Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer?

I'll drink whatever I please, be it bourbon, or a Bud Light. Mass produced, or no.

If you don't like Bud Light, or Stella, don't freaking drink it!

I can't believe a bunch of adults are bickering about beer and wine, and what should or should not be offered in Dean Corbett's new restaurant. So Mr. Corbett had the audacity to drink mass produced beer. Perish the thought! God forbid that he and his staff should be able to enjoy the beer of their choice, in THEIR place, without the prying eyes of the beer police watching.

I swear, it seems like a few of you are ready to crucify him. If you like artisanal beer, great. That doesn't give you the right to decree that since Bud Light is offensive to you, nobody else should be able to drink Bud Light. There are many more pressing issues in the world to debate over. If you dislike the way the beer list is being done at Corbett's, why don't you open your own 5 star place, and run it the way you think a 5 star place should be run?

Nobody owes you any sort of explanation, least of all, Dean Corbett. That being said, I think Mr. Corbett showed lots of class by responding to some of you as politely as he did.

Thank you.

"It's natural because it is a product of nature? Because they taste good together. Because the flavors complement each other? I'm not sure what you are asking here. " ron

i'm not trying to argue over why beer is better

but as i have provided answers based on the ingredients in beer and the historical links between beer and certain foods

i am looking for the same from wine lovers

why do the flavors compliment each other, is it the aging in oak casks, is it the particular yeast used in fermentation, do particular varieties of grapes match well because of the tanin in their skins, the terroir,
the aging and blending process, the ripeness of the grapes

all these play a role in the flavor of wines

what about particular wines make them compliment the food

water "taste good" with just about everything, but it isn't given the status of wine

the phrase "natural counterpart" i guess is what gets me
it implies that wine was naturally meant to be a counterpart to a great meal

edit.

Will,

Then you can not serve any of the high end bourbons from Jim Beam, no Wild Turkey products. Buffalo trace is gone Woodford reserve is gone. these are all owned by mega corps. Oh well we can drink water with our meal.

You are right on those. But you can drink the high-end Heaven Hill Bourbons - Elijah Craig, Evan Williams Single Barrel, etc- they are not a conglomerate: still family -owned....

DEb

Thanks Deb. Good to know.

I'll drink whatever I please, be it bourbon, or a Bud Light. Mass produced, or no.

If you don't like Bud Light, or Stella, don't freaking drink it!

I can't believe a bunch of adults are bickering about beer and wine, and what should or should not be offered in Dean Corbett's new restaurant. So Mr. Corbett had the audacity to drink mass produced beer. Perish the thought! God forbid that he and his staff should be able to enjoy the beer of their choice, in THEIR place, without the prying eyes of the beer police watching.

I swear, it seems like a few of you are ready to crucify him. If you like artisanal beer, great. That doesn't give you the right to decree that since Bud Light is offensive to you, nobody else should be able to drink Bud Light. There are many more pressing issues in the world to debate over. If you dislike the way the beer list is being done at Corbett's, why don't you open your own 5 star place, and run it the way you think a 5 star place should be run?

Nobody owes you any sort of explanation, least of all, Dean Corbett. That being said, I think Mr. Corbett showed lots of class by responding to some of you as politely as he did.

Michelle makes more sense than most of the yapping on here.

If you don't wish to mask the food, than drink water. Of course fish do their thing in it.

I'll drink whatever I please, be it bourbon, or a Bud Light. Mass produced, or no.

If you don't like Bud Light, or Stella, don't freaking drink it!

I can't believe a bunch of adults are bickering about beer and wine, and what should or should not be offered in Dean Corbett's new restaurant. So Mr. Corbett had the audacity to drink mass produced beer. Perish the thought! God forbid that he and his staff should be able to enjoy the beer of their choice, in THEIR place, without the prying eyes of the beer police watching.

I swear, it seems like a few of you are ready to crucify him. If you like artisanal beer, great. That doesn't give you the right to decree that since Bud Light is offensive to you, nobody else should be able to drink Bud Light. There are many more pressing issues in the world to debate over. If you dislike the way the beer list is being done at Corbett's, why don't you open your own 5 star place, and run it the way you think a 5 star place should be run?

Nobody owes you any sort of explanation, least of all, Dean Corbett. That being said, I think Mr. Corbett showed lots of class by responding to some of you as politely as he did.

