Just wanted to share this..

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Ben_Persitz

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Last night the woman and I went to Chevy's for dinner with her family.

When asking what they had on tap I was read a list of four beers. "Dos Equis, Bud, Tecate and Hefeweizen".

I responded, "Which Hefeweizen?"

To which the waitress gave me a confused look and said "There's more than one?"

I got a margarita.
 
I once went to a restaurant that had sierra nevada on tap and I asked which one they had on tap and she goes sierra nevada is like corona. LMFAO
 
wcarter1227 said:
I once went to a restaurant that had sierra nevada on tap and I asked which one they had on tap and she goes sierra nevada is like corona. LMFAO
Click to expand...

hahaha....any of the sierra nevada brews are better than corona!
 
Gee, what if it was a really good hefeweizen??? Just because the waitress, like 99% of the waiters/waitresses in bars and restaurants don't unfortunately know about beer, didn't pursue it further? I would have sent her back to the bartender to find out just what it was. It may have been really good.

I think there's a fine line on being a beer geek and a beer jerk. Not everyone is as knowlegable or passionate about this stuff as we are.

You could have used that opportunity to do some educating to her, and maybe it would have encouraged her to be more knowlegable about beer. Instead of ridiculing her on a website.

I try to be a good ambassador for craft beer, and if something like that occurs I take the opportunity to teach a little, you can give someone a lot of info in 10 seconds.....

There are some legitimate times reasons to ***** about crappy beer, or a$$hat knowitall waitstaff, usually it involves someone who is a blowhard....We discuss this from BOTH sides in this thread all the time https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/has-ever-happened-you-am-i-beer-snob-114483/

But in this case, bitching about a probably minimum wage earning waitress's beer knowhow, seems like the blowhard is you.....

I personally would just cut her some slack for not understanding the nuances of hefe's and other beer styles.

*shrug*
 
I asked a waitress what they had on tap, she replies "Just about everything..., Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona, and Yuengling Lager"
Gee, thanks.
 
I get looks from my wife and friends because I listen to the whole list (the beers I like are usually at the end anyway) before I make a selection. If I don't hear one I like, or am feeling adventurous enough to try, Ill drink water.
 
Dynachrome said:
I get looks from my wife and friends because I listen to the whole list (the beers I like are usually at the end anyway) before I make a selection. If I don't hear one I like, or am feeling adventurous enough to try, Ill drink water.
Click to expand...

Drink water instead of beer? Even mediocre beer? That's just wrong . . . ;)
 
Revvy said:
Gee, what if it was a really good hefeweizen??? Just because the waitress, like 99% of the waiters/waitresses in bars and restaurants don't unfortunately know about beer, didn't pursue it further? I would have sent her back to the bartender to find out just what it was. It may have been really good.

I think there's a fine line on being a beer geek and a beer jerk. Not everyone is as knowlegable or passionate about this stuff as we are.

You could have used that opportunity to do some educating to her, and maybe it would have encouraged her to be more knowlegable about beer. Instead of ridiculing her on a website.

I try to be a good ambassador for craft beer, and if something like that occurs I take the opportunity to teach a little, you can give someone a lot of info in 10 seconds.....

There are some legitimate times reasons to ***** about crappy beer, or a$$hat knowitall waitstaff, usually it involves someone who is a blowhard....We discuss this from BOTH sides in this thread all the time https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/has-ever-happened-you-am-i-beer-snob-114483/

But in this case, bitching about a probably minimum wage earning waitress's beer knowhow, seems like the blowhard is you.....

I personally would just cut her some slack for not understanding the nuances of hefe's and other beer styles.

*shrug*
Click to expand...

well said :mug:
 
Where I live that would be all you could expect. In the west coast, someone was setup for failure. But that doesn't justify ordering a margarita.
 
Unless you are at a brewery I wouldn't expect my waitress to know anything other than the names of the beers on tap. And in Vancouver there is about a 90% chance it is widmer and 10% it is pyramid neither one is that bad. Just get the beer next time, margaritas are weaksauce!
 
First of all, it was a Widmer Hef. Had it a million times.

Second of all, I was very kind to her and explained quickly and nicely that hefeweizen is simply a style.

I'm not bitching, I just thought it was amusing.
 
