Funny things you've overheard about beer

BeerGrylls said:

I really wouldn't go admitting that.

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You've never been to the strip then

VT-NAV said:

The guy asked for a pale ale. The waitress said they're out of that particular pale and mistakenly suggested a saison as a substitute. The guy bluntly says "that's not even a pale ale" and walks out.

I was not there, so all I have to go on is his version of the story; however, my sense is that her neutral reaction was her way of dealing with a rude customer. He seems to have taken her passive reaction as "OMG she works in the Taphouse and she doesn't even care that was a saison (which happens to be an ale that is pale in appearance) and not a Pale AleTM." Also, bear in mind that the beer menu is written on a chalkboard - which would indicate to me it frequently changes.

Walking out in the manner described IS a dick move. The one who needs to lighten up is the guy who walks out of a bar because a waitress made a mistake in a beer recommendation.

Also, what probably happened is the waitress walked up to the bar and asked the bartender to pull a pale ale; at which point, the bartender told her "Uhhh... we just ran out of that. Ask if they want the Boulevard Tank 7 instead."



I have not read all 614 of the previous pages of the thread, but I would guess that if this is the 14th or 15th time this has come up, then this is probably the 14th or 15th time someone posted a story about how they reacted in an childish manner to a near-minimum-wage employee who appeared to not fully grasp the nuances of various beer styles on the menu.

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While I agree that this a pretty ridiculous reason to walk out of a restaurant, I do expect wait staff to have a grasp of the beverage menu. They are expected to understand the beer menu regardless of their pay. That said, I'd be willing to bet, because she already admited that she didn't know what was available, the waitress received the Tank 7 substitution suggestion from a bartender. The bartender not knowing the beer selection should be a much larger concern.

Edit: I just went back and read that the OP went to that establishment specifically looking for a particular brewery's beer. The chalkboard said they had the beer when they actually didn't. So, I guess this is all moot. Though, this restaurant seems to have some serious issues.

troy2000 said:

I hope you began by thanking them... they meant well.

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It's fun to be snarky, laugh at, and be a dick about other people's lack of beer knowledge, but this really is the best post of the thread for me. Not everybody is a beer snob or a homebrewer; get over yourself and appreciate them anyway.

edit - I realize this almost looks like I'm telling troy2000 to get over himself; not so, it's the general tone of the thread I'm addressing, troy2000's the good guy here.

Hopinista said:

Is this the 14th time, or 15th that there's been a customer vs. server argument on this thread?

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I think you missed a zero on the end of both of those...

n240sxguy said:

On a side note, what did you think of Frankenmuth brewery?


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Its not bad, pretty good beers they have a hefeweizen,blonde ale,batch 69 ipa, amber ale and a dunkel on tap at all times. The food service is pretty slow especially slow when they are busy. On mothers day it was a 30-40 min wait for a table and about 30 min for food once we ordered but I expected that. My brother picked up a full 2 liter growler of dunkel with the swing top for 42 bucks. On wednesdays they have 5 dollar refills.

On my way to work the other day...made me laugh

amfukuda said:

I see it like this my job is to take care of valve in a refinery so I should know a little about valves. She sells beer she should know a little about beer. Just one man opinion


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****in-A


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VT-NAV said:

What an OUTRAGE!

You realize that expecting every waitress to memorize the BJCP style guidelines as well as the category into which each of the restaurant's beers falls - and then repeat that information without making an error is a bit of an unrealistic expectation, no? Walking out on a waitress because she has failed to live up to that expectation seems beyond the pale (pun intended - I know, I'm hilarious!).



Except... you are. Yeah I get it - she works at a place called The Taphouse. But, she makes $2.15 an hour plus whatever tips she can make serving rude customers, some of whom simply walk out because she was unable to dazzle them with her command of brewing science.

I doubt she was very sorry to see such a lovely customer go, but it probably hurt her earnings for the night because she had to wait for someone else to get seated in her section.

Somewhere, on another internet forum, is a thread titled "Jerky things customers have done" with a different version of this same story.

