Ryan L.
Yelp
I feel extremely safe in saying the owner is lazy at managing the Pomona location, and rather than admit a simply mistake/mis-management, they doubled down into an obvious lie.
Here is the story.
On 8/12 at 6:20 (instagram, inspect element) they posted a certain saison was on tap at both locations. I got to the Pomona at 7:35ish. When I walked in, I did not see the saison on tap. Also, for those that have been, the board groups beers by style. Only two saisons were listed on tap, both were written directly below the heading. Also, counting the taps and the beer list, all eight taps were full (this will be an important bit of information in a second). I asked about this specific saison, and neither bartender knew what I was talking about. Not a single one mentioned that it recently kicked (I was there in about an hour the post).
I used the contact us page on the website (at 7:43, why I have a specific-ish time of me getting here), saying that the post was a lie. The beer was not on tap.
Except I get told by the owner, "when the post was posted we were unaware that the keg was almost out" This is where things start to get fishy, as "we have bartenders switch between opening and closing shifts... [the bartender] was unaware the keg was on earlier"
Under this scenario, both bartenders would need to have started at 7pm. As if they started at 6:30, the keg would needed to have been kicked sometime after 6:20, taken out, and replaced in the cooler. Then the opening bartender would have needed to erased this saison from the board, re-written the saison heading (remember, no gap between the heading and the other two), and written down the new beer. All before both of the next shift workers arrived. Now perhaps they both started at 7 or 7:30, giving more than 10 minutes to make the change. Potentially an explanation.
Yet, here is the kicker and why I feel safe saying the owner was caught in a lie, rather than admitted a mistake. I was told the Pomona location only had a single sixth keg. They initial posted the saison was on tap at 8/4. I got to the brewery on 8/7 and this saison was not on tap. But that is on me, I took my time getting over. I had no issue, and ordered a different beer since I was already there. The owner did not know that I was there on the 7th.
For all of the owners statements need to add up all of the following needed to have occur: The sixth keg was taken off by 5pm on the 4th, while still having beer. It was then put back on tap either late that Sunday, or Wed--Fri. It kicked sometime between 6:20 and 6:45(?) or 7:15(?) (need time for it to have been changed over, erased, and the board re-written, before the closing shift started; neither knew it had just kicked at 7:35). This all seems like a strange list of things that all had to happen.
As opposed to:
Option 1: The owner never knew it kicked on by 8/7, and was simply trying to save face by saying it was temporarily taken off. They made the post without checking. But it was easier to tell the customer that it had just kicked than take responsibility for their laziness.
Option 2: The keg was put back on but kicked earlier in the day; some time before 6:20. The only only confirmed it was on tap at the start of the day (open at 3). This explains neither bartender knowing what is going on. The minor mistake of only confirming three hours earlier was made. A minor error, and an honest mistake. Except then the issue is the owner refused to own up to the mistake.
Option 3: The keg was on. Temporarily taken off. Added back on. It kicked between 6:20 and 6:45 (or 7:15). Both of the bartenders working at 7:35 started at 7:00 (or 7:30) and never knew.
Option 4: The keg was on. Temporarily taken off. Added back on. The other bartender knew it had been on, but decided not to inform me that it had just kicked (as is normally the custom by good bartenders).
I'm going with Option 1 or 2.
And rather than admit fault (for even a minor and easily forgivable mistake; option 2), the owner would prefer to say the customer is at fault.