Your thoughts on Alpine's decision?

we'll see a resurgence of the " drink local " mentality with some regional individuality?

 

I mean, yeah, it's their choice, and I'm sure they know better about what will make/lose them money than anybody here does. On the other hand, I can see a bunch of their core fans pissed off if they discontinue a format of one of their most popular beers, which probably wouldn't hurt their business, but probably also just isn't worth it.

 

didn't seem to hurt russian river at all.

 

But... it's the locals that will suffer the most.

 

They did it knowing the consequences that he posted. I see no problem with it. I mean he warned us,and came through. I see him as a stand up guy for sticking to his guns.

 

being able to drive to alpine a couple days after the release and having expo on tap doesn't hurt me at all. bottle and growler announcements actually hurt locals more since so many people can plan to come from out of town.

 

It won't be on tap, if they follow through on this "threat". That's my point; brewers dropping their most sought after beers because they were being sold on Ebay. You can drive but can't imbibe if the beer is no more..

 

maybe i'm missing something, but i've read the blog post twice and i don't see anything about not brewing expo again. he says no more growlers and he's considering no more bottles. he doesn't say anything about removing the tap option.

 

I guess I read more into the blog than was actually there. Pardonnez moi.

 

I guess I had a mixed reaction. Kind of a weird move on his part but it's still cool to see a brewer taking a stand against all that BS.

 

i agree with him, if you don't like it tough luck, you don't get the beer off ebay, go fuck yourself, the locals will enjoy their ass off for it. If it was a local that did this then they are an ass. I am not against milking these guys but they have a right to do whatever they want if they think they are being jipped. But what brewers should do is just make more of it, simple solution. Just dump your "regular" beers and just make the big flashy ones. Im just happy some breweries know how to balance overhyped beers with their regular lineup.

 

He only said that about one specific beer an no, its not extreme for a business owner to uphold his/her ideals however extreme they may seem to anyone else. Alpine sells out of everything anyways so he can stop selling that one to go and it will still sell out. Any business that has people doing things they don't want with their product, if it has a simple fix like this one of just not selling it to go and they still sell everything, they'll do it. You can just thank the assholes that ruined it for everyone else which isn't anything new and move on.

 

All brewers aren't alpine. They can just keg all their stuff and sell it themselves by the glass and to bars to do the same and they'll still sell out. They can't even keep up with cali demand so eliminating demand from the rest of the country won't harm them.

 

What percentage of bottles and growlers are ending up being auctioned? Is it really so high that it's worth keeping Expo away from everybody who can't make the trip to the brewery just to keep the assholes who already sold some from maybe possibly selling more?

I can totally see him following Vinny's lead by ceasing growler sales, but to nix bottles as well seems like an overreaction to me. Again, once the bottle has been sold (either directly to a customer or to a retail store that will then resell the beer - possibly online!), the brewer has gotten paid for his product and it really isn't his property to control anymore. I understand, especially with growlers, the concern with quality control making a brewer concerned with potentially negative consumer experiences (and potential negative reviews) based on post-sale mishandling, but this is simply the risk a brewer takes once he lets his beer leave his possession. Tough.

 

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2012/02/28/alpine-exponential-hoppiness-growlers-gone/

 

Support it 100%. kegging and distributing locally will allow for more supply and control for their core customers.

 

I like that he is sticking by his word. Good for him.

 

Support that idea. I was lucky enough to visit Alpine when I was out there. Awesome people and they seemed very intent on local operations and the San Diego beer scene in general.

 

I support him in spirit, but his actions are simply pissing into the wind.

The Ebay issue is so much larger than Alpine, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it.

 

I agree with Pat if he asks people not to put his growlers on ebay then people should not use ebay to move his product.
I have been to the brewery/pub a few times while out west and everyone who works there is really nice and very professional.