Your thoughts on Alpine's decision?

In this case, dude wrote the newsletter a month after one growler was posted, then pulled from ebay. So, no, I wouldn't call it a knee-jerk reaction.

BTW, anyone know why he reserves a special hate for growler selling when it was the bottles that were overwhelmingly offed, like 18 auctions to 1?

 

Don't kid yourself, ethically/morally you are in the same boat.

 

growlers are even less predictable than a bottle. not only do they not stay fresh for long, someone could have tampered with it much easier than a bottle. he cares a lot about quality

 

While he has every right to do whatever he wants to do, this seems more like hiding in a hole instead of adjusting to the marketplace. Does The Bruery sell beer online? The only reason there is demand on ebay is because the product is difficult to obtain. A smart adjustment to the market would have been to expand his distribution reach via online sales which would allow him to undercut ebay sellers and, quite possibly, increase his own profits if he were to only offer the beers online to "club members". I mean I can appreciate his frustration but it isn't like Alpine is being singled out here...every brewery either chooses to ignore or deal with the ebay issue.....he chose to throw a tantrum.

 

I think his point was Alpine doesn't need/want online sales.

 

Alpine is not big enough to even ship a keg a few hours away let alone expand distribution.

 

Like kzoobrew mentioned earlier, this is a "beer community." Producers have responsibilities and so do the consumers. Yes, I understand that people are upset because they're being punished for actions they didn't commit, but Alpine wants their product to be used a certain way and they have that right. He's upset, and can do what he chooses. Whether or not we think it's the wisest business decision doesn't concern us.

 

I agree with Shogo. I am not a fan of saying he threw a tantrum either. He said that if he say growlers on ebay that would be the end of it, he stuck to his guns. Standing up for what you believe in should not be criticized.

 

Dude, you know you could ask a friend or a wife to the brewery and get yourself shirtfaced on Expo if you wanted right?

Or, just have one pint of Expo, and take a growler of that good Nelso home.

The possibilities are endless to combat your terrible argument.

 

Yes, because I speed I can't criticize a murderer (I realize that's absurd, but so is what you're saying). Besides, you didn't even address the other part of my post. While you might be able to argue that people shouldn't distinguish between selling and trading, it's both utterly predictable and inevitable that they will.

 

I feel the same way. It's not a tantrum. He believes it doesn't live up to his vision/standards of the brewery he is trying to run and it's within his rights to do so. Yeah, it sucks for people that like the beer, but breweries retire beers that I really like all the time.

 

If you believe in rubbish it absolutely should be. If you tell people when and why you may throw a tantrum, it doesn't make it any less of a tantrum when you do it.

 

A tantrum??? I dont think so. Sounding upset? Sure. Pat said he was going to stop growler sales if he saw it on ebay. So he is going to stand by his word. I dont see a problem with standing by what he previously stated.

 

Mixed bag. One, he didn't say Expo will never be brewed again, just not bottled/growlered. Also, I could be wrong but doesn't eBay have policies that forbid people from selling alcohol on their site? That's definitely a legal issue and I feel like some people are overreacting.

 

I'm not saying they're equal levels of wrong, I'm saying they're both wrong. I was just trying to make a point of the hypocrisy behind it all, it's really not worth debating.

I know I'm a hypocrite, I am completely against eBay selling and completely for trading.

And yes, there's a different "level" of wrong, hence people distinguishing the difference, that I agree.

 

I support this decision, I wish Kern would do something similar with Citra, that beer is too much of a hassle to get now.

 

Terrible decision, especially for business.

A lot of that eBay money goes right back to the brewery anyway (for the next release and so on).

 

I get he's not happy about it, but this will always happen if it's a beer people want and can't get. I would just say "take it as a compliment."

 

Alpine sells out of everything they make and has a waiting list for new accounts. They are in the drivers seat and have the luxury of calling the shots. Their beer will sell out just as much as before. Locals won't care as it'll show up at more draft accounts. The only people butthurt are non-locals, which aren't their target for sales.

 

Isn't this really just an issue of supply/demand? Low supply, high demand, commands a higher price at auction. The fault is really the technological age we live in where anyone in the world has access to purchasing goods via a website. The only way to change this behavior is to change the laws, or sue eBay to change their policy, not allowing filled bottles to be sold as collectibles, only unfilled bottles.

The real disappointment is really taking something away from the local community. I can understand that.