A conversation with my brew pub waitress last night

[Xpertskir]

Me " do you have beers on tap by a brewery other than yours"

Her " we have woodchuck cider and a casket beer"

Me "what style is the cask beer"

Her "it's German and.... Gibberish...I think it's an ipa"

Me "oh, will you please check and see I'm interested in that one but not sure"

Her after returning "ok so it's a really hoppy ipa, served warm, with chunks of hops in it, its really expensive, it's 5 bucks and comes in a small glass"

At that point I felt slightly obligated to order it plus I wanted to see if it actually was "served warm with chunks of hops in it"

Well to my surprise it did have chunks of hops in it but luckily the diacetyl and complete lack of carbonation overshadowed that issue.

Ugh, this place has 3 locations and does really good business and I'm always shocked at how bad their beer is both in execution and recipe. FYI, My girlfriend likes their pizza and trivia.

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like their clientel need more edumacation. They need more beer snobs to set'em straight.

 

[harrydrez]

It has real chunks of panther...

 

[gcdowd]

It has real bits of panther, so you know it's good.

 

[JordanThomas]

That's pretty bad. Hahah. I never know how to approach that stuff. I want to help the server/bartender out and correct them politely, but never want to seem like I'm being a jerk.

 

[Xpertskir]

That's pretty bad. Hahah. I never know how to approach that stuff. I want to help the server/bartender out and correct them politely, but never want to seem like I'm being a jerk.

I'm just polite and try to get the info I need to make decisions. If their employer doesn't think they need to be educated, I dont either. If I owned a brewpub I would definitely want my staff to be able to help the customers with decisions...especially for an upsale.

 

[Revvy]

You gotta name names now...you're amongst fellow beer geeks....What's the name of this bastion of beer edumacation?

 

[Xpertskir]

http://mountainstatebrewing.com/

One of the handful of brewpubs/breweries in WV, all of which I would tell you to avoid.

 

[Homercidal]

Don't be mad. It was a risky experience and you knew that going in. Sometimes you roll the dice and they come up snake eyes.

 

[Xpertskir]

Im not mad...its more entertaining than anything. I am befuddled as to how they can operate 3 successful locations with such bad beer and poor "beer service". The waitress was very nice, attentive, and received a good tip BTW.

 

[Homercidal]

Well if the waitress was also attractive, that makes all the difference in the world! Sometimes my wife will remind me that I should leave the waitress a good tip. I respond with, "Not sure I can stop with just the tip... Oh, you mean gratuity!"

 

[JordanThomas]

Im not mad...its more entertaining than anything. I am befuddled as to how they can operate 3 successful locations with such bad beer and poor "beer service". The waitress was very nice, attentive, and received a good tip BTW.

So you're saying she was good looking?

 

[LouBrew13]

My favorite local brew pub had a great saison on tap this summer. I know their beer and brewer so I had it and it was great. I overheard the waitress trying to explain saison to others saying the beer tasted like earth which had me laughing. How do you sell beer with such an explanation? Chunks of hops? Yummy.

 

[steveh01420]

The folks who own it can and should teach their staff. Harpoon Brewery puts all their sales staff through a six week program in the brewery just so they know what they are talking about. The guys who own it said there is nothing worse than having employees who do not know what they are talking about, deal with customers.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

My favorite local brew pub had a great saison on tap this summer. I know their beer and brewer so I had it and it was great. I overheard the waitress trying to explain saison to others saying the beer tasted like earth which had me laughing. How do you sell beer with such an explanation? Chunks of hops? Yummy.

I was in a seafood restaurant once where the waitress was explaining to another table that they should not get tilapia because, "it's a dirty fish" because, "it's a bottom feeder."

Name of the restaurant? Catfish & Company.

 

[david_42]

Sounds like they have good pizza. My favorite brewpub is actually a brewery and restaurant, both of which are quite good. The owner had the sense to hire a real brewmaster and a master chief. Don't get there much since I moved to the metroburb.

 

[JordanThomas]

Sounds like they have good pizza. My favorite brewpub is actually a brewery and restaurant, both of which are quite good. The owner had the sense to hire a real brewmaster and a master chief. Don't get there much since I moved to the metroburb.

That dude must be running it!

 

[kadozen]

That dude must be running it!

Covenant cream ale and Arbiter Ipa now on tap yo!

 

[Enoch52]

Any chance in the future you can ask for a sample of one of their beers, given the expense and how likely it sounds like it will be a dud?

 

[Nightshade]

There is a good chance the owner has no idea about what makes a good beer.

I have run into brewpub owners who started brewing because the bottom line was good and do well simply because they cater to uneducated beer drinkers who don't know anything but Coors Light and want to feel sophisticated.

This may or may not be an experience I am working with currently and making positive changes to.

 

[kinison_fan]

Complain too much, and it might have chunks of bull's balls in it, or tea bagged with schweaddy balls...

 

[JJL]

This has always been a pet peeve of mine. I just don't see any excuse for an uneducated wait staff at a restaurant. At minimum the staff should know the product. It should n't matter if it's steak house, a pizza joint, or a brewpub.

 

[Mairoa]

I'm usually spoiled out here with so many good breweries around (we have 3-4 downtown so even the dive bars have reasonably priced, GOOD craft beer on tap because it was produced a block away) but I asked for a recommendation at a pricey burger and brew place ACROSS THE STREET from one of the big, excellent breweries and she suggested a bud light lime. I just about smacked her with a menu. My buddy had to hold me back from starting a catfight over awful beer.

 

[Homercidal]

Even Buffalo Wild Wings has a beer training program for their barstaff (if not the waitstaff). I once helped a bartender study for her upcoming test.

The correct answer was, "Newcastle is a BROWN ALE."

However, I told her I couldn't remember if it was a Northern Brown or Southern Brown...

 

[ktblunden]

I'm glad every "beer-centric" place I've been in had knowledgeable staff. Yardhouse was a little rough when the location here first opened up, but all the staff seem to be pretty on the ball these days. Every actual brewpub I've been in all the servers knew all the beers and what they were.

 

[ktblunden]

That dude must be running it!

LMAO, I was thinking the same thing when I read that post.

 

[boscobeans]

I'm usually spoiled out here with so many good breweries around (we have 3-4 downtown so even the dive bars have reasonably priced, GOOD craft beer on tap because it was produced a block away) but I asked for a recommendation at a pricey burger and brew place ACROSS THE STREET from one of the big, excellent breweries and she suggested a bud light lime. I just about smacked her with a menu. My buddy had to hold me back from starting a catfight over awful beer.

Gotta understand that a large percentage of waitresses are barely old enough to drink and if they do it's probably some carbonated defrost like miller/coors/bud/LIGHT.

It's hard to describe a beer or any other item on a menu if you have never developed a taste for such things..

Bread bakery chains, HA... Take a 50 pound sack of mix A add 1 bucket of water and put in mixer for X # of minutes..Let rise and bake... You are now a MASTER BAKER... Lotta B.S. Chefs, bakers and brewers out there working in chain or other types of venues..

bosco

 

[helibrewer]

Get to know the owner...let him sample your homebrew, then pitch him on becoming their brewing consultant....then charge him a lot of money to improve his beer.