Went to a buffalo wild wings today...

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sloose

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I decided after their homebrew joke I'd give one a try. I was impressed with their beer selection for a chain restaurant. I was UNIMPRESSED by the obvious pushing of miller lite by the waitress, but whatevs. I even got carded! it made me feel young again (am 35 sigh)

I ordered a Rogue Dead Guy Ale on draft. Not half bad, i didnt hate it, i wasnt really in the mood for it though so i didnt finish it.. $6.50 for a draft. REALLY?! REALLY?!

No wonder I don't order beer when out to dinner.
 
Meh yah that's what you get with a chain type establishment that relies on their marketing prowess to attract customers. Some people seem to love them, many seem to hate them, like other chain restaurants.
 
It's a fun atmosphere at least where I live to watch a sporting event with some friends. The beer selection is admirable for a chain restaurant....

Yes. And this year the ones in Michigan were huge supporters of Michigan Craft Beer Month, even selling a really nice commemorative glass with part of the money going to the Michigan Brewer's Guild.

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My co-minister, and our key volunteers who are football fans are going to one straight after church on Sundays to watch the Lion's together. The waiter at the one we go to was pushing the Michigan Craft Beers over BMCs when I last went for opening day.

And their wings rule.
 
I buy their sauce and make my own wings. I like their buffalo chicken sandwich with wedges and ranch though. The food really isn't anything spectacular.
 
Love their wings but can't afford their beer prices. I'd rather buy the sauce, make em' at home & drink what's in my fridge.
 
Love their wings, especially the hot sauces - they burn going down and burn like hell coming out, but damn, are they ever good
 
The wings were decent. I fry up wings at home on my brewing burner, and they come out nearly as good, now I know I can't afford the beer prices!
 
Man, some of you guys have it good at BWW! My wife and son like to go there on occasion, and I'll admit I do enjoy their wings, but the beer selection at our location sucks.

My SWMBO orders (from the menu) Woodchuck Cider... waiter looks at her like she's speaking French. She points at the menu and he says "we don't carry that."

So she tells me to order while she looks again. "Cool, I'll take a Stone Ipa.."

"We don't carry that."

Back to SWMBO. "I'll take a Stella."

"We don't have that either."

Back to me: "Sam Adams Octoberfest???"

"Nope."

This went on for two more rounds until she she ordered a fricking Mich Ultra and I ordered a Guinness. And he still had to check both to see if the bar had them.

It was so ridiculous, that I actually called the manager over and suggested he sharpie out the beers that weren't on the menu.

I would think that people in my town only drink BMC, but we have since found a similar local restaurant that has Stone, Oscar Blues, Odell's, etc on tap.
 
What you should have done is what I do when I get the "we don't have that" spiel...

Hold up your index finger, get out of your seat and walk over to the bar, look over their draft and bottle selections, then return to your seat and order your beer.

I usually follow this up with a minimal tip and a personal note to learn what the bar has to offer that day.
 
BWW had Rogue Dead Guys on tap?! Man, I wish mine had that here, I would frequent it more often. I love Rogue. Their wings are ok, mostly fun to just get a bunch of different flavors. Now... Gators (2 store chain in Chicago Suburbs)... now THEY had good wings, largest and tastiest I have have ever had. They have won the Chicago Wings fest something like 9 years in a row I think.
 
I actually work at one and we are told to push the "game day specials" This month Miller light is on it here in CO along with Newcastle and Fat Tire. I like how they did the promo in Michigan and will try to get a CO craft beer deal like they had. Happy hour will help with the beer prices and the selection we have is 30 different draft beers plus about another 20 on bottle. And yes food is so so but what do you expect from a place that mainly uses friers and a flat top. Good place to watch sports though.
 
My personal experience at one wasn't too great but they were understaffed and that was the issue. Rogue beers are expensive wherever you go. I was at a Rogue establishment last weekend and it was 5.50 to 5.75 a beer. So your prices aren't too far off. I think a lot of you are just trying to kill it on a personal bias. It is what it is. I personally think that all those restaurants are the same and cater to a certain crowd. But they work obviously and people do enjoy them, so it isn't worth the complaining.
 
It's a good place to watch a game, especially if your local cable provider is feuding with the Big Ten Network, NFL Network, etc. They usually have game time deals on BMC beers which is fine if you don't mind BMC (an I don't).
 
chefrand15 said:
I actually work at one and we are told to push the "game day specials" This month Miller light is on it here in CO along with Newcastle and Fat Tire. I like how they did the promo in Michigan and will try to get a CO craft beer deal like they had. Happy hour will help with the beer prices and the selection we have is 30 different draft beers plus about another 20 on bottle. And yes food is so so but what do you expect from a place that mainly uses friers and a flat top. Good place to watch sports though.

