BMC in a brewpub, WTF?

Ok, so today, i went to a brewpub in Gaithersburg, MD. called Growlers (I am sure some of the MD people here know the joint). I get there and get a sampler and all of the beers and they were all pretty good. Better then Rock bottom and gordon Biersch type places. Well, i order up a pint of one of the brews and look down at the bar (i was sitting upstairs and i could see the bar through the glass enclosed brew room) and there is a lone guy sitting there drinking a miller lite. Ok i think, maybe he came here for the food. Understandable. 40 minutes and 3 pints later he is still there drinking a miller lite and has no food. I came to the determination that this guy came by himself to this great brew pub to drink miller lite. I told SWMBO that i just did not understand why that guy would do that. I understand why this place would carry BMC (for people who might come in a party with someone who loves microbrews but may not care for it themselves). Anyway, i was just amazed at the fact that the lone guy was just sitting there by himself drinking a miller lite. Its the equivalent in my opinion to going to a steakhouse that is known for its awesomeness and ordering shrimp scampi. When i was leaving, i noticed a similar lone individual at the bar who was eating a basket of chicken tenders and drinking wine. Again, every thing above applies to that guy aswell. I am not trying to say you have to drink beer if you come to a brewpub, but what the hell?

You should of went up to him and offered him a nice pint of the house ale/lager... Proper thing to do I believe.

ah I know the place. Hated it. Very "yuppie" kinda like most of Gaithersburg

I'm going to go on record here with what is probably an unpopular opinion.

Drink what you like. That applies to me, SWMBO, the guy down the bar, and somebody I don't know three states to the east. That means, if somebody likes BMC (and face it, a lot of people do), then that's what they should drink. Anything else is pure snobbery. Sure, I'd rather kick back with a pint of my latest creation, but that has no bearing on what anybody else should like or dislike.

Hell, I've had plenty of BMC in my time, and will definitely have more in the future. Does that make me an idiot? Nope.

...new meaning for BMC...Bland, Mediocre and Cheap...

Arneba28 said:

"yuppie" kinda like most of Gaithersburg

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LOL! Yeah kind of

Redskins, there is nothing you can do for those people. The brew master at Growlers probably hates them more than anyone.

I actually like the place. Yuppie or not. DFH Ale House down the street isn't anymore or less yuppie-fied. You'll find great beers and food at both.

Sadly the brewpup in Port Huron sells more BMC than Micro-brews. Even though it makes great beer, and has decent food, it, like most of Port Huron, caters to the boater crowd. The barstaff isn't happy about it, and it sickens me not to see people at least TRYING a sampler. But the owner of the pub knows the trade in town...He knows what he needs to do to survive in this town. Most independant restaraunts in Port Huron don't last, especially in the old downtown district. On the North end of town it's all the mall, big box stores and chain resteraunts, even though the core where I live, and frequent the brew pup and a hanfudl of other bars, is right on the water.

So although I don't like it, I can't really fault him for doing what he can to stay afloat when other places in the neighborhood keep folding... the place is always packed year round.

jds said:

Drink what you like. That applies to me, SWMBO, the guy down the bar, and somebody I don't know three states to the east. That means, if somebody likes BMC (and face it, a lot of people do), then that's what they should drink. Anything else is pure snobbery. Sure, I'd rather kick back with a pint of my latest creation, but that has no bearing on what anybody else should like or dislike.

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No. We should judge them, and judge them harshly. They are philistines, with no place in proper human society. We should judge them, and shun them. And burn them.

But in all seriousness: I live in a small, "rural" town, where drinkers of real beer are vastly outnumbered by drinkers of BMC, forcing me to become a closet beer snob. I have to constantly supress the urge to say something like "Good lord! Who would drink that swill?" for fear of getting my butt kicked by a life-long Coors drinker.

FWIW at my local "beer bar" the BMC offerings basically pay the rent.

I've seen the same thing at the Capital Ale House in Richmond. Some people just want a nice bar to drink at, and sometimes these brewpubs are pretty nice places. At CAH they have an ice strip down the bar for you to set your beer on, and the food's pretty good and the wait staff is always really nice, so I can't begrudge the local BMC or bourbon drinker for wanting to grab their drink of choice in a nice place---even if it seems clinically insane to be drinking a coors light when there's 40 taps and hundreds of bottles literally right in front of you.

