Written by By Lee Salawitch
Visiting a brewery is a great way to learn about what goes into your favorite beverage, and not just the ingredients. Many brewery tours are conducted by people directly involved in the beer’s production, perhaps a brewery owner or head brewer, and these folks can provide great insight into the history, corporate culture, and passion that comprise the finished product.
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Having visited dozens and dozens of breweries in various states and even a few in foreign countries, I still learn something new on every tour. So, I offer some helpful brewery tour “do’s and don’ts” for The Brew Club! Feel free to add your own suggestions for a great brewery tour in the comments!
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Do call ahead or check the brewery webpage for tour times/dates and for reservations.
Do be courteous and cancel your reservation if your plans change.
Don’t be surprised if tours are unavailable or if there is a wait on weekends, especially on holiday weekends. Brewery tours are very popular!
Do be polite and refrain from conversation when the representative is talking. The production floor is not a gallery, space can be tight, and there may be machinery noise in the background.
Do respect the fact that the person next to you may find the tour utterly captivating. Don’t admit it if you don’t. While each brewery tour is different, the same basic information is conveyed. Wort and mash tuns can be fascinating to some of us and not so to others!
Do realize that the person speaking may not be an actual tour guide. Public speaking may not be his or her forte’. Making beer, however, probably is!
Do ask intelligent questions. The person conducting the tour may love beer as much as you do, perhaps even more, and may wish to add individual experience and share knowledge gained via time spent in the industry. Staff members conducting tours at craft breweries often add very personal touches.
Do ask before taking photographs, especially if employees are present.
Do wear closed-toe shoes, do expect to find water on the floor, and do expect to walk and climb stairs.
Do expect temperature variances and dress accordingly.
If the tour allows children, Don’t bring children unless they are well behaved and able to stand patiently and listen for 30-45 minutes.
Do check if soda is produced and/or offered for kids and non-drinkers/designated drivers. (I’d take the Sprechers Brewery tour again just for their great root beer! Okay, for that and also for the Black Bavarian.) There’s nothing worse for a child than watching other people enjoy something the child is denied without he or she receiving a comparable age-appropriate product.
Do tour local breweries. Beer is produced in hundreds of cities across the country, not just in Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Golden, Colorado.
Do consider beer tourism. I haven’t visited St. Louis or Golden (or Denver, Fort Collins, Asheville, and numerous other beer cities) yet, but *will* include a brewery tour or tours when traveling there.
Do respect the sampling policy.
Don’t treat the sampling room like an open bar at your best friend’s wedding.
Do purchase the beers you enjoy. Some breweries have retail outlets offering fresh beer by the bottle, case, or growler.
Do enjoy a meal or snack while there. In order to sell beer to the public, some states require breweries to include dining rooms. Many chefs use local ingredients and even beer in their recipes.
Don’t steal the glasses if they are not included in the tour price! Some breweries have gift shops (as well as the above mentioned retail outlets).
Most importantly: Do enjoy the tour responsibly and Don’t drive impaired.
What about you? Would you add anything to our Brewery Tour “do’s and don’ts” list based on your experiences?
Great tips Lee! Visiting the brewery can be fun and educational, but tips like yours can only improve things. I hope other people submit their suggestions too!
Don’t act like you know everything about brewing while you are on a tour. Some people might be just getting into craft beer and acting high and mighty is not a way to represent our community.
@Nate- YES! As they say, don’t be a douche. Great tip!
If you ever come to St. Louis, please let me know. We have a very vibrant craft beer scene with 3 new breweries opening in the next few months.
@Mike – Thanks for the invite!
Hi Lee! Great article. I just featured it on my new blog about brewery tours, The Brewery Tourist. Keep up the good work!
@Matt – In case Lee doesn’t check in, I’d like to sat thanks for the comment and thanks for the mention on your site!
Cheers!
Excellent advice for beer tour novices as well as experts; actually this info is applicable on vertually all tours in general.
@jeff – nice to see you here! Good point, a lot of what Lee mentions makes good sense for any tour really.
This is all great advice. I have driven from Oregon to Florida over the past 7 months, and have toured half a dozen breweries and visited over a dozen more. I am mapping out sites to hit on the way back. We visited Sprechers in Milwaukee and I think our boys had more soda in that one visit then they have had for the rest of the entire trip!
I am still looking for advice on how to act when the beer is bad. I have hit a lot of great breweries on the trip but I have hit a few really mediocre ones as well. I smile and say I like it but my poker face needs a little work.
@John – that’s great! I hope you’re posting about your brewery tours on your travel blog! Beer can be like art, and the beauty can be on the tongue of the beholder so-to-speak. I guess take it in stride, and remember they all can’t be winners!
“Beer can be like art”
You are so right. But some art works are masterpieces, some are like your kids’ drawing taped to the refrigerator door (not particularly good, but close to the heart), and some are the equivalent of paintings of second-rate landscapes and clowns with sad eyes.
All of my beer posts are segregated onto http://www.afamilyfarafield.com/blog-main/traveling-growler/ .
Sweet! Looking forward to reading some of them soon!
John, looking forward to reading your posts! When a beer is less than desirable, I’ll comment “that’s interesting” and make mental note not to purchase that type or brand. As Scott said, they can’t all be winners.
“That’s interesting” is a polite way of doing it. But remember, sometimes it takes a few tries. It took me years to appreciate IPA’s and imperial stout. Now I love ‘em!