2016 Horizon Society

Also posted on the fb page, please help these great people out!:

"We have scheduled pickups for a reason, we simply can not staff up to allow pickups whenever people want. This means that if you don't have a scheduled pickup you may have to wait. Please do not show up at opening and expect to get priority treatment, our taproom customers will come first if you don't have a scheduled pickup.

Additionally, if you are picking up for multiple people, they all need to be listed on your scheduled pickup. Our taproom staff are spending countless hours adjusting and adding additional people to pickups and that is going to end now.

Please do not come during they day and enter through the employee only door and expect to get service when we aren't even open. Please do not expect us to add additional people to your order on the fly.

We appreciate everyone in the group and we hope that you're enjoying the 2016 beers. As a final thought, the reason we have to restrict these things is to keep costs in check. If we can't manage pickups without having to add more man hours, the cost of the membership next year will go up for less beer to account for the extra time and payroll or the society will just go away due to it being unworkable. Please help out and do your part! Take a look at the FAQ again if you haven't read it lately, view the videos etc. You have to schedule 3 days in advance and there are only a certain number of pickups per day allowed."

 

Email that was sent out yesterday afternoon. Any members who are on here be sure to read the important details about glassware you may have ordered. (3rd bullet point)

REMINDERS / UPDATES

• Hey folks, wanted to send (probably) the final update for the first half the year, so without anything else, here are some things to consider.
• Gilt will be available for pickup starting this Friday the 10th, you have until the end of the year to pickup Gilt, it is not subject to the first half pickup due to the time that we released it.
• The glassware company will only refund $0.50 per glass for the run and without a much larger run we can't get a logo any larger anyways (different print techniques depending on the size of the print run). So here are peoples options. We can refund your purchase (you must send us an email to [email protected] requesting the refund by COB-4pm EST on Friday the 10th of June requesting a refund) or you can get your glass as is and we'll provide a delicious beverage to fill it when you pickup as compensation. We'll have any extras available for sale at a steep discount after the 10th.
• Everything else (all other beers, squealers, Yopeners etc) must be picked up by the 15th of July, no exceptions sorry. Please do not email or message me personally requesting a deviation. With the system provided you can easily contact someone on the Facebook group, update your trustee and have them pickup your stuff if you can't make it in. Anything left as of the 16th will immediately be available for sale in the taproom or put into our cellar for later release.
• Looking forward to the 2nd half pickups. Keep in mind that we will not be doing a ton of pickups Resolute weekend, we simply do not have the staff for it so please plan accordingly.
• I'll be reaching out to a few folks this week or next to test shipping, do not rely on this to get your beer to you, there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to make it work and we have made it through most but not all yet.
• Have a great week folks!

 

For anyone thinking about doing the 2017 Horizon Society, unless you live near the brewery and can take advantage of the Horizon tap, it is SO NOT WORTH IT.

Six months into the 2016 Horizon Society, I paid $150, and so far we have received exactly one (1) free beer. The rest of the beers you have access to, but must pay the $15 or $16 per bomber on top of your Horizon membership fee. And they still aren't shipping in-state.

So if $150 per year for 1 free beer every six months is your idea of a good investment, go for it. I personally think your money will go further at Aslin, Ocelot, or Veil.

Sorry, Adam S., but at this point I am fully regretting joining for this year. 1 complimentary Horizon beer in six months. I don't feel I am getting an equitable value for my membership. I live in state, but I don't live close enough to take advantage of the horizon tap and the Horizon tap seems to be the best part of the membership. It seems like the Horizon tap has taken priority over other things and I wish more effort was put into getting the shipping up and running.

 

Too bad you feel that way man. I respectfully disagree, though I understand it's all a matter of opinion.

While it's June, we have been promised 7 bottles, including 2 of resolute, plus the squealer. Given how customer-focused Adam and the rest of the crew are, I've got no reason to think we won't get this. https://brotherscraftbrewing.com/2016-horizon-society-membership/

I'm also 2.5 hours from the brewery. I just can't make all the releases. The ability to buy bottles and pick up later is fantastic (so far this year I've bought multiple bottles of Great Debate with Mint/Choc, BA Great Debate, AB Great Debate, [5 bottles of] CVDC, Gilt). I've had no issue having proxies pick up for me when I can't make it out.

I get that you may be disappointed at this point, but the brewery has bent over backwards to help folks out, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year. Can't imagine I won't buy another membership next year.

 

the team has been great at communicating, on social media and via emails.

2 Bottles of 2016 Resolute – Nov 2016
5 Additional bottles throughout the year split between barrel aged beers, experimental and sours.

only one bottle in six months. so i guess the final six bottles plus the resolutes are all gonna be jammed into the final six months.

its just halfway through the year and I am assessing my membership and I have gotten only one of seven promised beers and still no shipping.

 

Absolutely, I get it. As someone else who can't make regular use of the growler fills, I think by the end of the year you'll be happy.

Where are you located?

 

I don't think you're wrong, I'm pretty disappointed to see all the fruited Gilt beers being tap only. It would have been nice to get a variety of those in bottles, especially after so many fut note bottles last year.

