Local brewery allows employees to smoke while brewing...

[jmrybak]

Hey all,

I was out at a local brewery last night, where they have a large glass wall between the brewhouse and the back beer hall area, and could not help but to notice several employees smoking in the brewhouse. This included the brewer, as he was working the mash tun during a brew.

I would assume that this violates health or bureau of alcohol codes, and honestly have considered not drinking there anymore, but I'm curious if anyone else has any strong thoughts or opinions on the matter.

 

[day_trippr]

Joke thread?

 

[Murphys_Law]

I have been known to smoke cigars during brew day!

 

[arnobg]

Hey all,

I was out at a local brewery last night, where they have a large glass wall between the brewhouse and the back beer hall area, and could not help but to notice several employees smoking in the brewhouse. This included the brewer, as he was working the mash tun during a brew.

I would assume that this violates health or bureau of alcohol codes, and honestly have considered not drinking there anymore, but I'm curious if anyone else has any strong thoughts or opinions on the matter.

Was this at Ghost River or High Cotton? Feel free to PM me I'm just curious as I live in Memphis too right across the street from High Cotton and know the owners there. Would gladly say something to them about it.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

That's how they get a little ashtray flavor in their stouts!

 

[jmrybak]

I have been known to smoke cigars during brew day!

And by no means am I suggesting you shouldn't, but if you were doing so while operating a professional brewery and making beer to be consumed by the public, that's a very different thing to me personally.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I would have definitely called them out. I still would, actually.

 

[Lefou]

A qualified health inspector versed in TN state law would have the proper answer.
Personally, as a customer, if I saw this actively going on I'd never buy any food or beer from them.

 

[xandersaml]

Maybe they were vaping some MonsterAllBerryCherryPlusFairyDustuff

 

[crunch1224]

I would rather they didnt smoke, but I wouldnt blow a gasket over it.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Personally I don't smoke but unless he is flipping ashes in the mash tun it is all good with me. I miss the old days when people didn't get upset over other peoples choices. If the beer taste good I can't see how it affects anyone. Hey we are drinking alcohol and it has caused much more health problems than second-hand smoke.

 

[day_trippr]

Personally I don't smoke but unless he is flipping ashes in the mash tun it is all good with me. I miss the old days when people didn't get upset over other peoples choices. If the beer taste good I can't see how it affects anyone. Hey we are drinking alcohol and it has caused much more health problems than second-hand smoke.

Right?

And from what I gather it wasn't even third hand smoke at issue...

Cheers!

 

[owmatooth]

would anyone eat at a restaurant if they saw the chef's smoking in the back while cooking the food?

 

[brick_haus]

If you don't like what you saw, dont go there.
I dont understand why anyone would complain about this kind of stuff on social media??? Geeze...

 

[passedpawn]

would anyone eat at a restaurant if they saw the chef's smoking in the back while cooking the food?

I wouldn't care.

If you don't like what you saw, dont go there.
I dont understand why anyone would complain about this kind of stuff on social media??? Geeze...

My thoughts also.

 

[ericbw]

I would expect that employees who produce a consumable food or beverage would need to wash their hands after using the restroom, eating, or smoking.

Isn't a brewery like a good production facility?

The responses about not caring what other people do seem like they miss the point.

Was it in Forrest Gump where the doctor smokes? It's ok since he seems to be an orthopedic dr.

 

[Fedora]

I'm a smoker but I'm not a fan of smoking indoors. IMO, there should be no smoking in a commercial brewery. Not for sanitation reasons. It's just unprofessional. Step outside to smoke.

I would still drink the beer, though.

Is smoking allowed in the bar area?

 

[oylerck]

Just don't get ashes in the beer and I'm okay. I do know a couple people allergic to tobacco, but I do not know the extent that the smoke would reach them in packaging. Obviously they wouldn't go to the bar for this reason.

 

[kh54s10]

Isn't it against the law? As far as I know, in Rhode Island you cannot smoke inside in any business.

 

[Yesfan]

So who's the brewery?

I'm a non-smoker (and have asthma), but as long as I'm not smelling the smoke I don't care. I would rather they smoke in the brewery, then out in the bar area where I don't have to smell it.

Maybe they had to smoke because they were brewing up a smoked porter....

