The local brewpub just opened.....and they suck

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Alamo_Beer

Alamo_Beer

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I actually applied to this place but I'm glad I didn't take the job bc they aren't REALLY brewing....just adding yeast to wort that they are shipping in. PLUS, they are serving from the fermenters (after only 3-4days fermenting) how weird is that??

I got this email this morning from the local brew club with this post attatched:

Hey everyone, Hedy and Todd here. We haven't made it to a meeting for a while, but we're still brewing and hope to see you all sometime. And if you're out in Port A and looking for a good beer please stop by. But, please don't waste your gas money coming out here for the Port Aransas Brewing Company. They opened this week and Todd and I were anxious to give it a try. We went this evening and ordered a sampler of their five beers: a pilsner, a hefeweizen, a "red wheat," a "dark bock," and a stout. Five little three-oz glasses and between the two of us we couldn't finish any of them. All five had the same off-flavors, dominated by lactobacillus I think. In my twelve years of brewing I've made three beers that bad. One I poured into the compost bin.... Enough said?

Now to back up a little. We'd been wanting to try the place and had made plans to go tonight, but in the interim (this morning) a friend of mine at work said that her husband and a friend had gone last night and that the beer was terrible. She told me that they apparently "didn't really brew, just used a mix." It sounded like those old "Make your own beer, just add tap water!" kit promos. So tonight, as we sipped at the sample glasses and thought about what the BASH score sheets would say, it occurred to me -- they're probably just mixing extract with the local tap water and not boiling it. The first brewing lesson I learned when I moved to Port Aransas was to never use the tap water without boiling it and to switch to a no-rinse sanitizer. (That lesson was the result of one of those three batches I mentioned above.)

When we came home, Todd Googled "brew pub brewing systems" and the first hit is the exact system they have lined up behind the bar. Unbelievable. "No grains, no brewmaster!!" If you click on installation and pricing you'll even find the exact five beers we had tonight.

So, what to do? The brewer wasn't in the house tonight. Should we go back during a slow period and try to give him some tips? Warn him not to serve any more of that stout? Is it possible that with really careful attention to sanitation this system could produce a good beer? Or at least a non-offensive one?

On the up side, the food was fine, they had the Red Sox game on, and they have a very good selection of bottled beers (best I've seen in the Coastal Bend outside of B&J's).
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.

And this follows:

It's a sad thing. Each of the first four beers we tried was off to a greater or lesser degree. But the STOUT is truly awful -- right down to the bad mouthfeel. Woe is the beer lover who orders a whole pint.

Just like Hedy, I'm really curious to know what's involved in their brewing process, and where they are going wrong. If I'm correct that they've bought the Specialty Products "system," then they are probably limited to extract kit brewing. So is it the infamous Port A water, or some other lapse in sanitation?

I'd be interested in others' impressions if you are brave enough to give it a try. Maybe we should schedule a club meeting there just to do an "intervention" with the owner. For the love of brewing, please stop!
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I'll stop in for a beer at some point but its not looking good for them.......
 
Part of me says... whatever they want to do, that's fine, if the beer sucks they'll be out of business.

Part of me thinks... those kind of systems almost seem - this isn't quite the right word, but almost disrespectful of brewing and brewing traditions and everything that I think we all try to do. I think every one of us is committed to making great beer - truly great beer - and I think a lot of us really think of this almost as an artform. It's certainly something that *I* take a lot of pride in.

It just feels like.... "hey, anyone can make beer, there's no skill, there's no art, there's no craft to it - just mix it up like boozy kool-aid and we'll be raking in the dough!"
 
I recall someone posting about the brew system that you speak of. It's basically hopped extract that they have to buy from the same company that sold them the equipment, like giant Mr. Beer kits. The biggest downside (aside from any hired hand getting to call himself a "brewer") is that your variety is limited to the same five or six "flavors" all the time. No rotators. No experiments. No chatting up tips and technique with a brewmaster.

It will be interesting to see how successful these places end up being.
 
I agree 100% bird!

When I saw/heard there was a brewpub coming to town I jumped at the chance to work there. I even gave the owners (a husband and wife) a sixer of my brew! I should have seen the first signs when the husband told me he doesn't drink beer!

I hope that they get over this and find sucess but I'm doubting it. There has already been 2 brewpubs that have failed in Corpus.......
 
Alamo_Beer said:
When I saw/heard there was a brewpub coming to town I jumped at the chance to work there. I even gave the owners (a husband and wife) a sixer of my brew! I should have seen the first signs when the husband told me he doesn't drink beer!
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:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

That's not cool at all. He probably doesn't even know that the beer is crap, because he's not drinking it.

Respect for this "brewer" = nil.
 
Hehe another sad thing about this is these folks told me this was basically their retierment investment and that they want to expand to open 2 or 3 more in the surrounding towns............

They also told me they want it to be basically a "local Hooters type sports bar"
 
They need to evolve or they won't last. Alamo, looks like an opp for you.
:off:
the_bird said:
Not Madison's, I presume? (although I thought most of their beers sucked). The only other brewery I remember in town wasn't a brewpub, I don't think...
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It wasn't Madison, cant recall the name of the place either. I do however recall a similar scenario where they were non-beer drinkers.
That's like being a chef and not enjoying food.
 