I went to check out a brewpub last week I just heard about. When I asked the bartender what types of beer they had on tap she named them off. "Cool" I said "but what types of beer are they? Stouts, Porters, IPA's" She had no idea. I asked if they ever gave tours and she called the manager over. So I asked her what types of beer they had. She also had no idea. About the most I could get out of them was light, dark or medium colored and which beers were the most popular. Oh well at least they gave me free samples of them all.
 
Keith_Mahoney said:
"Cool" I said "but what types of beer are they? Stouts, Porters, IPA's" She had no idea.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with Revvy's trashing of the OP. Those situations can be humorous and there's nothing wrong with sharing the experience. Certainly not worthy of being labeled a jerk and a blowhard.

The quote above is another story. Sounds like the poster is deliberately trying to show that he knows something that the employees don’t and is going out of his way to prove it. Asking what styles were available may not have gotten him any further, but it would have at least shown some understanding of beer classification. I get a chuckle out of thinking that the employee's may have been the actual beer snobs playing dumb while waiting for the correct terminology.




edit:
Keith_Mahoney said:
About the most I could get out of them was light, dark or medium colored and which beers were the most popular.
Click to expand...
Ha! These may actually be considered types of beer. :p
 
A waitress in a Mexican restaurant I could understand not knowing about beer, but in a brew pub everyone who serves the beer should know about beer styles.
 
The manager of a liquor store that "specialized" in hard to find imported beer once tried to tell me that "McEwan's Scotch Ale is just like guinness." He seemed a bit surprised when proceeded to tell him it wasn't & why it wasn't. Regards, GF.
 
Did you pass the opportunity to taste a possibly good hefeweizen just because the waiter did not know anything about it? Waiters rarely know anything about beer at all no matter how popular the pub is.

There are small local brewery pubs where some waiters are also the brewers. Those rare examples are the only ones I expect waiters to provide that extra knowledge about the beer I'm ordering.

But, I don't agree with people trashing the OP either. It actually shows how we all perceive things differently when we engage in this fun hobby of HB.
 
AnOldUR said:
The quote above is another story. Sounds like the poster is deliberately trying to show that he knows something that the employees don’t and is going out of his way to prove it. Asking what styles were available may not have gotten him any further, but it would have at least shown some understanding of beer classification. I get a chuckle out of thinking that the employee's may have been the actual beer snobs playing dumb while waiting for the correct terminology.




edit:
Ha! These may actually be considered types of beer. :p
Click to expand...

If you are the bartender in a brewpub which advertises "our beer is brewed on site" I expect you to be able to tell me more about the beer than the name of it. The manager even more so. The best reply I got was this one is dark, this one a little lighter and this one is the most popular (yeah they only have 3 beers at a time). The least the brewer could have done is put up a chalk board. Maybe I am a dick but you wouldn't walk into a restaurant and order a "meat sandwich" without a little more info on what kind of meat other than light or dark.

EDIT: oh now I see what you did with the bold thing It didn't come through on my phone. They weren't being snobs just clueless although very helpful. Like I said they gave me free beer.
 
Revvy said:
Gee, what if it was a really good hefeweizen??? Just because the waitress, like 99% of the waiters/waitresses in bars and restaurants don't unfortunately know about beer, didn't pursue it further? I would have sent her back to the bartender to find out just what it was. It may have been really good.

I think there's a fine line on being a beer geek and a beer jerk. Not everyone is as knowlegable or passionate about this stuff as we are.

You could have used that opportunity to do some educating to her, and maybe it would have encouraged her to be more knowlegable about beer. Instead of ridiculing her on a website.
Click to expand...

Have you read the OP at all or just used the cut and paste technique ? OP didn't ridicule or trash her, he just wanted to share a humorous experience: his choice to order a margarita wasn't in spite of the incident since he has had Wiedmer's before, and, frankly, wait staff couldn't care less if you're drinking tap water or Crystal Champagne if you tip handsomely afterward.

I have waited tables for years and tried my best to be as knowledgeable as possible about the food and drink that we served, altough I never managed to be good at wines. I don't like wine, what can I say ? I knew the basics, but that was it.

And nothing would piss me off more than a patron who try to "educate me" in front of a table because I couldn't answer his question (altough I did know about the specific bottles we had in the cave, and not only that we had Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel). Let me call the sommelier instead. It's patronizing most of the time.

