighborhood bars started dropping certain taphandles. Maybe somebody with search skills could find that info.
     
    #25 BBThunderbolt, Jun 9, 2014
  6. xanok

    xanok Savant (1,085) Aug 13, 2009 Connecticut

    What a silly thing to get upset about.
     
    #26 xanok, Jun 9, 2014
    CraigTravor likes this.
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