Scott Rudich
As an owner of a brewery, there is never a dearth of unsolicited feedback.
“Kiss Off sucks! Don’t ever brew that again.” I heard that last month from the checkout guy at a popular distributor. “The owner is not a fan of your beer, but three of us bartenders are in your Mug Club, so we will try and get your beer on tap.” That was relayed to me by my sales rep two weeks ago. When my column about supporting Annie Christ and drag queen story time at the library ran, the first comment was “You just lost us as customers.”
I am not sharing these things to throw myself a pity party. For anyone who is in the public eye, whether it be a brewer, Taylor Swift or any Lansdale Council member, criticism follows, and to survive mentally, you need to learn how to accept it.
Back in 2015, we did have the misfortune of having a wholesaler leave Kiss Off on shelves for 11 months past expiry. In those days, we used to can in our brewhouse after a brew day. There would still be grain dust floating about. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that there were some cans that got some environmental contamination during canning. Bar owners have long memories, and because he got a keg of an off batch of Berliner Weiss from June 2012, we have been blacklisted at his restaurant. I am not making excuses, but I do try to parse through legit criticism vs. not my style.
There is a lot of negativity in this world. Haters gonna hate, right? Back in the day, I was a hater, especially when it came to music. I used to always say that certain bands/artists were terrible. One artist I held a particular dislike for was Taylor Swift, but all of that started to melt away after I opened a brewery and started receiving criticism of my beer.
While it was fun criticizing her song “Love Story” as a trite pop tune, it was not fun that Twizhopbag97 was saying that my Black IPA sucks. I didn’t think the beer was bad, or I would have sent the beer down the drain before he ever tasted it. Why did he think it was bad? In an attempt to stretch a comparison between Taylor Swift and myself as far as possible, I did recognize that my criticism of Ms. Swift’s music was a lot like the criticism I received for my beer: unnecessary and unwarranted.
As for the Facebook user that won’t patronize Round Guys anymore because we support drag queens, I am not worried. We hosted our first drag event back in April 2013. It’s been six years as the hub of drag in Lansdale and if people were going to abandon us because of drag, that ship sailed a long time ago.
While I may say a band sucks from time to time, I’ve toned it down. I try to say it’s not my style. As for beer reviews, I don’t pay attention anymore. I just keep brewing beer. In this world, you have to stick to your convictions and please yourself and those you love.
It was not an easy journey, but Taylor Swift learned to Shake it Off, and so have I.
Scott Rudich is the head brewer and co-owner of Round Guys Brewing in Lansdale, PA. Rudich is heavily involved in the local beer scene, and was awarded the Brewer Award at the 2013 StarChefs’ Philadelphia Rising Stars Gala. This opinion column is sponsored by Round Guys, and appears every Tuesday on North Penn Now. If you have any questions or comments, please email them to [email protected].
See also:
Round Guys: Reminders Of A Positive Experience
Round Guys: The King Of Queens
Round Guys: How Podcasts Help Shape Our Brand
Round Guys: Ignoring the Comparison Culture
Round Guys: Hops are Killing Variety
