Random Beer Thoughts

[LukeAleTime]

I have no idea on the distribution situation in AU -- is there any way that's legal (given than e.g. Beat never entered distribution)? It certainly could be, but I'd be surprised.

Yeah no laws against parallel/grey imports. All of our tomes and struise are grey.

It's been a point of contention for a while with US breweries (Stone mostly, but they are legit now)

 

[jivex5k1]

Lets just agree that most people are jerks?

Meanwhile, apparently RR sours and Bruery BT are turding it up on Aussie shelves, for the low price of $140-$200(AUD)!

https://www.reddit.com/r/beer/comments/3qjmxp/australias_fascination_with_us_craft_beer/

How much is that in dollarydoos?

 

[jedwards]

Yeah no laws against parallel/grey imports. All of our tomes and struise are grey.

It's been a point of contention for a while with US breweries (Stone mostly, but they are legit now)

Ah, interesting. It's currently like that in D.C. but I've never been clear on how that routes around the difficulty with moving alcohol across state lines without a distribution license. Personally I'm in favor of parallel district/import, though it does tend to result in bizarre pricing for bottles which were never in distro to begin with.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Ah, interesting. It's currently like that in D.C. but I've never been clear on how that routes around the difficulty with moving alcohol across state lines without a distribution license. Personally I'm in favor of parallel district/import, though it does tend to result in bizarre pricing for bottles which were never in distro to begin with.

I don't really have an opinion either way. I can see why brewers would be annoyed but even legit importers can handle things poorly. So I'm cautious of hop forward beers that have travelled this far regardless

Altho, with imports I'm only really fussed about Belgian beers and they can take a beating in shipping and still taste fine.

 

[Lutter]

How much is that in dollarydoos?

My pocket supercomputer says that $200 kangaroo bucks is around $142 Merica bucks

 

[furley]

All of these are known to be things you need to deal with as a bartender. If you can't deal with that, get a different job.

it definitely is. i did it for 13 years. every person has their limits.

somebody comes up to you, at your job, and begins to lecture you about your product and/or service... multiple times per hour... every day. ... i don't give a hot **** who you are or how patient, you're going to tune it out sometimes. that may come off as indifferent, condescending or rude but you'd understand if you were on the other side of the bar.

 

[furley]

I'm always super nice about it (was a bartender for years too) but sometimes it just seems like they aren't interested (which is fine) but it does leave customers in a ****** position. Especially when the beer is ****** to the point where I think it's disgusting/undrinkable... and then add Australian prices to that. As a customer it feels like I just get shafted for ****** product and there is no recourse.

still turn it in. if it sucks, it sucks, don't drink it. a good bartender will serve you another gratis.

you know this.. customers who aren't condescending dicks get treated better than the customer who comes up lecturing you about clean beer lines, proper serving temperatures and such while demanding reprimands

 

[furley]

still turn it in. if it sucks, it sucks, don't drink it. a good bartender will serve you another gratis.

you know this.. customers who aren't condescending dicks get treated better than the customer who comes up lecturing you about clean beer lines, proper serving temperatures and such while demanding reprimands

errr, reparations


huh, apparently there's a time limit on editing posts

 

[sacrelicio]

having been a bartender for several years and having many many many people return beers for whatever their reasons.. it just gets old.

even if you are a great bartender, super patient and the person asking for a fresh/different drink is awesome and hot and reasonable and uses all the right descriptors.... sometimes you just don't give a **** and don't want the education...... again.

just take it back and say "let me get a replacement, chief. this one's no good"

bartenders don't want a lecture, to be told the history of the style, to be talked down to like they're morons because the customer can quote BJCP guidelines.

when you've been on your feet for 10 hours, running around like a sugared up toddler, being whistled at, having people snap their fingers to get your attention, stiffing you on tips, complaining about their wives, their ****** lives, etc. and some beernerd comes up to lecture you on the difference between stouts and porters and tells you the beer they ordered is 2 degrees too cold to be properly consumed or something.... all you want is for them to go away.

so... yeah... it happens. bartenders hear a lot and get jaded with time. we're not impressed and we really don't want to hear it.... again.

I've sent maybe a handful of beers back in my time, always because the beer is clearly flawed (some locals hit tap lines before they're even drinkable) or the lines are really bad. Sometimes they're really good about it, usually at newer restaurants. But I've had service people roll the eyes or expect a detailed explanation when the beer tastes like a moldy diaper.

