The Unwritten Rules of Brewery Hopping

As the world opens up, many brewery taprooms return to offering a full immersive beer experience. Here are the unwritten rules of visiting taprooms and how you can be the best beer tourist, even if you’re a local.

Visiting and Ordering Etiquette

DO: Trust your beertender. Their job is to truly know the beer. Ask questions and actively listen. The more information you share about your tastes, the more likely they can guide you towards beers you like. If you’re not familiar with ways to describe certain hops or styles, use general flavor descriptions. For example, say “I don’t like bitter, but I like sour things” or “I like lighter flavors.” Beertenders would rather give you a sample than have you buy a beer that you return because you don’t like it.
Spend time doing a little research. If you’re heading to a new brewery, check their website for the tap list or photos. In areas where there are multiple breweries, you’d be surprised how often someone orders a beer produced by another brewery. Also, if you’re traveling with a dog or child, make sure the establishment is kid- or dog-friendly.
Share. If you’re visiting from another state, country or region, it’s always a nice gesture to bring a bottle from your local brewery to share with the staff.
DON’T: Ask for a ton of samples if the brewery offers flights. If you like a variety of flavors and are open-minded, order a flight and take 2-4 oz. of different beers. If you don’t like one or another, it’s not the end of the world. It’s like visiting an ice cream place, tasting 12 flavors and then ordering a small scoop. It’s just impolite.
Make assumptions. If you’re not a beer geek or Cicerone (beer sommelier), don’t make assumptions based on the name or style of a beer. The point of visiting breweries is to learn and try new things. If you don’t like dark beers, say “I generally don’t like dark beers because …” and see if the beertender might lead you towards something you do like. Color or style names can be deceiving. A black lager might be a lot lighter and easy drinking than an Imperial Blonde Ale.

Enjoying the Space

DO: Be a good patron. Yes, you’re the customer, but you’re also a guest and usually not the only visitor enjoying the brewery. Don’t take up two or three tables if you only have a few folks with you. If it’s not a full-service brewery or if they’re busy, it’s nice to bus your table. Most of the time people are also there to enjoy the beer and company so feel free to chat with other beer folks and make recommendations.
DON’T: Take over. Don’t let your kids run free-range and take over the cornhole boards unaccompanied. Make sure your pets and children are well behaved and looked after. If you’re visiting a quiet brewery, it’s not cool to talk loudly on speaker phone or watch videos on your phone without earbuds.

On Your Way Out

DO: Grab some stuff to go. One of the best parts of visiting breweries is taking beer, merch or memories with you. If you’re filling a growler with fresh beer,  bring a clean growler. Beertenders don’t love cleaning out stale beer from an old growler. Remember to tip for growlers, too. They need to sanitize, properly fill and seal the beer, which is very labor intensive, so tip the usual 15-20 percent.
Leave a review. If you’ve had a good overall experience, leave a positive review on Facebook, Tripadvisor, Yelp or Google. These go a long way to help a small brewery’s reputation. If you’ve had a less than good experience, speak with a manager or owner at that moment rather than leaving a horrible review afterward. It’s also your right to share your beer experience on Untappd or other beer rating websites, but be unbiased in your critiques and reasonable based on your preferences. If you hate hazy IPAs, and then give one a rating of 1 out of 5 because you don’t like the beer style, it’s not fair to the brewery.
DON’T: Be “that guy.” You’d be surprised how often people make the wrong choice at a brewery. When you buy a six-pack or growler to go, do not open it in the establishment, beer garden or parking lot. It’s horrible behavior to open packaged beer unless it’s sold as bottled for on-premise consumption, in the case of some bottle-conditioned or vintage items. You’ll likely have your beer taken or be asked to leave. It’s also not cool to steal branded glassware. Breweries usually sell their glassware as a souvenir. Stealing glassware is still theft and hurts the brewery.

Over the past year, many have grown accustomed to living in our bubbles, but as we venture out into the world, let’s relearn how to act in public. Breweries are some of the most enjoyable places to visit, giving beer fans an opportunity to enjoy the liquid and the ambiance. Thousands of breweries around the U.S. have become neighborhood cornerstones where friends and families gather. We could all use a beer and some good company!