Tonight's experience at Red Hill Brewery was a huge disappointment. I love craft beer, I frequent a few breweries in the area, and I have worked in the beer industry for several years now. I had heard of people talking about red hill, and I loved the idea of a neighborhood brewery, but after tonight I will most definitely not be going back. I have been to a few restaurants and breweries during COVID, so I understand the precautions that are in place that take away from the typical dine in experience. This is not about that.
First off, the beer is not even mediocre. I ordered the radler, which is supposed to be a combination of their Blond beer and Sundrop. It was terrible. A radler is supposed to be light, effervescent, and refreshing. It was very flat and had a smokey flavor on the back end. A poor representation of a radler. In general this brewery doesn't appear to really specialize in anything. I also tried the stout which was nothing to write home about.
Secondly- there was a bartender who presented myself and my two guests with an attitude the entire night, outlined as follows:
- We had just ordered a beer and were steps away from the bar. I had taken one sip, and before I had a moment to even figure out seating, she confronted us (I assume because I had my mask down for that sip). Instead of just asking us to sit a table, she spoke to us with an attitude, something about "this is just the way it is" as if we had a problem with it.
- The other bartender was standing behind the bar talking to guests with her mask pulled down. Ironic, right?
- At 10:06, six minutes after closing, the initial bartender approached our table and asked my friend if he was finished, and he said yes- could he get another beer, to which she replied last call already happened and they had already closed but we could come back another day. Once again with an unwarranted attitude. Why would you see an empty glass and ask if we were finished if you weren't able to provide another beer? I have worked in several breweries and the protocol is and should be to not drive customers out the door so soon after closing. Clearly the beer was totally gone, so she should've just waited until we were out the door to collect glassware. If it were 10:30 or 10:45, maybe, but not 6 minutes after closing.
- lastly as we were leaving she was apparently yelling after us as if we didn't close our bill. We had closed out with the other bartender after the first round, so I guess since she didn't check us out, she assumed we didn't pay? Thankfully this happened as I had already started my way down the stairs and was totally done with the place.
I was always taught the guest should be welcomed and accommodated. Although there are unnatural/uncomfortable parameters at this time, good quality customer service is still possible. Out of all the breweries out there, I chose to come to this one during a global pandemic- but maybe they just don't need the business?
It's unfortunate because the only thing this place really has going for them is the space itself. They have live music and tons of seating. If the beer quality and service was average, that would have been great. Unfortunately tonight's experience was below average and for that reason I'll never be going back. It's a shame. One and done. read more