Did TGI Friday's Get the Memo?

The other morning I was getting ready for work and saw a commercial for TGI Fridays that advertised they are now serving craft beers. The voice over then stated they had included a new menu that had dishes inspired and cook with beer. While watching the commercial I noticed they partnered with Harpoon brewery and were pushing their IPA which can be found at Bertucci chains. I worked late all week, and decided to catch dinner with my parents Thursday evening. Ironically, their choice was to go to TGI Fridays which I did not object due to the commercial I saw earlier this week. Perhaps I was brainwashed by the commercial.

I met my parents who were seated in the bar section, which gave me the opportunity to to see what was on tap. Looking over the taps, I didn't really see anything out of the normal, which was disappointing. They had the "typical" lighter beers consisting of Miller Light, Heineken, Amstel light, and they had the "typical" darker beers such as Sam Adam's and Yeungling Lager. I guess their idea of serving craft beers is Hapoon IPA and Blue Moon Seasonal Honey Moon. Let me stop, I do enjoy the last two beer I mentioned, however when I hear a restaurant is wanting to cater to craft beer lovers I expect to see local and non local beers favorites. As there wasn't any beer I never had before, I ordered a Harpoon IPA which was served in a really cool beer mug specific for that beer. I will give credit to Fridays for not only getting this beer on tap, but getting their beer glasses made for the beer your drinking. I've had this IPA before, and can see why Friday's would choose this IPA over possible options. From my experience, you either hate IPAs, or you love them. As this is a lighter IPA this beer gives the non IPA drinker the opportunity to try one that isn't too strong. I consider the Harpoon IPA to be more of a "fancy" beer and can see how it pairs well with Italian dishes, but it's not something that pairs well with a rack of ribs.