The Bar Towel

Okay the title is misleading but it got you here right?

So there is some weird stuff going down on the Sarah's board in the bar review page and I was wondering if some people had time to discuss it.

I'm new here on this Bar Towel scene and I'll give you my first impressions.

There are beer nerds here so big that the only reason they are here is to correct spelling and sentence structure of peoples posts. They try to intimidate or flex some sort of power because, money down, they do not have that power in their day to day life. (Oh and they collectively share the sense of humour of a dried parsnip).

Then there are people who realize that this is what it is. An open ended discussion forum. Personally I'm here to learn from those who are willing to share without judgement. So I don't own a bar or work in the industry, but gosh darn it people, isn't that the point? To share the love of beer? To anyone no matter there shape, size, colour or williness to drink a Malt liqour beer out of a can in a alley?

Also I have el sneaky suspicione, that there are a bunch of industry people who just look at posts to see what's going down and don't feel the need to be part of this community unless it comes to a gain for them.

But, this is what spooks the Bowelerino, that people take this site seriously, even moreso than real life.

Look I don't know a single one of you, what you post here could be not true, and your personalty could be completely different. That is the Internet. I'm actually a 45 year old School nurse with a black belt in Kwai Kan.

So, keep up the freedom of expression, try and support and respect all. Even if you have a different opinion (Which is the real beauty), I think we should'nt fight as we are all here in a common goal, which is to support good beer.

Let the rest slide and save it for therapy.

Chin Chin (Withnail and I is great!)

Hey Tar Bowel:

Glad you started this discussion, and the thread title is not inappropriate. I'm not sure to whom you refer in the post, but hopefully it's not me. I'm a teacher and I get to make up for my feeling of inadequacy and lack of real power in the classroom.

Seriously, what I objected to in the previous thread was Bailey's tone. There are civil and diplomatic ways to deal with these situations. Also, I felt Bailey was disrespectful to Cass and completely out of line in his comments to Asim. That's all I'll say on this issue.

But, as for the industry folk who are online, of course they are here to hawk their wares and protect their reputation. That goes without saying. And, yes sometimes they can be thin-skinned. However, we must remember that they are trying to earn a living, and certain criticisms and complaints could seriously hurt their business. Now, I'm not suggesting that we should keep our mouths shut and not be honest and truthful, just that we ought to respectful and helpful. Flies and sugar come to mind.

Let's consider a hypothetical example. A bar is serving flat and stale beer. Now, assuming they want to do things correctly, would it be better to privately contact the manager and the brewer and try to have the problem fixed that way? If they respect you as a knowledgeable beer aficionado, they will listen to you. Oughtn't we try to help these places. I had a couple of flat pints of what usually is a fantastic beer recently. I quietly contacted the brewer, and he explained what he thought was going on, and the situation seems to have been fixed. My intent, though, was not to complain or raise holy hell, but give the brewer feedback. And, I'm sure all of the industry folk would appreciate honest, straightforward, informed, respectful feedback.

Because of the industry participation on this site, we know about what is going on beerwise in this city almost before anyone else. Thin-skinned or not, if we lose that participation we will lose out. Personally, I don't have the opportunity to visit many of the fine beer establishments in Toronto that often. But because of this site, I walk in to many places and feel like a regular. Because of this site, I know how and where to buy many beers I can't regularly find in Ontario. Because of this site I know beer reps, bar owners, and brewers. I don't want to lose that. Scaring off one brewer or bar owner might not make a lot of difference. But brewers talk to each other, and bar owners network. The word could easily get around that this isn't a hospitable place to be.

Joe.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jcappadocia on 2003-02-12 20:51 ]</font>

Well put, Joe. It's especially nice to get the "insider" info that we're sometimes privy to.

Tar Bowel, I resent your comment about the dry parsnip. A wet one, maybe, but a dry parsnip really pushed it too far. Parsnips, blecch!

Andrew