Westbrook Mexican Cake

Supposed to be next week. Already fielding calls. It's going to be a shit show.

 

Agree with most of what you said besides the math. I'd imagine even more than 50,000 people would like to have a bottle, provided they know how tasty it is. Also, there was approx 9500-10500 bottles produced. That is A LOT of beer.

I feel like the main reason people are getting their feathers ruffled is due to the fairly small distro footprint of this release, the volume produced, and the fact that it is still hard to get. Seems like it should sit around or at least be readily available for a couple weeks on the shelves. Obviously social media and trading (this website) have a lot to do with how quickly it gets snatched up and I'll be the first to admit that my "hobby" is becoming part of the problem here. Westbrook is partially to blame as well, as the do a great job hyping up their releases through the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. There certainly isn't anything wrong with that approach, if anything its just good marketing. As long as Westbrook doesn't go on to create a monster and complain about the havoc created around it I'd say they're doing a great job. CCB on the other hand stirred the pot and pointed the finger at their customers when the shit hit the fan.

Make good beer, sell it fast, smile, repeat. Just don't complain about how excited and passionate the hoards of consumers can get.

 

My numbers were just thrown out there, I didn't have any actual data. Just showing that a good portion of the people wanting it won't get it. Something we all know good and well, yet everyone seems surprised when they realize it for real and then have to shit on the brewery, retailers, and distributors because of it.

I'll add more to this. I work at a retailer in Atlanta. We likely will only get one case of MC. We've already been getting a flood of calls about it even though it's not even out much yet in it's home State. Everyone wants a bottle and will do whatever they can to get one. We don't do timed releases (all that does is get people stuffed in the store five hours beforehand, then pissed they wasted all day even though it was obvious only the first 12 in line would score), lists (everyone gets on a list everywhere in town insuring they get a ton which isn't fair, while others get a bottle elsewhere and never show back up to claim ours, plus the list would fill up a year before anyway), lottery tickets (it's unfair), or anything else. We get the beer (verifying we have it in case it's late, lost, or whatever, otherwise we're 'lying' to people about it's availability), post it's in stock, and let them come in. Everyone knows it's limited, yet everyone expects it to last three days. Everyone knows it's one bottle per person, yet everyone tries to buy more. Everyone knows we don't hold a bottle for anyone, or sell a bottle now to "my friend who's on the way", but they ask anyway. Everyone knows it doesn't matter how much you spend with us, you're not entitled to more/less based on that. People will try to ply us with rare bottles hoping we'll return the favor, offer a deposit, you name it. Every rare release is always the same, yet everyone expects this one to be different. Everyone assumes this time we'll change it up for them and them only, even though they know we won't, never have, and never will. They all know this coming in, yet suddenly forget it once they're inside. I don't even get a chance at a bottle of my own, none of us do, to give at least one more customer a chance at getting it. We do this at every release, everyone knows the deal, no one is new to it, yet as soon as it's sold out we're all pieces of shit for not providing enough for everyone. They go on facebook, twitter, their own blogs, whatever they have to vent on and drag us through the mud about how we're such worthless, lying pricks for saying we had but "it wasn't there when I got there five hours later", or "they must have not gotten any but said they did so we'd come in anyway" or whatever magical tale they can create. Then there's the "why didn't you buy more, you knew it'd sell out", "the brewery should have made more", "are you going to order any more", etc. We've explained how the three tier system works in GA to every single person, how distributors allot a certain supply to certain stores based on demand, sales, length of being in business, etc. yet no one remembers any of that, all they know is we should have had enough for them to buy a bottle. It's damn silly to have to go through that every time something rare comes to market, but we have to do it because no one seems to recall the exact scenario a week or month ago.

With all that, I don't see why anyone has to smear the brewery, distributors, or retailers. Yet they all do it and continue to do it. I absolutely love being a part of the craft beer community. It is indeed the best community of great people I've ever known. That said, limited releases suck completely, and I loathe them more than anything else.

 

Man, I get ya. I really just try to not get bent out of a shape regarding whether or not I pick up a beer. The only time I've seen people get decently bent out of shape was last year at a event around GABF that just wasn't particularly run that well (it was marketed decently heavily and the possible people that would be able to be involved was very small, but that part wasn't disclosed). Just made me want to chill out and have a beer

 

I seriously hope this is a joke...'good marketing' is not the problem with these releases. The issues can be found below...