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Aw, crap. Here we go again.

amfukuda said:

I see it like this my job is to take care of valve in a refinery so I should know a little about valves. She sells beer she should know a little about beer. Just one man opinion


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Right. If you work in an auto parts store, you should probably know a bit about the internal workings of an automobile. If you work in a coffee shop, you should know a little bit about different coffee drinks. If you work in a place that serves beer (and specializes in craft beer), you should probably at least have a working knowledge of craft beer styles. I wouldn't expect the waitress to be able to recite the entire menu in order of SRM or IBU level, but at least have some idea what they're serving that is hoppy/malty/mild/roasty. Better knowledge will help her better serve the customers and will probably (hopefully!) be reflected in her tips.

That being said, walking out on the place just because she didn't have intimate knowledge of the beer list is heavy-handed. Just suck it up, order something they have in stock, and if it bugs you that much, don't go back in the future.

VT-NAV said:

The guy asked for a pale ale. The waitress said they're out of that particular pale and mistakenly suggested a saison as a substitute. The guy bluntly says "that's not even a pale ale" and walks out.

I was not there, so all I have to go on is his version of the story; however, my sense is that her neutral reaction was her way of dealing with a rude customer. He seems to have taken her passive reaction as "OMG she works in the Taphouse and she doesn't even care that was a saison (which happens to be an ale that is pale in appearance) and not a Pale AleTM." Also, bear in mind that the beer menu is written on a chalkboard - which would indicate to me it frequently changes.

Walking out in the manner described IS a dick move. The one who needs to lighten up is the guy who walks out of a bar because a waitress made a mistake in a beer recommendation.

Also, what probably happened is the waitress walked up to the bar and asked the bartender to pull a pale ale; at which point, the bartender told her "Uhhh... we just ran out of that. Ask if they want the Boulevard Tank 7 instead."



I have not read all 614 of the previous pages of the thread, but I would guess that if this is the 14th or 15th time this has come up, then this is probably the 14th or 15th time someone posted a story about how they reacted in an childish manner to a near-minimum-wage employee who appeared to not fully grasp the nuances of various beer styles on the menu.

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1) He went in to a bar -- one that calls itself a taphouse -- specifically for a certain beer they were purported to serve.
2) Said beer, as well as another from the same brewery, were listed on the CHALKboard (as opposed to professionally printed, permanent menuboard) as being on tap
3) Waitress, when asked, did not know if those beers were available (which right there tells me either they've been out of stock for some time, or they move such little volume that she doesn't remember pulling one in the last day or two at at minimum)
4) Waitress and/or bartender makes a "hey, craft beer is craft beer" suggestion of a substitution. While not a BAD substitution, a different style is a different style.

Look at it this way: If you walked in to a nice restaurant that has a sign outside advertising prime rib, which you order... when the waitress comes back and says they're out of prime rib, is a suggestion of salmon a reasonable substitute? No - I came in expecting to order dead cow.

Or, in more similar terms; if I go in to Applebees or Famous Dave's, I don't expect the waitress or bartender to have even a basic knowledge of beers outside of the BMC realm. They might have a craft or two available, but odds are pretty good they don't know anything about them. In an establishment like that, I'll take my frosted glass with the orange (or lemon) garnish on the rim and quietly drink my beer. And if they're out of what I order, I'll refer back to the menu instead of expecting them to offer another option. But if I walk in to Old Chicago, I expect the guy/gal behind the bar to have a working knowledge of the beers they've got, and be able to reference styles - as well as serve the beer properly. The waitresses working the tables, it's nice if they know the beers, but my experience has been also they are not afraid to say "I don't know, let me go ask the bartender"


And, frankly, you're probably reading too much into the original post. He said he left. He didn't say "we stomped out and slammed the door". It could have been a polite, "No, thanks, I think we'll go elsewhere." Either way, it's not his fault the establishment failed to update their (easily changed) menu.

Hopinista said:

You've never been to the strip then

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My official position on this is "I don't remember."

VT-NAV said:

What an OUTRAGE!

You realize that expecting every waitress to memorize the BJCP style guidelines as well as the category into which each of the restaurant's beers falls - and then repeat that information without making an error is a bit of an unrealistic expectation, no? Walking out on a waitress because she has failed to live up to that expectation seems beyond the pale (pun intended - I know, I'm hilarious!).



Except... you are. Yeah I get it - she works at a place called The Taphouse. But, she makes $2.15 an hour plus whatever tips she can make serving rude customers, some of whom simply walk out because she was unable to dazzle them with her command of brewing science.

