Has this ever happened to you and am I a beer snob?

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benko

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So my lady and I are eating at a small chain pizza place with a pretty decent draft beer selection. I order a French Broad Brewing Company Altbier (which I've never had) and she gets a Victory Hopdevil. The waiter, a friendly college age kid, brings out two very hoppy IPAs. After tasting mine, I ask him if he brought out two Hopdevils by mistake, and he says no, that mine is the altbier. I was doubtful, but I thought maybe the folks at French Broad brewing took some creative license. For my next beer I order a Rogue Dead Guy (which I've had many times) and he brings out an orange/red, very tart, almost lambic beer. I told him that I believed that he poured me a beer from the Rogue Dead Guy tap, but that this wasn't it. He was very polite, but I could tell that he was thinking what a tool I was. Has this type of thing ever happened to you, and how big of a deal did you make of it? Am I being a beer penis?
 
Am I being a beer penis?

Beer doesn't have a penis. Yeast reproduce asexually. ;)

I ordered, very specifically, a pint of Guinness at an Applebee's recently. The waitress brought me a bottle of Guinness and no glass. I flagged down a manager, who asked me why it mattered. It took a bit of restraint to not just break the bottle over his head, but I eventually settled on telling him that a pint was 16 ounces, and that the bottle was only 12. I was polite about it, and he ended up bringing me a glass of Guinness (which was quite a bit larger than 16 ounces) from the tap for free.

However, had the waitress brought me a glass of Killians (Applebee's doesn't have the best beer selection) I would have been pretty pissed.
 
You are not a big penis! French Broad Altbier is not overly hoppy like a hopdevil. He probably made a mistake.

I have had that happen to me before here in Asheville when there was a new trainee at the Mellow Mushroom. It wasn't that big of a deal, I ordered a Highland Cold Mountain, and he brought me a Highland Gaelic, wasn't that big of a deal plus I got a free beer.
 
I have not had exactly this happen, but three times in the past year I have been out to eat and ordered whatever the bar had that was most drinkable (Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, whatever) and the waiter brought me what was clearly a Bud. I would ask about it and they always say no, that is a xxxx. I always tell send it back and order a tea instead. This has a happened at different restaurants. I wonder if they don't know, or if they are trying to sell me a $2 beer for $4.50. I wonder how often it works and no one complains.
 
You know what you're drinking, he doesn't.....you might come off as a dick to him, but you're not. I had something similar happen to me at a basketball game. I'm sure to him, I was a complete ******-bag. My dad and I asked him the same thing, "are you sure you have the correct keg connected to the correct tap? This beer tastes like that one...."
 
Well, on the one hand in a "small chain pizza place" you're probably going to be served by Marvin Sweatsock, whose idea of beer probably begins & ends with Bud Light......so to him beer is beer.
(Parenthetically, you must have a pretty cool "small chain pizza place" if it has ANY of the beers mentioned.)
On the other hand, no matter where you are, you have every expectation of receiving the beer you ordered (and are going to pay for).
 
Here's where I know that I am a little obsessed with my beer: I was seriously considering going home and bringing a bottle of Rogue Dead Guy back with me to show him that I wasn't crazy. This is when my lady told me that I was a penis and that she would leave me if I did.
 
I don't think you were out of line, either, for asking. Its not like you were insistent and rude to him.

IMO, I'd say the kegs weren't connected right or they ran out of the beers you ordered and put another "specialty beer" (at least in their eyes) in its place thinking it didn't really make a difference.

They're usually tell you if they do that, though. usually...
 
I do this. It is fact that bars will try and serve you cheap beer and charge you "Specialy beer" price thinking most people won't notice. It is also known that they will serve half the beer you ordered with BMC. If the beer does not taste like I think it should, I send it back and order something else. Another beer if the waiter is nice, a tea or cola if they're snotty. Weather it's flat the wrong beer on purpose or accident, the correct beer watered down with BMC or the right beer that's been handeled improperly and/served through filghty lines, you paid for a beer that's supposed to taste like you KNOW it's supposed to taste. I won't pay for anything less. Especially at "Premium Beer" Prices.
It's not being snobby or a Penis, It's being educated. Would you not send back a burnt or even over cooked steak? Same thing. Just because the waiter is uneducated and doesn't think so, it is the same. Also if I suspect mixing, I'll say I'm going to look what else they have, because somehow the bartenders only know the BMC beers they have, and then WATCH the bartender pour the same beer, and what do you know, it tastes right this time with the customer watching him usually.
 
I've been getting this at baseball games. Especially when they first open for the season. Mix up all the taps.

