Sapphire

I ventured in to the Hofbräuhaus Newport in Newport, Kentucky with a few minutes to spare before turning 21. I thought that I would like the atmosphere at the first North American spin off of the real Hofbräuhaus in Munich so I wanted to make sure this was the place to have my first American beer, but the place sucked!

Sure, the beer was good, but the Hofbräuhaus has nothing to do with the beer. The Hofbräuhaus is supposed to be an experience with everyone swinging ein Maß back and forth to the tune of Take Me Home, Country Roads. Bar tenders and servers are supposed to come to your table and and serve you. Probably the greatest thing about the experience is wandering into the restroom while singing along with the band to the tune, then laughing as other drunks piss all over themselves. To redeem yourself you give the restroom attendant a Euro, or better yet, a few koruna.

How does Hofbräuhaus Newport stack up against the original? Well, for starters the bartenders don't serve you, nor do they have the skills to carry eight or nine full Maß at a time. The Hofbräuhaus Newport is full of apostates drinking half liters and eating Hamburgers! One of the worse things about the place is that every employee does speak German. Even the band plays Bavarian music, which is completely against the dogma of the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. The worse thing about Hofbräuhaus Newport is that using the restroom is free of cost!

If a business is considered a cultural icon the place should not expand or franchise its name, because it's just a huge let down.