I doubt she was very sorry to see such a lovely customer go, but it probably hurt her earnings for the night because she had to wait for someone else to get seated in her section.

Somewhere, on another internet forum, is a thread titled "Jerky things customers have done" with a different version of this same story.

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Yes being a server is a crap job so what there are a lot of crap jobs but any server should have familiarity with the menu. That's it. Most beer menus I see have about a ten word description and knowing that or at least looking it up once you asked is all I expect. Not much at all to know a blurb about everything on the menu maybe about twenty minutes to read through the first time and one more once a week or month or however often a new item comes up on the menu. That goes for food as well as beer. If I ask a question about a menu I expect an answer or at least an attempt at one and am more than willing to tip accordingly if it proves to be a bit of an Inconvenience. Menu familiarity is part of the job that's all there is to it. I would have taken the tank 7 though it's really good


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I read a post on here where someone said they paid $15 for a Shock Top.

Northbanu said:

I read a post on here where someone said they paid $15 for a Shock Top.

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But it's a limited release so well worth it!

Northbanu said:

I read a post on here where someone said they paid $15 for a Shock Top.

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I hope it was at least a full pint.

VT-NAV said:

The guy asked for a pale ale. The waitress said they're out of that particular pale and mistakenly suggested a saison as a substitute. The guy bluntly says "that's not even a pale ale" and walks out.

I was not there, so all I have to go on is his version of the story; however, my sense is that her neutral reaction was her way of dealing with a rude customer. He seems to have taken her passive reaction as "OMG she works in the Taphouse and she doesn't even care that was a saison (which happens to be an ale that is pale in appearance) and not a Pale AleTM." Also, bear in mind that the beer menu is written on a chalkboard - which would indicate to me it frequently changes.

Walking out in the manner described IS a dick move. The one who needs to lighten up is the guy who walks out of a bar because a waitress made a mistake in a beer recommendation.

Also, what probably happened is the waitress walked up to the bar and asked the bartender to pull a pale ale; at which point, the bartender told her "Uhhh... we just ran out of that. Ask if they want the Boulevard Tank 7 instead."



I have not read all 614 of the previous pages of the thread, but I would guess that if this is the 14th or 15th time this has come up, then this is probably the 14th or 15th time someone posted a story about how they reacted in an childish manner to a near-minimum-wage employee who appeared to not fully grasp the nuances of various beer styles on the menu.

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None of which changes the fact that the waitress apparently doesn't know diddly squat about beer, in spite of the fact that she serves beer for a living. What's wrong with that picture? I expect gun store clerks to know something about guns and ammo, steakhouse waiters to know something about beef, and Starbucks employees to know something about coffee....

And why are you so het up about this? You're dumping all over the guy like he pissed on the cash register or something. Why don't you save a little of that vitriol and bile for a server who's apparently totally clueless about what she serves, and a little more for the manager and/or owner who hasn't bothered to educate her?

Of course, there may be an alternate explanation: perhaps she does know the difference, but her boss told her, "hey -- push the Boulevard Tank 7 tonight; it's not moving fast enough." Unfortunately, that doesn't really cast her or her bosses in a more flattering light....

it is NOT unreasonable to expect that the staff knows what they're selling

at best, it's a bit annoying if the server has to run back to the manager or the cook in order to answer all of your questions

happened the other night at All American Steakhouse. wasn't that the waitress didn't know the food menu, she just didn't know which one of 3-Brothers' beers they had on tap.

but, it's a steakhouse, not a taphouse, so I didn't give her any grief, didn't call the manager, just asked her if she would bring me a pint. imperial.

turned out to be their Hoptimization IPA, pretty gosh darn tasty and paired well with my steak

Paradigm said:

I still stand beside my statement that Rolling Rock is the best of the canned "party beer."

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Used to be. It's different now.

