Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company

That Matt, he's a classy fellow

 

Dropped by today to get a 4-pack of the much-lauded Cat's Meow and I wasn't disappointed. Juicy, hazy, tasty. Just a touch of bitterness for balance.

 

I am not one to whine about prices at all. But since you're going to make your argument, it has to be assessed.

1. You're pouring your Kolsch at the rate of essentially $6/pint. To assert your Kolsch is better than any $6/pint out there is pretty silly. It may be a great beer but I would guess a lot of folks on here can find a $6/pint they'd rather drink.
2. On the price of your DIPA: "I hear about breweries with some of these pounds per barrel that are twice what Heady Topper is. Is that beer twice as good? No. Are they wasting an exorbitant amount of hops? Absolutely. So there’s that." - John Kimmich

 

Let's not treat a John Kimmich quote as canon. He is hard selling his wares in every interview.

 

You're obviously not from, or ever visit bars in, Massachusetts.

 

Went to Exhibit A on Saturday before stopping at Jack's Abby for dinner.

First off, great place. The space is good, nice bartender, and I like the variety of pour sizes offered. I was really happy with the beer. Cat's Meow is very good- I thought it was already a top tier beer. I'm really excited to see these guys grow and learn - I expect by the end of their first year, they'll be making some A+ product. I thought the Kolsch was delicious, and a great price for a pour.

I was surprised by how few FV they have back there. They had a pretty decent selection on tap (although at least one was sold out of cans), but that won't last as people start to discover this place, with that little production capacity! I'm sure they have plans to build out, and the warehouse space can certainly hold plenty more.

I hadn't been to Morton street since the old JA days. It probably will never happen, but that area is really ripe for an awesome little spot with multiple vendors. I was thinking of the famous industrial park in portland, with Allagash, Foundation, Austin, and Bissel (not anymore, of course). It just feels like having a couple breweries and a wood fired pizza place, all with big patios facing the street, would make for such a great location. Pull up a couple food trucks, amazing.

 

Born and raised, my friend. Have drank at most of the taprooms in the state. We're talking Framingham here not Boston rent. And don't bring up bar prices, because this is a brewery with no middleman.

 

Since when do breweries charge less for pours in MA than bars? Trillium and Nightshift just to name a couple aren't exactly cheap to drink at the brewery.

 

I don't disagree with that but It's food for thought and when new brewers assert: "We need to charge such a high price because we used a belligerent amount of hops" - I think it's fair to question whether those hops were needed, or wasted. There isn't a linear relationship between lbs hops/barrel and perceived hoppiness, there just isn't.

I'm sick of people saying how expensive it was to open and they have to make their money back. It's called a business plan. If your business plan doesn't prioritize being able to produce your good at a price that consumers are willing to pay, that's your fault.

If these beers are as good as Trillium, Other Half, Monkish then everyone will shut up. But this guy is asserting how great his beers are and how they're worth every penny of a premium price. Expectations will be set very high, and any/all flaws will be noted.

 

Yeah I've always had a problem with night shift in that regard. They would probably argue they're providing as good of an ambience/service as a bar. Unfortunately they and Trillium don't list their prices on their website so I can't get into the nitty gritty....but when you're cutting out the middleman you should be able to charge a lower price and still make healthy profit. It's math.

 

$6/16oz (served in a 20oz glass with head) for their core lineup is a pretty great deal for a bar, and The 87 is $7 for a 16oz DIPA pour.

Edit: re: Night Shift

 

By the way, I could be totally wrong about Night Shift, but what I took issue with was a memory that out of their first brewery they had bottle sale prices that were higher than retail. Whenever I see a brewery charge more for their own bottle out of their taproom than it costs at retail that just seems like a gouge job.

 

If that's right, then in essence this Exhibit A guy is claiming his Kolsch is superior to all NS's core lineup or else he will happily buy us all a round.

 

What an epic price-whine this thread is now!

Biggest issue with a place like this is transaction costs -- actually getting there in order to buy the beer. Shaving a quarter or whatever off the cost of a pint isn't going to move the needle much. You're right that the quality is what matters, and for a number of their beers it's there.

To redirect the whine, I'll say that on my second trip they were out of cans for two of the three beers I was interested in. That's a tough one: can't be much of a destination with unreliable offerings.

 

There are breweries that are established and have won awards and have cheap beers like $5/6 pints at Medusa, whatever the prices are at Cambridge Brewing and Night Shift as shown.

A new brewer with less than superior reviews makes claim his beer is the best thing out there at the price. When people are so arrogant and un-humble about their beer saying it's flawless and worth every penny - I find the need to question this.

Your beer isn't worth premium price because you put a lot of hops in. And unless you have lab results, we have reports of "a diacetyl bomb" and "Licorice notes" neither of which belong in an IPA. I happen to have another friend whose palate I trust and experienced off flavors in two different Exhibit A beers. I don't support the statement "I don't know what your palate is tasting" unless you have lab results to back up how clean your beers are.

I'll happily pay premium price for premium beer. never once heard 2 diff people say a Trillium or TreeHouse beer was a "diacetyl bomb".....and I talk beer with a lot of folks for a living.

 

But you're arguing that beer you presumably haven't even tasted must have been made wrong because they *must* be using more hops than you can taste the difference of. Like come on man. Time will tell if the ratio of production cost to flavor quality to consumer cost is a bad business plan. But you're essentially knocking the guy for being a jerk while coming across as one yourself.

 

He was making the claim about his Kolsh and for the record, his kolsch scores very high for the style on BA. The small handful of ones that do score higher include ones like Trillium's Sprang which - let's be honest - drinks like an IPA, not a true kolsch.

 

He's not exactly a new brewer...I for one am a little miffed that he left his post out in Western Mass, purely for selfish reasons.

$19 is a lot for a four-pack of cans, but assuming it's draft-fresh, what's the difference? You're still getting a $5 pint of Double IPA.

 

I wanted to chime in and say that I have visited twice and each time the staff was great, had a quick chat with the Matt one night, seems like a down to earth guy.

Regarding pricing. C'mon, what is an extra buck here or there. Hopefully you would be leaving that as a tip anyways.

I really enjoyed Cats Meow, the Porter, Demo 5 I think, was pretty good.

I wish these guys the best. It is a nice place to stop for a pint and a 4 pack before heading to JA for food.