Maybe my next visit will be an upgrade. This was my first visit to this place and while they do have a lot of beer, I am going to have to question "fresh" beer as part of their labeling.
The other reviewer gave it a five start rating but really didn't say why. Looking at his reviews, he gives almost everything a five star review and most of his reviews are similar establishments. Go figure. Maybe he has a quest to just travel around the country with the sole goal of visiting such establishments to rate them? Who knows? Everyone has a story to tell about their experience. He gives it such a great rating but we don't know what that experience was. Hmmmm, question time.
Good location, this is an off license drinking establishment, meaning you buy it and take it home, other than tastings. Beer that is on tap can be put in glass bottles called growlers which are filled, sealed and labeled.
They have a very large selection of on tap beers. I tried three. Hate to say it but two of the three were either old or the bottom of the keg as both were somewhat bitter, a sign of a beer past its prime. The third beer that was within its prime I didn't care for but was probably a quality beer. I just didn't like it.
The pricing is somewhat confusing. The "menu" of beers when I visited was printed on a printer that was fairly out of ink but I guess that was to match the pale ales. Wouldn't have hurt to put the price per beer on that list, but they didn't. The one guy who was working didn't know that a mild ale and that a brown ale are basically the same thing, that is in the modern usage. One is served on tap and the other comes in a bottle.
The Russian Imperial Stout was good but it was past its prime within the keg. I assume Americans don't drink or like dark beers as much and this one beer had set too long. Some of the brown or mild ales were nearing their sell-by dates or past it.
What happens is many people don't know what the beer is supposed to taste like and then when it has that rank taste which is somewhat stale and could add bitterness, they think that's how it's supposed to taste. Many people can't name the type of hops used and that's to be expected for those not in the business or a beer maker, but there is a difference between hop bitterness and end of keg bitterness.
The growler bottle I thought was very reasonably priced, the beer put in it I thought was not. The staff was somewhat friendly and a bit knowledgeable.
The main problem I had with the guy working the place was that I'm sitting at their little bar facing forward and he's standing, way, way to the side and I have to break my neck to speak to him or make eye contact. I understand the concept of let the customer see the view of the beer taps but to stand so far to the side is either not wanting to serve, work or just poor training on how to treat customers. If I want to look at the beer, I have to sit forward. If I want to ask about them, I have to totally move 90 degrees to where he's standing.
They do have little glasses that give you samples of the beers. I tried three. I hated to try anymore and run down their stock but I have a feeling the kegs are mainly way past their prime due to the above of the employee trying to make employees break their necks to talk with him about the beer, the fact that the menu is hard to read because it's so faint or maybe it's the price.
Could do a better job of displaying the prices. Maybe they learned their business practices from Walmart? The jar/bottle was six bucks for the larger size, 64 oz. The beers are priced differently but to fill that new bottle with the beer I chose was almost $28 bucks! Granted, if I go back with the bottle, it'll be about six bucks cheaper. But, hey, that's $20 bucks for five beers. That's without a tip.
If I go to a restaurant, a cafe, maybe get a haircut, I expect there may be a tip. Why is there a tip in this? All he does is his job of telling what the beer it, give you a sample and then fill the bottle. I did give him a tip but I don't think I will on the next visit. Why? He gave mediocre service, stood so far to the side and far away that I had to do a 90 degree plus turn to speak with him, had a girl working there who was unable to do anything but show off her tight jeans because she was under 21.
I will visit this place again and would like to give it a four or five stars. But, if it's the same old kegs that's been there since this place opened, I'm not spending $20+ for a beer that is stale, old, rank, undrinkable. I hope to be able to prove myself wrong but I fear I won't be able to and that the next visit will be the same stale batch of beer due to the slow process of selling and frankly, bad beer, not tot mention the stand away approach.
The next visit will tell whether that pricey bottle I bought will continue to be used for beer or for cleaning supplies. read more