Ever left a restaurant after looking at the beer menu?

[donburke]

i think you need to consider whether you are gong out to drink beer or experience fine dining

every place i've been to that focuses solely on the beer has compromised the food

most, if not all, fine restaurants i have had the pleasure of dining in have had some decent beer on the menu

 

[barls]

have sent beer back and told them im not paying the imported price for the local stuff.
never left though

 

[Yob]

I have the other problem… they never let me in the door to start with

 

[Nick JD]

I don't go to restaurants for beer.

 

[waggastew]

Been to many a work dinner/function/smooze-fest and watched people (who are not paying) down loads of $7-9 Corona's.......

Makes me sad for a bit but then I cheer up when I realise that if all of these people started drinking hoppy craft brew then my next bag of Simcoe would be $40/100g.

Shhhhh, let the toolz drink ***** beer.

PS. The best restaurant in my local area (Fusion 7 in Port Mac NSW) serves the best craft brew (Wicked Elf Dubbel) in the area. Lucky me!

 

[Cocko]

I have the other problem… they never let me in the door to start with

I have the same issue mate...

Although, I do tend to turn my pockets inside out and make elephant noises whenever I am in public...

h34r:

 

[Yob]

It's the metho and oj that does it.. Not to mention the trench coat and gumboots

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

If places don't have VB New or Carlton Draft I ban them for life

 

[bradsbrew]

I have the same issue mate...

Although, I do tend to turn my pockets inside out and make elephant noises whenever I am in public...

h34r:

Always wondered what the sign at your local was about;

After 6.00pm​

​

No Thongs​

No singlets​

No short trunked elephant impressions​

​

Cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I have avoided a place when I've looked at their menu & seen rubbish or no menu for beer at all.

If I'm paying for food, they need good beer& kids menu. Its not worth going out otherwise.

In Brisbane, it was bittersuite - they doted on my kids & served me good beer n food.

Took others there at different times, so it was worth it for them to be in that niche.

Some places don't choose that path & I respect that. My path leads me to choose a place that suits me & what I want to pay for. There's enough room in this world for all sorts.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

There's such a growing market for a Ciccerone or similar to go into these resteraunts and help them realise how they could match beer in the same way. More and more customers will go for it - owners just need to be receptive/inventive.

 

[angus_grant]

As an omni-drinker myself (wine, beer, spirits), I'm always blown away that restaurants have a 10 page tiny font booklet of wine choices when 90% of people couldn't pick a Shiraz from a Cabernet, let alone two Shiraz from two different vineyards, so why do they need to offer 20 bottles per variety?

Then you get to the beer and it's Australian lager, Australian lager, Australian lager, Australian lager, maybe some kind of foreign lager that's basically the same, maybe a Coopers pale ale. ******* Corona, probably.

Seems to me like there is a much greater variety of beer than there is variety of wine. Even the snobbiest wine drinker has to admit that on a basic level red is red, white is white, and while there are of course major differences between varieties of wine it's nothing like beer where there are dozens of completely unique, independent styles.

A term I always use is "I am beer-nivorous", a hopefully obvious play on words on omnivorous. I am fairly happy to drink any beer. If I go to the rugby then I know the guys I always go with will drink Carlton mid. If I go to a normal Aus pub then hopefully Coopers Pale is on tap, if I go to Scratch or Superwhatnot then something freaky better be on tap, etc. I always adjust my expectations to the place I am going to.

With the rugby and normal pubs, aprt of the experience for me is drinking Carlton or Coopers cause it is the tradition. I drank a crap-load of Heineken during the world cup and still do now when there is a international test on because it is the tradition. I enjoy drinking any sort of beer a long as it suits my mood.

So to finally answer the question, no I have never walked out of any place due to the beer list.

 

[Pickaxe]

As someone mentioned earlier, most wine drinkers wouldnt ******* know what their drinking and have a cursory knowledge they gleaned from Better Homes & Gardens. Some places over compensate to this, and dont need to. But its part of the snobbery and ******** the AUS & NZ wine industries have successfully pushed to build their industries. I dont know how many people that come to my pub that order "South Island" Sauv Blanc and huff like its superior to any other - it's not. Its a blend of ****** Marlborough wine for $6. Its people buying into spin. Its a rare restaurant with an outstanding wine list, and a (what do they call those wine expert buggers) to do it.

Talking to many chefs and restaurant owners I know, they don't stock craft beer because the big breweries give them massive discounts they can make money on and survive (1 out of 5 cases free), (My mate was telling me, his biggest seller in a fine dining Noosa restaurant was Crown Lager. ******* crown lager! I reckon his diners had more money than sense!), craft beers are expensive and they would have to charge too much so people would either complain or just avoid them, and people generally just dont drink it. People are safe - they go with what they know. Enter Marlborough Sauv Blanc - the safest white wine on the market right now - it could taste like cat piss battery acid, people would rave about its taste!

