Commercial brewers are a$$es!

[BorisLobb]

Uhhh...ok so I guess since I resurrected this thread I might as well properly contribute so.... Flying Monkeys Brewery in Barrie...went there recently...told the tour guide I was a homebrewer and he was very helpful...also the owner is a great guy...yeah...that's all I got really

 

[PanzerBanana]

Wait, was he trashing other micro/craft brewers?

 

[Yooper]

Damn hockey players.

What have you got against hockey players? One of my favorite people is a hockey player!

I don't know too many commercial brewers, but the ones I know or have met have all been awesome to me. One guy gave me a gallon of acid wash, a 3 gallon keg, and a full tour of the brewery. He was wonderful to me, and to other homebrewers that went in there that I know of.

 

[RonRock]

I'll add a bit to this.

I've toured the Budweiser plant in St Louis twice. Say what you want about the beer, the story of AB is a very interesting story with a lot of US history in it. The plant is actually a national historical something or other (been a few years) I'm not a Bud drinker, never have been. But I was amazed at the history lesson I got at the brewery. Too bad they are not American owned anymore.

 

[Noodle]

I've been wanting to tour one of our local breweries (Berkshire Brewing Co) for a while. They do tours every Saturday, and I love their beer (I'd love to clone their River Ale, just a great, very well-balanced American Strong Ale). At least now I feel like I have enough knowledge to understand what I would be seeing and to ask intelligent questions. We should start a thread that lists/summarizes people's experiences at various breweries, so that if you are planning a tour, you know which to hit and which to avoid.

BBC is a great brewery to take a tour at. I have gone there a few times.

 

[Zamial]

Stop plate tectonics!

I would pay to watch you do this... :rockin:

Necro up a thread with the oddest comment ever? why??

What does Plate tectonics have to do with beer? or brewing?? (Other than the San Andreas brewing company)

I guess keep on enforcing planetary pole realignments...

 

[beach]

I stopped by Frankenmuth Brewing Co in Frankenmuth, MI a few weeks ago, mentioned I was a homebrewer to the lady in the gift shop and she went and got an assistant brewer. We talked for about 15 minutes and he had to get back to work, they were brewing that day. A few minutes later the brew master came up to me and we talked for about 30 minutes during which time I asked him to sample some HB that I had with me. He was a very nice guy and said my beer was "very good".

I'll stop there again, the beers were ok, IMO, but the people were great.

Beach

 

[Homercidal]

What have you got against hockey players? One of my favorite people is a hockey player!

I don't know too many commercial brewers, but the ones I know or have met have all been awesome to me. One guy gave me a gallon of acid wash, a 3 gallon keg, and a full tour of the brewery. He was wonderful to me, and to other homebrewers that went in there that I know of.

I hate that guy! I was there a week earlier and noticed the 3 gallon keg and he didn't offer it to me!

J/K he was great, we talked for quite a while even though he had a hangover.

And +1 on hockey players. As long as they aren't checking me into the boards that is.

 

[sleepystevenson]

Every time I am in Harrisburg for business (1-2 times per year) I stop at Troegs. NEVER had a bad experience with those guys. In fact, the 2nd time I was there, they actually remembered me (even my name) a whole year later! I guess it helped that I gave out some stickers with our beer label on it the first time I went! Great prices on growlers and fills. Where else can you get a fill for less than $8 and a really nice flip top growler for $15? One of the best breweries around in my opinion.

 

[worstbrewing]

I used to live real close to Troeg's (it's pronounced Troe - gs, long O sound, btw) and have been going there since I've been of age. I've taken quite a few tours there and have asked my share of questions but have never had a bad experience. I'd have to assume maybe it was just a bad day, as from my experience, I've never had any problems with either of the brothers. I'd give them another shot some time, it's among my favorites breweries. My main regret with moving is that I can't frequent them as much any more!

 

[ghpeel]

I have to imagine that some pro brewers get kinda cranky with home brewers trying to equate what they do to the pro's setup. Homebrewers have tremendous advantages in some ways: we can make goofy ****, we can quadruple the hops in an IPA for about $10, we can buy a fresh pack of yeast for each brew, etc.

Imagine walking into a busy BBQ restaurant and trying to sound like you know their operation because you make ribs 3 times a year.

Not excusing rude behavior mind you, but I'm a professional software engineer, and it irks me slightly when people who "make websites" think they know what i do. Just saying'.

 

[Desert_Sky]

You have no idea how many snobby homebrewers make it a point to dissect everything they do, most of the time in a negative manner

 

[triethylborane]

When I toured the Bud plant, I felt like I was in some sort of chemical lab.

Considering the output of AB, the quality control and the ability to produce the same beer with every batch is incredible. I hold a BS in Chem from Wash U and we were privileged to meet with the qc and analysis chemists at the AB STL plant when we were students. The scale of production and the difficulty in producing a clean product with such a light beer is commendable.

 

[triethylborane]

I'll add a bit to this.

I've toured the Budweiser plant in St Louis twice. Say what you want about the beer, the story of AB is a very interesting story with a lot of US history in it. The plant is actually a national historical something or other (been a few years) I'm not a Bud drinker, never have been. But I was amazed at the history lesson I got at the brewery. Too bad they are not American owned anymore.

Saint Louis is a beer town, with the old Beer Barons like Lemp and AB. There are a lot of caves beneath STL and they were perfect for lagering. If you go to Demenil Place, which is across I-55 from the current AB STL brewery, you will see the old beer baron homes and a massive brick factory, which used to be the Lemp brewery (later the famous International Shoe Company, which is of particular interest for attorneys due to FCRP 4 personal jurisdiction and similar state statutes).