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May

2007

5 Essentials for a good brewpub

Posted on 12:10, May 8th, 2007 by Al

As far as I’m concerned, a brewpub is as close to the perfect place in the world you can get. I mean, think about it: They brew the beer right there (at least they should). The owners, brewmaster, and customers must all love beer, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. (Well, if the place is any good.) Add to that it’s a pub, a place for social bonding and one of the greatest inventions of mankind.

I’ve been to a few over the years. I’ve liked some better than others. It seems the ones I really liked had several things in common (in no particular order).

1. An old building, especially with a lot of exposed brick
I don’t know why, but brewpubs in modern buildings seem dry and boring. I like a building with a lot of character, with history. It doesn’t even matter if its only been a brewpub a short time. The Long Valley Pub and Brewery in Long Valley, New Jersey and Brewer’s Alley in Frederick, Maryland are examples of this. The former is in what used to be a huge stone barn that hearkens back to the late 1700s, while the latter is in a brick building that has been a marketplace, City Hall, and Opera House, among others. Beer is an ancient beverage; its environs should match.

2. Visible brewing equipment
This seems to be a given in most brewpubs, but I like to see the brewing equipment from where I’m sitting. Even better if someone is in there working with it. I was in a brewpub recently and I didn’t see the fermenting vessels and it just didn’t feel like a brewpub to me. Heck, it doesn’t even need to be working equipment, as long as it’s there.

3. A staff that knows, and cares about, the beer
The staff should know if any of the usual selections are tapped. They should know what the seasonal beer is. They should know what the brewer’s favorite is, as well as their own. The staff should be able to describe the beer. Forget the soup of the day! I’m in a brewpub. Tell me about the beer. They should be able to make suggestions for food pairing. And they should be, perhaps not beer enthusiasts or over-the-top geeks, at least fans of the beer. (I once asked a bartender at Long Valley Pub and Brewery for a growler of the Porter and he refused to sell it to me, insisting that it didn’t “travel well”.)

4. Serves only its own beer
I can’t believe that there are some purported brewpubs out there that serve bottled beer from other brewers. I’m not talking about the occasional guest beer from another nearby brewpub/microbrewer, but mainstream beers found in any corner tavern. Don’t they have enough confidence in their own product? Are they trying to appeal to people who wouldn’t normally go to a brewpub? Maybe they haven’t heard the expression “eating your own dog food”.

5. Good beer
I suppose this goes without saying. Just because it’s a brewpub, though, doesn’t mean the brewmaster knows what he’s doing. A miss or two on the menu is okay (especially if it’s a style I usually don’t go for) but for the most part it should be good, if not great.

How about you? What makes you like, or dislike, a brewpub? Please let us know in the comments.

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Posted in Atmosphere, Beer, Brewpubs | Print

Comments

Al on 8 May, 2007 at 12:26 pm

On a related note, British blogger Michael Scott of Pint of Ale presents his own entry: Five gems: what makes a good pub?

I wish there was a bit more of a “pub culture” here in the States.

Stan Hieronymus on 8 May, 2007 at 3:39 pm

Al,

The point is not to totally agree, right? So you won’t take this personally.

I love old building and many of the brewpub pioneers did a great job of taking advantage of that (I love Long Valley, but more when the beer is in good shape). But I’m happy if I get a sense the people care about how the building looks, whether it is old or new. That carries over to everything - caring about the quality of the beer and the quality of the food AND the service.

To which I’d put food quality and service in my Top 5.

Personally, I’d also have kid friendly in there but that matters most when you have a kid.

I wouldn’t have “serve only your own beer in there.” a) It may be a high volume place and that needs to supplement what it can make (and take time to make well), and b) beer is about hanging out with friends. Not all my friends drink craft beer. Why shouldn’t they be able to order a light beer if they want (that’s what 90% of the population drinks)?

