Crimson & Brews

The friendliest atmosphere in Lawrence. The bartenders always make you feel welcome, and many of the regular bar patrons will buy you a drink. They have the best jukebox music in town. If you're looking for a laid-back place to grab a few brews and meet some nice people, look no further.

I hate to slam a new business, particularly one that I so desire to like.  I have driven by Crimson & Brews daily on my way home from work and the title/location/accolades from people whose opinions I value led me to hope for several things:

1.  Play on Crimson & Blue, probably a great place to spend my obligatory Jayhawk weekly game viewing
2. The use of "brews" in the title led to fantasies of gastropub-quality beer menu (although I do admit I presumed these were high hopes)
3. Owned by a friend of a friend of someone I once knew...nice conversational folks will be here/work here

I will address how these points, one by one were disproven.

1.  This is a place to watch the hawks but a far cry from a good place.  The environment is seriously lacking and the fried food stench is so strong it made my stomach turn.  After sitting at the bar for half a beer I could hardly stand the dense stale-grease stank hanging in the air.  I looked around me and noticed no one was eating.  This horrific odor was permeating my hair and clothes noticeably.  I love bar food, I can handle some grease, but WOAH.  This was a deciding factor in me wanting to quickly exit Crimson and Brews and find a spot my stomach and nose could be happy about.  Its hard to drink beer when your gag reflex is overly responsive to aforementioned odor.

2. As previously acknowledged, the use of the word "brews" led my mind to wander to beer bar environments that please me so.  Not too many offerings in terms of taps here, no big deal, go with whatever is on special.  The bargain for the night is $2.50 Boulevard draws and bottles.  No Asterisk, no exception noted.  We ordered two Tank 7's, a recent offering from Boulevard's Smokestack series that falls into the farmhouse ale category.  As a beer geek, I know what this is, I am aware it will be served at a smaller pour and that the alcohol content is nearly 9% abv.  I envisioned the partially filtered saison-style goodness capped with a rich white head before I could even sputter my order.  The beau inquired about what it was though and the bartenders delayed response was painful.  "It comes in a small glass, its got lots of alcohol though. Oh.  And that's not on special."  Boo.  I'm just going to leave it at that.  Boo.

3. Bartender is clearly not the type that makes you want to hang around, strike up a conversation or even finish the beer in front of you.  It is out of character completely to have one beer and bounce, particularly if I am going to be forced to watch the nights sporting event anyway.  There is no "credit card" minimum sign.  There is no posted policy.  While I understand most bars are now diving into the illegal practice of forcing their patrons to spend "x" amount to swipe their plastic I always look for this to be in print somewhere.  I can swipe my card at the turn-pike for $1.65....if I drink $8.00 worth of beer I should be able to pay for it on the debit card unless otherwise noted.  Not only is this not possible there I was given the option to use the ATM (would have acquired a $3.00 fee between the machine and my bank) or I can pay a $1.00 to have them run my card.  Not only do I have to a pay $1.00 to spend less than $10.00 but they are going to authorize me for the full $10.00 and give the remainder to me in cash.  This policy is asinine.  And if the rest of the staff is anything like birdbrain behind the bar that night I would advise posting your minimum, at the very least so homegirl doesn't have to think on her feet and explain anything.  

Crimson and Brews, I want to like you.  You have ample televisions, cold beer and barstools.  For KU viewing I generally wind up at Harbour Lights if that gives you any idea how low the bar is set in terms of atmosphere.  I don't foresee changing my frequent spot anytime soon unless you capture a bartender with a pulse and a personality and somehow eliminate the grease stench.  I was only there for 30 minutes and walked out feeling like I'd spent 8 hours working the fryers at KFC.  Disappointing on multiple levels.