Ropewalk's getting slammed at www.happy-hour.net, too. Can't wait to visit
next week and find out what all the fuss is about!

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

Lew,

I find it somewhat humerous but unfortunate that people would copy-cat
the incident over on happy-hour. But it's cool. If Ropewalk is suit
happy there are a growing number of others they can now waste their
time and money harassing. It's good to know we aren't alone

The postings are similar and I don't encourage the bashing on
Ropewalk. GIve them a try and tell them where you found out about them
and be sure to send PubCrawler and email to set us straight on your
experience there. Maybe they have isolated problems. I know two of
them one would be their lawyer and the other one of the owners.

Ropewalk's real problems we think are as follows:

A. They wanted removed - violating all logic - we sent them 100-200
people that otherwise would have been at another nearby alternative
more than likely. They had a few reviews from one-timers who anyone
who uses the system for more than 2 seconds knows you can click to see
other reviews by the same person - even though it is far from perfect
its headed to better places and allows the casual reader some
additional dig down credibility space.

B. Marc didn't believe that we had misfiled reviews after our summer
crash and still implicate us as posting a message as William McFaul.
As I have told anyone who asked, never been to Baltimore, don't know
Ropewalk and I have no ax to grind with them other than the one they
tossed at me and I decided to run with.

C. Sicking your bitchy lawyer sister (sue me for libel/slander and
prove in court you aren't such) on people to intimidate them and
having her threatening to sue them and ruin them through litigation
costs and having her tell you all of that on the phone is STUPID.

I tend to make myself available and answer most of the emails and
requests that come into the system. We are fairly easy to deal with.

D. Thinking that bully conduct will be tolerated by us. Wrong.

E. Arguing muddy trademark law BS and jumping on us for using your
logo to promote your place.

Bad business people bad.

I actually feel bad for patrons who have a legitimate complaint- I
suspect it isn't being heard and I also wonder what the employee
experience at Ropewalk is like if the management carries on like this
and issues such stong threats to us.


-paris
pubcrawler.com


On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 03:27:37 GMT, in rec.food.drink.beer you wrote:

>Ropewalk's getting slammed at www.happy-hour.net, too. Can't wait to visit
>next week and find out what all the fuss is about!



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I lied. I wasn't going to Baltimore next week, I went today. Had some really
good beer at Clipper City, a pint of the huge and excellent Fuel Imperial
Stout at Capitol City, a piping hot flounder samwich at the Cross Street
Market, Sandy Mitchell bought me a spiced Scottish at Ryleigh's that was
pretty damned tasty (last pint of the batch, sorry!), and then we went to
Ropewalk.
I liked the place. Very worn-in and comfortable wooden interior, real-deal
original brickwork, and all dat. I figured to give the "bad tap lines" a try
by ordering a McHenry's, Clipper City's lager (all German malt, and a damned
good beer, BTW). It was clean and cold, bartender was friendly and prompt.
Beer selection wasn't Monk's-level, but respectable; good, if not great.
Sure, there are better selections around, within a couple blocks, but...it
was easy to find something good, like 2003 Anchor OSA for $2 a pint. Beat
that.
I didn't ask, and I didn't tell. I just hung out. I liked the place, and the
food I saw looked good (I was STUFFED from that flounder, delicious). Sandy
asked, and the bartender was real civil about the lawsuit, but it does sound
like there's some misunderstanding. A lawsuit does seem heavy-handed,
but...I don't think I have the whole story.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at <www.amazon.com>
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

> I liked the place. Very worn-in and comfortable wooden interior, real-deal
> original brickwork, and all dat. I figured to give the "bad tap lines" a
try
> by ordering a McHenry's, Clipper City's lager (all German malt, and a
damned
> good beer, BTW). It was clean and cold, bartender was friendly and prompt.
> Beer selection wasn't Monk's-level, but respectable; good, if not great.
> Sure, there are better selections around, within a couple blocks, but...it
> was easy to find something good, like 2003 Anchor OSA for $2 a pint. Beat
> that.

Dumb observation in 20-20 hindsight: Would it have been better to "fish"
for potentially-unclean lines by ordering beers that aren't likely to be on
tap all the time at the same taps (local lightweight mainstays such as the
McHenry Lager, for example)? As I said, not that I could tell a funky line
from my first sip of Anchor OSA 2003, but......... say, Magic Hat #9,
maybe? or some lighter seasonal? Methinks that IF the alleged dirty-line
problem is occurring, it would be best to hunt for it on a spring seasonal
at the upstairs bar.

For the record, I *have* run into an "off" beer at least once in this place
somewhat recently; I'm not going to over-analyze that occurrence as I
visited the place on the spur of the moment without my notebook. Coulda
been dirty lines, coulda been an off keg or old keg stock. I remember it
being at about 34 degrees F and having to let it warm up to actually taste
the sucker.

On the other hand, given the tap selection at this place, I don't think
they're big on seasonals, nor are their patrons. What did we see there,
Winterhook and Anchor OSA? Was there much else "seasonal"?

"Alexander D. Mitchell IV" > wrote in message
...

> For the record, I *have* run into an "off" beer at least once in this
place
> somewhat recently; I'm not going to over-analyze that occurrence as I
> visited the place on the spur of the moment without my notebook.

Even then, what does that really say. I've been at some of the top beer bars
in the country and run into the stray bad beer. It happens, even in places
where the staff pay a lot of attention to the beer.

Now, if it's a semi-regular occurance, then there's a problem.

-Steve

> > For the record, I *have* run into an "off" beer at least once in this
> place
> > somewhat recently; I'm not going to over-analyze that occurrence as I
> > visited the place on the spur of the moment without my notebook.
>
> Even then, what does that really say. I've been at some of the top beer
bars
> in the country and run into the stray bad beer. It happens, even in places
> where the staff pay a lot of attention to the beer.
>
> Now, if it's a semi-regular occurance, then there's a problem.
>
Well, therein lies one of the possible problems: At least one other
Pubcrawler reviewer made a comment about this, and I can also note that the
design of the building apparently mandates some truly LONG beer lines--like,
longer than any of the plumbing in the average house. I strongly doubt they
have kegs stuffed under three bars, including an upstairs bar.