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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

One Guy in the news

Guy Hagner sent this link to a story on his One Guy Brewing operation in Berwick. He mentions extended hours during football season; I kinda have the hankering to go up to see a Bulldogs game and get some beers myself!

Update: For all of you who insist that Guy get a website...he has: www.oneguybrewing.com will now direct you to his page on www.mybeerbuzz.com. So no excuses!

21 comments:

  1. Nice article! I'd like to be able to visit! Keep up the good work, Guy! (In the article they mention that a barrel is 68 gallons?)

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  2. One Guy is a fun stop and a must-visit for the brewery tourist. Might I suggest combining your visit to One Guy with the always enjoyable (and bigger than ever this year) Lion Oktoberfest on October 3 and 4? I haven't been to Berwick since May, and I have a hankerin', too!

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  3. went up one saturday, quite a drive, and was turned away at the door. Had an empty growler and couldnt even get it filled. A web entry said they opened at noon but the door said one pm. Web accounts said he was pretty loose, but we made the trip for nothing and wont be going back.

    Be sure to check the hours before leaving.

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  4. Anony,
    Been there -- not at One Guy, but Dock Street (http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2007/08/poonage.html) -- and yeah, it's frustrating. But..."won't be going back"? Kinda harsh for a misunderstanding. Check the hours, call ahead. I always call ahead to One Guy when I go.

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  5. Perhaps a bit harsh, but to be standing on the porch with empty growler while he is inside sweeping the floor... heck, we would have swept the floor and chipped in while he filled the growler!

    Basically got a shoulder shrug when we told him we drove 90 minutes.

    Just left a bad taste that can be easily washed out at any number of other places (selins grove, baby!)

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  6. Yeah, that happened to me with that One-Guy place as well. Not exactly customer oriented, especially for somebody specifically driving from out of town, fuel prices being what they are and all. Did get into some excellent pizza in Berwick though.

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  7. I was thrown by the 68 gallon barrel too.

    Tom

    http://destinationbeer.blogspot.com/

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  8. Anon:

    Please do direct me to the noon reference on the web so I can have it corrected. I've always opened at 1pm, I apologize for any misunderstanding.

    I did feel bad not being able to accomodate you, I appreciate the effort it took to visit and I apologize for the inconvenience.

    The reality is that as a one-person operation I'm always stressed and pressed for time in the hour or 2 before opening. When you showed up at noon I still had to finish mopping the floor, cleaning the bathroom (yes it has to be done!), rebuild the keg box from cleaning the lines (I couldn't have filled the growlers as there was no beer in the tap box), take a shower and change my clothes.

    So I'm sorry I appeared to brush you off, I really do want to treat customers better than that. And sorry I wasn't able to offer a better explanation, I was distracted rushing to get about 2 hours of work done in that last hour.

    Please do come back sometime and I'll buy you a beer and make sure I have time to chat.

    Thanks again for making the effort to visit!

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  9. Frank: I don't recall your visit, can you elaborate what happened?

    As in my note to anonymous above, please do stop in again somtime and I'll buy you a beer. I apologize for any inconvenience and I do greatly appreciate your effort to pay a visit.

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  10. It does seem that in the newspaper world there is the occasional disconnect between the spoken word, the shorthand notes and the printed page.

    Or maybe I should just leave people envious of my big barrels...

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  11. To Guy: a website is your friend, and would enable everyone to know exactly when you're open and when you're not. I honestly don't understand why you don't have one***.

    (I don't understand how *any* business, no matter how small, survives in the 21st century without at least a basic website. They cost next to nothing to set up and run, and are the perfect way to communicate with customers, both current and potential, 24/7.)

    I actually stopped by on Thursday around 2pm, only to find that you weren't open until 4:30. I drove an hour and half to get there, needed to be back by dinner time and had nothing else to do in the area to kill two and half hours. So, disappointed, I turned around and drove back.

    It was a nice drive (not counting the portions on the interstate, that is) but it would've been much more memorable and satisfying had it been punctuated by some beer.

    (*** If you do, in fact, have a website I apologize, but in that case you should know that you don't Google well at all.)

