Ed. Note: I’m off schedule due to travel and the Thanksgiving holiday, so this is substituting for the regular Monday post. I’ll be back on track next week-for a week.
In a recent conversation with a friend, I mentioned a brewery in Bellingham I had not heard of but recently got to drink and liked, which lead to me complimenting the beer scene at large in Bellingham-which is pretty amazing from down here. Her reply;
It does. So much so that we don’t even have to bother with the two Melvin locations after their epic fuck up
What? Because I like Melvin’s beer (although I still don’t like the name).
Turns out, one of the head brewers came to town to visit, went to another brewery’s pub, opened up one of Melvin’s beers in that location (rude, even if that wasn’t a no-no) and then groped an employee, which I hope I don’t have to outline to my audience the fuckery there.
This, as you might imagine, did a lot of damage to their reputation in the community. Damage they have addressed in what I would call a ‘corporate manner‘.
Now, I’m not saying that the culture at Melvin hasn’t or cannot change. I don’t know any more than what I’ve shared. Perhaps things have truly changed.
What I do know is that until I learn otherwise, I don’t really want to buy any of Melvin’s beer. I have options and a lot of them. Why should I give my money to people who are behaving like jerks? I don’t give my money to ABInBev when I can, for similar reasons.
Oh, and if anyone from Melvin is reading this, when I say “things have truly changed” I mean that there are actions being taken to fix that culture and contribute to amend the world in a way that the toleration of previous, harmful behavior harmed people.
Not just a mealy mouthed statement of “we’re very sorry”.
A pint for Dionysus 