Three Brothers Resolute Day

Charlotte, wouldn't you agree that by getting that Mexican Cake you got this year because you Knew a guy, is kind of like the cutting line scenario?

 

Did any of you guys drink with the dude splitting up the Cellarmaker growler, Westbrook Gose and a bunch of other bottles?

 

Perhaps if they didn't have a few more left when I got there, limit 1 per. Fair point. Now, had I asked the guy to save X cases for me, that would be a different story. Dont get me wrong, I am happy for Westbrook. They make great beer and I am able to go there several times a year to enjoy it as well as purchase relatively close to my house. But again, my point was that customers who keep the doors open year round are who shut out in many cases. As our fellow BA @HOPSareKey would say, everyone has the same ability to find mules. They aren't going away. Adapt or GTFO.

This all has been my $.02 and is worth exactly what you paid for it. I think some are mistaking my thoughts at anger for toward certain people. I am not angry. I have a fridge full of beer I really like and clearly have time to waste on internet forums regarding beer. I actually have it quite well. Just my feeble attempt at adding some reason to a fairly heated and unreasonable situation.

That said, I am done commenting on this thread.

I hope everyone enjoys the beer they got and truly does share it with those that didn't.

Perhaps I need to attend BASC next year and be proven wrong. I will probably just spend my time drinking Jade.

 

Mules, hoarders, line cutters and the like are easy to get rid of; move to online ticket sales. Either BPT or a lottery style.

Match names with ID or credit card and you get the allotment the brewery thinks is fair. No standing outside, no bitching on BA, done.

Want to make sure the locals get plenty? Do what FFF's does, random ticket drops up to the event.

Seems to work really well for Alesmith, Uplands and now when Founders does it with KBS.

Compare Monstro and Dark Arts. Everyone bitched about Dark Arts being an expensive ticketed release but it actually went really smooth for people who got tickets and those who showed up on the days just to grab beer.

Monstro on the other hand was a damn disaster, "We couldn't anticipate that many people showing up."

Everyone will complain about something no matter the system, but at least some breweries are working on ways to keep themselves and moreover, their customers, as happy as they possibly can.

 

Not only were there a limited quantity of the variants to be sold in the first place, but the brothers were holding them back for friends who didn't want to wait for them? So in reality, there weren't even 150 sets to be bought at the release to begin with. Seems to me, all anyone needs to do is become close enough friends with any of the brothers and you can get your own stash without having to endure hours in the cold to possibly get the chance to see someone buy a set or twenty. I understand that all breweries partake in this business practice, but I definitely wouldn't post in a thread where dozens of pissed off people are venting about the questioned decisions and misfortunes of that day about how you did everyone a favor by not having a set of variants set aside for yourself. I don't see where you can have an opinion on the situation to begin with if you weren't there to experience the event either.

 

You lose me here. I like the rest of your post, but this arbitrary exception trips me up. What's the difference between buying 40 bottles to send all over the country or buying 40 bottles to keep for yourself? The "hoarder" might be trading his bottles, too (which isn't any different from what you are doing in an established craft beer trading ring) or might want to cellar and share for years to come. Or even if he wants to drink all 40 bottles in a single night by himself...that's his right. As long as you're not breaking the rules, I have no problem.

 

I know I cannot be the only person that read no limit, mostly saw this coming and decided not to travel the distance. I'm surprised people are upset there will be a limit next year while mad at hoarders so openly.

 

The finger pointing and blame game over "hoarders" vs. "underground trading rings" vs. "deserving locals" is useless. The bottom line is that even if the first person in line bought every single Resolute variant available for whatever reason, he/she would have been operating within the rules established by the brewery for this release. Would I roll my eyes? Sure. Would I condemn the person? Hell no.

The truth is none of us but the brewers themselves can say what the "intent" of their release rules is. To get the beer into the hands of locals? To sell it as quickly as possible to anyone? To offload multiples to people in the hopes they will trade it all over the country? All we can do is play by the rules the brewery sets. And, other than the line cutting, the rules appear to have been followed here.

But good news: the rules will change next year. Three Brothers has a better understanding of the demand and will shape the release to meet their intent, which sounds like making sure as many people as possible get to taste this elixir. Good on them for working hard to satisfy their customers.