Not worth the effort to say anything as I expect I'd get the same reactions as you.
 
I don't think I'd make a stink about it at a ball park. One I could barely afford BMC at a ball park and two, I'm gonna hold up a line of dozens for my beer snobbery. But a restaurant I will.
 
I had the same experience at an Applebee's near here. I forget what I asked for - maybe a Bass Ale draft? But they brought me a Blue Moon. I told the waitress very politely that it was not Bass, it was obviously Blue Moon. She came back and told me that the barmaid insisted that it was Bass. I repeated that it obviously was not, my two daughters chimed in saying the same thing, and I walked over the the bar with her to figure out what was going on. By then, the barmaid, who obviously had no idea, had come to realize that the hoses were mixed up.

I've decided that Applebee's brings in the cheapest possible wait staff they can scrounge up so I should not ever be surprised, but it doesn't seem like they waste much effort in training their people.
 
I hate the excuse of "they're just a waiter, not a beer snob like you." If you're a waiter/bartender you need to know what you're serving! That IS your job.
 
I ordered a Sam Adams Oktoberfest on tap a few years ago and they brought me something completely wrong, I told them about it, and they said "no, it's an oktoberfest" I didnt really feel like arguing with them
 
I dont think its snobbery at all, if you asked for diet coke, and they bring you plain coke, you would say something right? SWMBO complains about flat soda fountain drinks all the time, is she a soda snob....nah.
 
If you are a beer penis, I don't want to see you.

There was a thread on here some months ago (I can't find it now)

Someone was in a microbrewery/restaurant I think. Any time he ordered a beer that they didn't have they would mix a BMC with something else to approximate the colour of what he ordered......It was a very disturbing read. I have never been the same since. :(
 
All too often I find in these restaurants with a fair selection (good or bad) the servers know little to nothing about the beers available. No doubt you've heard the response "All of them" when you ask what they have on tap.

Only recently has the health department began suggesting that proper storage and line cleanliness should be the burden of the distributor in Oklahoma. I am not sure it has actually taken hold tho'. And too often you get some worker bee who could care less and taps a Bud cause he "don;t get paid enough" to have to move that heavy assed keg of Stella.

They look the same right?

Maybe a bad example but, you'd be surprised how often this happens.
 
At Chicago Fire games (soccer), they have a number of vendors who sell better beer - its a great advantage! One of the carts last year got their lines mixed up - I'm the first who noticed it - they were grateful, no attitude, really great!

Jim
 
Same thing happened to me a few weeks ago at TGI Fridays. I ordered a Sam Adams, they brought me a Blue Moon. The waiter insisted it was a Blue Moon and I (reluctantly) let it go. At the end of the meal, the manger came up and said that it had indeed been a Blue Moon and brought me my Sam Adams. Bottom line, the waiters don't know the difference, and mixing up the lines is easy.
 
At Chicago Fire games (soccer), they have a number of vendors who sell better beer - its a great advantage! One of the carts last year got their lines mixed up - I'm the first who noticed it - they were grateful, no attitude, really great!

Jim

Good to hear. I can understand it's easy to get your lines mixed up, and It's nice to see they cared enough to WANT to serve the right beer and were appreciative for your HELP.
 
Same thing happened to me a few weeks ago at TGI Fridays. I ordered a Sam Adams, they brought me a Blue Moon. The waiter insisted it was a Blue Moon and I (reluctantly) let it go. At the end of the meal, the manger came up and said that it had indeed been a Blue Moon and brought me my Sam Adams. Bottom line, the waiters don't know the difference, and mixing up the lines is easy.

Even more bottom line, the waiters and cellarmen (Yeah, cellarmen, I know they don't really have them) need better training!! They should know the difference, and they should also listen to the complaints of customers.
 
Luckily Citizens Bank Park where the Phillies play actually has a pretty decent beer selection. Plus a lot of them are in bottles which they pour into glasses when the serve you obviously, but at least you know your getting the right beer.
 
Slightly OT, but I do hate it when wait staff ignores you when you ask for a list. I try not to be snobby, but once at a bar I asked what was on tap and was told Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Blue, Blue Light. I sort of hesitated and said 'Okaaay, what do you have in bottles?' She said 'What do you want?' At this point I wanted to facepalm, because I felt like saying 'You don't have what I want so give me a list.' Turns out their best stuff was SA or Yuengling.

Then last night at a place with a better selection when I asked for a list, the waiter said 'What do you like? Maltier, sweeter, hoppier?' I appreciate that they try to educate people on what to drink but you really don't need to tell me what a Hoegaarten is, dude. I want a list because I'm not sure if I want a wit or an IPA or something else, so I want to hear my options.
 
