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Two part question. 1. Does it suck when the hours required make it so you can't attend tastings very often with your tasting group? 2. Is it hard to schedule a day off well in advance for a tasting?

Bonus question : How fresh is your two-hearted?

Follow up : if attending tastings aren't difficult for you, can you let Shaggs know the tricks of the trade?
 
MordorMongo said:
Two part question. 1. Does it suck when the hours required make it so you can't attend tastings very often with your tasting group? 2. Is it hard to schedule a day off well in advance for a tasting?

Bonus question : How fresh is your two-hearted?
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If it's a weekend shift most people jump to take it. I could make $20 an hour just in cash tips on Friday/Saturday. The girls made even more.

7 days I think is the freshest we had.
 
RedCoffee said:
What are your thoughts on frequent window-shoppers?
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Yes. **** that ****. One guy would always come in and do that. He wanted your absolute undying attention while he asked about almost every new beer. Then half the time he would leave without buying anything.

But people that came in, looked around for a bit and left didn't really bother me. I would always try to engage them. Just to try to help them find what they are looking for.
 
TripleSixHoppia said:
Well, let me answer this with a story. The bar I used to work at got 1 case of BCBS and the BW. At 11:00am our manager gets a frantic call from the Bud distributor. "You need to meet me in the back and lock the door behind you. People are literally chasing me from store to store." So she met him and let him in. She starts checking him in and people started pounding on the door. She goes and tells them we don't open till noon. "Well, we know you have bourbon county, you should just sell it to us now." The continued to beat on the door while she was going through the opening process. If I would have been there, I wouldn't have sold a single bottle to any of them.

So, by the way a percentage of the craft beer drinkers act, I understand it completely. People come from all over and just cause a **** show. Most of them are from out of town and don't bring any business to your store anyway. So we always tried to hook up our regulars.
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lel, did that actually happen? ****ing beer geeks.
 
Okay one more...

If there is anything I've gathered from what beer employees post, it's that craft beer people asking about limited craft beers is the worst thing.

How does one best ask about limited craft beers that aren't going to be kept on the floor?
 
RedCoffee said:
Okay one more...

If there is anything I've gathered from what beer employees post, it's that craft beer people asking about limited craft beers is the worst thing.

How does one best ask about limited craft beers that aren't going to be kept on the floor?
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Typically, asking if there's anything interesting in the back, especially if you've chatted long enough to build a rapport, goes over well.

Walking in and asking straight away if they have Pliny (or whatever the regional equivalent is) is pretty damn obnoxious.
 
TripleSixHoppia said:
Exactly like theduke said. At least kiss us before you try to get your dick wet. Come in and talk to us when you aren't looking to score a limited bottle. We remember cool people.
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Really, just service industry 101. Treat the people that are helping you like human beings instead of "the help" and you will probably get taken care of.

Full disclosure: I've never worked at a bar/bottleshop but frequent and am considered a "regular" at most, despite only purchasing limited release stuff and the occasional bomber or six pack.
 
TheDuke said:
Really, just service industry 101. Treat the people that are helping you like human beings instead of "the help" and you will probably get taken care of.
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This.

Don't just come in and treat people like a vending machine. Also when people come in and ask for rare stuff right off the bat it's like: piss off dude I don't know you from a hole in the wall.

But like dude said above, don't be a boner and come in with OMG I JUST HAD HEADY WAT ELSE IS LIKE THAT I HAD HILL FARMSTEAD SHAUN AND I ARE BROS !!!11!
 
Thanks for the answers. It seems like if you aren't friends with the employees, they'd just prefer you not to ask at all?
 
I mean you can ask, but I feel like it's sort of that stigma where people follow the delivery truck on days when bourbon county shows up, like dude said earlier.

I dunno it just seems like a dick move, when all you do is show up and ask for whales and then bounce. I had a dude swing through the other day and just say:

Where are your rare beers?

Right off the bat. Maybe there's nothing wrong with that and it's just me, but it sort of seems like ambulance chasing, or arrogant and smarmy or something.

There's plenty of great beers man, and there's a lot of great rare stuff. But when people only think that rare stuff is worth drinking it's kind of annoying. I might be outing myself to the TB community right now so oops :/

But I think a big portion of it is treating employees like people not as commodities.
 
If a train leaves New York at 7:30am traveling North at 60mph and a second train leaves Boston at 8am traveling South at 50mph, how many people will be butthurt after being shutout from buying any Bourbon County stout?
 