Finally - the Facebook trading groups. I'm inclined to agree they are a bit of a blight on this hobby because of the exponential impact to demand for any given release. But so are local truck chasers. And so are hoarders. And so is the fact I drove from DC to Pittsburgh at 4am last year for the Gratitude release. I know a couple of good BA's who are in a few of the national Facebook groups and they are some of the most generous, kind people I know. This is a social hobby, after all, and they enjoy the interaction with other folks. But make no mistake, they also enjoy getting boxes full of limited releases from the other side of the country. We all do. Let's not judge each other so harshly -- by being on this site, we are all part of the hype machine whether we want to be or not...and the machine is paying far more dividends to fans of good craft these days than it ever has before. We all benefit. So "locals", "hoarders", "illicit Facebook trading rings" - cut each other some slack. None of you is as bad as the other thinks he is.

personal attack edited out.

 

my definition of hoarding is when someone is getting a copious amt of beer and holding onto it...to gain an advantage (trading or beign the big dick at a bottle share/release). i think everyone else is saying that definition of hoarding is the same as saying people are hoarders for buying a ton of said beer, taking the time to wrap it up, box it, and take boxes to fedex/ups, jsut for the sheer pleasutre of someone having a chance to enjoy the beer. I do not see that as hoarding at all. i see it as one guy, or a group of guys, hooking up a bunch of friends with great beer..and yes these guys are my friends. i have muled zhukov, rare dos, terrapin limited releases for people that have never sent me anything besides label and $$$ for that beer. i dont know why it is so difficult to understand that there are people out there that are not different than BAs from years past (idea is to spread good beer right?).

These groups are getting organized for a couple reasons. 1. to genuinely spread great beer around and 2. so people dont have to get trade ***** for beers that are made or released weekly and to get a chance at trying them, have to trade a one-off or limited release beer for said beer. Example: heady topper, pliny the elder, zombie dust.

If people wouldnt overvalue their beer and treat it as a stock market or commodity, then these groups wouldnt be organized. But, i speak for a lot of people in these groups when i say we are getting sick of people asking for ridiculous trades with limited release beers. it is much easier to post an ISO for a certain beer in a group, send money and a label, receive beer, and return the favor with thank you beers or next time a limited release comes out in your area.

 

Again, this "system" was put in place by the brewery and yet no one takes them to task- it's just the a-holes in the front who screwed everybody. Fact is, every single person could've used the system established by the brewery- all they had to do was show up at 7am and their trunks could've been filled with variants.

And since 3 Bros is ultimately in business to make money, I'm willing to bet when they shut the doors Saturday night they all high-fived, hugged and GASP- cracked open some variants to celebrate their Resolute Day success. Then they took to Twitter/FB/etc to apologize to those that didn't get theirs...

I guess that's a dick move, too? Denying someone in line a shot at those variants like that!

 

FWIW, and I had no dog in this fight (was at a certain awesome beer fest in NC) and as I have commented in some of the FT:ISO threads, I think as a community, people can determine who and how they want to trade.. did the guys who bought 3k+ of beer do the right thing (something a lot of people might do in a no-limit situation)? I'd like to think bottle limits or decency would draw a line between 2-3 sets and 15-18, but that isn't the case.. In a world where you can buy $25 bottles and flip them on the black market for $125, start-up money isn't going to be an issue - any wise investor would buy everything they can (a mistake the brewery would probably admit it made in it's assumptions). This is arbitrage and something economists insist will eventually fix itself (which will happen here). The bottom line is that anyone trading sets in these couple days after the release are one of two people - the people who made this one of the more controversial releases I can remember or the people who suffer for the mistakes of a few - either way the value of these beers will be decided by the people who did not get them, rather than the people who did. I will add that the ISO's for these sets have been for beers that have established and multiple year releases, which only holds water if people give those beers up. Basically, the variants are a first year release and I'd think (if you take away the disdain you feel for the people who might have them) are probably close to newer public offerings

 

I guess I just don't see the difference between this behavior and an organized trading group. If people weren't getting beer in return, these groups wouldn't exist. In other words, I doubt there is a dude in your group who sends nothing but the local "86" rated pale ale out to folks and is receiving limited releases. It's certainly an exchange, even if it is a little more familiar and fraternal than a traditional trade.

