Okay, so vent-post time…

Wait! Don’t drive angry!

Err, that’s not quite it…

Don’t post angry!

That’s it, that’s the rule…but screw it, I’ll post however I want, thank you very much.

I’ve hinted before that I’m …err… “involved” in the craft-beer industry. “Involved” is glossing over quite a bit, but…well…let’s just say that I am an actual expert in taprooms and small batch breweries and leave it there.

Now, from time to time, I like to check out new breweries in my personal neck of the woods. I should probably add that where I live is often(ish) referred to as the “Napa Valley of beer”. Northern Colorado has a lot going for it in our hiking and camping and rafting and fishing, but it has even more in our local craft breweries. Places like Avery and O’Dells and Horse & Dragon and WeldWerks would be worth visiting even if we didn’t have the damned Rockies right outside the door…

Checking out new breweries is, for me, a whole lot like opening a book from an author I’ve never read: it’s all about potential and excitement. Unfortunately — again, like new authors — it can be pretty damned hard to live up to my (increasingly) high expectations. In the brewing world, it’s most often the beer that fails. It is just too easy to screw up beer, to be honest; off-flavors from poor recipes, or poor technique, or poor hygiene/sanitation… There is a lot that can go wrong in the brewing process, and most new breweries manage to find each and every one of those potential problems.

But that’s okay. That’s understandable, even.

It takes a while to transition from smaller batch brewing — especially from home brewing — to larger commercial systems. I can honestly forgive brewing problems if they are corrected by the time I make a second visit. What I can’t forgive, however, is stupidity. What I can’t forgive are poor taprooms. And what I can forgive even less than those two unforgivable sins is a poor customer experience.

Sadly, I hit the freaking trifecta today: bad beer at one place, a bad taproom at another, and a shitty customer experience at a third.

Goddammit, all I wanted was some time and space — and a couple of beers — to sit and write for a few hours! Instead, all I got was disappointment…and anger. Two of these three problems happened at places that should know better, at places that have been in business for years. That they are still suffering these business/craft-brew sins drives me absolutely insane.

Err, kinda like writing, actually…

Certain sins and faults can be forgiven in someone’s early works…but those problems better damned well be fixed by the next story. On the other hand, those same faults from writers who should know better really ARE unforgivable…and they damned well should result in failure.

Just like a brewery with a bad taproom, just like a brewery that cannot give a good customer experience, a writer that cannot manage to handle the depth of character and plot needed to write a truly compelling story is going to run out of grace and success pretty stinking quickly.

Just like I can forgive tastes of corn and butterscotch from a new brewer — as long as (s)he doesn’t repeat them — I can forgive shallowness and corner-cutting from a new writer…

But, if that brewer has been around for a few years…

But, if that writer has been around for a few stories…

Yeah, you better have your shit together, ‘cause all that tolerance and forgiveness goes away pretty damned fast.

(By the way, if you ever want a list of breweries to avoid, I’m your guy!)