Crowded Times for Guinness Master Brewer in KC
The KC Beer Blog had a rough time at the Guinness Master Brewer in Browne’s yesterday in what sounds like a crowds and times thing.
Not entirely sure how he missed the initial announcement that Fergal Murray would be appearing at Browne’s when in the online circles I move in, from several thousand miles away, the news was repeated ad nauseum.
But the scheduled times certainly did change - and I was probably slow to update them here on Irish KC - but Murray makes so few appearances relatively that crowds were always likely. The plastic cups would not have been for me - at tacky festivals yes but an event celebrating beer, no - but then maybe glass ones disappearing for autographs wasn’t expected.
And I wouldn’t have liked the crowds myself, but then I wouldn’t've been interested in queing up for a certificate, and certainly not for an autograph on pint glass. Listening to Ferg’s creamy-headed velvet accent is what I would have gone for.
It should be noted that, in contrast to the KC Beer Blog, Dan had a delightful time there with none of the problems experienced by the Beer Blog.
The biggest sin of all for me though was that nothing, absoloutely nothing, is ever reason enough to chug down a pint of Guinness before it has settled. Nothing. I’m shuddering here thinking of it. For shame.
Update: KCFreePress.com was also at Browne’s and got to talk to Fergal Murray about the perfect pint, where the Guinness Brewmaster had some nice words to say about Browne’s:
“Browne’s is a special special place,” Murray said. “I can see the heartland of America has some serious Guinness fans. I love it.”
More on the Pint and on Irish Pubs:
• A Bad Pint: Here Be Dragons
• History of an Irish Pub in America
• The Closing of Irish Pubs in Kansas City
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
The KC Beer Blog guy is a dick. I know plenty of folks who think highly of themselves but this moron takes the cake.
With all his bitching about the changing times, did he ever frakking bother to make a single phone call? Or is he too good for that?
Does he think Browne’s controlled Murray’s schedule? How about sharing some of his bitterness toward the Guinness rep who was scheduling the visits? Or doesn’t the famous KC Beer Blog know who the Guinness distributor is? With all his bragging, you’d think he knew every beer-related individual in a 100-mile radius.
BTW, Fergal (whom I met and had a wonderful chat with) was not going from Browne’s (which he left at 4:30) to the Flogging Molly concert (where the doors opened at 6). He went from Browne’s to O’Dowd’s on the Plaza which our lordly Beer Blogger would have known about if he had a frakking clue. I would also suspect Mr. Beer Blog would have been MUCH more comfortable in the faux Irishness of O’Dowd’s (not to mention the clubby atmosphere provided by his fellow posers).
Also, who the hell arrives at an event an HOUR after it starts and expects VIP treatment? Whatever happened to getting to an event ON TIME (or perhaps early) to get your story. Unless, of course, the whole purpose was to find something to bitch about. In that case, Mission Accomplished.
Ironically, Mr. KC Beer Blog both bitches about how the Browne’s event wasn’t “announced” according to his standards yet still managed to blow through four kegs of Guinness in under two hours (something he could have learned if he had actually talked to anyone at the event). So I’m thinking this is more a case of unexpected success than any sort of failure on the part of the fine people at Browne’s.
But stealth seems to be more yer man’s style. Arrive late, tell no one what your purpose is, find fault with EVERYTHING, and then put it all on the Internet as if it was the universal experience of everyone at the event.
Well, from what I witnessed (since I was there from about 1 p.m. until after 5) just about everyone (well except for Mr. Frowny Face from KC Beer Blog) had a grand time, despite not living up to Mr. Beer Blog’s standards.
Somehow I expect we’ll learn to get over this failure.