ranger creek small batch #2

Could not have said it better myself.

 

Batch 2 is in the system and ready to sell at Gabriel's.

 

Still lots of Batch 1 on the shelves at Specs Arbor Walk (Austin) as of 2 days ago. But no sign of Batch 2.....

 

There was a bunch of Batch 2 at Spec's Brodie on Tuesday.

In fact, there was a bunch of lots of different beers down there. Some of it was ridiculously older than appropriate to have on the shelf. St. Arnold's Sailing Santa? Yeah, that isn't this year's. So much of the stuff down there should have been up at Arbor Walk being sold to customers instead of gathering dust.

 

And thus, the frustration with Specs continues. Sigh. I really can't drive all the way from Round Rock down to Brodie to get beer, so it would be nice if they would actually distribute evenly to Arbor Walk and (gasp) Round Rock sometimes!

 

These Small Batch Bottles are so damn good looking that I don't even want to open it.

 

Exactly. I walked in there, and at first I was ecstatic. Then a couple minutes after the euphoria wore off I was more like "WTF, seriously?". Lots and lots of beer past their primes that I never even got to see at Arbor Walk.

Granted, there is more room there on the floor for beer, but what's the point if it's not selling. Ship it up north!

 

I might be wrong, but I don't think they can legally. In passing conversation I asked a guy at Gabriel's in San Antonio about distribution and such. I mentioned that Gabriel's in San Marcos has beers that they don't have, and won't get, and vice versa. And he said they can't send stuff to San Marcos because distribution is set up in districts. Perhaps one of the store guys can elaborate, but I dont think they can send stuff from one store to the other.

 

My understanding, as I was told by one of the Specs beer guys, is that the Brodie store decides what to distribute where, in terms of the other stores. There may be limits in terms of different counties, but its clear that a lot of stuff shows up in the main store that never makes it to the outlying stores. Maybe I'm misinformed, but this is what I was told.

 

Very true... Because I was told by a SA Spec's guy that Houston area (district) may eventually get Cigar City. In addition, just bc Houston Spec's has Karbach doesn't mean they can send some to the SA area. Be great if all these obstacles in distribution didn't exist.

 

My comments concern only the Specs in the Austin area. I'm sure they can't send to Houston, SA, etc., but even within the defined area, distribution seems to be controlled by 1 store at the expense of others.

 

And at the expense of themselves. They don't send the beer where people will buy it, so product goes unsold. How is that a good business practice?

But hey, at least they have cases of an IPA from November of last year. Go Specs!

Just to clarify, we're talking about Specs stores that are in and around Austin, not stores in different cities.

 

So to get back on topic, I just had Small Batch #2. I'm not a fan of farmhouse ales, I'm trying, but the smoke in this beer balances so well with all the other flavors. I'm very pleased with this beer!

 

So tell me more. Besides smoke, what other flavors are prevalent?

 

If someone would tell At and T that i can responsibly transport beer in my work truck then id haul some for us from brodie to up north. Im never near brodie unless im working

 

Banana, clove, bubble gum, touch of funk, and a bit of cheese at end. And the plastic from the first batch came off easier...just saying ;-)

 

Was it actually plastic again the second time around? Feels a lot different and not as hard as Batch #1 plastic. Was holding out for the weekend and plan to taste it this soon.

 

Perhaps it matters if they're in different counties. Ben E Keith distributes at least one brewery in Williamson which is distributed in Travis by Capitol. I don't honestly know for sure if Spec's can't do a store-to-store transfer across county lines (Round Rock to Brodie or vice versa). I know that distributors can transfer beer across half the state though.

 

This happens in Houston, too. The really limited stuff will only hit midtown, the somewhat limited stuff will hit a few of the larger satellite stores, but not all.

 

Thats true with a few things, like Boulevard, which has a different distributor in WilCo than Travis, so there have been issues. But Arbor Walk and Brodie are both in Austin, so no county issues there. I think its like Don noted in Houston - 1 central store, and then lesser distribution to other stores. Problem for me is that the central store is the furthest one away!