Applying your same logic, might I suggest that if the thread is disturbing to you, don't freaking read it!

I don't agree that anybody is trying to crucify Dean Corbett or that that was remotely the intent of the thread. I saw Chef Corbett drinking the Bud and had exactly the same reaction as described in the original report. The man has obviously been pouring his heart, soul and money into the restaurant opening for a long time, and he deserves to drink whatever appeals to him. Good on him.

That was kind of my point.

It's HIS place, and he should be able to serve his customers as he sees fit, just as I should be able to go in there and order what it is I want to drink (within reason).

I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't care much for either wine or beer.

Michelle
maybe i missed something

was this thread titled Corbett's,
has anyone been bashing the restaurant

if anything we've been bashing the way beer is treated in many establishments

our opinions may differ, but i don't think we've attacked the character of the restaurant (possibly the integrity of the rating system, but not the restaurant or the owner)

in fact
roger and i have both positively commented on Dean's list and on Carrie's description of the beer pairings

it is obvious that i don't care for mass produced beer that offers no positive impact on the fine dining experience

but i don't claim to do what Dean does or would i even attempt to

the entire discussion here has been based on the way beer is treated at fine dining establishments
Corbett's opened recently and has been over used as an example on this thread

my apologies if he has taken offense

??
if you don't drink beer or wine, or have a horse in this race--- why get on the track???

i also can't find any instance of Dean being "attacked" for his choice of beer

please
read the thread before joining in?
and as i've searched the thread, i only find one post from Mr. Corbett (possibly because he realized this thread has more to do with the bigger picture of beer vs. wine than his (from the reviews anyway, i have yet to have the opportunity) fantastic restaurant

thanks
shawn

to repeat Roger's title of the thread
"Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer?"

Michelle
maybe i missed something



i
??
if you don't drink beer or wine, or have a horse in this race--- why get on the track???

i also can't find any instance of Dean being "attacked" for his choice of beer

please
read the thread before joining in?
and as i've searched the thread, i only find one post from Mr. Corbett (possibly because he realized this thread has more to do with the bigger picture of beer vs. wine than his (from the reviews anyway, i have yet to have the opportunity) fantastic restaurant

thanks
shawn

to repeat Roger's title of the thread
"Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer?"

Why get on track?

Because the bickering and bashing has gotten out of control. This is supposed to be a FUN place to visit, and it's isn't anymore. It's all about one-up-man-ship, and "I'm more sophisticated than you are" bullcrap. Several posters have quit posting because they feel personally attacked for speaking up and giving an opinion. The pretentiousness, and food/beer/wine-snobbishness prevalent on this board is just ridiculous.

If someone wants to order a Coke/Bud Light/mass produced bourbon at Corbett's, or any other fine dining establishment, that is THEIR business. What's next, food/wine/beer police? I'm over this. It is childish, and ridiculous.

People come to this board to hear about great places to eat, not to get bashed because they like or don't like a certain beer, a certain restaurant, etc.

I swear, it's like high school all over again. Only we have the beer "snobs" vs the wine "snobs", the pro-chainers vs the anti-chainers, and the smokers vs the anti-smokers.

I have had enough of it. I've been coming here to get away from drama, and to relax. This is no longer a drama-free, relaxing zone.

Michelle
maybe i missed something

if you don't drink beer or wine, or have a horse in this race--- why get on the track???

please
read the thread before joining in?
thanks
shawn

to repeat Roger's title of the thread
"Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer?"

I expect that Michelle has read the thread before joining in. And found it pointless. You are trying to tell someone not to express an opinion. That is ridiculous. I suppose only experts should express their views.

[Robin Garr]

People come to this board to hear about great places to eat, not to get bashed because they like or don't like a certain beer, a certain restaurant, etc.

I swear, it's like high school all over again. Only we have the beer "snobs" vs the wine "snobs", the pro-chainers vs the anti-chainers, and the smokers vs the anti-smokers.

I have had enough of it. I've been coming here to get away from drama, and to relax. This is no longer a drama-free, relaxing zone.

Don't go away, Michelle. I think this thread, and the smoking thread, have kind of got everybody wound up in the post-holiday doldrums, and I should probably have spoken up sooner myself. I really don't like to have to be the nanny, but sometimes it needs to be done.

Let's all reflect on this, and see if we can't cool it and get back to talking about food and fun in a civil way without me having to do a lot of yelling and censorship.