 

[arnobg]

For those of you who say it isn't a big deal maybe it isn't THAT big of a deal but answer this for me....

Would you be okay with someone smoking while they were producing other things that could affect public health such as pharmaceuticals, your kids baby food, drinking water?

My point being, where do you draw a line then when it comes to public health and regulations to protect consumers? These regulations are there because the people consuming the products need this protection, without it there's no telling what would be in things you're consuming. I can see that OP's point and if he had never seen what he saw, it wouldn't be fair to a consumer to be drinking something that may have ashes in it unknowingly.

 

[CGVT]

For those of you that are appalled at this, what is the problem with it? Is smoke going to get into the beer? Ashes? I'll bet there are a lot things worse than the ash from a cigarette that get into the mash tun and I doubt that there is a health issue. Are you just butthurt because, Smoking!

I had a very large cigar ash fall in one of my IPAs one time. I'm pretty sure that it didn't affect it and nobody complained...

 

[Stealthcruiser]

My point being, where do you draw a line then when it comes to public health and regulations to protect consumers? These regulations are there because the people consuming the products need this protection, without it there's no telling what would be in things you're consuming.

Good point!
Like the maximum allowance for rat $hit and insects in the processed foods , and perhaps even, baby formulas, that we consume daily.

Things you ain't aware of, since you didn't "see" them being ground up with the grains or hamburger meat being processed before you bought it.....

"Ash Tun"...... ( TM )

 

[passedpawn]

For those of you who say it isn't a big deal maybe it isn't THAT big of a deal but answer this for me....

Would you be okay with someone smoking while they were producing other things that could affect public health such as pharmaceuticals, your kids baby food, drinking water?

My point being, where do you draw a line then when it comes to public health and regulations to protect consumers? These regulations are there because the people consuming the products need this protection, without it there's no telling what would be in things you're consuming. I can see that OP's point and if he had never seen what he saw, it wouldn't be fair to a consumer to be drinking something that may have ashes in it unknowingly.

Uh oh, I think I got some smoke in my food

 

[arnobg]

Now that's some delicious looking food!

Now let's say I was a chewing tobacco user and you came to my restaurant and you saw me leaning over the smoker with dip dripping out of my mouth onto your food? Would that suddenly be gross because it's kind of the same thing!

This smoking thing really doesn't bother me at all I'm just debating for the sake of playing devils advocate. Some people aren't very open minded about other opinions...:

 

[CGVT]

It is not remotely the same thing.

 

[arnobg]

It is not remotely the same thing.

So it's cool that tobacco ashes fall into beer before it's finished but not cool that liquid tobacco falls into your food before it's cooked? They both get consumed what's the difference? Sounds kind of contradictory to me.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

So it's cool that tobacco ashes fall into beer before it's finished but not cool that liquid tobacco falls into your food before it's cooked? They both get consumed what's the difference? Sounds kind of contradictory to me.

I think the difference is there's no spit in the cigarette ashes. Dip on the other hand.....

 

[arnobg]

What's wrong with spit? It's essential in the brewing of Chicha. SO you'd prefer ashes on your food then that's cool?

 

[yeahfairly]

So it's cool that tobacco ashes fall into beer before it's finished but not cool that liquid tobacco falls into your food before it's cooked? They both get consumed what's the difference? Sounds kind of contradictory to me.

Tobacco spit is SPIT (Bodily Fluid).... I think there is a huge difference. A few accidentally dropped ashes off the end of a cigarette or cigar falling into a 5, 7, 10 bbl mash tun or boil kettle more than likely wouldn't end up in the finished product..... and if it did.... it would be in a smaller trace amount than the toxic pesticide, rat droppings and lord knows what else that washed off of the grains during the mash. I would gladly drink the brewery's beer.... I am sure that the hard working folks in the brew house are careful and make every effort to produce a quality beer. If smoking in a brewery bothers you.... what the teenagers in McDonalds, Taco Bell and KFC are doing around your food would make you curl up into the fetal position!!!!!

 

[arnobg]

Would it change your opinion if said cigarette fell into the mash tun and the user had Hep A? Like my previous argument, there's regulations for this stuff for a reason.

 

[yeahfairly]

If the employee has Hep A then the fact that he is working in a food / beverage producing establishment is a bigger concern than whether he smokes a cigarette in the brew house.

