A weird experience at a brewpub...

[berryman]

Sounds like they don't know their BBQ or their beer!

Yup sounds that way to me also. I'd probably never go back, with the poor service, bad quality, and high price. Unless they correct it they might not be in business long. if they get the first two right then they will make money and be around for a while.

[Inkleg]

Ok, so here's a picture of me without my kilt.
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HBT 1.JPG (42.66 KiB) Viewed 1217 times

Weird enough now?

[Beer-lord]

Look at the size of that keezer!

[Rebel_B]

Have you guys had weird experiences at restaurants/bars?

Not as weird as your experience. I was at a restaurant in Waco, TX this spring, when I ordered a pint of a pale ale. The waitress brought back a half glass & told me they had just kicked that keg. I ordered a different ale; out of that one also. I then ordered a bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Got it. Ordered another 15 minutes later.... Looks like I had drank their last one. Out! I then ended up drinking two shitty Shiner beers. They only charged me for the one bottle of Sam Adams.

[MadBrewer]

I had a brand new Brew Pub open right down town of my neighborhood a couple years back. I had only been brewing a little while at that time so I was super excited to check this place out. The wife and I hooked up with some friends and decided to give it a go. It was literally their opening week and it was the first and only time I was ever in there.

First problem, understandable but no so much on a new business but it was mid August and the AC was not functioning. Imagine a decent size restaurant/bar and brewery filled with people on a hot August night...not fun. Next to that, I'm not a smoker but I have no problem with a place, especially a bar setting that can comfortably allow smoking. Well, this place was smoke free, so there was traffic back and forth from all the smokers going to step out inbetween beers. I always felt that looked worse for your business having all those people standing outside instead of inside your facility. Second problem and probably their largest downfall was they had none of their own beer ready...on your opening week, are you kidding me? On top of that the young server for our table had zero knowledge of what they could offer. I believe I ended up having a Stout of some sorts but couldn't tell ya from who. Onto the food, I don't really remember but It wasn't bad. I don't think we had much problem there, oh yeah we did...they were out of French Fries too! So I think I ended up with a burger riding solo on my plate. Somone else got a huge plate of nachos. I do remember the chef or kitchen manager maybe coming out to check on us, applogizing for the inconvienance.

The place was nice, large area, nice long bar with clear widow view open to the brewery as a backdrop. Freshly painted and remodeled restaurant area. This guy put everything he had into this place, brand new brewery equipment and I'm sure he did the kitchen up as well. I wanted to like the place but it was a total disaster for him. We ate our dinner, had a few beers and walked across the street to a small bar where they actually had a better beer selection, can you believe that. From there we enjoyed the rest of our night.

I believe the brewery was open for about 11 months before he closed the doors, sold the building and filed bankruptcy. It's sad because I wanted to like the place, it was a gold mine waiting for him. I never got to try any of ther beer. Everyone I heard that did said it was awful, many complained of headaches after 2-3 beers. That sounds like Fusel Alcohol. He also got in deep shit with the city because he caused blockage of the main sewer system in front of his building. They had that street ripped up for several weeks, and hurting his business since the street was closed off for so long. My only guess is that he was washing grains down the sewer from the mashtun instead of disposing of them properly. What a mess.

[FedoraDave]

Sadly, many people recognize the trend and popularity of brewpubs and see dollar signs without evaluating the cost, understanding the market, knowing the business, or having any business sense.

I brew pretty good beer. I have no idea how to successfully brew hundreds of gallons of beer and have it come out consistent every time.

I can whip up some mean barbecue. I've worked in restaurants. I have no idea how to successfully run a commercial kitchen.

I work in a service industry, and I'm very customer-oriented. It's probably this outlook that keeps me from even considering entering the brewpub industry (well, that, and my mortgage). If I fail my clientele, I'm out of business, and no amount of decor, no trendy name, no hip, happening location, can make up for disappointed customers. And word-of-mouth spreads faster than LOLcat memes.

It's too bad that such ill-prepared businesses are sprouting up. They're giving craft beer and brewpubs a bad and undeserved reputation.

[alb]

Thanks boys, I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread!

[RickBeer]

I always flag a manager when there are bad, or very good experiences. I often annotate the receipt since the manager has to audit the tip amount.

Just this morning our local "blog" had an article about brew pubs in the area, and I reminded folks that collectively they have lousy health inspections.


They can`t get better if you don`t tell them...