 Why
Not?
Every once in a while you are forced to leave the home brewery and venture
out to some fancy swanky restaurant. You may even have to dress up! Well
what's a homebrewer to do when they are out on the town and the local brew
pub is not an option? |
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Many places have made the adjustment to America's changing taste for beer
by adding more imports or "micro" brew labels to the bar. This is not a
bad thing but all to often your choices are limited. Limited not only in
beer style but also in the assistance offered by your server. Most better
restaurant prepare their staff to assist diners with wine selection based
on the meal ordered or taste characteristic. If you ask what kind of beer
they serve, sadly you may still get one of two answers. A recited list
of the well known American standards, or, "I'll have to check". Ask to
see the beer list and they may stare at you as if their eyes are stuck
in your headlights. |
I don't mean to beat up on the hard working people who make dinning out
so enjoyable by catering to our whims. After all, that's why we go out
to eat. My frustration is with the continued stereotype beer drinker. Beer,
real beer, is not a bottled beverage consumed in packs of six. Beer is
not a pale yellow highly carbonated soft drink. Beer is not packaged in
green or clear bottles with gold foil wrapped around their necks. Beer
is definitely not the stuff served in plastic cups at golf outings. I could
go on and on about what beer is not, but the fact that you are reading
this indicates that you know what I'm
talking about. |
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My air lock has been plugged with trub for a long time and I just need
to vent. Here are my pet peeves with beer service; |
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The ordered beer runs out halfway
through the pour and the glass is topped off with another brand. If you
order 6 jumbo shrimp and receive 4 shrimp and two salamanders what would
you do?
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The ordered beer is out so a
substitute is poured along with the comment "They won't know the difference".
What would you do if you ordered steak and were served chicken.
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Frozen glasses. If I want a
slurpy I'll go to Dairy Mart.
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The Swizzle-Fizzle. The ordered
beer sits waiting to be served for so long that is necessary to stir it
up with a swizzle stick so there is a head, which fell because the glass
was dirty.
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Beer, ordered in the bottle,
is brought to the table and promptly dumped with flourish and flare, into
an inappropriate glass.
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Beer glasses hung upside down
over ash trays. See number 4.
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The assumption that just because
you had beer X the last time you were in, you will drink beer X this time.
You don't eat the same thing for lunch everyday, do you?
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The next time your out on the town don't be afraid to ask for the beer
list, ask for recommendations to complement you meal. Investigate how the
establishment is accommodating your beer enthusiasm. If it is not up to
your standards, ask, why not? I call it the bad meal principle. If the
owners don't know there is a problem in the kitchen, how can they fix it. |
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