 

[Braufessor]

Would it change your opinion if said cigarette fell into the mash tun and the user had Hep A? Like my previous argument, there's regulations for this stuff for a reason.

If a brewer had Hep A...... couldn't he just sneeze while brewing and get the same effect? Or the person serving you the beer having it ...... The idea that a smoking brewer dropping a Hep A tainted cigarette butt in a mash tun is somehow really increasing the odds of spreading Hep A is a tremendous stretch at best.

That said, it seems weird to me that a brewery would want to let the image get out of people seeing them smoke while brewing. It is fairly obvious to me that it is going to turn some people off - so you just don't do it. Especially in a way that is visible to people. Just an obviously bad business move for sure. It is an outright guarantee that it would result in fewer beers sold when people see it happening.

However, the idea that somehow this is a significant health risk to the beer being consumed is ludicrous. I would be more worried about the chemicals used to clean the mash tun, hoses, pipes and fittings not being thoroughly rinsed, or the bartender not washing their hands well enough before pouring you a pint. Or.... well - pretty much a million other things that could "potentially" be a problem. I just don't even see the mechanism by which this travels through the brewing process into a beer and into a consumer. It is just a psychological turn off to customers.... which is more than enough not to do it.

 

[ericbw]

The employer should not be touching his mouth and then touching food he's making. It's very simple.

"But his rights! Everyone is picking on smokers!"

Whatever.

 

[thunderwagn]

For those of you who say it isn't a big deal maybe it isn't THAT big of a deal but answer this for me....


My point being, where do you draw a line then when it comes to public health and regulations to protect consumers? These regulations are there because the people consuming the products need this protection, without it there's no telling what would be in things you're consuming. I can see that OP's point and if he had never seen what he saw, it wouldn't be fair to a consumer to be drinking something that may have ashes in it unknowingly.

We All Need More Protection!!! We Are Not Capable Of Protecting Ourselves!!
MORE REGULATION!! MORE REGULATION! :rockin:

 

[corkybstewart]

would anyone eat at a restaurant if they saw the chef's smoking in the back while cooking the food?

There used to be a cafe at the edge of our town that served the best burritos in town(we eat a lot of burritos here). I went in one day and ordered something and watched the girl make my burrito-she had 1/2 inches of ash dangling at the end of her cigarette. It didn't fall in my burrito that day but I never went back.

 

[corkybstewart]

The act of smoking while brewing is sort of nasty, but not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. But what it tells me is that the owner has a lax view of health and safety regulations so I would have to ask myself in which other aspects of his operations does he ignore the rules that are designed to protect his customers.

 

[PartagasD4]

Now that's some delicious looking food!

Now let's say I was a chewing tobacco user and you came to my restaurant and you saw me leaning over the smoker with dip dripping out of my mouth onto your food? Would that suddenly be gross because it's kind of the same thing!

This smoking thing really doesn't bother me at all I'm just debating for the sake of playing devils advocate. Some people aren't very open minded about other opinions...:

OK this reminds me of a true story from my younger days..around 1980 just graduated from HS got a job with Pepsi Cola in Tampa. I was a trainee and they sent me to work the Florida State fair for a week. I was hauling syrup tanks by dolly to all the food vendors in the fair. A lot of walking and yes they were ball lock kegs if I can remember Any way I came up to a small trailer making cheese steaks. This older real heavy guy didn't look like he shaved or bathed in days answered the back door and he was a tobacco chewer and it was running down his chin and all down his shirt. I can't remember what I did with the Pepsi tank(s) but I do remember he proceeded to go back to hovering over the cheese steaks he was grilling on the flat top.
My stomach turned ughhh.

 

[oylerck]

Isn't it against the law? As far as I know, in Rhode Island you cannot smoke inside in any business.

I know South Dakota you can still smoke inside. Unless, they have changed in the past year. It's been awhile since I have eaten there.

 

[signpost]

This is the kind of thing that doesn't need to be a big deal in order to decide not to allow it. Is it likely to harm a lot of people? Nope. Is it the best, cleanest, and safest way to do things? Sure isn't.

And it blows me away how offended people get when they notice others trying to improve our society and protect people that are likely unaware of a potential problem. Is it such an imposition on the worker to expect them to smoke on a break when they are not working. That doesn't seem like such a big deal to me.