I also think I shouldn't comment in here, this isn't an AMA for me, maybe I just dickmoved myself by stepping on three sixes toes
 
I dunno, I think if you go in a store and ask about whether or not something is in stock without being a dick, you're entitled to an honest answer - what other type of store do you frequent and have to become friends with the staff to find what you're looking for?
 
I spend a lot of money at a decreasing number of stores each year for my regular needs (this generally includes a metric ton of Two Hearted, occasional other hops, some BDSA/Quads for my wife, De Dolle and some cheap gueuze to blend with my IPAs). The guys at those places go out of their way to give me at least an opportunity to buy enough limited stuff for consumption when it comes through without me even asking. Great customer service in the current days, where you can no longer find hidden treasures on shelves. I also have a handful of friends who will let me know if something drops that they know I'm really looking hard for, and they'll usually offer a small amount of this for me to consume (not trade). Cool, but not always expected. I also do enjoy buying stuff at a new place and being offered any sort of limited release, even if I don't buy it because it is Doom or something. Just cool to see.

What is "the industry" perspective on the above customer service attitudes? I feel that if someone is giving your store regular sales and you know they're really into beer, whether they're a friend you drink with or just some dude who likes craft, you should reward them with opportunities to buy some of the more limited stuff.

Also, is it looked down upon between industry dudes to buy up your own stock, particularly in the case when you're openly trading it and not necessarily drinking it? I am heavily against the first one, not against the second if it isn't being abused.

As an outsider, these seem to be the two biggest difficulties I'd have if I got into the craft beer industry and had the ability to make these decisions. Do you help your buddies, do you help your best customers, what if those are one in the same? At what point does it become bad form to buy your own stock before it hits the shelf (if it ever does)?

With the industry growing, the way these things are handled make me hate dealing with any sort of limited release that I want. Belgium instead keeps getting more and more of my ****ing money.
 
MarkIntihar said:
But talking to people is the worst!!! 1!!11!!!
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It's not that at all! Honestly the "if you aren't a social shopper you are a ******" sentiment gets really frustrating.

It's just that every conversation like this from the perspective of the employee comes across like "answering questions about rare beer is a blight on my existence. You must please me or else you are a truck chasing sonofabitch. Those who please me are awarded my assistance."

I totally get the idea that said truck chasers are annoying to deal with. Walking in and saying "PLINY ME, SERVANT" before the ding on the door ends is a dick move and everyone hates these people. But it seems like avoiding being lumped in with this group is hard to calibrate. When I hear "you must start a conversation" I assume something a lot more involved than "what's new?" I feel like "what's new?" is just a more vague way of saying "hey tell me about what's not on the shelf." And from my reading of it, that might land you on some **** lists anyway. There's just a lot of ambiguity in what's appropriate, which sort of prompted the original question.

If I go to a store where I am a regular buyer and I am curious if they have a new limited release in the store, I usually just look for it myself, take a casual glance behind the counter, and if I don't see it I just walk out without even asking. Given the control these people have (and apparently exercise with gusto at times) over people's ability to buy certain beers, I am inclined to err on the safe side.

More and more, though, I'm starting to just see it as another step to take in the process - gotta be everyone's friend - even if it feels fake as hell to have that as a motive. There have been awesome people I've met shopping for beer (some employees) but those happened just because - not because I felt obligated to forge a connection that identifiers me as "not a truck chasing dick."

I figure a lot of other people feel this way but they are too busy hating human interaction and scowling at every smiling face they see to express it perhaps? ;)
 
claaark13 said:
I feel that if someone is giving your store regular sales and you know they're really into beer, whether they're a friend you drink with or just some dude who likes craft, you should reward them with opportunities to buy some of the more limited stuff.
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Right? I know there are a lot of people that are strongly against it, but if I buy from a store regularly why shouldn't I at least have a first shot at the more limited things that come through the shop?

Chicago is a competitive market for limited releases, even for BCBS. I remember hanging around my local shop on a Saturday in December and observing the people that came in. One after another I saw guys walk in, ask about Proprietor's BCBS and walk out after finding there was none without even looking at anything else in the store. Why should I miss out on something limited at a shop I help keep in business by luck of the draw to someone with nothing better to do on their Saturday than to drive store to store hoping to pick up as many bottles of a hot new release as possible?
 
yeahnatenelson said:
Right? I know there are a lot of people that are strongly against it, but if I buy from a store regularly why shouldn't I at least have a first shot at the more limited things that come through the shop?