I have had the same experiences before, I don't think your being a dick, usually I'll just drink what they brought me but if it's BMC and I ordered a craft brew I'll raise a stink. By the way the thing that annoys me more than anything is going into a brewpub and the wait staff doesn't know anything about the beer they make/sell. SWMBO always gets annoyed when I comment on this but I think it's so important for a brewery to have staff that is knowlegable about their own beer. Even if your workers are under 21 you can at least educate them about the beer. Personally I don't think I would even hire wait staff that weren't willing to try the beer that the brewery made, it's kind of like baristas that don't like coffee.
 
Completely in line. Whatever you order, doesn't matter where, you should get what you ask for. If you order a veggie burger and they bring you a cow burger....what does it matter? If a person who has certain allergies says "no peanuts" and they get peanuts....what does it matter? Obligatory tipping among other things has driven the 'service' out of the service industry. I know in some states mixing up the lines can cost the bar substantially even if it is a simple mistake.

I have only sent a beer back once, I swore it was soured, something wrong with the keg. The manager poured himself a sip and agreed something was not right, I am not sure if he was just being accommodating. After I went home a read reviews of the beer, turns out it is just a really, really crappy beer. I kind of felt like a jerk, but maybe the bar will stop stocking crappy beer.
 
I have only sent a beer back once, I swore it was soured, something wrong with the keg. The manager poured himself a sip and agreed something was not right, I am not sure if he was just being accommodating. After I went home a read reviews of the beer, turns out it is just a really, really crappy beer. I kind of felt like a jerk, but maybe the bar will stop stocking crappy beer.

I'm not a good customer in American restaurants. I get easily confused by the machine gun read-off of all the options........However, from my past experience in England I am a fricking expert at sending a beer back! There should be no argument, no debate. This is what I ordered, and this is what I expect. The end. :rockin:
 
While I would have done the same you gotta remember alot of these people are kids getting paid virtually nothing. They don't care about your beer they care about getting into collage or whatever. I would not be rude unless they were rude first but a mix up in something like beer is all too common.

Now if a bartender mixed beers up i would go insane.
 
I don't think I have ever sent anything back. A friend of mine does, he even has called fast food places to complain about some order the got wrong at the drive-thru. Personally I thought he was being a whiny prick about it.

Of course I never had problems ordering beers in restaurants, and I would be pissed off if someone mixed a beer that I ordered with a cheaper one.

The main problem I have with beer in restaurants is just finding a restaurant with a decent selection. Usually Sam Adams is best I can find in most restaurants.
 
I don't think I have ever sent anything back. A friend of mine does, he even has called fast food places to complain about some order the got wrong at the drive-thru. Personally I thought he was being a whiny prick about it.

My missus did that once to Long John Silver's. They gave us some absolutely inedible crap at their drive-thru. Nothing whiney about it. You pay for this stuff, you expect a certain stadard, even when you are daft enough to buy from aholes like that.
 
My missus did that once to Long John Silver's. They gave us some absolutely inedible crap at their drive-thru. Nothing whiney about it. You pay for this stuff, you expect a certain stadard, even when you are daft enough to buy from aholes like that.


A certain standard yes, but my friend was whining that they put tomatos on his taco from taco bell, personally I think thats a bit ridiculous. Just pick them off and don't worry about it.

Also my standards depend on the quality of the restaurant. I expect a lot more from a 5 star restaurant then a fast-food place. Just getting something that won't kill me from a fast-food place is all I expect from them.
 
There's a place by my work that serves beer. They're sort of an extension of a brewery in town and they've poured me the wrong beer a couple of times, but only when the whole table is ordering something else or when it is busy. They are very nice about taking it back, though, so I don't complain.

As for ordering beer at a chain type place... I just won't do it. Even if by some miracle they have something I like I can typically expect that a) the lines will be dirty and b) the majority of the people who eat there are drinking crap, so I'll most likely get a stale pint of beer. Bleh.
 
As for ordering beer at a chain type place... I just won't do it. Even if by some miracle they have something I like I can typically expect that a) the lines will be dirty and b) the majority of the people who eat there are drinking crap, so I'll most likely get a stale pint of beer. Bleh.

+100000.

I have no issue sending something back if it's not to my satisfaction, and I'm unwaveringly unapologetic about having expectations and standards for customer service. Bartending and waiting tables paid my way through graduate school, and I understand completely the low wages of the service industry.
 
