Jester King to release Atrial Rubicite

I think we've just been spoiled, in some sense, by the system we had that brought the beer to us, although at a higher price for us and a lower benefit to the brewer. Virtually everywhere else its not that way. Hell, Hill Farmstead distributes almost nothing, and no one complains about having to drive out to the middle of nowhere (and I used to live in Vermont, so I know how out in the middle of nowhere it is) for all of their releases.

This may cause some of us to miss some beer releases, but I'd rather miss some stuff and allow the brewer to see more benefits than to keep allowing the distributors to control the industry and hinder the advancement of a brewery.

 

There are lots of ways to look at this. In most parts of the country, people are all too happy to attend 'brewery only' releases. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, beer is more about the people than it is the liquid. I've met some of the best friends I have, through craft beer bars, my own beer festival that we host every year, through our podcast, visiting craft breweries, and traveling for beer to other parts of the country. Having a brewery only release in Texas (other than Freetail) has been a pipe dream.

How many of you can talk about the wonderful experiences you've had buying a bottle at your local Kroger, Spec's, or Majestic liquor store? Sure, we get to meet/greet the employees, and occasionally you'll meet a brewer or brewery rep at a store, but the magic happens at the breweries and craft beer bars, where we can actually enjoy these beers as friends. Craft beer, at least for me (and I'm sure I speak for at least a few other people I know), is really about creating an experience that we can all share, and a brewery only release is one of many great ways to do that. I cannot WAIT until Jester King releases this beer, because the 2nd Anniversary Party they hosted was one of the best events I have ever been to.

Cheers to Jester King for being one of the first to think of doing this (I'm not forgetting you Freetail). As a business owner, I also concur with Jeff that the margins are a strong motivating factor. At the end of the day, businesses are in business to make money. Hopefully along the way, we can create something we're passionate about, that we can share with others, impact the community in some positive way, and enjoy doing all of that together. For me, that's the beauty of craft beer.

Cheers,
Chad

 

Preach!

Also, I live about 5 minutes away from Jester King, so I'm all in for this. Haters gonna Hate!

 

nice, thanks. I knew I should have been nicer to Walt a RBWG. lol.
nah. maybe not.

 

Party crashing?

 

As I stated in my earlier post bottle shares are most of the fun but if you say it isn't as much for the beer as it is sharing bottles then why don't we have more large bottle shares in DFW? Because most people don't want to drive 45-60 minutes for a bottle share but they'll drive 3 hours for a bottle release because the beer is a main factor.

On a separate note, how many barrels did you produce last year Jeff? What are your future projections? With as successful as JK seems to be I imagine it won't take long before your over the 10,000 cap. Of course that gives you guys more time to work on new laws for the bigger breweries

 

DUDE the middle of vermont is like saying I have to travel to the other side of austin.
Vermont isnt that big

 

release at brewpub only 6 bottle limits. 400 people will easily show up for it. distro anything left. HIGHLY doubt there will be

 

I participate in large bottle shares at LEAST 2-3 times per month, right in my own city. It's mostly because I love the people I get to hang out with. The special bottles we come for at these parties, is merely a side benefit. Sorry if you don't agree, but I am strongly disagreeing with your assessment of this situation. I also strongly disagree that a brewery only release will entice more internet sellers to flip bottles. What site legally allows bottles sales these days anyway? Ebay did away with it completely. If someone's selling bottles second hand, I'm not aware of it. Not saying it doesn't occur, but it's definitely not like it once was.

EDIT: And since you were there too, let's not forget the 2 different bottle shares that have taken place at Craft and Growler, and neither was for any specific beer/bottle release. These have both happened within the last 3 months or so. I'd say that qualifies.

 

I hate you. This also means you live 6 min from Argus.

 

Well maybe you participate in "large" bottle shares 1-2 times a month but its clearly not all inclusive to Dallas BA's or at least there haven't been any public posts about it. We've had what 3 publicly advertised bottle shares for DFW in the past 3 years (2 of which happened to be in the past 3 months; actually can add one for the Friday bottle share Matt and Seth created).? I'd like to see it on a more regular basis like Austin and Houston. Kudos to Seth and Matt for trying to Make that happen on Fridays, we'll see if it sticks.

There are websites out there, 2 I can think of, that are specifically designed for people to sell beer. The second hand market is alive and well, trust me. I won't name them here but you can BM me for details. I have already seen JK bottles for sale on there. If you disagree that a brewery only release will entice people to flip beers on the internet then why did Shawn Hill take on ebay? Why did 3 Floyds print buyers names on tickets and make you show your license with the ticket for entry?

I'm also not anti brewery only release, I thought I made that clear. I just pointed out advantages and disadvantages. I don't think it's 100% advantageous for everyone, that's all I'm saying. I realize it is an advantage for JK I'm happy for them, I'm sure it will be a lot of fun and they put a lot of hard work into making these changes which I'm also grateful for.

P.S. I still love you even if you disagree with me but don't tell anyone

Edit: I'm also in total agreement that the bottles are just a perk. I sure as hell didn't fly to Chicago and wait in line 3 hours just for 3 bottles of DL. In matter of fact I almost skipped the bottles to hang out longer with other BA's.

 

Going back to the "lurker" topic, unfortunately, that also applies to bottle shares as majority of folks aren't on here posting. Someone stepping up to organize hasn't been a strong point of BA in years (anyone else besides me remember monthly regular meetups back in '06/'07?). Nowadays, it happens via other avenues: typically word of mouth, Facebook, or Twitter.

I've also lost track of how many times Fern has opened his place to people times over the past 5+ years. PM me or him and you can come over any time. He's kinda stopped mentioning it online since despite being in a pretty central location (Irving, which is near dead center of both sides of the metroplex), he got no one to bite and I'm the only one who makes an effort to attend regularly.

 

Atrial Rubicite. Not even a question bro.

If for whatever reason, these are brewery only releases and I make it there, I'm always happy to help out anyone else that gets shut out or can't go. I hope youse guiz would do the same for me. I know y'all would.

 

I hear ya. I think theres a time and place for smaller bottle shares. I've had a few at my place but I'm not aware of any "regular" large bottle shares being publicly advertised and held once a month or so. It seems as if whenever it comes up the biggest issue is people don't want to drive 45 minutes or whatever it is, which I understand. But that's also why I said the beer being released at brewery only releases is definitely a big incentive to many/most people.

Ie. I offer to have a tasting at my house in McKinney and open it to all BA's. I would bet maybe 10-15 people would show up. If I offered a free BT or some other limited beer at the door that number would drastically increase. Or if I said I have cherry rye on tap, people would be more apt to make the drive.

I definitely need/want to make it out to Ferns one of these days. I know he has always opened his house to everyone.

 

If that were true I would drive from Austin for this bottle share. No joke.

 

Drive time is our biggest killer in DFW.

Anyone own a hotel with a large meeting/conference area? This solves lots of problems.

 

I'll show up just for that.

 

Why do you worry when I'm here buddy

2 hours door to door from Katy to Jester King. #ready

 

Whatup. Put me on the list.

 

*And Kevin.

Bm me websites please. ;-)