Monday, December 31, 2007

Brewers Nightmare

Bruce LeBlanc stopped in this morning. Bruce reviews beers for the Up Next supplement for the St. Cloud Times. Bruce is also president of the Cloudy Town Brewers home brew club and all around great guy. Anyhoo...Bruce informed me he had stopped in Friday night to try the three brews we have on. He confessed something strange was going on with the beer. He didn't go back for seconds on any of them. Bruce has always been very kind with my beers, so I'm like oh crap! Whats going on?! We went to the downstairs bar and I let Bruce sample all the beers again in a glass that I had washed and he was impressed! "These do not taste like the beers I had Friday night". The culpret? Too high a concentration of cleaner in the glass washers-aarrgh! Now, I sample everything I put on tap many times (tough job eh?), but I apparently did not use the glassware that was served Friday-geez who knows how long it was used-egads. Anyway, we are on top of the situation and it is being resolved with the glass washer company. It just kills me when things like this happen, but they are a reality in the brew pub world. I really feel for brewers who have to ship out their beer and lose all control of it. I'm not sure if this situation had anything to do with the person who commented in the last post or if it is just a matter of different tastes, but I do hope they come back and give us another chance. I care a great deal for my product and I want to make sure that folks are enjoying it. Hopefully this will become just a bump in the road to a great future for our little local brewery.

14 comments:

ifp4life said...

if that soap/cleaner gave the beer a weird sweet taste/aftertaste, then that was deffinitely it. i am 99% it wasn't a to each their own thing cause we tried giving away to many and once they tried it they declined. i am more than happy to give it another shot, i just wish i didn't buy a pitcher of each right off the bat. i have always been a fan of your brews and look forward to making many more fuzzy memories @ McCann's drinking your brews.

Unknown said...

I can't wait for the IPA and the Porter. I will line up the whole group and give you all a review.

Evicted said...

Time to start that war all over again, eh Chris? Those poor sanitation companies have to make thier money by setting those machines to "season the beer with sanitizer". Maye that should be the next thing you study...how to set those dishwashers to the way YOU want them.

brewboy said...

ifp4life: Not sure if it would really give it a sweet taste. It just might not be the beer for you. I have had many good comments on the beer and I am certainly happy with it. Batch two has been tweaked a wee bit and is a little less sweet. Remember, these are the very first batches and there may be some adjustments.
Your right anthony, they are in the business to sell chemicals. There are FDA rules on PH so we are seeking a solution. Glasses were odor free today.

Jen said...

I got to try the amber at Bruce's last night... I liked it.

brewboy said...

Thanks Jen!

Patrick Sundberg said...

I'll be heading over there tonight for the CTB meeting. Or, at least I hope that's where it is this month...
Excited to try out the new brews!

brewboy said...

Patrick,
I believe it's at Minco. Computers. But heck, stop by anyway. We are close by. I'll be doing staff training at 9pm and wouldn't mind having a pint or two after I'm done.

Patrick Sundberg said...

I'll do that. It might end up being a late night by the time I get back to Baxter!

I was going to stop by Minco after work anyway. I never turn down the opportunity to kill some time at the LHBS, even if "local" means 60 miles away.

Jen said...

I smell a field trip brewing. :)

Patrick Sundberg said...

Absolutely!

brewboy said...

Oh yeah!

ZAP said...

I have noticed this problem at other places. I wonder if Old Chicago in St. Cloud has the same sanitizer agent? That is one place I have noticed it.

It's great to see someone on top of things. I'll be in Sartell for a basketball game on Saturday and will make a swing over for a growler or two...does anyone know how much growlers are running?

brewboy said...

$13 for growler and first fill/$9 for refills.