While you want to encourage your members to experiment, there may be stylistic limitations on just how far they want to go. For example, Jim Sorbello, general manager of the Keene Country Club in Keene, NH, says his members have no interest in dark beers. They enjoy the lighter micros. The beer list at that sort of club may exclude a category like Porter or Oatmeal Stout, but double up on the Weiss Beers or Pale Ales. The regional limitations of micros can also be a source of strength.
People take pride in a beer that's made in their hometown, or the next town over.
Some beer drinkers will tell you they have no interest in micros, yet they'll order an Otter Creek, Big Sky, or an Oak Creek or whatever their region's micro happens to be. Many managers save their precious draft facilities for micros. Sorbello says that while his top sellers are Budweiser, Bud Light, and Michelob Light, three of his four tap handles are used for Vermont micros. Russ Kingsland, general manager of the University Club in St. Louis, MO, has space for only three small kegs. He only uses them for micros.