Maine Brewing Company - Dinner

Haha, the concert one does make sense! I once stayed up all night to wait in a "virtual" line to get Radiohead tickets, but at least that was from the comfort of my room. It would have been very different if I needed to spend eight hours driving and waiting outside.

I agree with your point. If there's a gripe it should be with the distribution system, not with the consumers. I think this is an easier position to take for me since I don't think I was "competing" with the others; I was never going to chase the beer like that in the first place.

 

I always find the "hoarding" issue interesting. I did not attend this release but if I did I certainly would have grabbed a full case, as I have local friends and long time trader friends who would have been interested in some too. Is that hoarding because I took more than I personally needed or it is OK to spread great beer around to local and long distance friends? You people who scream hoarding want to get the beer into as many hands as possible, but that would be exactly what I would be doing. And to be clear, I am not talking about posting on the ISO/FT thread, I am talking about sending it out with no strings attached (although I know damn well my buddies will send stuff back).

When I hear people asking for lower limits what I really hear is "I am local (or at least reasonably close) and I want this beer". Lower limits will not make it worthwhile for people to come from distance for this beer. And would likely lead to more muling since those that do come from distance want to make it worthwhile. Again, if the idea is to get the beer into as many hands as possible then isn't it great that some of those hands come from other states?

In the end, this release sounded just like many of the VT releases that have been going on for a long time. And the complaints sound like many of the bitter Vermonter complaints that have been going on for a long time. Bottom line, get there at least an hour early or don't complain if you are shut out.

I can't see why the brewery would change the way they are releasing it. They are in the business of selling beer, this kind of event generates great hype and publicity (apparently even well after the event) and they sold all the beer quickly without any distribution costs. I would think any business would love that.

 

Exactly. MBC owes us nothing. If we don't like it, we can choose not to support them. I just hope next release they provide a fire pit if they have it in the winter. It could really add to my camping experience.

 

Maybe truck in some hungry bears.

 

It's good that you're that kind of person, but not everyone is like that.

Or, hey, I want to get this beer without having to worry about lining up in the freezing cold at 5 in the morning. There's a limit to how many people that one can get spend a day going to just to pick up a handful of beers Portland. If the limit is low enough (say 4 bottles) then muling would be a lot less effective.

Or again, it could be that some people don't want to have to compete for a beer like this.

A lot of brewers aren't just in it to sell beer, they also want as many people as possible to try their beer. It's not all about business, especially with a brew that will sell out either way.

 

Not to fan the flames here, but I tend to agree to this mentality. You bring up a good point about buying your full allotment. If the brewery allows it, so be it. What do other people care about what you do with it? If you drink it all yourself, give it all away to thirsty hobos, or throw it in the river, doesn't matter a bit. If you choose to wait in line (along with many others), more power to you.

Personally I would love to have a bottle or two, but not enough that I wanted to re-arrange my Saturday to get it. I made a value-driven choice, like a normal adult.

Want the beer but don't want to wait in line? Well that's a real conundrum. Guess you have a make a choice about how important it is for you have that beer.

 

All valuable points, and there are certainly many ways to look at things. Like the post above says, we are all adults and have to make some choices about how we spend our time and what we are willing to put in the time and effort to go after. I didn't choose to go after this one either, but I don't blame the people that did and I don't blame the brewery. The scene is what it is these days, and these days are a hell of a lot better than the days when these beers weren't around.