Last week I ordered a Sam Adams at a local Red Robin. The waiter brought me a beer, but it definitely wasn't a Sam Adams. I asked, he brought it back to the barmaid who insisted it WAS Sam Adams. I took another sip, and looked at the color. No, it definitetly WASN'T a Sam Adams. I told him it didn't look or taste right. He brought it back to the bar again, then returned to my table a third time with the same glass of beer and told me "Oh yeah, the bartender said it's a seasonal--Summer Ale I think--we don't have the regular Sam Adams." I told him, "Thanks. Please bring me a Bass instead."

If it was the SA Winter or even White Ale, I would have just drank it. I'm not a fan of the SA Summer. I felt like a turd going through all of that with the waiter, but come on! If they're putting "Sam Adams" on the menu, they should at least tell you its a seasonal, or the bartender should be able to tell the waiter the difference the first time around rather than trying to foist it on the customer that way. I wondered to myself how many other customers must have gotten and just drank a totally different type of beer from what they ordered in that place... I also wondered if they spit in my Bass...
 
This thread is why I like Old Chicago. Wait staff is knowledgable about beer to a degree and if their not, they are willing to learn from you and the bartender.

If a beer gets messed up, NO Problem! I've had waitresses place the glass, tell me "Here is your xxx", look a the beer and realize, it was not what I ordered. She took it back and got what I asked for, then comped the beer.
 
I have had the same experiences before, I don't think your being a dick, usually I'll just drink what they brought me but if it's BMC and I ordered a craft brew I'll raise a stink. By the way the thing that annoys me more than anything is going into a brewpub and the wait staff doesn't know anything about the beer they make/sell. SWMBO always gets annoyed when I comment on this but I think it's so important for a brewery to have staff that is knowlegable about their own beer. Even if your workers are under 21 you can at least educate them about the beer. Personally I don't think I would even hire wait staff that weren't willing to try the beer that the brewery made, it's kind of like baristas that don't like coffee.

I have yet to get an answer to 'what hops are in the IPA?', in any brewpub I have been in.

Just like bringing you a wrong beer, it's not just that they don't know better, they don't really care either.

'How is everything?' is really just asking if you want to order something else. You are whining as far as they're concerned, if you are disappointed with the beer list or question their keg changing accuracy, even when done extra politely. And as said, it is the 'Obligatory Tip Syndrome' that is causing this situation. So many people will just tip consistent with the total of the bill, and not on the quality of service, that many servers feel you owe them, no matter how well they perform their job.

Beer Appreciation has greatly lessened my dining/drinking out experiences...:(
 
When i first was dating my wife i would never complain or send anything back. Food, beer, flat soda. It was just the way i was brought up. My parents never complained and i'm a pretty agreeable guy.

No i guess the spagetti is better than the chicken parm i ordered......

But after a few years with my wife. Flat soda....go F yourself. Forgot my toast with my omlet....instant headlock! Beer came out way flat/soured.....stab barstaff with a broken beer bottle. Sometimes it's a little over the top but you know what you should get what you pay for.

I will take **** no longer. Life is too short!!
 
Another Anecdote: A few weeks ago at our local Bier Garten, I saw they had both Ayinger BrauWeisse (my alltime favorite hefe, the beer that kicked off my homebrew habit) and Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock. I flipflopped at first with the waitress, but landed on hefe.

When asked later if I wanted another, I responded Sure, gimme the dopplebock this time. Comes back with a dark cloudy beer, announces my Aventinus. :D I guess it's hard to miss the mark in a disappointing way at a Bier Garten :p

I argued briefly with her over naming, correcting her perception that Aventinus was a Wheat Dopplebock, informing her it was instead a Weizenbock, but she could take the Aventinus back over my cold dead body.

Ah...happy endings.
 
I had 2 experieces with bad beer..I guess thats not bad but I think what everyone here is saying is true. The wait staff really doesn't care nor are they trained. I guess we are lucky we get the right food sometimes. I ordered a Blue Moon at Applebees (Seems to be a re-occuring theme here) and the tap was definitely not cleaned and the beer was sour..I said something and she took it away and got me another beer but she told me "The bartender said there was nothing wrong with it"..umm..ok..Another time I had a Newcastle in a pub in manhattan. There was something wrong with it similar to dirty lines as well. I got the same "The bartender said there is nothing wrong with it" I've been drinking Newcastle for at least 12 years and no I'm not Michael Jackson but I think I know what a normal beer should taste like and not a skunk'd beer. I usually don't complain about food or beer but I think its important that you get the correct beer and food that you ordered. Here in manhattan its about $6 a pint and I'll be damned if I don't get the right one!
 

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