Beer Ordering

Reads 1677 • Replies 18 • Started Friday, January 20, 2017 7:39:30 PM CT

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Message hotstuff P beers 5394 º places 74 º 19:39 Fri 1/20/2017 Ever ask what style a beer is before ordering it and the bartender answers "I don’t know". I experienced this this evening and couldn’t believe it. In all the years that I have been rating beers I do not recall this happening. Anyone else? I did not want to order a beer whose style I don’t like. Thus I looked it up on RB and ordered it since it is a style that I drink.
Message SarkyNorthener beers 5200 º places 142 º 19:42 Fri 1/20/2017 All the time. I don’t even ask anymore.
Message Strykzone beers 8457 º places 152 º 19:47 Fri 1/20/2017 Very common occurrence. Too often wait staff have no idea. I also ask about who brewed a particular beer and far too frequently the server has no idea.
Message hotstuff P beers 5394 º places 74 º 19:56 Fri 1/20/2017 Originally posted by Strykzone Very common occurrence. Too often wait staff have no idea. I also ask about who brewed a particular beer and far too frequently the server has no idea. I asked the bartender, not the server!

Message ben4321 P beers 11309 º places 628 º 22:26 Fri 1/20/2017 Yeah, this happens to me all the time. Pretty much any place where they focus on cocktails or wine and have just a couple of taps. Also, sometimes they don’t know the name of the actual beer or the name of the brewery. Or my personal favorite, when you point to a tap and ask which beer from X Brewery is that and they don’t know the name so they tell you some worthless description like "tastes kinda like Blue Moon" (usually when describing a milk stout or something) or "it’s their dark one."
Message rennat42 P beers 5357 º places 205 º 22:55 Fri 1/20/2017 Sort of, but I have never asked like that. I always catch myself asking a question such as "is this a porter?" and the reply is always a yes. I also just say I need an extra minute anymore and order a water first and look up the beer I want on here before ordering if I am unsure.
Message DuffMan beers 10981 º places 349 º 22:56 Fri 1/20/2017 Originally posted by hotstuff Ever ask what style a beer is before ordering it and the bartender answers "I don’t know". I experienced this this evening and couldn’t believe it. In all the years that I have been rating beers I do not recall this happening. Anyone else? I did not want to order a beer whose style I don’t like. Thus I looked it up on RB and ordered it since it is a style that I drink. Very commonly. I would only be surprised/dismayed if it were to happen in an actual craft beer focused establishment. If it’s just a restaurant or a bar that happens to serve craft, then I don’t have any expectation of knowledge, and I don’t mind figuring it out myself.
Message fly P beers 1490 º places 271 º 01:30 Sat 1/21/2017 I prefer being told "I don’t know" over a made up answer.

Message Homer321 P beers 5369 º places 54 º 07:49 Sat 1/21/2017 Originally posted by fly I prefer being told "I don’t know" over a made up answer. I prefer making up an answer over saying "I don’t know"
Message VDuquerroux P beers 5048 º places 230 º 15:28 Sun 1/22/2017 Originally posted by hotstuff Ever ask what style a beer is before ordering it and the bartender answers "I don’t know". I experienced this this evening and couldn’t believe it. In all the years that I have been rating beers I do not recall this happening. Anyone else? I did not want to order a beer whose style I don’t like. Thus I looked it up on RB and ordered it since it is a style that I drink. Common in France too. Even... with local brewers (!??), and I am not kidding. When you ask what style is their blond beer ? Usually, you get "Well, this is a blond with... good character..." Ok, thank you :)
Message Travlr beers 33850 º places 4573 º 15:36 Sun 1/22/2017 I usually ask them what kind of beer it is, and they just describe it. Sometimes they use styles in their description, sometimes they’ll say things like "fruity aroma but not too bitter." And that’s fine with me. This type of interaction is almost always better in areas where the server is legally allowed to taste the beers they serve, and makes the effort to do so.