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Too Drunk

Yesterday I wrote about bar responsibility, and as promised here is my post on consumer responsibility.

For todays entertainment post I was originally going to write about pairing, but given this weeks news that the 45 year-old son of Goose Island founder John Hall allegedly urinated in the middle of a bar I thought I would talk about social drinking.  We all have done things we are not proud of while drinking.  I admit it.  I hurt people's feelings and acted like an ass on more than one occasion.  While I know I apologized and said something to the effect of "I was drunk" on these occasions I know that is not good enough.  Blaming it on the alcohol is not appropriate.  You made choices and you must deal with consequences.

A minor isolated incident might not be cause of concern, but when actions rise to a more serious level being drunk is not an excuse.  If the public urination allegation against Greg Hall is true, and had he been convicted he would be a sex offender. (At this writing no charges have been filed.)  He also sat in a car waiting for a ride according to published reports.  I asked a lawyer I know about this and sitting in a car with the keys is constructive possession and control which could result in a DUI conviction.  In one night Greg Hall almost got labeled a sex offender and lost his driver's license for a DUI.  I am not trying to pick on him; I am just trying to illustrate how poor choices can ruin a life.

What are your duties?

1. Know your limits and when it is time to go home.
2. Do not use alcohol as a cover for indecent or offensive behavior.
3. Respect the staff, other patrons and your friends.
4. Apologize like a man don't use Facebook pick up a phone or better yet go see the offended party.
5. Do not by any means get into a car.

These are simple duties.  I know you can handle it.  The most troubling thing for me out of this were the comments to the news stories.  I was blown away by the number of people who excused his actions because he was drunk and secondly, by the number of people who felt it was common to act this way.  More than one bartender made comments that it sounded like a typical Saturday night.  Seriously people?  I thought I left this behavior behind when I switched to craft and ditched the Natty Light. 

Responsible Drinking Part 1: The Bar

This week's Greg Hall controversy shed light on being responsible when alcohol is present.  There are two parties who share responsibility: bars and drinkers.  Over two days I will look at both.  Many large breweries run a drink responsible campaign, but realistically if you think about it they don't want you to stop drinking.  This is where an establishment has certain duties.

First and foremost, the bartender needs to know when to cut people off.  I know many of you go out to get drunk.  I am not saying bars need to shut you down at the first sign of tipsiness, but there is a line.  A seasoned bartender can often scan a crowd and see who has gone too far, and offer a glass of water instead of the next drink.

Secondly, when a customer crosses the line bar management needs to take appropriate action.  I was once in a bar where a man pulled out his genitals.  He was quickly ejected and the police were called.  Turns out he was a known sex offender.  If you read the comments in response to the Tribune article many people acted like urinating in bars happens all the time.  I go to a lot of bars and know a lot of people who work in bars.  I have never seen someone do this.  Urinating in the middle of the bar is crossing a line, and bar management should take swift action no matter who the customer is.  While urinating is an extreme act there are other behaviors a bar should take action against.  If a person's behavior is offensive or disturbing to the enjoyment of other customers they need to go out the door.

Finally, a bar is responsible for public safety.  If an employee of a bar sees a patron who is intoxicated get into a car they need to step in.  In this case the bar was under the impression Mr. Hall got into his car and drove off.  I would note Greg Hall told the Tribune he waited in the car while his ride was on the way.  Bar management should have called the police.  Under Illinois dram shop laws Bangers and Lace could have been held liable if Mr. Hall drove home and caused an accident.

I started this post by saying responsibility is to be shared.  Tomorrow I will look at what customers owe the bar and their fellow patrons.

