Crap Beer In Restaurants

[Bytowner]

I've been happy to see a couple small, but really good restaurants, here in Ottawa stocking good beer. For the most part their offerings are very limited, only because it still isn't fashionable to order beer at a fine dining restaurant. Nonetheless, when I see a Stewart's tap behind their bar I make sure to compliment the sommelier or chef/proprietor. You still get funny looks ordering a beer as an aperitif but once in awhile the people next to you will hear you chatting with the waiter about it and voila! A convert.

[lister]

I've genereally given up hope on there being better beer in restaurants. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised at there being something interesting to drink then disappointed when there isn't. The odd time there is a surprise like Fuller's London Pride being on tap at Hemispheres. Most chains are a waste of time trying to convince anyone there to upgrade the beer list.

What irritates me is when at high-end expensive restaurants like Bymark where the food and wine list have a great deal of thought, care and effort put into them but the beer list doesn't. I'm not expecting a Volo-like beer list but I expect a couple Ontario craft brews plus an excellent import. I like having a beer to start my meals (unless I'm in a cocktail mood) and then a glass or bottle of wine with the main course. It really puts me off when I want a beer and I have to settle for a Stella or have a cocktail instead.

[Ale's What Cures Ya]

It really puts me off when I want a beer and I have to settle for a Stella or have a cocktail instead.

And there's half the problem right there. Good beer drinkers settling for swill. Why would management of any restaurant make an attempt to make a better beer list when 8 times out of 10 a person looking for something better is going to settle for the crap they already have?

I've genereally given up hope on there being better beer in restaurants.

I've generally given up hope in the Canadian craft beer scene ever being more than above average.

[Rob Creighton]

Owners of chains with contracts need a path to try craft beer. They see their hands as tied by the $ given from the big brewers both in the form of 'marketing credits' and out-and-out kickbacks. We are something else to worry about.

BUT...there are a constant supply of disgruntled franchise owners who are willing to play a micro against the big guys to show them who's boss. I have taken to suggesting they have a rotating tap to always have something new coming in. Some have done it. Owners and managers know they are getting more and more requests for craft beer. They are slowly beginning to acknowledge it. Some of them drink our product all the time. What they don't want is negative jammed in their face. They want an idea that makes it look like it's their idea and saves face and will help spur sales (which is their only true concern). The push for a rotating tap can give you hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Belgian]

... What they don't want is negative jammed in their face. They want an idea that makes it look like it's their idea and saves face and will help spur sales (which is their only true concern)....

Canny observation Rob.

I bet that goes WAY farther than making them feel attacked pr snubbed - we have to remember that bar/resto owners are just people, and if WE want change, we have to 'be people just like them' first - and promoters of good beer, second.

Rhetorically, ask yourself friends when's the last time you asked a bar/resto person 'how's it going', sincerely, and actually converse for ten seconds before demanding things? Most of the time they get treated like robots so there's a chance YOU will stand out a bit in their day.

They probably take enough shit on one day that being decent to them really takes them aback, and if you yourself seem cool to them, maybe your "beer taste" will seem cool to them as well. Human nature to be biased this way.

Easy to forget all humans are just humans, and that asking for entirely different beers than they now serve is asking a big favor in a certain sense.

[icemachine]

I don't know if it is Chain wide but the Canyon Creek at Vaughan Mills has Creemore, Steamwhistle and Leffe Blonde on Tap. I've suggested to a couple servers and the bar manager they bring in some local OCB products, and have the guys at work asking for more than the standard swill now too.

[lister]

I don't know if it is Chain wide but the Canyon Creek at Vaughan Mills has Creemore, Steamwhistle and Leffe Blonde on Tap. I've suggested to a couple servers and the bar manager they bring in some local OCB products, and have the guys at work asking for more than the standard swill now too.

