Monday, March 28, 2011

Apologies Due

If you are looking for a post on beer reviews it has been replaced by this one.

I have been inundated with feedback from a lot of displeased beer fans and customers out there so I am here to apologize for comments said in a disparaging tone.

Let me start by saying I care about our customers and beer quality very much. Negative reviews wouldn't bother us if I didn't. I take criticism hard and that is the only reason I reacted. If you had a chance to read my other post you would see that I started by saying that I value peer reviews a lot. So I don't want people to think that I am getting down on folks expressing their opinions...because I exercise that right as well when I review places or products.

Also, I know that websites like RateBeer and BeerAdvocate are good for both the consumer and craft beer industry alike. What I meant to do was call attention to the ways those sites can be improved. So I will admit it could have been more constructive.

My harsh words were simply a reaction to a couple reviews that I thought were really unfair, and even though I should have just looked away...I decided to get involved.

My comments were not aimed at the general population of beer enthusiasts in spirit (even though it may have read like that). It just came out that way in frustration that was aimed at one reviewer (which is entitled to his/her opinion).

Many will still say that I am just back-tracking to save face, and that's fine, that's your opinion. But I really do care about our fans and customers, and don't want my knee-jerk comments to represent those of Mother Earth.  My apologies again. Hopefully I have the opportunity to make it up to you at the brewery or otherwise.

Signing off...

9 comments:

  1. You should consider actually apologizing for the statements you made. Most of the statements you made were ignorant, and some of the statements you made were factually wrong (your restaurant comparison is delusional). Your sense of entitlement is concerning and your non-apology apology is insulting.

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  2. No, vowing to boycott BA and Ratebeer and then turning around and posting this isn't back-tracking to save face whatsoever, nope, not at all.

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  3. You definitely hurt your business. You should probably sell now. You realize all those people on BA and RB are the same people most likely to buy your products. If you don't want your beer to be reviewed by non-brewers then sell it only to other brewers. Seriously? It's like you're saying "Please buy our beer but don't tell anyone what you think about it". And using ultimately the same name as another brewery that opened 2 years before you. I give you thumbs down.

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  4. How would you make it up to me at the brewery?

    I was supposed to go for the first time a couple weeks ago but something came up so I couldn't make it out. Going to try again Friday. The comments were definitely a bad idea from a pr stance but haven't we all written something or vented something and realized we weren't in the best state of mind to make said comments and wish it could be taken back?

    Come on y'all give the guy a break.

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  6. When a friend or family sticks their foot in their mouth, they get the benefit of the doubt.

    When a professional calls a big chunk of his clientele ignorant poser dumbasses unworthy of properly understanding his product, then he gets no benefit at all. There are hundreds of great breweries out there who haven't insulted me personally that I can drink instead.

    You wanna make it up? Brew up the best lineup you can, the beers you feel best represent you. Then, one Saturday for a couple of hours, personally invite BA and RB users to come on down. Make it an event. Maybe charge happy hour prices. Make a gesture of reconciliation, get out and ask the drinkers what they think, and if the consensus is one of your beers isn't great, then use the comments to try and improve it instead of turning into a whiny, pompous, thin-skinned elitist. Hell, a month or two later, maybe do the same thing, only with a revamped lineup that has instituted a few changes to the beers themselves.

    Good reviews aren't something you're entitled to, and bad ones can be an opportunity to improve your product. Those reviewers you see are your clientele, and all those peer-review circle jerks you seem to value are pretty much as far away from the people who actually buy your beer as it can get.

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  7. The fact that you removed the original post is beyond gutless. Those of us who know you were spot-on with your overall sentiment, and agree that BA and RB are a collective joke -- are weeping. Put it back up and be proud to say what you mean about your livelihood. Succumbing to "negative feedback" from basement dwellers and hardcore reviewers makes you look terrible in the eyes of real people with real lives. The people that follow BA like the gospel are the deafening MINORITY. They don't just drink beer, they use it like Wayne Campbell's backstage pass, stuffing it down your throat. They talk about beer like a condescending asshole would talk about traveling to Italy. They're better than you because they've been to Europe. They think they like Gueze when in fact they just buy it to talk about how rare and it is and how much it cost and take to frighteningly pretentious tastings. When someone asks them what a Gueze is, they get off on having to explain it.

    Anyone who defines themselves as a "beer geek" is what I like to call a "fucking asshole." "Beer-anything" is ridiculous. Can't we just be people who like to go out to eat and drink? Why can't people just know what style of beer they really enjoy, know a little about beer and perhaps it's history and not be so defined all the time? Oh that's right, we live in a world of 100%, 24/7 connectivity and information. It's a fucking SIN to not know something. People have this unrelenting fear of using the phrase "I don't know." To not know something or to be unaware, is social leprosy. You're an outcast if you haven't heard the latest blog headline or seen the most amazing Youtube video ever... which hit the internet 7 minutes ago. You can't just drink a beer and/or have a nice meal. You have to tweet it, take a picture of it and update your status. This generation, my generation... makes my skin crawl.

    By removing your original post, you've lost. You've lost to the whiners, the babies, the Youtube generation of know-it-all's. You've given in to people who camp out for iPhones and never listen to a word that other people have to say because they are consumed by their own ego. I'll say it again -- they are the minority. The reason that the anti-BA revolution is slow to start is because all the real people are out enjoying their lives carrying on real conversations with loved ones and drinking beer because they flat out like it. Not to get more beer karma on BeerAdvocate.

    Stand up, repost it, and light this fire.

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  8. To a real person,

    You obviously don't own or run a business. You definitely don't know how many members the forums have so don't call them a minority, because most of my friends use the sites for one reason or another and they are by now means calling themselves "beer anythings". Brand image can ne destroyed by lashing out against your potential market share so removing the post was a smart move and not gutless. Your entire rant was as uninformed as any random beer rater on either site. Your lack of assimilation to modern society does not make you a real person; it makes you a giant douche.

    Everyone just needs to chill out on both sides. Was it a good idea to post a blog publicly denouncing the opinions of people excited about craft brew? The answer her is no. I had heard nothing but good things about the people at mebc and honestly that post made me feel negatively towards a staff of a brewery I'd only ever had one beer from. Did I take up arms against them? No. Am I still going to eventually make it to the brewery? Yes. Am I going to go in there with an open mind to the beer and staff? Absolutely! This is what a mature adult does, so are the rb and ba kids who jumped down the mebc throats in the right? No. Are you in the right to slam a generation for being savvy and enthusiastic? No...

    Everyone is being a little ridiculous about this whole thing. Customer service is very important and after mebc realized they made a mistake by insulting clientele, they apologized. This should be the end of it. Apology excepted, now everyone get on with their "real lives" and stop bickering.

    Drink and be merry!

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  9. 50 Bucks says that 'A Real Person' is somehow connected to the original post. It is the same nonsensical personality. This person, along with the original poster, should seek professional help.

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