This is the downside to the microwbrewing industry. Everyone wants to play in the brewing business, and in some places breweries are popping up like Starbucks. I've been disappointed in a few microbrews lately, but a giant Mr. Beer made (not brewed) by a guy who doesn't even drink beer is the icing on the cake. How in the hell can you make and market a product you will not drink yourself?
 
Port Aransas Brewing Company, LLC
Statement of Values​
Dear Applicant:
Welcome to Port Aransas Brewing Company. Prior to completing the application for employment, please understand that we are serious about creating a productive working environment for our staff and maintaining the highest levels or quality, service and attention for our guests.
We want you to understand that we also believe in living our values, some of which are:
  • We believe that good enough isn't
  • We believe in doing business in a professional and orderly manner
  • We believe in honesty and integrity
  • We believe that only a happy and professional staff can give the level of personal service we demand
  • We believe in the ongoing training and development of our staff and see it as a worthy investment in the future of the company
  • We believe in providing legendary service - the unique and powerful sort of personal care and attention that our guests tell stories about
  • We believe that everyone is capable of being an A+ player

If this feels like an environment for you, please complete our application!​
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(except, of course, when it comes to BREWING THE DAMN BEER! :rolleyes:)​
 
Alamo_Beer said:
Hehe another sad thing about this is these folks told me this was basically their retierment investment and that they want to expand to open 2 or 3 more in the surrounding towns............

They also told me they want it to be basically a "local Hooters type sports bar"
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wow, this story just keeps getting worse.

This seems like it would be the equivalent if me deciding there's money to be made in the hair salon business and then opening a salon that exclusively uses the Flowbee hair cutting system.
 
Glibbidy said:
They need to evolve or they won't last. Alamo, looks like an opp for you.
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+1

Maybe if you sit down and talk to the owner (perhaps start casually at the bar while you choke down a beer) seriously about what makes a good beer, and explain that his system is not it... Maybe you could present options for improving the beer, and volunteer your expertise to help him along. You could end up being head brewer at a brewpub that actually serves drinkable beer, and the couple would actually make some money, as opposed to losing their retirement funds.
 
WTF.

Why not buy a Mr Beer for each table, pitch it in the morning and have the customers pull their own beer in the evening.

This business, and their supplier, deserve to fail. This: http://www.addabrewpub.com/procedure.html is not how beer should be made in a brew pub. These are the places that I might be lured into after a long drive, b/c it says brew pub, just to find out that I just wasted my money and could have gone somewhere better.


+1 to the opportunity. Mabye better sanitation and an R/O fiter for the water (it also removes bacteria and such) along with longer fermentation, will do wonders.


Kai
 
Honestly, I wouldn't count on changing too many minds. Did I see something like a $38k pricetag on this system? He's pretty much committed to it at this point; doesn't seem like he's going to want to go out and buy all kinds of new boilers and mash tuns and grains mills and all of that. Outside of teaching him the importance of sanitation, what's he really going to be able to do to improve the end product?
 
Oh, this is freakin' classic, right here.

When you go to their website and click on the "beer" link, this is all the page says:

Sorry about the mess!
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I'm not thinking they meant it that way, but...yes, they should be apologizing for the mess that they call "beer" :D
 
Hehe from Kaisers link

POPULAR
Our beers are very drinkable. We won 1st place 5 years in a row - a record unmatched by anyone in the industry
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Where? What competition??
 
What they need to do is to get draft beer in there for the meantime in order to stop the loss of customers. Then figure out how to make decent beer with their system.

Kai
 
You know, I'm sure if they actually put some thought into it they could brew up something at least decent....

How hard would it be to brew up a big ol' extract pale ale or something? Use the 'system' they've got now to ferment it, dump the yeast (because I DON'T think those things do that....) And serve?

MAYBE the brew club BASH will come in and intervene like they were saying....
 
The system is just fermenters/serving vessels though, right? They're buying pre-hopped extract from the company, it's not even like they're starting out with DME and adding hops. They'd have to drop some more coin just to be able to boil wort.

Why even go this route? Why not just sell kegged beer? It's all about saving every last penny, which is a good trait as a businessman but there are some corners you just can't cut.
 
Alamo_Beer said:
Where? What competition??
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From their website:

Leigh Beadle has set the industry standard when it comes to the beers Specialty Products produces by winning the Southeastern Regional Brewing Contest 5 years in row!
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Here's his book. Seems nobody's got an opinion of it. I found nothing on the Southeastern Regional Brewing Contest.

There is so much wrong with this whole idea, I can't even begin to type!:mad: Bird is right; there is little, if anything anyone can do to right this Titanic of a brewpub.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The only thing useful about these types of "beer like" beverage places is acquiring those tanks for a discount when they go out of business.
 
This is one of those rare situations where I'd chain myself to the front of the brewery, beg customers not to go in, and give them cash to go buy some BMC at the grocery store. This is the most expensive Mr. Beer set-up I have ever seen.
 

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