Don't Give Me That Crap!

I drank the worst beer I've ever tasted a couple of weeks ago. This is by no means an exaggeration or some sort of dick waving spiel, it was literally the worst beer I've ever had. I poured it down the drain after two mouthfuls, something I've never, ever done! (probably because I'm a Yorkshireman....)

If you're a newish brewery and you're trying to stand out, here's a really good idea/piece of advice: If one of your team comes up and says "why don't we make a beer and put A,B,C, X,Y,Z in it and then age it on some wood we found.." tell them politely, but firmly, NO. Especially if you don't have a single ounce of experience in the field said team mate suggested.

Spend some time learning how to make good beer first before you start churning out a conveyor belt of multi-ingredient garbage.

I shall not name the brewery or the beer..

Just don't give me that crap.

A similar experience was had last week which got my head in my hands again. We had just received a nice big delivery of beer upon which was a case of highly sought after and well known beer. We put it out and sold a few, job's a good-un... Two days later we got an email from the brewery.

The long and short of it was, the beer was not ready for sale. It needed few more weeks before it was ready. This was fine, at least they told us. But they also said in regards to if we should send it back or not, no, we should just keep the beer to ourselves.

Keep it till when? Keep it where? In our mass of extra cellar space?
I sent it back. If it's not ready for sale, I don't want it. That's not how you run a business.

I shall not name the brewery or the beer...

Just don't send me that crap.

Amongst the gloom there's always the good that shines through though. We got a case of beer in that was covered in a slight mold last week. Apparently the whole pallet was in a similar condition and rather unfit for sale. We called up the brewery and they said they'd get back to us.

They got back to us very shortly saying they'd used a wrong detergent in their cleaning process. They were very apologetic about the whole thing and sent someone to pick up and replace the whole lot. The whole matter was cleared up and managed very quickly, efficiently and professionally.

That's someone that cares about their product, and wants a successful business.

The brewery was Vocation and the beer was Heart & Soul.

Pretty fitting name if you ask me.