GrogNerd said:

it is NOT unreasonable to expect that the staff knows what they're selling

at best, it's a bit annoying if the server has to run back to the manager or the cook in order to answer all of your questions

happened the other night at All American Steakhouse. wasn't that the waitress didn't know the food menu, she just didn't know which one of 3-Brothers' beers they had on tap.

but, it's a steakhouse, not a taphouse, so I didn't give her any grief, didn't call the manager, just asked her if she would bring me a pint. imperial.

turned out to be their Hoptimization IPA, pretty gosh darn tasty and paired well with my steak

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Ever notice that the people who are the most annoyed by this stuff are the IPA drinkers? (half joking!)

ericbw said:

Ever notice that the people who are the most annoyed by this stuff are the IPA drinkers? (half joking!)

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Are you saying they are bitter?

In my experience in the restaurant industry... an employee's tips are directly correlated to their ability to sell. Selling good requires knowing about said goods.

I had waiters that were diligent about learning about new wines, beers and food (and they loved free samples), but they could explain what they were selling. I had other waiters that just looked at the menu and read what was there.

No surprise, the go-getters made 2-3x the tips of the slackers. Slackers would complain that people were bad tippers, but it was never a problem with the good waiters. No matter what, you get ****ty tippers, but those that took their work seriously earned more... rightfully so.

My city has several "taphouse" type restaurants, and a few of them are spectacular. Every member of the waitstaff can describe every beer in great detail. Not SRM or IBU, but color, aroma, bitterness, roastiness, etc... they know their ****, and they can sell it.

bleme said:

Are you saying they are bitter?

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THAT.......is dam funny s**t right there...... yer just such a punny guy!

SudsyPaul said:

In my experience in the restaurant industry... an employee's tips are directly correlated to their ability to sell. Selling good requires knowing about said goods.

I had waiters that were diligent about learning about new wines, beers and food (and they loved free samples), but they could explain what they were selling. I had other waiters that just looked at the menu and read what was there.

No surprise, the go-getters made 2-3x the tips of the slackers. Slackers would complain that people were bad tippers, but it was never a problem with the good waiters. No matter what, you get ****ty tippers, but those that took their work seriously earned more... rightfully so.

My city has several "taphouse" type restaurants, and a few of them are spectacular. Every member of the waitstaff can describe every beer in great detail. Not SRM or IBU, but color, aroma, bitterness, roastiness, etc... they know their ****, and they can sell it.

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you got it.

I can understand the taproom nearby with 50 taps, maybe the waitstaff might not know every beer, they get some slack. only a few of the taps are rotating, there's a chalkboard that lists those. maybe they don't know all of those, especially new ones.

the non-rotating taps, those are the ones the staff should know most about.

and the times they have brewery tap takeovers, reps from the brewery, if not the brewers themselves are on hand. they get NO SLACK and MOCKED MERCILESSLY if they don't know their stuff.

troy2000 said:

Of course, there may be an alternate explanation: perhaps she does know the difference, but her boss told her, "hey -- push the Boulevard Tank 7 tonight; it's not moving fast enough." Unfortunately, that doesn't really cast her or her bosses in a more flattering light....

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How so? That's just good business sense. We would expect any of our managers to do the same.

Products that don't sell cost you money when they take up valuable tap real-estate. If you have a beer that's not selling well, any bar-owner/manager with half a brain would try to push that product until the keg kicks, so they can replace it with something more profitable.

hunter_la5 said:

How so? That's just good business sense. We would expect any of our managers to do the same.

Products that don't sell cost you money when they take up valuable tap real-estate. If you have a beer that's not selling well, any bar-owner/manager with half a brain would try to push that product until the keg kicks, so they can replace it with something more profitable.

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except, in this case, it didn't work. no sale = no profit

that's not good business

GrogNerd said:

except, in this case, it didn't work. no sale = no profit

that's not good business

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Yeah, but how many people actually storm out because they didn't like the beer recommendation?
I can't say I've ever known anyone to do that (apart from the fellow that instigated the current thread-derail).
Generally when a waitress or bartender recommends a beer I'm not interested in, I respond with, "no thanks, I'll have _____", or "what else do you have?".

edit: my main point was that pushing a slow-moving beer is common industry practice, and I didn't understand the implication that it was somehow shady. I work for a company that owns bars/restaurants.

Anywho, enough of my derail-of-a-derail, back to your regularly-scheduled thread derail.

I'll see your derail and raise you a derailing jazz hands kitty

You do an eclectic celebration of the dance! You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse! You do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham! Or Twyla, Twyla, Twyla! Or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd! Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!