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  12. To Guy: Sounds like you need a website. (Guy will protest that he puts everything on-line at http://mybeerbuzz-oneguybrewing.blogspot.com/ ...but that's not a website. Useful, but not www.oneguybrewing.com.)

    To the Anons and Frank: Sounds like you need some advice, as in, if you're going to travel more than 45 minutes to a brewery you're not familiar with, especially a small one that's been open less than five years -- call ahead. It is advice that has served me well.

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  13. http://mybeerbuzz-oneguybrewing.blogspot.com/
    comes up about halfway down the page when you Google. But I'd have never in a million years guessed that it was the "official website." Had I even noticed it (I didn't) I would have assumed it to be just another beer blog from a third party.

    You are right, I should have called ahead but I didn't have the number in my GPS and I was away from home with no Internet access. And I figured he'd be open for lunch on a Thursday. (Most brewpubs I know that are not open seven days take Monday off, and almost every one is open for lunch and dinner.)

    But regardless of my mistake, not having a proper website is his. It's a huge fault for any business that hopes to be successful in the 21st century.

    Guy, I don't mean this as a slam in any way, just constructive (and hopefully helpful) criticism. oneguybrewing.com is available, hint hint nudge nudge.

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  14. Anon, and I are speaking about the same episode, in fact. Not my intention to bust one guy's chops at all, just saying it was a drag to come up there and get a brush off. Even if we were wrong there is a better way to handle a situaiton like that. Like for instance, "hi guys thanks for coming up, I am sorry there was misunderstanding, why don't you just sit tight and I will get to you as soon I can". In any case I am willing to give it another shot at 1PM, and Lew there is no need to patronize.

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  15. "Patronize"? I was completely serious, to both you and Guy. Calling ahead to a relatively new brewery, especially a one-man operation, is a good idea. I'm sorry you saw that as patronizing.

    Some of the problem seems to stem from the idea that One Guy is a brewpub. It's not; it's a very small production brewery with a tasting room. As such, the hours are pretty limited...as is the grub.

    Let's call it a day, here.

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  16. Those of us who know and like Mr. Hagner understand his quirks as we understand our own, and are a bit more forgiving. On my first visit to his place, our group was also an hour early and received the same reception as anon and Frank, but we accepted the situation at face value, wandered around town for an hour (finding the old Berwick Brewery in the process) and returned to a warm welcome and a great time. His Free CD Day was one for the memory banks, too!

    I've been to a number of quirky breweries over the years (Northampton, Crabby Larry's, Happy Valley, Gorky's, and Sheepscot Valley come to mind...and others will surely follow), but took them all at face value and am glad they got added to my "life list." Heck, I remember the time early on when I asked for a sample at Selin's Grove and was told that they didn't do that kind of thing. Talk about off-putting. Really glad I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

    Guy deserves another try. His brewery is a better (and more unique) experience than many I've patronized over the years.

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  17. mybeerbuzz.com does have the latest on One Guy Brewing...hours included. Yes I am 3rd party, but I do what I do in support of people like Guy and the rest of our area's beer culture. In the interim, Guy can certainly buy the name oneguybrewing.com and for now even point it at his mybeerbuzz.com page. Even when Guy does graduate to his own page, mybeerbuzz will continue to list Guys brew and publicize his events.

    And wait Lew..."useful?" Is that all I add up to?

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  18. Well, yeah, "useful" is a damned good thing! What else would you want the site to be? "Indispensable?"

    Your site's got a lot of information about a lot of NEPA beer spots, often more than they have on their own sites. But it doesn't always pop up first on a Google search, and it doesn't look like an official site to the uninformed. Not your fault, and as more people find out about it, the better. But I must admit: it is useful!

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  19. Perhaps it's my end of the week sensitivity...."useful" sounds so utilitarian like I'm a fork or a screwdriver. The google thing is a little trickier, and as much as I can have some effect on where I pop up, ultimately my readers control that placement. Click on Guy's page more, and we all bubble up in google-ville.

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  20. Be happy with "useful." Me, I have to satisfy myself with "entertaining." Fun, but not as valuable as "useful."

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  21. Glad to see the new (and useful) site for One Guy!

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