And hang around ... we'll get all the combatants together for a real-world session some time, and remind everyone that we're really all pals.

It's Ron's fault.

Actually, outside of a little "my beer is better than your wine", I did not see anyone get bashed for what they drink nor did anyone ever criticize Dean or Corbett's on this thread.

As for the smoking ban thread, that one always gets heated and I will appologize for my part of stirring that ashtray. However, that subject got very heated back when it first became a law just like it did this time. Guess what I'm saying is I don't see this board being that much different now than it was years ago.

No need to go away Michelle, just don't participate in the threads that start to annoy you. There are plenty of less debate filled threads to jump in on or you can alway create your own.

i didn't find this thread childish
i think active discussion is one of the few ways for a free society to express itself

there hasn't been any name calling or bashing anyone for their personal taste
just because i disagree with you doesn't mean that i'm putting you down

i've seen threads and forums get out of hand, and this is not one of them

"People come to this board to hear about great places to eat, not to get bashed because they like or don't like a certain beer, a certain restaurant, etc." michelle

people also come to this board to discuss food/dining related issues

why should one or two complaints (from one or two posters) out of more than 150 posts
bring Robin out to threaten censorship

from appearances the majority of the posts on the particular thread have not been negative or hostile

opinionated, most certainly

should we not post if we disagree with the minority of a thread, or should we be censored because that minority speaks up on page 10 of 11

why get involved in a thread if it is bothersome to you?

steve -
"I expect that Michelle has read the thread before joining in. And found it pointless. You are trying to tell someone not to express an opinion. That is ridiculous. I suppose only experts should express their views."

if you find this thread pointless, why are you posting?
does the effect of wine and beer lists on the rating of a restaurant have no impact?

i beleive that getting involved in a discussion (after 130+ posts) and not adding any value to that discussion, merely adding your negative opinion about the topic, the postings, and the posters - should be censored

everyone has the right to express their opinions, but why not address the topic at hand, instead of attacking everyone that has been involved in the discussion for days


this thread has a valid point for restaurants, owners, servers, owners of wineries and microbreweries

beer has been the under dog in the american restaurant scene for many, many years
and may finally have a chance to showcase its culinary arsenal

i do believe beer is better, should i be censored for that (or because i'm not a HUGE fan of wine)
i have yet to hear any reasons why wine is given its superior status at the table

I think debate can be fun. I may not always participate, but I enjoy the read.

I wasn't kidding about ordering water though. I'm not much of a wine drinker and I don't like beer. I also don't like sodas - they're mostly high fructose corn syrup.

I feel like servers get annoyed b/c they think I'm just being cheap. The real reason is that I'd just legitimately rather drink water unless it's early enough for coffee.

Stick a fork in me -- I'm done.

Although it has been enough to inspire a LEO column (forthcoming).

[Robin Garr]

i do believe beer is better, should i be censored for that (or because i'm not a HUGE fan of wine)
i have yet to hear any reasons why wine is given its superior status at the table

Shawn, please, you're reading way too much between my lines that I never wrote there.

I agree in general with what you said. This forum has always been open to good, robust yet friendly and civil debate, and I rarely if ever feel a need to practice censorship. You are in NO danger of the censor's axe in this thread, and you're defending yourself against an attack that was never delivered.

I did step into this thread with a general admonition to the group, and that is this: Both in this thread and the smoking thread, some frayed tempers have started to show. There's been some angry shouting and some surprisingly virulent cussing and some personal insults. Not a lot of it, no, but those are things I don't want to see here, and those are things that will drive some people away. I don't want to have that, and that *specific* kind of behavior, repeated after warnings, may prompt me to do things I don't like, including locking threads or deleting posts. But I hate to do that, and I don't plan to. I hope everyone will agree to these simple policies as a matter of consensus and we can move on.

And again, that's not directed at you, personally, Shawn. It's a notice to the group.

Now - as a wine AND beer geek who practices both persuasions on a personal level and who's been writing about this stuff for publication for 25 years or more, I do indeed have some opinions. Frankly, I've stayed out of this thread simply because it has been so contentious, and, it seems to me, has had too many people arguing rather than listening.

I'll be glad to express my opinion about wine and beer and how they both go with food, but I'd rather wait until everyone's tempers have cooled and we can talk about it in a civil and rational way.