Rocky’s Sub Pub interactive ‘beer tablet’

I'd just like more information on this "spooling people up" phrase. Is this an Eastern Kentucky thing? Sounds vaguely like the Britishism to wind someone up.

As a hack, if you're somewhere where there is a large selection of stuff you have never tried, you can narrow it down to a couple of selections and log onto beeradvocate.com from your smartphone and do a search on them.

<Huge painful sigh> Ya'll can rationalize this all ya want to...and I'll admit that some of your arguments might make a lot of sense to women...but the fact of the matter remains, real men won't walk into a bar and fire up an "App" to decide what beer they are going to drink...Least ways they don't out here in Garage Logic or other parts of the planet I frequent. Yeah, I'm thinking Mr Beer App Thingie Beer Man is going to be the next "Real Men of Genius" hit for AB, right up there with Mr. Tiny Thong Bikini Wearer, Mr Rolling Cooler Cooler Roller and (my favorite) Mr. Really Loud Cell Phone Talker.

Education is a cornerstone of the Craft Beer movement, whether its about a beer style or the brewery that brewed it. I commend Rocky's for taking their beer program to the next level and making the education of their customers a priority. I know a lot of people put their time, energy and passion for Craft Beer into making the app. They deserve their due credit. They don't deserve to be mocked for it.

Not everyone will want to use the app. Not everyone will NEED to use the app. But, for those who are interested, its a very in-depth resource. I know a lot about beer, and still found the it enjoyable and informative. If that makes me less of a man, then so be it...

I'll second that emotion. Most of us are as not as cool or cocky as the Daddio. Nor do we aspire to be so. As Scott says education is the key. In the best of all beer joints that service should be provided by the person pouring your beer and not an app, but look it's 2011 and things are changing. If you want to stick around in the garage age of logic, feel free but if you're interested in reading reviews or finding out what beers may or may not be in your taste range then an app like this fits the bill.

I'm a big fan of Untappd http://untappd.com/ which allows me to keep track of all the beers I try, as well as read reviews and find similarly styled beers. It also allows you to see what's being drank by your neighbors in the area.

it's also quite lame.

I don't believe Steve has a monopoly on lameness here and as hard as it is to believe even I have posted lame stuff, or so I've been told. That said, I don't make it a habit of calling people out on it.

understood, guess i'm just not a fan of "spooling people up", whatever that is. I would like to add that i myself did not feel "spooled up", although i can't be quite positive.

I got the perfect chance to check out the beer tablets at Rocky's Sub Pub today. My wife and daughter wanted to go out for lunch and they didn't want to decide where to go. Allow me.

We go to Rocky's at least a half a dozen times a year. The view is fantastic, the restaurant is clean and friendly, and a friend of mine plays acoustic sets there during the summer. I find the food there is adequate but not remarkable. I'm not going to expound on our meal at Rocky's other than to say; it was pretty much the usual. By which I mean, I do not usually find myself thinking about a meal I had there later on, in a good or bad way. Salmon, veal, and seafood al forno are my usuals.

Our server asked for our drink order and I asked him for a beer tablet. He said ok let me just get that for you; I think they're all in the chargers. He returned with the girl's drinks, a water for me, and the tablet. This nifty little Acer tablet had the beer app up and running and it worked well. I selected the beer list, draught, and the current lineup appeared. Each beer was represented by an icon showing what a glass full of it would look like, it was tabbed as to type of beer, there was a short description of the beer and on the side was the ABV and IBUs. Could not be simpler.

I quickly selected a 16oz pour of the Schafly Winter ESB. I kept the tablet to play with while I waited and there was plenty more information available about the specific beers, brewery, and beer in general for me to peruse. The information was neatly organized and this would be an ideal way to kill time if you're having lunch there by yourself or are waiting for someone else to arrive.

When my beer was delivered, our server showed me the function that would allow me to build a beer flight. I almost never do this as the amount of time and information it would normally take for me to select five different beers I wanted to try is not usually available. I don't try beers because they have a funny name, are priced right, or come from a particular brewery. Experience tells me that way lies madness. It will often result in wasted money and beer. This little tablet let me quickly add beers to my list and to easily supplant a selection if I found one I liked better. Here's what I selected

Bell's Hell Hath No Fury
Dieu du Ciel! Derniere Volonte
NABC Bob's Old 15-B Robust Porter
Rivertown Oatmeal Stout
Three Floyd's Gumballhead

The only beer I didn't actually like was the Rivertown which surprised me as I'd just had two Rivertown Roebling Porters the night before and loved them. But I only had 3oz of it and now I know not to order it. I also know that I enjoyed using the tablet and I will ask for it every time I'm in even if I already know what I want to drink. I like to read about other beers even if I'm not going to order them.

I think that unless you are intimidated by technology you will find this tablet and app easy as pie to use and it will go a long way towards helping you pick out a beer you might like and even more important keep you from ordering one you won't.

Call me crazy, but since when did electronic gadgets become unmanly? I think most would agree it is MUCH more manly to use a fancy GPS device than (gasp!) stop and ask for directions...

I meant to poke a little fun at some people but certainly didn't mean to offend...somehow in my haste to be humorous, that line was crossed. You all have my apology and I'll try not to let it happen again but WTF...you know me.

BTW, "spooling up" is an aviation term. It usually refers to a jet engine spinning up...but can also be ATC slang for (a) mentally prepare for busy traffic or (b) yanking someone's chain...i.e. screwing with them.

I meant to poke a little fun at some people but certainly didn't mean to offend...somehow in my haste to be humorous, that line was crossed. You all have my apology and I'll try not to let it happen again but WTF...you know me.

I'm offended that you unintentionally tried unsuccessfully to offend me. Better luck next time.

I reject your apology Stevie out of hand as I too failed to be offended in the first place. I was slightly embarrassed when I realized I was arguing a position when I was supposed to be responding to a bit of ribbing.

Also, as someone who has "taken the Mikey out of Stevie" on more than one occaision without the slightest bit of complaint from Stevie, I'm in a poor position to complain when/if the same is returned to me. One thing worse than having a poor sense of humor is being a poor sport about it.

Finally, even if Stevie doesn't really feel strongly opposed to this new fangled device (I'm pretty sure he doesn't) I think that on some level we can all recognise the absurdity of how much we are coming to rely on technology. People can't make change without the cash register, spell without the spell checker, and our response to a large variety of options when ordering a beer is not to train the employee, it's to give them and the patron another computer.

Oh well, as the Borg say, "Resistance is Futile."

Now if you're still feeling guilty and want to make amends Stevie, I propose you cook everyone a nice bbq in your man cave and we'll drink your Pappy. Will GPS get us to Garage Logic?

You old curmudgeons are so damn cute!

You old curmudgeons are so damn cute!

Yup, just don't feed us after midnight!

I meant to poke a little fun at some people but certainly didn't mean to offend...somehow in my haste to be humorous, that line was crossed. You all have my apology and I'll try not to let it happen again

No point in trying. You know that you will FAIL.

Curmudgeon fail.

[Robin Garr]

:lol:

Curmudgeon fail.

But you repeat yourself.