That said, I don't have any more problem with it than I do any of the other practices that are becoming more and more commonplace in the community. As long as you follow the rules, you're good with me. Thanks for your perspective.

 

Missed the point. Clearly.

 

For the record, and just so some are not confused... If you came for Resolute, which is really what this day was all about, you could easily get as much of that as you wanted all day long. Resolute is the beer that has put Three Brothers on the map. It is without a doubt a world-class beer that deserves the hype. They also make other excellent beers.

There should have been no doubt that the variants would go very fast with a 150 bottle count of each. The bottle count was known well ahead of time, and those that wanted a shot at them should have made plans to get there very early. The ones who do have a right to be upset, in my opinion, are the ones that DID show up very early, were 40-50 back in line, and were still shut out. This happened due to the actions of just a few.

The big issue here is that we unfortunately have some major douche canoes in this scene, who will deliberately and greedily take advantage of any loopholes without hesitation. @ThatCracker is a shining example, and should rightfully be called out for his actions. 1 set of all 3 variants would have put you back $180, he spent over 3k. He was posting the night before about how cold it would be and tried to discourage people from showing up early. From what some here observed, his crew was responsible for the line cutters. He is on record in other threads bitching about someone hoarding. And lastly, he was called out and responded in a childish manner with absolutely zero remorse. In my eyes, he represent everything that is wrong with this scene.

Like I said before, those who show up early deserve to be rewarded, and I see no problem with buying a few extra sets for a couple friends or trading partners if you have the funds. Dropping thousands of dollars for an entire beer group, who is not present, when there are only 150 bottles of each variants, is just a flat out dick move.

Should Three Brothers have been more aware that people like @ThatCracker would show up.... Yes, they have been taken to task, the mistake has has been acknowledged, and they've said there will be measures taken next year to prevent it. As has been stated, they only sold a couple hundred bottles at last years release, and thought this years system would work. They were wrong... let it go!

 

You can't miss a point that wasn't made in the first place. You seem to be a friend who is clearly trying to defend the brothers for the actions they made that day. It's hard to defend an event in which you were not present at. At best, you are defending them based on your interpretation of their personal morals. Your opinion is based on more than likely the opinion of the brothers, which in case will be in favor of themselves.

 

Oh yea, not gonna argue that fact, maybe I know too many good military folks that go out of their way to respect others, and completely agree on asshats everywhere in all professions.

 

That's the #1 thing that gets me as I continue reading the replies from upset people on here, FB, etc.. Every Single Person that showed up Saturday could have purchased multiple bottles of Resolute, a beer that is already fairly limited as it goes; and furthermore it sounds like just about everyone who hung around was able to at least taste the variants on draft. So these complainers were able to get probably as much as they wanted of an already-limited beer that is also freaking delicious, and were still able to taste the variants... yet all they continue to focus on is not being able to get a bottle of the even-more limited beers; while there I heard some people crying about not getting a variant, when they had never even tried the original one in the first place. Seriously? People are so damn concerned with having to "taste the rare" these days that they couldn't even bother recognizing their good fortune of getting to buy multiple bottles of a world-class beer that the rest of the country won't see outside of a trade.

 

I guess you missed the part where I also defended the actions of the few who bought $3000 worth of beer.

 

While I might not be in one of these groups I can attest that somone in said group did reach out to me to make sure I got my bottles and was taken care of.

I can see where everyone is pissed off at this but if everyone was so interested in the variants they would of put in the time dedicated to make sure you were at the front of the line to acquire wanted bottles. Maybe im not mad because I was able to get what I wanted (1 of each variant). While it was shitty that people bought so many but they didnt do anything wrong. Hell if I had the funds to buy as many varaints as they did I would, but maybe thats because im an asshole. And its not like all of them were for themselves, muling is a shitty game but it happens and will contune to happen.

 

Oh boy am I late! Can't wait to get caught up on this thread. Should make for a nice afternoon at work!