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Turnover and learning and training in the restaurant business makes no sense to me. These people are in the top 1%, right? Almost as highly paid as stockbrokers and venture capitalists as far as I can tell. For the wait staff in a tap room or restaurant to be learning beer or learning the menu is totally unacceptable We need laws against this ! And I'll be damned if I am going to engage any of these prima donas in conversations that might help them understand porters or hefes or pale ales at a deeper level ... they probably already have masters degrees in beer anyway.

well this weekend I drank a Hamm's lite

We were at are local Hooters(which has 5-7 native beers asked our waitress what was on the craft side of the taps she said "I think Bud" a waitress passing by ran through a list of 6 when she was out of earshot our waitress said "She's new so you'll have to excuse her, I'll give you a few more minutes" I spoke to the Hostess and said the sun was reflecting in my wife's face and pointed to a empty table in the other waitress's area. She moved us and sat a couple of guys at our 1st table. She knew their beers AND the description and style, she was unsure about what the styles meant just what they were. We explained a bit about the different styles when she asked, she seemed genuinely interested in knowing what they had and served. We sat at the bar after dinner talking to the bartender who said that she checks up before and during her shift if any beers/drink specials have changed she was fast becoming a favorite with the bar staff.

That was a pretty amazing story.

You actually got your wife to go to hooter's

I heard this one a couple days ago... "The reason homebrew makes you sh*t your pants is because most people don't brew in sanitary conditions. They just ferment in a dirty bucket."
:smack:

Do people really have that much intestinal distress from homebrew? I've never had trouble with it.

drainbamage said:

Do people really have that much intestinal distress from homebrew? I've never had trouble with it.

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I think the ones who drink a lot of trub do

So really this sounds like a missed opportunity to market the "Homebrew Cleanse Diet".

Hopinista said:

That was a pretty amazing story.

You actually got your wife to go to hooter's

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HER favorite there also the Winghouse but she says the girls there are "kinda slutty"

At the bar, overhearing a youngish guy with a BMC in front of him: "Yeah, I'm paleo. Pretty strict, too. You gotta have self control or it doesn't do anything for you."

Grain free bud? That must be why it tastes of nothing.

hunter_la5 said:

How so? That's just good business sense. We would expect any of our managers to do the same.

Products that don't sell cost you money when they take up valuable tap real-estate. If you have a beer that's not selling well, any bar-owner/manager with half a brain would try to push that product until the keg kicks, so they can replace it with something more profitable.

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Trying to push a product that isn't anything like the beer a customer originally asked for, just because it's moving slow, is a cheap hustle - not 'good business sense.'


Of course if a customer asks her what she would recommend, there's nothing wrong with her suggesting the slower-moving product - as long as it's a good beer.

Fizzycist said:

At the bar, overhearing a youngish guy with a BMC in front of him: "Yeah, I'm paleo. Pretty strict, too. You gotta have self control or it doesn't do anything for you."

Grain free bud? That must be why it tastes of nothing.

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Why not risk another derail? I'll just say it.

The paleo diet is for morons. All of recorded history and all known technological advances by humans have occurred while our species has been living on cultivated grains.

I'm sure there is a "well actually" out there...

LOL ...

"The reason homebrew makes you sh*t your pants is because most people don't brew in sanitary conditions. They just ferment in a dirty bucket."

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I thought it was the gallon of salsa verde I was drinking at lunch every day.

beaksnbeer said:

We were at are local Hooters(which has 5-7 native beers asked our waitress what was on the craft side of the taps she said "I think Bud" a waitress passing by ran through a list of 6 when she was out of earshot our waitress said "She's new so you'll have to excuse her, I'll give you a few more minutes" I spoke to the Hostess and said the sun was reflecting in my wife's face and pointed to a empty table in the other waitress's area. She moved us and sat a couple of guys at our 1st table. She knew their beers AND the description and style, she was unsure about what the styles meant just what they were. We explained a bit about the different styles when she asked, she seemed genuinely interested in knowing what they had and served. We sat at the bar after dinner talking to the bartender who said that she checks up before and during her shift if any beers/drink specials have changed she was fast becoming a favorite with the bar staff.

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Your wife works at hooters? Awesome!



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