Torst 2nd Anniversary (3/8)

Cantillon st gilloise is kicked, everything. Else still on.

 

Both cantillon now kicked

 

You clearly have never had a drink at Torst before.

 

If that tap list and those prices generate that kind of a line, it's probably not a good sign for this whole "craft beer movement."

 

Almost went to this. Glad I didn't. Looked like a shitshow. Although it would've been fun to hang out with Richard Christy from the Stern show.

 

A couple lesser Cantillon kegs and Nilla Rye do this? Can't wait to see what happens at the All Green can release!

 

I got there around 11:45 and waited in line until about 12:30. I thought Torst did a good job of managing the large crowd--although I left around 2 so I can't say how the rest of the afternoon/night went. I was absolutely thrilled to get Vanilla and a couple Cantillons I've never tried. Cantillon/Vanilla Rye don't show up very often so of course people are going to show up in droves. Why is this a bad sign for this whole "craft beer movement"?

 

I think it was a combination of line and price that he/she was alluding to.

Go back a few short years, and a similar event would have led to a packed bar (but no people lining up before the place opened) with people probably paying a max of $1/oz for the rarer stuff. Fast forward to the present, and despite the prices of $1.40-2.40/oz (i'm excluding stuff like bikini or molotov lite here), people not only happily attend, but will line up for the privilege.

I doubt anyone would argue that's a good thing right?

 

Couldn't agree more. I'm worried how this is going to extrapolate to 5-10 years down the line. People camping out for days on end to pay $5/oz? Really not out of the realm of possibility.

 

Yeah I would definitely agree that things are different--no argument there. At the same time, if you don't want to partake in these events, stay home. I'm just not in the business of judging how people want to spend their money/time. And whether or not we think its a good or bad thing, its going to keep getting bigger. Ah the good ole days when only a few people liked craft beer...

 

Hopefully the great equalizer is competition. People need to stop flocking to events/beers when "limited", "barrel aged", "cans", "anniversary", etc. are part of the equation. For every hyped beer there are probably 5 less hyped, less sexy beers that are just as good. Human nature doesn't want to miss out and get something "special", so lines and sometimes high prices result. But we are all guilty of it, myself included.

 

I think they (and most brewery's/brewpubs) should make it a week long event (anniversary). Or at least a 2 day event. We have a few well known brewery's here in SoCal area that are doing their anniversary event in a week long event. Bottle Logic is gearing up with a week long event. Societe had a week long event. A 2 or 3 day or week long event would be great for those brewery's that are big.

 

Yeah I'm a realist as well. Because certain beers were more available and/or affordable in the past, doesn't mean that's where I expect things to stay (no matter how much I'd like that to be the case). But I think people generally fall into one of two camps:

1. Keep beer affordable. I can deal with the lines/hunt etc. And hopefully as more breweries enter the market place, things will even out.
2. Raise the price. I'd rather be able to get my hands on something at a higher price (and just buy less beer), than get shut out altogether or have to deal with a sh*tshow.

So I think in this case, when people still see long lines even with significantly higher priced beer, it can seem discouraging, and makes people reevaluate what they believe the beer landscape in the future will look like. As @BoardwalkBock points out - if you'd told someone a couple of years ago that in 2020 people will be lining up to pay $5/oz for rarer pours, they would have laughed in your face. Now that doesn't seem that unrealistic at all.

I don't think anyone was judging the individuals who went, just expressing their thoughts on what this means for beer in the long run.

 

Being the only one in a bar, paying a low price for a high quality/imported/hard to find/rare/sought after beer is a good sign that the bar is about to go out of business.

The reality is that you have to expect to pay up for a premium experience. If people don't pay/line up, the venues for good experiences will disappear.

 

That scenario is one extreme (and pretty unrealistic - if a place tapped say Vanilla for $5 pours, then regardless of whether it was about to go out of business or not, that place would be mobbed until the keg was kicked) and Torst is the other.

I can think of plenty of busy, successful bars that regularly tap rarer beers, that while still charge a "premium", aren't quite so outlandish.

Edit - but Torst's pricing isn't really the issue here. Clearly they are spot on with their pricing. I think some of us are just expressing disbelief that people were lining up to pay those prices.

 

the thing I like that they are doing that more bars are doing is the 3 size options. with tons of awesome 10 - upwards of higher teens % beers out there, it's nice to not have to crush the wallet....and your liver too much haha. experience the variety. I was at a firestone event friday and it was nice to be able to sample all of the goodies and still be in solid shape when we moved to the next bar. some of the glasses are pricier these days for sure, but there werent that many high % gems and barrel aged awhile ago. ppl drank 6+ berrs plenty of times at $5-7 a glass no problem for years. I'm cool paying a lil premium on stuff that's exceptional and, in most cases, not something I'm gonna need the same amount of glasses to get tipsy. quality all day.

 

Anybody know if Yellow Belly is still on? Contemplating heading over later today