Should I be annoyed that a microbrewery tour bus I was on yesterday turned into a bad Club MTV scene? A bottle store organized the event, in which we headed off early in the morning to hit two craft breweries and two brewpubs (lunch and dinner). There were 40 people in total, half of whom were mid- to late 20-somethings for whom the hours on the bus meant crank the radio up and dance in the aisles, oblivious to the fact that it wasn't their private coach and not everyone signed up for their headache-inducing screaming and Top 40 bootyfest. (The event organizer drove separately ahead of us to make sure each destination would be ready for our arrival.) Who knew there were actually guys over the age of 13 who sing along to contemporary club hits and excitedly scream "Adele!" when one of her songs comes on the radio? Seriously ruined the day for me, the wife and the other couple we brought along. We actually ditched out before dinner, took a $41 cab ride back to our car and went for a much nicer dinner back home. Is this how these things generally go down?
Whether or not it's proper etiquette aside, it's about what I'd expect. That's why I've never done one of the brew tours in SD.
I've been looking to go on a tour like this, so your post is fair warning for me to go into the event with eyes wide open (if I find a tour). But the drunken details in your post don't totally surprise me.
I don't even know that it was drunkenness, really. More like just...really unoriginal dicky herd mentality. I guess I just expect better out of people?
I dunno about other tours, but I've been on the boat brewery tours and we'll as the boat booze Cruise in Milwaukee several times and it never gets obnoxious like you described. A nice quite boat ride with him some awesome breweries, free drinks and food. I try to go yearly
I suspect this tour is one I was looking into going on, but decided to pass on it. Sounds like it was a good decision. Too bad things didn't develop as hoped.
I'd be curious as to the specific tour, too. But also, no, I would not have expected anything else. When in doubt, expect the lowest common denominator! Also, Adele is awesome. Everyone should be psyched when a song of hers is on the radio. /End non-beer-related-comment
I've been on four total bus/brewery tours and they were nothing like the situation you had to endure. The tours that I've taken were arrainged by my local homebrewers club and even though the ticket sales were made public, about half of us knew each other from the club or previous tours. We all respect beer and each other so their has never been a problem like you described. It's a shame. Unfortunantly there is an endless supply of douchbags out there to screw up what should be a good time for all.
For the record, this wasn't a Motor City Brew Tours event. We don't typically have that type of crowd on our public events. If you are ever in metro Detroit / Michigan - look us up and we will show you a great day of touring breweries and tasting beer at some of the best breweries/brewpubs in the state. http://MotorCityBrewTours.com
I can't stand those damn busses. Was at BP a few weeks ago and a giant bus filled with around 50 noisy idiots spilled in, loud as hell, and ruined the place.
For the curious, the trip was organized by Three Cellars in Franklin, WI. Four scheduled stops: Capital Brewing, Vintage Brewpub, Tyranena and Milwaukee Ale House. This is the first time they've put something like this together. I shot them an email Monday morning explaining the situation and asking if the party bus experience was what they envisioned and inquiring as to whether anyone else had complained. I haven't heard back two business days later.