 

I completely understand where you are coming from @SlothB77. I think we all knew the HS Tap fill would primarily cater to those more local and at the beginning of the year no one knew when or what would be available. I think now, however, they are finally getting consistent with offering the fill every weekend and their Tap Room Manager does an outstanding job relaying what that fill is on the group fb page on the Thurs/Fri leading into the weekend. If something happens to kick then they are quick to announce what's replacing it. I'm about 90 minutes away from H'Burg so knew going into the year that the fills as well as the Squealer would be something that would rarely be taken advantage of. I believe also it was made clear that the shipping benefit was not fully promised. Bros simply stated that they had applied for the shipping license and they should be able to do so this year but it was not confirmed at the time.

The 1 "Included" bottle so far for the first 6 months of the year does stink but I keep reminding myself this is a full year membership so the second half of the year I am excited about having more included bottles to order instead of paying for them. We have received 5 of the promised 6-8 "Exclusives" for this year and 1 of the 7 "Included" bottles for this year. Keep in mind that the barrel aged beers and sours take much longer to brew start to finish and I would have them do it right as opposed to rushing them. So far the Verdure and Gilt batches appear to be coming out very good so hopefully no repeat of the Fut Note disappointment on those sour bottles coming up.

Overall, I am happy so far knowing there's still 6 months left of upcoming beers. Every bottle I have picked up so far (only missing Gilt) has been solid. I did not do HS in 2015 but based on comments back then it would seem this year's members are already winning. The only thing I do not want to occur is having remaining promised bottles roll very far, if at all, into 2017. If I remember correctly Gilt was 1 remaining bottle for HS 2015 members that did roll over into 2016 and it just became available this month. So it took an extra 6 months to fully fulfill their HS 2015 commitment.

Finally, I'm sure most people saw Adam post it on their fb group page back in April but below is the tentative list of bottles we have to look forward to for the remainder of the year. Of course this can change so don't fully expect all of them.

EXPECTED INCLUDED
- 1 Drunken Mornings (Already received)
- 1 Verdure (Berliner) with Pineapple
- 1 Sour red (raspberries)
- 1 Sour brown (blackberries and currants)
- 1 Smoked Imperial Stout based on the resolute base
- 2 Resolute

REMAINING EXPECTED INCLUDED
- Verdure with Passionfruit
- Another sour or two
- Double Barrel Resolute
- Resolute Variant 1
- Resolute Variant 2

 

Since you're fully regretting your HS purchase for this year ill give you 75$ for the last 6 months of your membership, im sure the last 6 months will more than makeup for the frustration you are experiencing from the first 6. The resolute, double barrel resolute and variants are the only reason I joined. Everything else is just a bonus for me.

 

Yep, that is correct. The shipping doesn't bother me too much.

i guess i kinda planned it out wrong. i was expecting more free bottles to come out in the first six months, so i didn't get as many exclusives as I should have. I still don't know what i was thinking passing on the C&V DC. That was perhaps my biggest regret. Multiple members have been kind enough to pick stuff up for me and that has been a huge plus of this group. I do not want to discount that at all.

I will reassess again at the end of the year.

 

I wish I could have just done that.

 

I just want to pop in here and publicly wish one more time....

Please, please, please, make a double coconut Resolute. I still daydream about Coconut Resolute.

That is all. Love your stuff Brothers!

 

What taproom are you talking about that you're seeing fruited Gilt variants on tap?

 

why mess with it? It was basically perfect, it doesn't need more coconut.

isn't that what the Verdure beers are?

 

Na, thats a Berliner.

 

Well whatever it is, its only available in the taproom. Which is fine, but I am thinking that maybe the HS isn't the best value for me since I live a couple hours away. I can't take advantage of the squealer or the Horizon exclusive beers.

 

I can't argue with that, but I don't recall them ever doing the same variant two years in a row, and I think it would be a great experiment!

I would 1000% be ok with Coconut again this year...

 

Or Double barrel with Coconut!

 

I like your thinking..............we are on to something here!!

 

I think each member would have a varying opinion of is it worth it for them. I am about 1 1/2 hours away and definitely think it is worth it. I knew the Squealer Fill and fill discounts for members would be a mute point since I would only make it up 3-4 times this year. The vessel itself is just a cool item and I don't have any other screw top 32oz growlers so I'll take $40 Squealer and be happy. I don't think anything goes on tap that is HS exclusive during normal operation. The only exclusivity we have is being able to get a fill of specific beers while non-members cannot get that particular fill.

We get a total of 7 bottles included in membership. Do the math and that works out to $21.42/bottle at our $150 membership fee. Throw on top of that the $40 Squealer which I will consider a freebie and then at least 6 additional beers I will have the ability to buy that likely won't see very much public availability. And the kicker is if we are happy with our Resolute and Resolute variant allotment I do not have to come up Friday Night before Resolute Day if I do not want too or get up at the crack of down to drive to H'Burg to sit in line for a few hours waiting for wristbands to be handed out. I can come up on Nov 12th at my leisure and enjoy a great day without having to hassle with all of that. If something comes up and I cannot make Resolute Day then I don't need to stress about missing on bottles since I have them included.

Just one persons opinion. I'm sure others will have different reasons about why HS is or is not worth it to them this year.