Nice beer selection and i get the marketing. But $6.50 drafts are big frownies, especially since we as homebrewers know how much that beer costs to brew(fixed costs aside of course)
 
As a side question:

i never had a dead guy ale before, and im generally unfamiliar with the maibock style. I see lots of guys like their DGA clones, so i ordered it.

My draft was a little on the 'flat' side for my tastes, definately less carbed than i expected. Is this typical of the style / beer or did i just get a lame pour?
 
I think Dead Guy is a mediocre beer at best. And I also always have that experience with its carbonation (a little on the low side). People seem to love it, though. More power to em! Drink what you like, right?

Oh, and the selection is totally based on the market. If BW3 didn't offer a large craft beer selection in Michigan, they'd get killed by the local sports bars. There are too many craft beer drinkers in this area for them not to have them, so by offering ~10 good crafts they can at least compete.
 
I think rogue has some pretty good beers. They are just expensive. Dead guy is one of my least favorite. They have a good west coast pale ale and there mocha porter and double chocolate stout are pretty awesome.
 
As a side question:

i never had a dead guy ale before, and im generally unfamiliar with the maibock style. I see lots of guys like their DGA clones, so i ordered it.

My draft was a little on the 'flat' side for my tastes, definately less carbed than i expected. Is this typical of the style / beer or did i just get a lame pour?

I must also say that a "nucleated glass" will also contribute to the flat carbonation taste. All the tall draft glasses are nucleated to make you thing the beer tastes fresher with the constant flow of bubbles. That just helps the CO2 gather on the rougher cut glass and loose the carbonation faster. If I am correct Sam Adams made this popular.
 
I must also say that a "nucleated glass" will also contribute to the flat carbonation taste. All the tall draft glasses are nucleated to make you thing the beer tastes fresher with the constant flow of bubbles. That just helps the CO2 gather on the rougher cut glass and loose the carbonation faster. If I am correct Sam Adams made this popular.

looked like a regular pint glass to me. I sipped it 30 seconds off the tap.... was just as flat tasting as it was 10 mins later. Taste was ok, but didnt improve as the temp went into the 50s with the lack of carb.
 
I just confirmed with SWMBO that we are heading to BWW this weekend. I have never been and am up for a little RECON.

I have noted everything noted on these forums and reviews, but will go in open-minded and see what happens.

Wish me luck.
 
I used to go before I was 21 while living in houston. I loved the mass amount of different sauces and the wedge cheese fries. That place was the **** in my opinion. I just wish there were some in San Diego. so for all of those who do have them, as we said in TX, thank your lucky stars
 
You guys saying you like their wings, I live in Buffalo, have for 40 years, those wings are not Buffalo Wings. You may like them, you may think they are the best you ever had, but please do not call them Buffalo Wings, call them chicken wings.

I've been the BWW a several times, and their wings are small and skinny, and not crispy enough. Buffalo wing should have a decent crispy outer layer, with juicy moist meat in the center, and hot sauce. There are places here in Buffalo with wings are small clubs you can beat your wife with, and she will love the slapping slathering sauce. Crispness is key for a Buffalo Wing, BWW serves mass fried drop 10-12 mins in a fryer and call it done wings, and there is a toss up of getting wing soup (too much sauce) or barely enough.

Some of the sauces they serve are actually really good, but I find their hot sauce not hot enough, I would go along the path of saying they are a wing sauce restaurant that serves beer. I usually end up getting a sandwich there, and get my wings at hole in the wall bars in Buffalo as that is where you will find the best wings. There are distributors here that sell the larger wings, the chain restaurants here avoid them because of cost.
 
The ones here in Sarasota have Cigar City Jai Alai, which always makes me happy! Plus the discount wing night and trivia never fails to disappoint!
 
Paulgs3 said:
You guys saying you like their wings, I live in Buffalo, have for 40 years, those wings are not Buffalo Wings. You may like them, you may think they are the best you ever had, but please do not call them Buffalo Wings, call them chicken wings.

I've been the BWW a several times, and their wings are small and skinny, and not crispy enough. Buffalo wing should have a decent crispy outer layer, with juicy moist meat in the center, and hot sauce. There are places here in Buffalo with wings are small clubs you can beat your wife with, and she will love the slapping slathering sauce. Crispness is key for a Buffalo Wing, BWW serves mass fried drop 10-12 mins in a fryer and call it done wings, and there is a toss up of getting wing soup (too much sauce) or barely enough.

