Distribution in Louisiana

Yea, Baton Rouge has just about everything that New Orleans gets from what I can tell. Lafayette is a different story, I believe.

 

Shouldn't that change soon with the new Whole Foods theyre building over there? I mean it should improve a bit, no?

 

Near Lafayette. And, yeah, the selection there isn't on par with BR or NO. Nothing from Sweetwater, only Southern Tier I've seen has been Pumking, didn't even get any Hoptimum last year. I've just kind of given up on out of state beer (except Stone, Sierra Nevada and Clown Shoes) and have been drinking Parish beers. Yeah, there's nothing "extreme" but the stuff is local, fresh and tasty. Still, it's frustrating to miss out on trying something new every now and again cause Lafayette gets shafted.

 

Anything North of I-10 in Louisiana gets the shaft.
Southern Tier has been fairly widespread though.

 

BR didn't get any hoptimum either last year.

And I have seen stuff in laffy that I haven't been able to find in BR, but for the most part it seems like NOLA gets first pick of the deliveries, then BR, then Laffy, and finally LC.

 

u td.com ?

 

yeah

 

I don't get the Hoptimum thing. We get plenty of Narwhal and Bigfoot but no Hoptimum? It's from the same series of beers.

 

Any news on what brews we will get from Terrapin. I just realized Terrapin has a Hopzilla and NOLA has a Mechahopzilla. It's interesting that NOLA got a lawsuit and Terrapin didn't for the name.

 

NOLA got in trouble for their graphic as much as their name. I'm told that beyond the rollout events Terrapin will be releasing on Hopsecutioner on draft for the first 30 days or so... Followed by Hopsecutioner in package and a seasonal in package and draft. I've got a meeting schduled with them tomorrow so ill make sure to ask about Lafayette. Is that the area that most people here are saying is being ignored?

 

Not sure if you are noticing a lack of draft.. Or package or both.. This is what I know... Hoptimum kegs are basically only preorder. That means the account has to commit... Often up to a year in advance To a certain number of kegs.

Package is open order which means if you aren't getting it several things could be happening but this is my guess:
A retail outlet hasn't let the distributor know far enough in advance that they want it so the distributor doesn't have enough so send when it arrives. Hoppy beers go bad on distributors shelves pretty quickly so unlike Narwal (that can sit around and just get better) the distributor isn't likely to order a lot of " extra" stock.
Most orders and allocations on things like Hopitmum are loosely based on sales of the brands core products. If you are in a market that doenst have solid sales of their core brands its harder to get a brewery's specialty beer. I don't know if this is the case you your area or not... But it's not an unusual situation.
The best advice I can give for getting the rarer stuff in is to find a retail account that develops and maintains a relationship with the brewery rep. That's a lot harder when you aren't in the major city I know a retailer emailing a a beer rep makes a massive difference in the attention you get. I would be more than happy to pass on their contact info to any retailer who wants to jump start that kind of relationship. None of this specialty stuff was coming in when I started asking for it 5 years ago... It took a solid 2 years of relationship development before we started seeing the benefits. It won't take that long in today's environment even for folks in outlying areas.

Also... Should add that yields on beers in the same series aren't always the same so getting a lot of one and none of another in the same series isn't necessarily an indication that that any particular area got ignored on purpose. However in the case of Hoptimum vs Narwal its the flip. More Hoptimum is made than Narwal. I tend to think is was distributors being shy on their orders because they didn't want to be sitting on beer while it went bad...

 

I meant lack of package, not sure about draft but I'm guessing it's probably the same. That's interesting that more Hoptimum is made than Narwal. I would've thought it was the other way around. Super hoppy beers seem like they'd be a tougher sell than an imperial stout, especially one as easy drinking (IMO) as Narwal. Thanks for the input, it's appreciated.

Like I said, it's just a bit frustrating for me to miss out on these breweries that, in some cases, have been in the state for MONTHS. I'd like to try Creme Brulee and Choklat. I'd like to try Sweetwater's lineup. It would be outstanding to try a bottle or two from The Bruery (not sure how much, if any, is in the state yet). But, again, that's why I've just started focusing on local stuff. The chase for out-of-state and rare beers is nice but I'll take fresh, local stuff any day. I'd rather go to Parish's taproom and give them my money.

 

I spotted these from The Bruery last night here in nola: Bois, Rueuze, Tart of Darkness, Oude Tart, and Saison Rue

 

All of those are at the Whole Foods in Metairie as well. And all are fantastic.

 

The owners of the Brueury are coming to town in early Feb.. For a beer dinner at Boucherie and a meet and greet at the pub. La will be getting another shipment for that event.

 

Different from what we already got?

 

Very solid brews to date. One hell of a team they have put together. And getting bigger and better as they move forward. 2014 IPA is terrific.
They are also coming out with some very limited Barrel Aged beers that should be very impressive.
I'm sure the Ave Pub will get some of the goodness when it makes it's way out of the Barrels!

 

Whoa! Got anymore details on that? I love Boucherie (and The Bruery ) .

 

Reasonably sure the dinner will be on wen feb 5 th and the pub event on Thursday the sixth. Possibility those will flip flop. Ill know for sure at the beginning of next week.

 

Yes, more of things that have almost sold out and new beers. Some VERY limited though.. Stiens, the Pub and Boucherie for the dinner might be the only places you see them... Two cases split between 3 of us. I'll know more next week.