But in this case, bitching about a probably minimum wage earning waitress's beer knowhow, seems like the blowhard is you.....

I personally would just cut her some slack for not understanding the nuances of hefe's and other beer styles.

*shrug*
Click to expand...

Uncalled for. Really. The waitress didn't know about what she actually had on tap: the "nuances" of the style never came into play. If you go to a dive bar and ask what they have on tap, they don't answer BMC or American Light Lagers. Knowing what brands you carry isn't al that hard.
 
Revvy said:
Gee, what if it was a really good hefeweizen??? Just because the waitress, like 99% of the waiters/waitresses in bars and restaurants don't unfortunately know about beer, didn't pursue it further? I would have sent her back to the bartender to find out just what it was. It may have been really good.
Click to expand...


+1 to this. One time I asked about a local beer and the person told me, "It's a lager." I still ordered it though. Not everyone knows much about beer, especially if that person isn't a beer drinker.
 
AnOldUR said:
+1 to a response that lacks comprehension of the original post

+1 to the blind leading the blind

+1 to unprovoked name calling

+1 to a members pulpit being above the rules

Yeah! +1
Click to expand...

Whoa, i was +1'ing the fact that he told him to try it anyway. I think you need to relax a bit...
 
i saw the title and instantly thought of all the inbreds in state college that ask for a "lager" when they want yuengling. thats by far the most frustrating part of working at a bar.
 
Ben_Persitz said:
Last night the woman and I went to Chevy's for dinner with her family.

When asking what they had on tap I was read a list of four beers. "Dos Equis, Bud, Tecate and Hefeweizen".

I responded, "Which Hefeweizen?"

To which the waitress gave me a confused look and said "There's more than one?"

I got a margarita.
Click to expand...

Did she ask you "What kind of margarita?" "There is more than one kind you know." :D
 
Ben_Persitz said:
Last night the woman and I went to Chevy's for dinner with her family.

When asking what they had on tap I was read a list of four beers. "Dos Equis, Bud, Tecate and Hefeweizen".

I responded, "Which Hefeweizen?"

To which the waitress gave me a confused look and said "There's more than one?"
Click to expand...

Had the same experience at Joe's. Gal rattled off a list and ended with "IPA". Asked which one and she said authoritatively, "Imperial Pale Ale". Ordered it anyway. Told her at the end of the meal that for future reference, it was O'dells India Pale Ale. :D
 
Related pic:

tacomaanim.gif
 
gnuworldorder said:
i saw the title and instantly thought of all the inbreds in state college that ask for a "lager" when they want yuengling. thats by far the most frustrating part of working at a bar.
Click to expand...

Yuengling is a lager right? Not very specific, but I wouldn't call someone inbred for asking for a lager when the beer they are asking for is a lager!
 
I've found a technique that tends to work when the waiter/waitress is struggling to mention a beer that I'll actually order. I ask, "What's on tap (or bottled) that you don't sell very often?" That usually gets right to the section of the beer list that I like.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
I've found a technique that tends to work when the waiter/waitress is struggling to mention a beer that I'll actually order. I ask, "What's on tap (or bottled) that you don't sell very often?" That usually gets right to the section of the beer list that I like.
Click to expand...

Great idea. Another thing I usually do if there's an actual bar, I go look myself, cause the waitress often doesn't care enough to know (I know this because I spent years working in restaurants with them when I was in college).
 
gnuworldorder said:
i saw the title and instantly thought of all the inbreds in state college that ask for a "lager" when they want yuengling. thats by far the most frustrating part of working at a bar.
Click to expand...

Well being from PA and being able to walk into a bar with the Big B,M,C's on tap and a Yuengling and get a good beer I'll take the Yuengling... Was just a a private club here in the south ordered a "lager" they said what? my response oh sorry Yuengling... Place reminded ne so much of home I got sponsored and became a member and will be starting a dart team.

Long story short, I'll school em Lager = Yuengling just a north east thing... Used to be just a EASTERN PA thing~ LOL better than Yuengling Premium!

Who Knows the small dog joke? Good for any old Pa beer like Stegmaier beer! ANYBODY?

