Wolves & People

For those that are worried about the idea of the Shelton's distributing this stuff...you can get around that by just...signing up for the Cellar Society.

 

Or living 30 minutes from the brewery.

Did the cellar society page say those beers were exclusive?

 

Living next to the brewery would help considerably. lol No doubt.

Have no idea if the cellar society releases will be entirely exclusive or not. I would have to imagine at least some of it will be.

 

No, they didn't. That's one of the legitimate questions hovering over the cellar society. I'm sure more answers will come.

 

For a place that's likely to have fairly limited production output, and a small footprint as far as where there beer will be able to be found...I don't even necessarily care if the beer I get can be found elsewhere if it again means I don't have to hunt it down. Yeah...it'd suck if the stuff just showed up right here in Philadelphia, but even then, this is a batshit crazy beer market and nothing that's any good sits around for any significant amount of time.

 

Shit. Gimme a club where I can nail down a good chunk of the upcoming Bourbon County releases and I'll sign up for that too. I'd really love to be able to not have to scour the region for my fix this year.

 

I just took a quick look at Sheltons beer list, and I see damn little that I see on the shelves with any regularity. I've never seen an Anchorage beer, or a Du Ciel around. If they are bringing these brands into WA, they must be focused into very narrow markets.

I know that I only live in the 11th (I think) largest city in the state, so we're probably not a primary target for Shelton. But damn, it'd be nice not have to drive a hundred miles each way to try to grab some of these bottles. Maybe if they would spread the love a bit more, we wouldn't be so suspicious of them.

 

I remembering seeing a lot more Anchorage here before Shelton entered WA (they used to self-distribute). I think we've had two Du Ciel beers show up in that same window.

I asked about Funky Gold Mosaic coming to WA with a shop owner and their response was basically "Shelton never tells us what we're getting and it keeps getting cut back."

It's great having Baird back in WA and I see some of the European output, but seeing very little of the US-based breweries in their portfolio (sounds like they're not handling Nebraska Brewing here) is concerning.

 

When asked about having a local trustee for the cellar membership, they responded with "…these reserve beers are a ways off. But thanks for your support". Doesn't 100% confirm it by any means, but I'd say it looks like the cellar membership will include exclusive beers.

 

Thread jack!

I've been wondering if we'll see that beer as well. Seems like we were swimming in Prairie a few months ago, but now there's none to be found.

 

I certainly hadn't until now, but I live near Idaho.

 

Wow have been away from this thread a couple days... Seems like a hot topic. Maybe they should have their beer at an event or something, those that they are releasing in bottles. I think Belmont would be a great place to host. That way I can try before I buy. No way would I plop down that much coin for 30 dollar bottles. At least de garde doesn't jack up prices. Which makes me wonder how to some of these places justify the cost? I mean I'll take a de garde beer or upright beer over most of the 30 dollar stuff in similiar styles.

 

Truthfully, what you consider not "jacking up prices", others consider leaving money on the table. How do they justify the cost? It's easy. People pay it. In another thread, there's a place in upstate New York selling Heady Topper for $42 for a fucking 4-pack. How do they justify it? Because it's a price they can fetch. It's a business. Period the end. I guaranteee you, De Garde could charge more. Whether you think it's noble or not that they don't is really irrelevant. Also...many low ABV beers sell for cheaper. Most of their stuff clocks in at what...2-4%? It's damned near non-alcoholic. Not saying it's a lesser product or that less skill goes into crafting. Simply stating that really low ABV brews typically don't sell for a ton of money. The market always drives the price. If they can't get what they're asking, their product won't sell. Simple as that.

 

Meanwhile Cascade is still trying to sell stuff they released a year ago, and Ale Apothecary bottles last months at all the bottle shops in town. So, you know, it seems like the market just might be talking...

 

And, as mentioned upthread, it is a campaign to help finish building the actual brewery, so it may not be reflective of what it may cost in future years, once they're up and running.

 

Cascade recently ceased shipping beer. I'm sure their inability to sell product online has helped create a glut. That and not everything is going to be as well received as everything else. However, reducing the price to move the product sets a bad precedent. As for Ale Apothecary and other stuff...your market is brutal. Not only does Oregon house some of the most impressive breweries in the entire goddamned world, but they're in close proximity to one another. Never mind the other beer that gets distributed to Oregon. The Oregon beer drinker has a shit ton of options. Until such time as these breweries can't hit the numbers they want, or otherwise experience financial distress because of their pricing...nothing's going to change. Nor should it. There's zero incentive for them to change anything. Besides...once it leaves the brewery, how much time it spends at bottles shops isn't the brewery's concern. You have no idea how much a place may have marked up a product and themselves contributed to the bottles sitting on the shelves for lengthy periods of time.

 

Never said it was noble. Sure de garde could charge more but they don't. Upright is the same way... commons too at times. All I'm saying is that a place that hasn't even opened yet is charging 30 bucks for bottles. That IMO is a bit too much. If it's good then great. Even AA imo charges a bit too much for what they offer. There is just too much sour/saison/wild ales around to over charge. True, people will buy anything. Cascade is on the upper end of this, which is evident on why so much sits so long.

 

You say "a place that hasn't even opened yet." I see "brewer from Jester King that brewed Atrial Rubicite and other top end beers and knows what the fuck he's doing." lol Unless the guy forgets how to brew between Texas and Oregon, I'm thinking that unless it was all smoke and mirrors, the guy should be able to continue to produce. Perhaps I'm naive or out of my mind. I'm man enough to admit either is possible. You should move to PA...then see if you'd think there were too many sour/saison/wild ales around to over charge. As I stated, OR is a hotbed for great beer. You guys are spoiled. For many of us, every brewery in Oregon is better than what we have. Granted, that's not necessarily an issue I'm combated with. And see...if again...if you lived here...you'd realize when we get Cascade...it doesn't even hit a shelf...much less sit there. Ever.

 

Most places too, don't collaborate with breweries they don't believe in or want to be associated with. Obviously The Bruery, Boulevard, Evil Twin, The Commons, etc. appear to be amiable, if not eager, to work with this outfit.

 

I don't see it as being spoiled, I see it as not accepting things that don't meet our expectations and standards. It's long, and takes some side trips, but check out the "Fatheads coming to PDX" thread. Here is a brewery that is, generally, well-thought of, and there are a lot of posts on that thread saying, in effect, "they are going to get their asses handed to them here". And that's an established, well-regarded brewery. Regardless of the brewers background, we are going to be skeptical of a brewery that has yet to brew their first drop of beer.

So, spoiled, no. Expecting a high level from everybody, oh hell yeah. As much as I personally would love to see Troegs out here (started drinking it when you couldn't get more than 20-30 miles from Harrisburg), I'm not sure they'd do well, sales-wise, and their mainstream brews would sit forever. Same for Smuttynose, and a bunch of other of my favorite Eastern breweries. It's easy to sell a beer out here, it's tough to sell that beer twice.