Ray on 8 May, 2007 at 3:56 pm

Number 3 is the one that always seems to be the Achilles heal of many brew pubs that I’ve frequented. Sometimes you get lucky and get someone who’s fairly excited about their product, but most times (especially in larger chains) you get a monotone delivery of someone who has gone through the motions and just memorized key information.

Ron on 8 May, 2007 at 4:17 pm

Heck… I’m going to disagree as well. IMHO, of those five, only #5 “Good Beer” and #3 “caring staff” are essential. I would change #3, though, to include good, friendly, service. I want them to know about the beer, and the soup special (which hopefully has some beer in it), plus, I want to feel like the server actually cares about serving me, not like they just want their shift to end.

If I had to make my own list, I could break #3 into “knowledgable” and “caring.”. I would combine the old building (which I love) and the visable brewing equipment (also love) into one as “atmosphere”.

I disagree completely with #4, serving only its own beer. Thus, my list might look like:
1) Good Beer (If their beer sucks, I’m not going to bother.)
2) Good service (I will also not go to any restaurant if they have bad service, unless my kids force me to take them to iHop. Again.)
3) Atmosphere (The setting, the people, etc)
4) Good food (and it doesn’t have to be great, just not bad)
5) Knowledgable About the Beer (Even if they don’t know about the beer, I can usually draw my own conclusions, thus it would be last on my list)

I’m with Stan on this one.

But this is why we “Hop-Talk”

Al on 8 May, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Ah, yes. “Kid friendly.” That’s an important one for me, too. Luckily, Barley and Hops in Frederick, Maryland offers “Kids Eat Free” Sundays. With $2 pints it’s more economical than many non-brewpub establishments.

It’s not an old building, either.

I also hadn’t considered a place that is suffering from success and can’t keep up with demand. As for light beer drinkers, I guess all of my friends would rather have craft beer.

Thanks for the comments. If everyone always agreed with me this would be a boring world.

One thing I didn’t mention, which isn’t really anything to do with brewpubs, is that I think it’s really important to go with the specialty of the house. I remember one time at Long Valley my wife and I boggled at these two older couples. The women were the only ones to have beer. The men had wine. (Granted, I understand they have a decent cellar, but still, it seems so…so…pretentious.)

Barry on 8 May, 2007 at 8:52 pm

I’d amend #4 to say “Only serves craft beer”. In many cases, because of commercial realities, that will mean a brewpub only sells its own (rather than also selling beer for the micro down the street).
The key is it should definitely NOT offer BMC (or whatever countries equivalent mainstream watery lager). Upsell your customers, surely that’s the very foundation of your business.

Loren on 10 May, 2007 at 12:49 pm

If a brewpub serves “that” guest beer why knock them? A local brewer once told me if he didn’t have “that” guest beer on tap for the 10% of his clientele who prefer that…then his lightest offering would have to be tweaked to suit their requirements.

And I don’t want that.

If a sheep wants to eat soiled grass…are you going to complain? Or just let them BAA! themselves into utter, ignorant bliss?

Otherwise, great list guys. My one preference for most, not all, brewpubs I visit is that they be kid friendly. Not be equipped with a full blown jungle jim and DVD portal…but…I’m sure you know what I mean.

Cheers!

Beer Molly on 11 May, 2007 at 1:34 pm

My own opinion — from a girl’s and San Diegan perspective — puts much more emphasis on the social aspects.

Michael Scott on 20 May, 2007 at 12:49 pm

Hi, thanks for the link to Pint of Ale, I like your list.

Yours from the point of a brewpub, but our lists are quite similar. I agree that a building with character is a plus point. I think that beer exclusivity is a contentious issue, but perhaps less so for a pub that brews its own. I think a bit of choice and competition, especially between beer styles, can not be a bad thing?

I’m glad I’ve discovered your site anyway, you’re added to my feeds and I’ll visit often!

Trackbacks

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[...] at Hop Talk, Al suggests what he think are 5 essentials for a good brewpub, starting with “An old building, especially with a lot of exposed [...]

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