If you're looking for craft beer and food together - I find really only good bars known as bars first, ie. primarily for drinking that do food, are the places to go. Its more often food first with restaurants, drink as accompaniment - esp. to people that run restaurants. Booze subsidises the food side of the business. The only businesses that would satisfy an adventurous beer drinker would be a bar first, food as accompaniment - food subsidises booze. Bar and Grill places seem to be the go for me. I'd say the same to someone looking to try good wines with a meal. Go somewhere that focuses on wine first ie a Bar or a winery. There's a brilliant wine bar in the Sydney off George street that is all about wine, and the food is tailored to your wine choice, not the other way around. Brilliant, expensive.

Craft beer and fine dining - it's just not going to happen that often. If it does, share please the experience here.

The other option is dining at BYO restaurants. Bam! - there's the beer list you wanted.



And I agree with waggastew - +1 let the *******s have their cat piss, and leave our hop prices at a decent level! HAHA, classic mate.

 

[Truman42]

i think you need to consider whether you are gong out to drink beer or experience fine dining

every place i've been to that focuses solely on the beer has compromised the food

most, if not all, fine restaurants i have had the pleasure of dining in have had some decent beer on the menu

Im going out to do both.
Nothing wrong with wanting to have a nice meal and enjoy a decent beer at the same time. Its my money and thats how I wish to spend it.
I dont expect a huge range of craft beers but even just one or two choices. Im sure if these restaurants were to stock just a carton or two of craft beer they wouldn't lose out. Quite often we wont go to a restaurant if we know before hand there beer menu is ****, so theyve lost our $150 for the night.

On the weekend I took the missus camping to Port Albert, a tiny little one pub town. They had a restaurant on the jetty there and we looked at the menu on the wall. LCPA and JSGA. Now while they're not what some of you might class as great craft beer, its certainly good enough for me. We had a great meal and enjoyed a few LCPA's with it.

I just think some of these places need to get with the times. Gone are the days where everyone drank megaswill and the beer yuppies drank Corona. Craft beer sales are growing for a reason every year and they need to accomodate the growing craft beer fans at these establishments.

 

[Screwtop]

Been a long time since I weighed in on one of these threads, my opinion is well documented but here goes.

Most restaurants have pretty crappy wine lists. Honestly, they are mostly mainstream wines, similar to their beer list! But! there is always greater choice in wine than beer, I call 'not fair'

However if I prefer a restaurant due to location/position/ambiance/service/food, then I will ask for a better beer selection, suggest a few, then decline either beer or wine and ask for tap water.

Missing out on av$40 spend on alcohol on each visit usually results in change. If not then we will wait, we have wine storage and plenty of beer at home. Restaurants are businesses and will stock what turns over most. We need beer loving restaurant owners/chefs.

Luckily here in Gympie we have a Restaurant located in a beautiful old Queensland Homestead on a golf course. The Chef loves good beer and features craft breweries on tap and in bottles. The food is fantastic, great wine and beers, and dining on the verandah overlooking the river and golf course is pretty tough.

Screwy

 

[jaypes]

I have never left but I always look at the beer menu first before the food menu.

On another experience I usually find the more "non standard" beers are usually sold out or old old old stock. Sometimes I ring ahead to see what they have got on hand

I have come to the conclusion that if you want good craft beer you either:

• Make it yourself and bring it along (if possible)
• Bring some from DM (if possible)
• Eat at Craft Beer Pubs (a few great ones in Sydney) - this one being my preference

I dont go out that much as I have 3 little ones, when I do go out I like to be not dissapointed

 

[treefiddy]

I've never thought to do that before.
Can you take HB into most BYO places?

I have come to the conclusion that if you want good craft beer you either:

• Make it yourself and bring it along (if possible)

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

Can you take HB into most BYO places?

I take it to BYO places all the time. Bottles are OK, they might be challenged if you turn up with a keg

 

[Truman42]

I've never thought to do that before.
Can you take HB into most BYO places?

Ive taken HB to BYO Thai restaurants before with labels on the bottles. I had someone on another table ask me where I brought it from and what was it.

 

[pk.sax]

I have a double problem, if you can call it that...
I don't eat meat, or seafood. So I'd have a look at a menu to see what sort of dishes they serve. Doesn't necessarily have to be vege but if it is a decent menu showing the chef has some skill making food I'd take a chance if I'm going with someone and ask the chef to surprise me even.
Generally, at places like the above, I've found they are also good with their beer or at least cocktail offering. Talking with friends in hospitality - bar staff - seems like restaurants and bars with good/creative chefs tend to appreciate good beers. I'd rather give them my business any day over the overpriced snobbish, we can't handle anything more than 6 items on our menu that use 2 types of meat in total... Stupid ********. And I blame the Gordon Ramsay types for making that such a ******* mess, everyone that used to have good menus seems to be trimming them down so they can hire dumber cooks and get away with fewer chefs.
Even at an Indian place (being intimately familiar with that food ), I'd walk away if I don't see anything but the most basic dishes on the menu. Shows complete lack of either skill or confidence. And no, mixed vegetables tossed in korma is not special... Maybe spicy eggplant or okra...