r/Glasgow Tools

With every complaint I'd taste the drink, but unfortunately some employers don't allow staff to do this. I've always seen that as a red flag with employers, as occasionally tasting what your serving is a necessity for quality control. If I think it tastes terrible, they of course get a refund or new drink. Ultimately though, my pallet isn't theirs and they may taste problems my pallet happily glazes over - that's when the below comes in:

First thing I'd check is for where the bubbles are forming on the glass. With a proper pint the bubbles float to the top from the middle of the glass. If the bubbles look like their clinging to the glassware rather than rising from the centre, the glass is either dirty or was wet with water when filled. If that's the case, I'd try pour them a second pint.

If the second pint is still shite or the bubbles weren't clinging to the glass in the first instance, I'd offer them another brand for free. Hopefully that resolves the matter.

If one person complains about your pint, it might just be that they don't like the brand they ordered or prefer the shite, manky tennents poured at their local. If a second and third person complains about the pint, I know it's shite and the line needs cleaned or the keg is fucked/out of date.

**As a side note**: I worked as a brewer for a bit. The mashing process and how yeast responds to the mash can vary a lot. Even the huge, commercial companies like Heineken, Tennents and so on will have small inconsistencies between batches, so if your beer tastes a little different from last time, that can be why. We're talking small changes like sweetness, bitterness, sourness and so on, but nothing hugely different.