Hey BA'ers, I heard that Parabola is likely hitting stores next week. I have a good buddy that lives in SF that would be willing to get me a bottle, but he's not too up to date on the local beer scene. Would anyone be able to maybe recommend a few stores that are likely to have it available? The only one I visited when I went out last year was City Beer, but they made it sound like they rarely get Firestone Walker.
For Firestone Barrel series you're actually better off with the Bevmo's & wholefoods over the normal good bottle shops (Healthy Spirits, City Beer, Ales Unlimited). I assume it is because Firestone distributes based on volume sold throughout the year or something?
Yeah I know for sucaba last month it was in whole foods and other random coops around Seattle in addition to the several good beer stores. 4,000 cases is a lot of beer, I'm sure it wont fly off the shelves immediately everywhere. The bottle shop down the road from me got at least 5 cases that I saw of sucaba. It's pretty nice being able to get a damn good beer relatively easy for only $17+ tax, I love how FW is able to make such large quantities and maintain high quality.
I've seen FW barrel aged beers sitting in the cooler a while at ISO beer down in San Jose. In that same area Blossom Hill Whole Foods gets barrel stuff from FW. Obviously not in SF and obviously Parabola will probably go faster than just about everything else, but those are worth a shot if he ever drives down south.
Your experiences in Seattle aren't easily translated to the Bay, as it does fly off the shelves in that area.
You're probably right. Also the standard Bevmo clientele is more geared towards Lagunitas and FW year-rounds. The Barrel series stuff from Firestone definitely hangs around Bevmos longer than places like Healthy Spirits, Ale Arsenal, City Beer... One thing to note OP is that FW distribution is incredibly weird in the Bay Area. The last batch of Sucaba didn't hit here until at least month after it was released. I know people in New Jersey who got it before I did in SF
Parabola is being released at the brewery on Saturday. Probably won't show up in stores until sometime afterwards.
Bevmo's are probably the best bet. Call them, or have your buddy do it. Talked to the manager of my local Bevmo and he said they might not get it until up to a week after the official release (due to weekly shipments). FYI.
Does anyone know if Costco's in the Bay Area still get these Firestone releases? I think they received things like Parabola in the past, but I have noticed their overall beer selection has dropped over the past few months. Kept an eye out a couple months ago for Sucaba at a few Costco's, but never came across any.
CostCos in the the bay area are basically a coin flip when it comes to beer. Very inconsistent, but occasionally great finds.
Refresh their beer finder a couple times a day. It's accurate and updates quickly, to the day in my experience. http://www.firestonebeer.com/find/
Here is the main reason why you don't see the beer show up on shelves. The day that Costco is set to release the beers, employees can go before the store opens and buy everything if they wanted to. So for beers like Parabola, BCBS... they do get them, they just never show up on shelves. Also, it's not like they get the shipments the day they release them so there is also plenty of time for the employee to ask their friends if they would like them to pick some up.
All or most of the Whole Foods in SF should have received Parabola today 4/12 and it will probably be gone by time they close. The location on 4th was only selling 1 per person. I go to the Costco in the city of SF on 10th once every 2 weeks and have never come across Firestone Walker of any variety. Freds Liquor on 6th near Howard is random and took a week to sell 6 Parabola according to the guy there, but when I went there today they had 2014 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout behind the counter and some 2015 BCBS and BCBW in their beer section. Best bet overall is to hit Whole Foods and Gus's Market today. The Beer Finder on the Firestone Walker website works great when you combine picking up the phone and calling each place.
The Whole Foods Market in the Haight received their allocation last week. I was able to scoop two bottles ($15.99) without any hassle. At that time they also had KBS (2 pack limit). You have to ask the beer guy for these as they were not displayed on the shelves.
Yeah, I ran into Parabola at several spots this weekend in SF. WF mostly. Wasn't even looking for it.