The Canyon Creek in downtown Toronto has those as well. I went there for lunch when an employee left the company. I had a Steamwhistle (don't care for Leffe.) The Jack Astor's, practically right next door, also has Steamwhistle.

They overcooked my pork chop, their signature dish, despite warning me it would be served pink which doesn't scare me much anymore due to my chef girlfriend.

[Uncle Bobby]

Just to add my two cents....

I always ask, too, even if I know the selection is going to be crap. The degree to which I demonstrate my unhappiness varies according to the circumstances. The higher a level of service a restaurant infers, the higher the standards I hold them to. If the server incants the wine list and the daily special, then a request for a fine beer is almost certain to throw them off stride. Since smoothness, competence and attentivenss are a big part of how they earn their tips, a good many of them resent being made to look dumb. No surprise. But gosh it's fun sometimes.

Frankly I don't even care which quality beer they offer me, so long as there is an option.

But I have made this my personal campaign.

[Belgian]

Since smoothness, competence and attentivenss are a big part of how they earn their tips, a good many of them resent being made to look dumb.

Resent? Clever servers know better than to resent anybody. If they want any kind of tip they should never act like sulky children.

[Duffey]

The last time I was at The Keg, which was recently but the first time in a couple of years, the conversation went like this......

him - hi, my name is Waiter. Can I get you guys something to drink?
me - do you have a beer list?
him - no, sorry. What were you looking for?
me - a dark ale, or a porter or stout if you have any.
him - no, sorry.
me - do you have any pale ales?
him - yep we have Keith's.
me - oh, well that's not actually a pale ale. Do you have any beers made in Ontario?
him (confused look) - just give me one second (goes off to ask somebody)
him - yes, we have Creemore on tap.
me - .........sure.

At least he made an effort. Later I noticed a card on the table proclaiming "Draught Heineken now available." Yippee!

[shintriad]

Personally, I don't understand the popularity of this Keg place. I always thought it was a slightly more upscale version of a family restaurant, and any "class" it purports to have is dampened by the fact that it's usually embedded in corporate office blocks and strip malls.

There's a relatively new one downtown and it's constantly besieged by rabid wine-guzzling suits. You can't even get a table on a Friday night. What's the big deal, seriously? To me it holds as much appeal as The Organ Grinder.

I wouldn't expect them to have anything better than the most basic beers. Or maybe root beer in an oversized, frosted glass. That's right, I just compared The Keg to A&W.

[SteelbackGuy]

That's right, I just compared The Keg to A&W.

......and rightfully so. That place is one of the dining world's biggest scams.
Last time I was in there (which will be the last) I ordered a steak with all sorts of crushed nuts on it, along with some sort of interesting sauce. It was the size of a small medallion, cost $20.99, and came with a potato.....no veggies. The veggies were an extra $4.00. For $20.99 I can go to several places in London that are actually "Fine Dining" and get something way more creative and better value. Plus, the few I go to do serve craft beer.

[Fuggles]

Perhaps someone should put together a Pub/restaurant guide for beer drinkers in ontario.

[KwaiLo]

Perhaps someone should put together a Pub/restaurant guide for beer drinkers in ontario.

http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowTours.asp

Add any place you go, assuming that;

IMPORTANT: Please add only places that:
1) Do not already exist in our database;
2) Serve craft beer; and
3) Represent a region's highest quality beer establishments.

[ctalbot]

Personally, I don't understand the popularity of this Keg place. I always thought it was a slightly more upscale version of a family restaurant, and any "class" it purports to have is dampened by the fact that it's usually embedded in corporate office blocks and strip malls.

Oh, good, I'm not the only one. My girlfriend and her parents love The Keg, and I think the quality of food for price is ridiculous. It's about on par with Kelsey's quality, but for a higher price. There are far better restaurants -- even out here in the suburbs east of Toronto -- for the price.

I wish restaurants would put some more thought into their beer selection, but I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of people would still order Coors Light or Keith's even if they had the choice to order something else.

Chris