Chicago is a competitive market for limited releases, even for BCBS. I remember hanging around my local shop on a Saturday in December and observing the people that came in. One after another I saw guys walk in, ask about Proprietor's BCBS and walk out after finding there was none without even looking at anything else in the store. Why should I miss out on something limited at a shop I help keep in business by luck of the draw to someone with nothing better to do on their Saturday than to drive store to store hoping to pick up as many bottles of a hot new release as possible?
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I can't tell if you're serious.
 
This is one of the great things about living in BFE. We don't get a lot of whalez, (none) but when we get stuff that is limited in distro, my local liquor store picks it up just for me. Like the UJ. They brought in a case, I think I bought all of it over 3 months. They didn't put it on the shelves. The just kept in back for me to go and take as I wanted. But of course they sell Bud Light Clamato by the case. :eek: It's pretty cool because the owner will text me when he gets in something he thinks I will want. Got in a bunch of Short's, got a text. Victory mixed 12s, got a text. etc. etc.

Another cool story. Last Saturday I went to Total Beverage while the wife was at Archivers. Walking around the beer section the beer guy stopped buy and asked if I was looking for anything. Talked for a while. Told him about this site. Talked some more. He said he had a case of 3F Oude Geuze in the back and said if I had never had one (haven't) I should take one home.

Kind of like this place, it's about building relationships.....
 
yeahnatenelson said:
What makes you say that?
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All of the question marks, the lack of high fives offered, the lack of a like on my post, the fact that I'm overly sarcastic in real life on a regular basis, and most notably the last sentence of your post. And now your question that I just quoted, which I could take as sarcasm.

Man, I'm sober. Maybe that's the issue.
 
Have a couple questions for those who brew or work for a brewery and pour samples at a festival or tasting room:

What is the best way to conduct myself if I don’t like your beer? Do you want honest feedback as long as its constructive? Especially if there are a bunch of other people around?

And I'm not saying one beer isn't to taste. I mean if I try five and find most or all to be pedestrian to below average. It comes up and I'm asking because it's fresh on the brain. I usually just say polite stuff and try to pull out something I like. At worst, critique one beer by offering comparative praise to another. I feel like saying I went 0 for 5 would bum everyone out.
 
blue_bleeder said:
This is one of the great things about living in BFE. We don't get a lot of whalez, (noneen we get stuff that is limited in distro, my local liquor store picks it up just for me. Like the UJ. They brought in a case, I think I bought all of it over 3 months. They didn't put it on the shelves. The just kept in back for me to go and take as I wanted. But of course they sell Bud Light Clamato by the case. :eek: It's pretty cool because the owner will text me when he gets in something he thinks I will want. Got in a bunch of Short's, got a text. Victory mixed 12s, got a text. etc. etc.

Another cool story. Last Saturday I went to Total Beverage while the wife was at Archivers. Walking around the beer section the beer guy stopped buy and asked if I was looking for anything. Talked for a while. Told him about this site. Talked some more. He said he had a case of 3F Oude Geuze in the back and said if I had never had one (haven't) I should take one home.

Kind of like this place, it's about building relationships.....
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I honestly think TB has the best model here from a business side anf a customer side.

hey, this dude knows a little bit about beer, lets grab him something. Repeat business and happy beer nerds. ive even seen kevin approach people who are just lurking to see if they are after something in the back.

But he aalso has a stash for regulars as well.
also you were approx 10 blocks from my house, hit me up next time.
 
pjl44 said:
Have a couple questions for those who brew or work for a brewery and pour samples at a festival or tasting room:

What is the best way to conduct myself if I don’t like your beer? Do you want honest feedback as long as its constructive? Especially if there are a bunch of other people around?

And I'm not saying one beer isn't to taste. I mean if I try five and find most or all to be pedestrian to below average. It comes up and I'm asking because it's fresh on the brain. I usually just say polite stuff and try to pull out something I like. At worst, critique one beer by offering comparative praise to another. I feel like saying I went 0 for 5 would bum everyone out.
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If you don't like it, don't waste your liver on it. Unless you are asked I wouldn't offer a critique though. Brewers probably don't know who you are, or what your qualifications are.
 
Boilerfood said:
If you don't like it, don't waste your liver on it. Unless you are asked I wouldn't offer a critique though. Brewers probably don't know who you are, or what your qualifications are.
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It's not about qualifications, just as a consumer. In the sense that they're selling a product versus competing for GABF gold.
 
pjl44 said:
It's not about qualifications, just as a consumer. In the sense that they're selling a product versus competing for GABF gold.
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Agreed, but for every 1 customer that offers legitimate, constructive criticism there are 15 who will blow smoke up their ass. If they dont know who you are, they will probably brush you off. They shouldnt, but they will.
 

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