Inversely, our local brewpubs, South Street and Blue Mountain Brewery, don't carry anything but their own beer. The BMC crowd usually orders the kolsch, of course, or just goes with spirits or wine.

mrfocus said:

You should of went up to him and offered him a nice pint of the house ale/lager... Proper thing to do I believe.

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My SWMBO actually did this at our local brewpub. It was grating on her that this guy in a construction company jacket - supposedly a 'manly man' - was drinking Miller Lite. She went over and talked to this guy and went so far as to buy him a pint of the house's lightest offering to try and convert him. But after a few sips, he said it was too much for him! She couldn't believe it. Here she was drinking their IPA and this guy couldn't handle their BMC equivalent.

We can only hope these people don't breed!

homebrewer_99 said:

...new meaning for BMC...Bland, Mediocre and Cheap...

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very fitting. I love it.

You should have walked up to him, politely yet firmly smacked him upside his head and screamed "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DRINK A REAL BEER YOU PANSY!"

That's what I always do.

ohiobrewtus said:

You should have walked up to him, politely yet firmly smacked him upside his head and screamed "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DRINK A REAL BEER YOU PANSY!"

That's what I always do.

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What if it's Chuck Norris at the bar, drinking a Miller Lite?

ohiobrewtus said:

You should have walked up to him, politely yet firmly smacked him upside his head and screamed "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, DRINK A REAL BEER YOU PANSY!"

That's what I always do.

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Yes, yes! Perfect.

However, with people like this drinking BMC it means more good beer for us!

I have been thinking, and i am sure many of you all agree, that BMC ruins beers name. I think beer could be right up there with wine in terms of it being eloquent and sophisticated. Alot of very nice upscale restuarants boast about the fact that they have an awesome selection of rare and good wines. Why couldnt it be the same for beer? Beer gets a bad rap in the publics eye. It should be on the same level as wine, IMHO.

I stop by Growlers fairly regularly. I used to go every Friday before we found out we were pregnant.

I resumed visiting recently, because they retread their lunch menu, and made everything far more affordable.

But I do have complaints about their beers. They tend to serve them green. I suppose they don't want them to condition too long, so they can start selling it. Also, their beers in the last year have started to take on a "soapy" flavor. I had this happen with their Nut Brown this Friday. First few sips were outstanding... but by the bottom of the pint, I felt like I was gargling Dawn.

I still go to Growlers, though, because Dogfish Head doesn't serve anything short of Hop Soup, and Gordon Beirsch in Rockville is on the other side of nasty traffic and awkward parking.

Redskins838892 said:

I have been thinking, and i am sure many of you all agree, that BMC ruins beers name. I think beer could be right up there with wine in terms of it being eloquent and sophisticated. Alot of very nice upscale restuarants boast about the fact that they have an awesome selection of rare and good wines. Why couldnt it be the same for beer? Beer gets a bad rap in the publics eye. It should be on the same level as wine, IMHO.

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Agreed...That's why Ray Daniel's beer sommalier program needs to get talked about by us, when we go to our favorite watering holes...We need to help get the word out and get it some interest in the bar/resteraunt community.

http://www.cicerone.org/

If you can get bar/resteraunt owners, bartenders and servers interested, it could help change the culture of beer...

A Quick Introduction

"Cicerone" is pronounced "sis-uh-rohn"

The Cicerone Certification Program seeks to ensure that consumers receive the best possible beer and enjoy its flavors to the greatest extent possible. To facilitate this, those who sell and serve beer need to acquire knowledge in five areas:

Beer Storage, Sales and Service

Beer Styles and Culture

Beer Tasting and Flavors

Brewing Ingredients and Processes

Pairing Beer with Food

To encourage participation by those with various interests and ambitions, the program offers three levels of certification beginning with the simplest and building to the most complex and demanding:

1. Certified Beer Server

2. Certified Cicerone

3. Master Cicerone

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Daniels talked about it on Basicbrewing radio a few months back.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr01-17-08cicerone.mp3

Arneba28 said:

ah I know the place. Hated it. Very "yuppie" kinda like most of Gaithersburg

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Heh... I'd call Gaithersburg many things, but "yuppy" isn't one of them.


Of course... that might be because I'm a yuppy.

Does Gordon Biersch even brew all of their brews inhouse? There is one down here in Virginia Beach i go to every now and then. I was looking in the brew room once and i think i only spotted a mash tun, and maybe 3 fermenters. For the amount of business that place does, and the fact that the same 6 or so beers are ALWAYS on the menu, i was thinking they might only brew the seasonal in house. Anyone know for sure?