Beer Review: Brown Angel by Clown Shoes

Clown Shoes is a new brewery in the Chicago market.  When I was deciding which of the four Clown Shoes beers to buy the label on Brown Angel caught my eye.  I am not usually a sucker for labels, but I wanted to write about this one.  The label has a woman in a bikini on it.  Some breweries have been having issues with appropriateness of labels.  To me the label indicates this brewery is not concerned about the possibility of attracting negative attention.  Some other breweries like Flying Dog are in battles with regulators over labels.  While this provided an excuse for me to buy this beer; don't worry I found excuses to buy the other three Clown Shoes beers as well.

Tasting Notes:
Poured a nice shade of brown with one finger of head.  Aromas of coffee, chocolate and sweet pine.  The flavor was a bit smokey with a bold citrus.  The hops were more present in this beer than in your typical Brown Ale.  Smooth and moderately carbonated this beer goes down easy.  While not your everyday Brown Ale if you are in the mood to explore give this one a shot.

Update:  Clown Shoes' Gregg Berman will be in Chicago tomorrow April 14.  Details here.

Greg Hall Poster Boy for Goose Island

After my last Goose story I was prepared to steer away from Goose Island.  Personally, I feel the topic is getting somewhat old, but the Hall's seem to have a miraculous ability to keep generating stories for this blog.  The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Greg Hall, exiting Brewmaster of Goose Island, son of the founder, and future brewing consultant to Anheuser - Busch (AB) mistook a pint glass for a urinal while standing in a bar.

The Tribune is reporting that Hall relieved himself in two pint glasses in the bar area of Bangers and Lace and then left the premises.  Hall has allegedly admitted he acted inappropriately, but can not recall the entire evening as he was too inebriated.  Hall did apologize.

I will be looking into the story more tomorrow as it is almost 9 pm here. I plan contact media relations at Goose Island, AB and Bangers and Lace.  I would also like to know if this brazen public urination has been reported to Chicago Police Department, or does Bangers and Lace let people have a complete disregard for decorum and the law?  Not only is Goose Island off my list of bars to hang out at, Bangers and Lace is looking that way to....

Check back for more updates or follow me on Twitter @verysmallbeer
Update: As I expected getting no comments across the board.

Tough Topic Business of Beer & Customer Relations

As I discussed last Monday everything connected to beer is a business.  What type of business depends on your relationship to beer.  If you are a store, bar or restaurant you sell to consumers.  Distributors have to convince those outlets to sell the beer they distribute, and brewers must convince distributors to carry their product.  However, one group matters more than any other in that heap, customers.

The customer is more important than anything.  If we are not buying a certain product no one will sell it.    The key to getting the customer to buy into your product is building a relationship.  We live in a time when social matters.  I already wrote on brewers in social media, but interpersonal relations matter too.  I buy local but I also buy from international faceless corporations.  I buy from Amazon but not Wal-Mart.  Heck, I would even buy beer from AB if it intrigued me.

One product I do not think I will buy again is Goose Island.  The company has a tragic inability to foster strong customer relations.  Years ago I met John Hall for the second time.  He started fishing for compliments.  I threw him a bone and then I explained an issue with the Clark St. brewpub.  Without blinking he told me it made a bunch of money last year so he must be doing something right.  Well, if he had got his head on the issue he might of made more.  After they had their near closing scare they made some serious changes to the brewpub. Unfortunately, they were not responsive to customer complaints, and even started to have what many believe were contaminated draft lines.  Finally, they sold to AB.  That in and of itself did not mean I would not buy their beer again although it did piss me off.  How they handled the situation is what irked me.

The final straw came last week.  The Chicago Beer Society sent out a notice that Greg Hall would speak on the AB sale.  I stayed for a while and I never heard him speak, although I waited two hours some say he did show up eventually.  What I did see was John Hall come in 90 minutes after the event started, shake a few hands with people he was obviously acquainted with and go drink a beer with a bunch of suits at the bar.  Many in the room were concerned about the sale.  I would not of classified the atmosphere as hostile, but this is the group is some of your biggest and loyal customers.  Many people ask these people for their opinion on beer.  Goose Island had a chance for a major PR victory here.  Instead they blew it off.