Some of the sauces they serve are actually really good, but I find their hot sauce not hot enough, I would go along the path of saying they are a wing sauce restaurant that serves beer. I usually end up getting a sandwich there, and get my wings at hole in the wall bars in Buffalo as that is where you will find the best wings. There are distributors here that sell the larger wings, the chain restaurants here avoid them because of cost.

As my buddy from Rochester always says "if they ain't from Anchor Bar or Duffs they ain't wings." though as a wing fanatic I must say, eating at the place that invented the chicken wing is an unrivaled experience that sets the bar as high as it goes. That being said, I'm enough of a wing addict to enjoy almost anyone's wings, even BWW.
 
You guys saying you like their wings, I live in Buffalo, have for 40 years, those wings are not Buffalo Wings. You may like them, you may think they are the best you ever had, but please do not call them Buffalo Wings, call them chicken wings.

I've been the BWW a several times, and their wings are small and skinny, and not crispy enough. Buffalo wing should have a decent crispy outer layer, with juicy moist meat in the center, and hot sauce. There are places here in Buffalo with wings are small clubs you can beat your wife with, and she will love the slapping slathering sauce. Crispness is key for a Buffalo Wing, BWW serves mass fried drop 10-12 mins in a fryer and call it done wings, and there is a toss up of getting wing soup (too much sauce) or barely enough.

Some of the sauces they serve are actually really good, but I find their hot sauce not hot enough, I would go along the path of saying they are a wing sauce restaurant that serves beer. I usually end up getting a sandwich there, and get my wings at hole in the wall bars in Buffalo as that is where you will find the best wings. There are distributors here that sell the larger wings, the chain restaurants here avoid them because of cost.

+1 mirrion. As an upstate NY resident, I agree that this is the biggest problem with this place. "Wings" is in the name of your "restaurant", and you can't get that right? C'mon. For me, undercooked, flabby skin and undersauced are the two cardinal sins of wing cookery. It doesn't matter how many different sauces you throw at these little wing-turds; they're just plain awful. If you've ever had really decent wings, these don't come close to measuring up.
 
I enjoy their wing sauces, but every time I go, my wallet keeps complaining to me about being raped.
 
I ordered a Rogue Dead Guy Ale on draft. Not half bad, i didnt hate it, i wasnt really in the mood for it though so i didnt finish it.. $6.50 for a draft. REALLY?! REALLY?!

No wonder I don't order beer when out to dinner.

Previously living in NY and now living in DC, $6.50 seems just right for a draft. basically anything from $5-8 for a "normal" craft brew is a reasonable price.
 
Wings used to be the leftover pieces from chicken companies and sold to places for CHEAP and resold CHEAP. They caught on and are now worth more since more people seem to enjoy a bony, saucy piece of chicken because of the marketing.

I feel bad paying more than 25 cents for original style real wings. Forget the boneless.

Even though I don't mind the food, I really go there for the craft beer and the games on TV with friends. My biggest complaint is when the servers don't know what kinds of beers they have.
 
I don't mind BWW, but I find them hit or miss-very inconsistent from one store to another. I've been to a few different ones and even though they have the same menu, at some places the food is terrible and at others it is very good for the bar food that it is.

My local BWW is too far for me to go to AND it is one of the "miss'' stores. Service is bad, the food is not good, and the beer list is average or below. So I don't go to it.

As far as the homebrewer commercial goes, I got a bit of a grin out of it.
 
The wife and I went a month or so ago as we had heard from people and coworkers how great it was, maybe it was just an off day there, but we were both very unimpressed. The food wasn't anything to get excited about, even kinda sub-par for chain restaurant food. The beer list wasn't impressive at all, mostly just the big ones and Sam Adams. They did have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap which I haven't seen in Maine before at chain restaurants, but that was about the only interesting thing we found. Maybe 10 years ago or so when I was in college and wanted to watch the game on a big tv and hang out with friends and drink beers, I probably would have found it to be a great place, but even then they were priced quite high for fried food and beer.
 
in case anyone is keeping score: my local BWW had 34 beers on tap, 6 of which were interesting (troegs, founders, etc), another 6-8 were acceptable (good sams, sierra, etc) and the other ~20 were BMCs. why anyone would need twenty BMCs is beyond me... then again, i'm not in the chain-sports-bar biz so what do i know.

Previously living in NY and now living in DC, $6.50 seems just right for a draft. basically anything from $5-8 for a "normal" craft brew is a reasonable price.
yup. six and a half bucks for a craft brew is what i expect to pay, but i too spend most of my time in over-priced cities. *shrug*
 
I also work for the company that owns most of the Detroit area bdubs and the franchise owner has the choice of what's on tap but I work for a smaller portion of the company that ONLY has MI craft on tap
 
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