I agree Huna Day (the event as well as the bottle distribution) should have been handled in a different fashion; however, to ensue CCB's marketing (or any other brewery's use of social media, etc.) is part of the problem is completely asinine. What consumers need to come to grips with is that not everyone in attendance is going to leave happy. Additionally, people need to realize breweries are in the business of making beer; not planning events. Most of these hyped beers don't really churn a profit after taking into consideration the total costs of production, and on top of all that, now people want a perfectly run release event where the brewery likely increases the production costs of said release even more. Apologies, but I think we as consumers need to take a good, hard look back in the mirror as these breweries have enough to deal with regarding the actual products.

 

Seriously, some of the ridiculous whining is crazy. @rbradley said it best with his clip of what @RDMII said. What next? Alcoholics blaming breweries, distilleries, liquor stores and bars for existing because if not for the existence of such places, the alcoholic has no enabling? Good grief people. Where's my trophy for participating? /rolleyes

 

I'm going to get some BBQ and if they run out I'M GOING TO THE BBQ FORUM TO SAY HOW DISGUSTED I AM AFTER THEY TOLD ME HOW GOOD THEIR PORK IS

 

You know what else leads to more people searching for beer and snatching it off the shelves? 14 page threads on BA.

 

I smell a couple lawsuits coming. Not let the lawyers get a hold of this idea.

 

So you don't think Westbrook hypes up their beer and releases? I wasn't referring to anything Huna day related with that marketing statement. I believe Westbrook does make a conscious decision to sell beer quickly by creating a buzz around releases and we take that little spark and turn it into a blazing wildfire. CCB are just either extremely ignorant or cheap or both and managed to create one of the worst organized events in history. I don't believe CCB intentionally created that mess as part of some diabolical marketing scheme.

 

Westbrook uses social media less than some of our other, even local breweries. They aren't on Twitter (meaning they are, but barely tweet). They didn't even do a newsletter for the MC release. There was a Facebook post two days before the release, 4 pics of bottling the next day, and on release day they changed their cover photo and announced a food truck.

I wouldn't call this "hype," I would call it "announcing a beer release with two days' notice, relatively quietly, through a single social media channel."

Your assessment needs re-assessment-ing.

 

Looking at what I see, Westbrook simply makes announcements and the intarwebz does the job of taking that piece of info, put a metric ton of flammables on it, add lighter fluid and set it ablaze in all glory worthy of worship by pyromaniacs. I find comparable 'hype' (as you use the term) from Westbrook themselves regarding Tuesday Brewsday at the brewery. I don't see people lining up out the street for that.

 

Point taken. Maybe I'm just sleepy and like to bump this thread a lot. Point was that we take something small and make it big and that neither brewery is at fault for people not getting bottles, which has been said several times now.

 

I'm curious myself to see how the places in ATL handle the release.

I'm sure there will be a couple ticketed/timed releases, and I'd certainly love to see the debacle that would be. I'm gonna bow out and maybe end up trying it next year or something at a festival. Not real interested in standing around and bickering for beer, seems to go against the reason to get good beer. To ENJOY yourself.

 

Anyone now if/when Bills Liqueurs in Beaufort will be getting any MC?

 

Stop making excuses @rbradley . It's pretty clear that if you were better at reading everyone would have gotten as much BA Mexican Cake as they wanted.

 

God damn them and their desire to sell more beer and create demand!

Those idiots! What are they thinking?

 

You obviously didn't read very much. Seems as though most people don't agree with me in that statement. Either way I repetitively stated that I don't think there's anything wrong with it and that it's good business.

I was trying to voice my opinion on how important I think it is for the breweries to be accepting of the chaos in a way and not point blame towards the consumer when things get a little hectic.

 

I haven't seen anything on the release besides what's on here. Granted I don't surf every twitter and facebook feed, but the majority of people who know about the release do so because they follow the beer and knowing when it was released last year, so it must be 'time' for it again. People calling us don't seem to know a whole lot about the actual beer either, they're calling because their friend's brother's sister's cousin said it's good. With Hopslam, we sell out to a crowd of people who have never entered our store before, never have returned since, and all seem to have no clue what the beer actually is. It's just "the next cool thing" they've heard about. MC is no different. 50% of people buying this beer will not drink it, I can guarantee that. Maybe more. It will be sold/traded for whatever they're looking to score with it's value. The BA release will be 10x the shitshow too. I have a group wanting to go up for that weekend and I've told them all they're crazy and there's no way in hell I'm going with them. I saw what happened at Huna Day. No thanks.

 

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

3 words, that's it, close this POS down