Small dog joke>>> Man walks into a bar with a small dog under his arm... orders a stegmaier beer (heard it first on steggy) bar tender says what's the dog for? Man takes a drink... Licks the dogs ass And says "she's here to take the taste of the Stegmaier out of my mouth!
 
when they came out with the newer New Glarus brew "ABT," I saw it on tap at Milwaukee Burger Co. I asked the waitress what kind of beer it was, and she didn't know. She just said it was "dark" and tasted like cherry. I ordered it (wasn't very good, IMO). I then looked up the brew from New Glarus and wrote it down on paper for the waitress and she gladly put the note on the tap handle so she could inform other patrons what style it is when asked. We both learned something.

The original post did come off as snobby, IMO. Maybe ben wasn't being a prick, but the way he worded it in the post sounded like it. If it contained the statement that he found out what kind of beer it was (that he had before) and then ordered a margarita because he didn't like it, no one would've jumped down his throat (well, maybe they would because he did chose a margarita over a beer).
 
MetallHed said:
when they came out with the newer New Glarus brew "ABT," I saw it on tap at Milwaukee Burger Co. I asked the waitress what kind of beer it was, and she didn't know. She just said it was "dark" and tasted like cherry. I ordered it (wasn't very good, IMO). I then looked up the brew from New Glarus and wrote it down on paper for the waitress and she gladly put the note on the tap handle so she could inform other patrons what style it is when asked. We both learned something.
Click to expand...

WOW, surprised they had the last edition of unplugged ABT on tap. I got a 4-pack last weekend. It is a Belgian quadrupel, ABV 9.75%! I found it to be disappointing for a New Glarus. Very strong candy sugar sweetness with a hint of cherry and an excessive alcohol taste IMO. Not an expert in this style but I think it lacks the Belgian yeast character big time. Nevertheless New Glarus is still my favorite crafts beer company.

MetallHed said:
The original post did come off as snobby, IMO. Maybe ben wasn't being a prick, but the way he worded it in the post sounded like it. If it contained the statement that he found out what kind of beer it was (that he had before) and then ordered a margarita because he didn't like it, no one would've jumped down his throat (well, maybe they would because he did chose a margarita over a beer).
Click to expand...

There was nothing wrong with the OP post. The problem was a rude response to it.
 
Indyking said:
WOW, surprised they had the last edition of unplugged ABT on tap. I got a 4-pack last weekend. It is a Belgian quadrupel, ABV 9.75%! I found it to be disappointing for a New Glarus. Very strong candy sugar sweetness with a hint of cherry and an excessive alcohol taste IMO. Not an expert in this style but I think it lacks the Belgian yeast character big time. Nevertheless New Glarus is still my favorite crafts beer company.
Click to expand...

YES! That's what I thought too. I wasn't impressed, but, like you, NG is my favorite craft from Wisconsin. I hadn't even heard of it before then.

Indyking said:
There was nothing wrong with the OP post. The problem was a rude response to it.
Click to expand...

There were better ways to go about both sides, IMO.
 
Went to a new place to watch the Michigan - OSU game saturday and the waitress was smart enough to just the hand over her hand written beer list. They had about 16 taps, and more craft brew in bottles. Everytime a new guy showed up we just asked for the list again. She got a good tip.
 
I like to look at the tap handles myself when I go in somewhere. Then I know for myself what's there. I'll also look at the menu/drink list to see if there's anything else in bottles.

I don't expect the server to be a beer snob. I don't expect them to know everything about what's on tap, but I do give them credit if they do. I also don't expect them to know every detail about what goes into the food or how it's made. Obviously, part of the server's job is to sell product and knowledge of the product helps but it's unrealistic to believe that they will know everything. I'd rather they admit they don't know and offer to find out.
 
This caused quite a stir lol. It was simply supposed to be a humorous story. I don't blame the waitress, though I do think you should know what beers you have on tap (especially if it's only 4). Simply saying Hefeweizen isn't enough. That'd be like me asking what the special was and her saying "BEEF". Well, is it carne asada? chili verde?

It's okay to not know the nuances or taste of the beer, but at least know the name!

Hell, I'm that way about cigars. I went into a cigar store a few months ago and asked:

"Hey is that maduro cigar any good?"

Cigar guy: "Maduro is a cut of cigar..not a brand...."

I was having Mexican food, and didn't feel like a Hefeweizen would really complement what I was eating. Thus the choice for a margarita. I certainly didn't want tecate or coors or miller or whatever they had.
 

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