One dude served me Sam Adams when I ordered Two Hearted and argued with me for several minutes when I wanted him to give me the right beer. He was like "whaddya mean, how can you even tell?"

Considering it's a pain in the butt for everyone, I'd much rather not have to send anything back ever.

 

[lazerviking]

having been a bartender for several years and having many many many people return beers for whatever their reasons.. it just gets old.

even if you are a great bartender, super patient and the person asking for a fresh/different drink is awesome and hot and reasonable and uses all the right descriptors.... sometimes you just don't give a **** and don't want the education...... again.

just take it back and say "let me get a replacement, chief. this one's no good"

bartenders don't want a lecture, to be told the history of the style, to be talked down to like they're morons because the customer can quote BJCP guidelines.

when you've been on your feet for 10 hours, running around like a sugared up toddler, being whistled at, having people snap their fingers to get your attention, stiffing you on tips, complaining about their wives, their ****** lives, etc. and some beernerd comes up to lecture you on the difference between stouts and porters and tells you the beer they ordered is 2 degrees too cold to be properly consumed or something.... all you want is for them to go away.

so... yeah... it happens. bartenders hear a lot and get jaded with time. we're not impressed and we really don't want to hear it.... again.

Often, the reply from the bartender is "it's supposed to taste that way." It usually takes a little more than "no it isn't" to get them to actually take the beer off your bill. All too often I find that the establishment is selling a product they know is off, but don't care because most people won't notice, and if they do won't say anything.

 

[sacrelicio]

Often, the reply from the bartender is "it's supposed to taste that way." It usually takes a little more than "no it isn't" to get them to actually take the beer off your bill. All too often I find that the establishment is selling a product they know is off, but don't care because most people won't notice, and if they do won't say anything.

They're like "it's booze, shut up and drink it."

 

[furley]

Often, the reply from the bartender is "it's supposed to taste that way." It usually takes a little more than "no it isn't" to get them to actually take the beer off your bill. All too often I find that the establishment is selling a product they know is off, but don't care because most people won't notice, and if they do won't say anything.

**** tender then

talk to a manager

 

[beerandraiderfan]

One dude served me Sam Adams when I ordered Two Hearted and argued with me for several minutes when I wanted him to give me the right beer. He was like "whaddya mean, how can you even tell?"

This is my all time most hated bar experience. You order a beer. Rather than tell you the keg has kicked, the bartender pours you something else. You insist the bartender gave you the wrong beer. The bartender lies to your face. You explain how familiar you are with the beer you ordered (and even the one you were given).

The bartender relents, admits he/she lied, compliments your palate, and then acts like he/she is doing you a favor by not charging you for the beer you didn't order and lied to you about as if its "all good" now.

 

[sacrelicio]

TFW you order a Lagunitas Doppel Sticky and it tastes just like an IPA and you ask the waitress if you got the wrong beer and she's like lol nope

 

[RedCoffee]

TFW you order a Lagunitas Doppel Sticky and it tastes just like an IPA and you ask the waitress if you got the wrong beer and she's like lol nope

If I were an enterprising bar owner, I would just order Lagunitas IPA and then sell it as whatever their newest seasonal is at the moment.

"It tastes like an IPA to you? Oh well that's what it's probably supposed to taste like. Yes, even that one."

 

[Gonzoillini1]

TFW you order a Lagunitas Doppel Sticky and it tastes just like an IPA and you ask the waitress if you got the wrong beer and she's like lol nope

If I were an enterprising bar owner, I would just order Lagunitas IPA and then sell it as whatever their newest seasonal is at the moment.

"It tastes like an IPA to you? Oh well that's what it's probably supposed to taste like. Yes, even that one."

I was pouring for our homebrew club competition earlier this month at a local beer bar, and one of the options that was on was the Lagunitas Doppel Sitcky. When I tasted it I was sure that someone had hooked up the wrong keg, so I went to check it out.

Nope, it is certainly a huge hop forward monster, not sure why I expected anything else.

 

[lb304854]

still turn it in. if it sucks, it sucks, don't drink it. a good bartender will serve you another gratis.

you know this.. customers who aren't condescending dicks get treated better than the customer who comes up lecturing you about clean beer lines, proper serving temperatures and such while demanding reprimands

I have probably only ever returned 5 beers total since turning 21 and I don't ever say anything other than "Hey, this beer is off/terrible. I need something else."

I have only ever had 1 of them replaced free of charge and it happened to be the douchiest bar manager I have ever met that comped it. It was some nameless Jonny-come-lately local brewery's bourbon barrel stout that was straight nailpolish remover.

