I was in my local bottle shop yesterday to pick up an IPA that was just released. That was my only target for this trip, I pretty much had blinders on. As I proceed to the checkout they had a few bottles of Juliet sitting there staring at me. I've just recently started to appreciate sours so I decided "what the hell, why not?" and I grabbed one. Two mistakes on my part: 1. The bottle was $18.00! I should have put it back right then and there. The other "sisters" are usually $8-$10 at this shop. I'm willing to gamble $8 on a beer that I might like but $18 is pretty steep. 2. I didn't realize that the base beer is a rye format. I HATE rye beers. Two questions: 1. Can anyone tell me if the rye is really pronounced in this beer? and if so- 2. What is the trade value? Thanks
The rye is not pronounced, and it's a fantastic beer. Yes, it's pricey, but it's a seriously good sour. You'll cringe at this, but when I had the opportunity, I bought 4 of them.
I saw it for 15.99 at Whole Foods Columbus Circle when I was in NYC and only got one. Had I have known it was as fantastic as it was I would have cleared out the shelf. As far as trade value goes it should land you some good beers depending on what your after. It should trade well in places where GI doesn't distribute, like Toronto where I am for example......just saying
I'm just having flashbacks of the last (big) gamble I took which was a Nebraska Hop God. That was a $20 mistake.
I see what you did there. That has never worked for me. Always that, "I'm here for that one bottle, that's it, that's it, I'm walking to the counter now, I'm doing such a good job. Man I'm proud of mys.. ooh, what's this?".
Smart merchandising on the stores part. They put it RIGHT THERE on the checkout counter. The same way that they put candy, toys, etc. on the bottom shelf at the grocery store. Eye level for my 4 year old daughter.
No, they're on a totally different level. The ones you mentioned go for ~$11 a 4-pack or $7-8 for a bomber. The Lolita and Juliet have always been a lot more. This most recent batch, the Lolita was $16-17 and the Juliet was $17-20. EDIT: and I don't mean on a different level price-wise, but also taste-wise. The three sisters (Lolita, Juliet, and Madame Rose) are all phenominal beers.
No. The three sisters (Juliet, Lolita, Madam Rose) are all sours which tend to cost more than other beers due to aging, ingredients, etc. Matilda, Pepe Nero, and Sofie are not in the same "group" and are cheaper. [edit] Beat by a few seconds!
We have them available in 4-packs here (St. Louis) as well for roughly $11.00. But the 22 oz bottles are $7.99ish, while Juliet jumps up to $18.00. I just thought it was strange. -Nevermind. Thanks guys.
At least in Chicago, the wholesale price for Juliet went up this year, so the retail price went up, too. The Three Sisters - Lolita, Juliet and Madame Rose - used to retail for ~$16. Moving forward, it looks like they'll range from $18-$20. The other Belgian-styles - Pepe Nero, Sofie, Matilda, Pere Jacques - are priced much lower. The Three Sisters require more attention, more time in barrels and have a higher tendency to go screwy during the whole process. Those considerations result in the higher price.
Lolita is good, and, in my opinion, Juliet is very good. Worth the money. And if you don't want to drink it, you should be able to get some ok stuff for the Juliet. But I think not drinking it would be a mistake.
This part was what I didn't know about. The way they are all listed together on their website I figured that they were in the same category. Thanks for clarifying.
