not at a bar, no.. but if its a brewery, i think thats a reasonable expectation.
deschutes is kind of my "gold standard" when it comes to breweries.. and every time they have a new release, they round up all the employees (all of them), and do a tasting. That way, they can answer questions. Like, "Is your hop trip a pale ale or a bitter?" Actually, my server didnt know that, but she went and found out for me.
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oh, and I dont expect the salesperson to know the torque specs (the mechanic doesnt even know that-- he looks it up in a book), but the salesperson should know how many cylinders, how many valves, displacement, turbo or not, and maybe even some information on the transmission and suspension.
I dunno, maybe I should lower my expectations a little as passedpawn says.. I seem to be disappointed a lot (but, if im paying 5 bucks for a pint, the guy (or gal) that brings it to me should be able to answer some basic questions, not mash temp, but they should know something).