"Yeah man, it's an aquired taste."

Okay Mojombo, whatever you say.


The fact is, with the explosion of good beer over the last few years more and more bars are selling some kind of non-bmc options that never did before and many bartenders couldn't give a **** about knowing the product. ****, how many times have we all been in an actual beer bar and overheard bartenders make mindblowingly dumb recommendations based on customers' tastes? Should I not be "that guy" and tell the customer the bartender made a ****** recommendation and there isn't a chance in hell they will like what he is pouring for them?

**** that.

 

[sacrelicio]

If I were an enterprising bar owner, I would just order Lagunitas IPA and then sell it as whatever their newest seasonal is at the moment.

"It tastes like an IPA to you? Oh well that's what it's probably supposed to taste like. Yes, even that one."

"Man this coffee stout is great! It's bright orange and tastes like Ecto Cooler!"

 

[lb304854]

Does FFF even make Dreadnaught anymore? I haven't seen it on tap anywhere in forever and I never hear it mentioned anymore. I don't go to stores that often so I hadn't noticed.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Does FFF even make Dreadnaught anymore? I haven't seen it on tap anywhere in forever and I never hear it mentioned anymore. I don't go to stores that often so I hadn't noticed.

Yea, but it's still on the rotation with Arctic Panzer Wolf so it usually will be around then go missing for a month or two. Last batch I had was just about perfect, thinking they've finally gotten their new system dialed in (except for Zombie Dust which tastes noticeably different than it used to).

If they can keep making Wig Splitter as a year round beer I might simply stop buying their hop forward stuff. So good.

 

[lb304854]

Yea, but it's still on the rotation with Arctic Panzer Wolf so it usually will be around then go missing for a month or two. Last batch I had was just about perfect, thinking they've finally gotten their new system dialed in (except for Zombie Dust which tastes noticeably different than it used to).

If they can keep making Wig Splitter as a year round beer I might simply stop buying their hop forward stuff. So good.

I hadn't even heard of Wig Splitter until you recommended it last weekend. Shows how in tune I am.

 

[furley]

****, how many times have we all been in an actual beer bar and overheard bartenders make mindblowingly dumb recommendations based on customers' tastes? Should I not be "that guy" and tell the customer the bartender made a ****** recommendation and there isn't a chance in hell they will like what he is pouring for them?

**** that.

depends on your level of concern, i suppose.
i tend to steer clear of that which isn't my business unless it's something egregious.

a bartender serving someone else a beer doesn't rise to the level of me feeling like i need to intervene.

 

[furley]

Does FFF even make Dreadnaught anymore? I haven't seen it on tap anywhere in forever and I never hear it mentioned anymore. I don't go to stores that often so I hadn't noticed.

there's probably some 2012 laying around shelves near here if you're interested

 

[JulianB1]

Does FFF even make Dreadnaught anymore? I haven't seen it on tap anywhere in forever and I never hear it mentioned anymore. I don't go to stores that often so I hadn't noticed.

there's probably some 2012 laying around shelves near here if you're interested

Either that, or you can buy some from Freddy! It was "fresh arrived" at Bev4Less in San Diego the other day.

 

[sacrelicio]

Either that, or you can buy some from Freddy! It was "fresh arrived" at Bev4Less in San Diego the other day.

Freddy, please.

 

[trickytunadicky]

I hadn't even heard of Wig Splitter until you recommended it last weekend. Shows how in tune I am.

Good ole Hells Black no so Intelligencer. Noms. Would chug.


I mean... Err.... It's a completely different beer.

 

[JonathanAmes]

I'm probably in the minority but I never take back bad/off beers. Personally I approach the situation as a mini gamble. You win some & you lose some. I haggle & complain for a living I don't want to do it on my off time.

Side note: I typed this on my phone & when I typed want it auto corrected to wang until I typed the t.

 

[sacrelicio]

At a work dinner event tonight we had a few Stone beers. "Nice! Well I haven't had Pale Ale 2.0, let's try that."

Wtf did they do to? The original was pretty good.

 

[trickytunadicky]

At a work dinner event tonight we had a few Stone beers. "Nice! Well I haven't had Pale Ale 2.0, let's try that."

Wtf did they do to? The original was pretty good.

I couldn't finish new Zombie Dust last night. FFF needs to figure new system out stat.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

I couldn't finish new Zombie Dust last night. FFF needs to figure new system out stat.

Yea the last few Zombie Dust bottles I've had haven't tasted quite right, however Dreadnaught is on point at the moment.