I love hop soup

jpsloan said:

Heh... I'd call Gaithersburg many things, but "yuppy" isn't one of them.

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El Salvador? (Old Towne)

If I had my own brewpub, I'd have a house policy that if you order any BMC, you have to try a taster of a blonde ale first.

Redskins838892 said:

there is a lone guy sitting there drinking a miller lite.

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And you know that because.....HE WAS DRINKING FROM THE BOTTLE...

BLASPHEMY!!!

Now, see, I can't understand why anyone would go to a bar alone just to drink a beer. That makes no sense to me. Of course, if you had some friends with you, that's different. To go alone means you want to spend way too much for a beer that you could enjoy at home while watching TV or surfing the net.

Of course if I lived close to a brewhouse, I'd likely go there alone to drink beer, but only if they had good beer! This guy you describe sounds like a total idiot. (Sorry idiot dude).

But, to each their own.

Redskins838892 said:

I have been thinking, and i am sure many of you all agree, that BMC ruins beers name. I think beer could be right up there with wine in terms of it being eloquent and sophisticated. Alot of very nice upscale restuarants boast about the fact that they have an awesome selection of rare and good wines. Why couldnt it be the same for beer? Beer gets a bad rap in the publics eye. It should be on the same level as wine, IMHO.

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Agreed. My father took me out to a fairly classy restaurant last time he visited. The place had a four or five page wine list, two pages of spirits (including a mighty fine scotch list), and then we had the beer list, tucked in the bottom corner of the last page: Molson, Keith's, and Keith's Red (Canadian BMC); and one bottled beer from each of the local micros. The worst part is that the 'casual' place it ran downstairs had a healthy selection of local micro taps, a few Belgians in bottles, and a good run of mass-market imports on draught.

We have this place in my town that is located in a furniture store. The place only does pizza and has a nice wine list. The best part is the beer list though. They have stuff from all the good local micro's, seasonal SA, Allagash White, Arogant Bastard, and a few really good imports (sorry can't remember). The thing is when I went in on Sat everyone was drinking basic stuff or Leinie. I find this place very refreshing among a hearty BMC crowd.

My local Brewpub is about $3.50 for their microbrew, or $5.50 for a Bud Light. I laugh when folks order the Bud Light, but what the hell...

Homercidal said:

Now, see, I can't understand why anyone would go to a bar alone just to drink a beer. That makes no sense to me. ...

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You've never traveled on business! I was in outside sales for many years and spent a lot of time on the road.

Alone.

Sitting in a nice brewpub or bar with a decent selection of local beer, some good sports on the TV and/or nice 'talent' to look at, sure beats the hell out of a six pack in your hotel room and cable TV. And it gives you a chance to sample several local beers in one sitting.

Rhoobarb said:

You've never traveled on business!

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Also, there's a kind of mind-expanding experience that comes with starting conversations with complete strangers who have had a few pints, and get real free with their words... particularly in a friendly corner of the nation.

I know what you mean...I spend about 20 weeks on the road a year...

You can't control anyone but yourself so why give a crap?

Hopleaf said:

You can't control anyone but yourself so why give a crap?

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agreed. however, it seems to be a right of passage around here to denegrate the bmc, and those who drink it. whatever floats your boat i guess.

i won't lose any sleep over it, and i'll still swill miller high life when i feel like it.

jds said:

What if it's Chuck Norris at the bar, drinking a Miller Lite?

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Chuck Norris is way too manly to drink BMC, FOOL!

Chuck Norris would roundhouse a bottle of Coors Light and it would turn into a pint of IPA.

Sigafoos said:

Chuck Norris would roundhouse a bottle of Coors Light and it would turn into a pint of IPA.

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Chuck Norris doesn't go in for such girly things as drinking beer to get his hop fix, he chews them right off the vine...

When Chuck Norris drinks beer, the beer gets drunk.


Chuck Norris can drink beer with his mouth closed. ..

Does Gordon Biersch even brew all of their brews inhouse? There is one down here in Virginia Beach i go to every now and then. I was looking in the brew room once and i think i only spotted a mash tun, and maybe 3 fermenters. For the amount of business that place does, and the fact that the same 6 or so beers are ALWAYS on the menu, i was thinking they might only brew the seasonal in house. Anyone know for sure?

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Depends on the location.

I took my BIL to Smokey Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg TN and he ordered a Bud Light. The waiter started to say something, but I cut in. I said, instead of ordering off of the menu, why don't you ask for a Big Mac, too! They make beer here! Try one!