About twice a month I walk a mile long pilgrimage to Ladyface Ale Company. This is an “Alehouse & Brasserie’ that serves up some amazing craft beer and local sourced food that is up to par. Ladyface, as it is known by most locals, is a perfect example of how to serve up craft beer and how to do it right, which is hard to do. I spent a short time as a craft beer manager and found out first hand how difficult it is to create something special. Here are some of my observations of how places get it right. (Note: I will use Ladyface as a reference as they set a great example and have been my steady go-to for the past few months. I am sure you can fill in the blanks with many other places as well.)
First off, the servers. One of the most frustrating situations I find at restaurants is an ill prepared server who is unable to make reliable recommendations on the beers they serve, if they serve anything worth recommending. This is not the case at Ladyface. Each one is a Certified Beer Server through the Cicerone program. This is a certification that tests on beer history, style tasting notes, beer brewing, proper glassware and storage techniques. (If you are at all into craft beer, it is worth trying to achieve.) With an entire staff so well equipped, it really helps bring a level of professionalism that is hard to find in many craft beer spots.
I also love when a place incorporates their brewery into their design. A brewery on site not only helps to make sure that the beer being served is fresh and that proper serving and storing techniques are being applies. I think one of the best examples is Rock Bottom Brewery. All the fermenters are viewable from the street and in the restaurant. This lends towards an atmosphere that makes people naturally curious about brewing and the craft beer culture.
Another detail that I feel really pushes a good place to become a great place is their involvement in the craft beer community. The opportunities and events they to put on to embrace and educate their patrons help to promote and unify the craft beer community. Whether it be putting on a Beer 101 class, offering brewery tours or hosting local craft beer meet ups, these are all events that bring about loyalty and enthusiasm to an establishment. I have been to several “Meet the Brewer” nights and each time has been a memorable experience, filled with beer geek talk and a general exchange of craft beer camaraderie.
And last but by far not the least of these is the BEER! The beer and the choices a place offers are the reasons you go in the first place. There are places, like Naja’s or The Yard House, that have near endless line ups of tap handles, making you feel as if you stepped into some byzantine beer labyrinth. Ordering off of their menus can be a bit daunting and even intimidating. I always tell people, when they have a question about what to order, who better than the bar keep? I almost always take at least one recommendation from them, (this usually works out well) and one beer that has been in the back of my mind. Other places like Beachwood BBQ or Ladyface offer a select and hand chosen few. While having a limitless choice of taps is always temping, I have come to find I prefer a place that has some type of running theme. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to sit down and look at a long line of random artistic taps waiting to be pulled, but there is something comforting about knowing your choices have been coordinated with some congruency.
When a place does it right, it can help make a beer or an occasion all the better. So, what makes your favorite pub/bar/watering hole your favorite?