Two puzzling comments I heard in the same night.

[andysim]

Bar #1: Natty Greene's Brew Pub, Location: Raleigh NC

Natty Greene's is a brew pub in downtown Raleigh. Great beer, food, and atmosphere.

I'm sitting at the bar enjoying golden Belgian ale. A guy sits and says to the bartender " I'll have whatever is closest to a Yuenglings and Sam Adams"

My ears perked up when I heard that. I wanted to see how the bartender was going to handle this request.

The bartender brought over an amber ale, beer menu and said "We don't have any lagers."

I think the bartender did the right thing, but I'm sure this guy had no idea what a lager is. He did say he enjoyed his beer.

Bar #2: Characters, Location: Garner NC

Characters is one of those generic sports bars that serve 50 beers tap and bottle combined. You know, 42 versions of American and lite lager, Guinness, Shocktop, Blue Moon, and the local microbrew.

They display a bottle of each beer they inventory on the back bar. I asked him who made the microbrews on display.

Bartender: "Big Boss" (local Raleigh microbrewery)

Me: "What are they?"

Bartender: "They are the closest thing to an IPA that we have".

Me: Puzzled, "All five are IPA's??????"

Bartender then hands me a menu that just has the Big Boss beers that they serve.

I look at the menu there was no IPA on it. I had the Big Boss Bad Penny brown ale which was very good.

If your are a bartender, please at least know the common beer styles. Take a little pride in what you do.

 

[wildwest450]

You know, 42 versions of American and lite lager, Guinness, Shocktop, Blue Moon, and the local microbrew.

You really shouldn't expect much else from a place like that. You had the option of leaving and going somewhere else.

 

[andysim]

It was the only bar within walking distance of my hotel. The other bar I drove to.

 

[Airborneguy]

You were staying at a hotel in your own hometown? (Sorry, I just notice things like that.)

 

[andysim]

I just moved last week and haven't found a house yet. So the hotel (Value Place extended stay) is my new home for now.

Kids and wife to follow when schools out.

Stayed tuned to another thread regarding making beer in a hotel.

Edit: I was staying at the In Towne suites when I went to Characters. It was a dump, so I moved to Value Place, which is very nice and quiet so far.

 

[Airborneguy]

Stayed tuned to another thread regarding making beer in a hotel.

Now that would be an interesting read! I'm downsizing temporarily (until we move next year) because of my second child, so I've been checking out all kinds of threads on different people's routines. It's amazing how set you can get in your ways and how tough it is to adjust once you've been doing this one way for awhile. I'm considering BIAB 3 gallon batches with a small fridge as my kegorator (with picnic taps). Going from two dedicated fridges with a full set-up to that is a huge change!