Rhythm Rug Release

I've enjoyed the beer lines with great bottle shares but I also love knowing I've got my bottles are waiting on me to be picked up at my convenience any time sat/sun.

I work about 75% of weekends so it's rare I can get in a line couple hours from home for 2 bottles.

This will be my first trip to FF.....essentially I'm only going because they used this method.

 

I don't know. We all have our time sinks, but if you have kids, a job thats not a standard 8-5, or really have other things you enjoy rather than standing in a line, I enjoy the ticket method much better.

Besides, with Wicked Weed releases, they always seem to put on a good party that bring the beer geeks and you dont have to stand in line for 10 hours to do it.

It not like you would miss out on the camaraderie if you don't get bottles, you can always go to the event, and you can always host a beer share on a weekend, I am sure lots of people would want to join in.

 

While I am genuinely glad some new people will get the opportunity to try one of Fonta Flora's best beers, some might view it as a negative that an individual who has never been to the brewery before and who is only coming because of a hyped special release was able to get bottles at the expense of others who support them more frequently.

All I'm saying is that this method is definitely the least beneficial for locals of any that they've used so far. I'm not a local, but if I was I would be pretty salty about it if I didn't land an allotment online.

 

I am not sure how locals are being shut out. It will still be on tap for enjoyment by those same locals that come everyday anyways.

Tickets sales can be instrumental in getting new loyal customers from outside Morganton which helps build brand recognition at a very low cost.

I don't see the locals at Westbrook complaining that they were 'shut out' from the Mexican Cake releases this weekend, as they have been getting special taps and special bottles of stuff randomly for years.

 

I didn't say "shut out" I just said if they didn't get an allotment of bottles. You are competing with more people when this method is used, that's just a simple fact. Draft is definitely a nice consolation, but their beers are usually considerably better from the bottle in my experience at least.

Westbrook is a completely different situation, not sure what one has to do with the other.

 

To me its not. Westbrook used to make you wait in line all night for a release of their highly coveted beer. Fonta Flora did the same. Now with expantion and desire to increase marketability, both breweries have went to a method that logistically is easier to handle, ie. tickets.

I didn't get any bottles of RR, but I am thankful that there are so many good releases this time of year. It's not Pokemon, and we can't collect them all.

 

BA Cake lasted about 12 minutes or so. RR lasted 2. Westbrook (specifically BA Cakes) IMO is on a completely different level than anything FF does. Just look at the ISO:FT forum to prove that. Westbrook at least had their ticketing website ready to go which FF did not. FF should have lowered the bottle limit to 2 but I get it's hard to predict how many people will show up for online sales. FF knows how popular RR is and should've accounted for its popularity. There is no perfect system and someone will always get left feeling butt hurt and @c64person is right about tons of other good beer being released this time of year. Let's hope that today goes a bit smoother than yesterday.

 

Fair enough. And you're right, we don't need them all. But I don't want them all, ha I just want RR!

I'm just bummed that they went to this system for their big one that is probably their most anticipated one so far, that and that they did 4 bottle limits. Not mad at the brewery or anything, I'm sure it made the most sense for them. But it seemed like the bracelet method and limits determined day of was working well enough.

 

I agree with you. In my opinion, the Razzmatazz release went very smoothly and I thought they would have followed suit for RR. I'm spit balling here, but wasn't sure if the added logistics of having the anniversary party in conjunction with the RR release somehow dissuaded them from using the bracelet method this go round? I can't imagine dedicating a few people to handing out bracelets would have been that burdensome, but just trying to think of why they didn't use that method again.

In any event, I hope the online sale today goes smoother and wish everyone the best of luck.

 

As a recent NC transplant from Pittsburgh, PA, my main "big" release experiences have been with Voodoo.

Back in the day, they used to have big ass release events and folks would camp out (literally) the night before in freezing cold temps with snow piled around them to get the likes of Black Magick, K13, AB GNVP, etc...Those were a blast for sure...but definitely a logistical nightmare and a massive time-suck. If those had still been the format once I had kids, I would never have been able to get Voodoo releases again.

But a couple years ago, they started randomly announcing their releases the day of, usually on a Monday or Tuesday middle of the day, as a way to reward locals. So everyone just sort of moseys over after work to get their bottles. I think most of the folks in my beer circles back there would all agree that it's much better now than it was when they had lines and such. Sure those parties were epic, but I'll be damned if they weren't also a pain in the ass. And...not like I don't get a chance to see everyone at their releases still, it's just a more laid back atmosphere.

So I think that's sort of ideal (and they've done this, right? Wasn't Custard a random release on a Friday?)...but the next best method to me is an online sale. Basically whatever it takes to prevent a line and I'm on board. They prob could have lowered the allotment though, I agree with that.

 

Considering it's their anniversary party and the huge time commitment it takes to ring up a couple hundred people in line it makes 100% sense to me to have all the sales finalized before pickup via the online method.

 

From a purely logistical standpoint (mine, not theirs), I'm glad they did online sales. Handling OHB Spectrum and FF Rhythm Rug on the same day was going to be a huge pain. And as much as I enjoy FF beer, hometown will always win for me, so I was going to OHB regardless. Some of us were already starting to question (before the sales method was announced) whether we'd be able to get in line early enough at FF to make sure we got beer after leaving OHB. And yeah, I know you don't have to collect them all. But I missed Rythm Rug bottles last time and really enjoyed the bottle or two that I had a taste of.

 

Is there anything different happening because it's the anniversary party versus what they normally have on release days? Special drafts, food, and live music essentially? I agree that it does probably save some time to already have the sales part done in advance, but you still have to have someone working the bottle pickup/receipt and ID system.

 

I'm hoping that with the pickup spread over 2 days and with extra hours ( opening at noon....finally!) that the crowd and line for bottles will be less crazy.

 

The first Rhythm Rug release was awesome! Very relaxed, only 50-60 people in line and they were sold as 750 mls! Along with Jitterbug and Shopping Spree.

 

That was a fun day I got shut out on Rhythm Rug that day, but i was able to grab jitterbug and shopping spree. That release was oddly early for them. I was able to grab a ticket during the online pre-sale, so no getting shut out this time around.

 

Dude, you aren't the only one. That was once a favorite of mine. Greeting all of your smiling, excited faces with free coffee at 8:00am. Then one release a lot of folks got really out of hand. One of my ladies and I got put in the middle of some seriously aggressive junk. It was clear to us at that point that not everyone is sensible enough for a line. We are trying so hard to find a way that works great for everyone. Our company is still so very small. With only two full time employees (Todd and myself), very recently two part time employees, and 5 bar tenders, we struggle to meet the growing demands of our fans. We truly do take it to heart when folks get frustrated with us. We so badly want to accommodate everyone, but that just isn't possible.

 

I would like to take a moment and thank all of y'all for being gentle with your comments on this thread. Seriously. Other outlets were not so much yesterday, and it downright sucked. We put a ton of feelings into everything we do, including event preparation. I logged on to answer questions before the ticket release today and was quite frankly terrified of what this would look like. So from me personally, thanks guys. Cheers!

 

Thanks for doing what you do, you personally and the rest of the crew at Fonta Flora. I'd like to think that those of us on BA have a bit more understanding about what it takes to run a small brewery and have enough experience with other releases to know that sometimes things just don't work out. And that there's no perfect answer to the question of how to release beer that you have less of than is desired by your fans.

 

Thanks for taking the time to interact...makes the hobby more fun.

No release strategy is ever going to please everyone. Just the way it is...