Societe opinions

Obviously Societe should invest in cardboard milk carton growlers:

http://carton.leisurepak.com/

 

I've only been to their tasting room once, though I've had their offering at O'Brien's and Toronado as well. I have to say that the beard thing bothered me way more than it should have, and I picked up way too much of a hipster vibe from the guy that was serving up my beer - but I'm funny that way. I also have this lingering fear that they are going to hire some Bird Rock Bandits as security.

 

Hi everyone,

I am Douglas Constantiner, co-founder/co-owner/co-brewer/etc. at Societe Brewing Company.

I merely skimmed over the comments and would choose to not get involved in others opinions. My main reason for getting on BA and addressing this topic is becuase I was given a heads-up by a customer/friend that there was a person on here "speaking" for Societe's philosophy.

Please trust me that we DO care about you as the consumer. The unamed member saying "we don't care" couldn't be farther from the truth. Additionally he has nothing to do with Societe and of course is not our spokesperson.

Just because we sell our growlers for $25/each doesn't mean we don't care. All that means is that we bought expensive growlers and need to make our money back so we can pay rent and other expenses.

We live and breath to make the best beer possible and I please beg you to judge us/me on the beer and not our pricing. We were the first brewery in the US to use the stainless growlers. We took a chance with them knowing they were expensive. The MSRP from the manufacturer is $25, which is what we went with. Initially, we planned to price them cheaper (we thought selling them at this price would deter people from buying them...now seeeing all of this it seems we were right and I am sorry) so that more people would buy them and therefore return to buy more beer.

At Societe what we are trying to do is make the absolute best beer we can. We are a young brewery and very new to this industry from a business standpoint. Travis and I have experitse in making beer not running a tasting room. Please be patient with us as we grow and try to figure out how we can keep our customers and fans as happy as possible while still making high quality beer.

FWIW, I have yet to see cheaper prices for the growlers we sell. Regardless, that doesn't address the fact that they still cost $25! Thanks for the input and please ask for me next time you come by the brewery...I assure you we are not here to rip you off. If I am here I am more than happy to discuss in person pricing and reasoning. Thanks everyone.

Douglas

 

But the difference is that you live in Nevada. You can take that great high quality Societé growler and get it filled at Aces & Ales, Tenaya Creek or Khoury's. Here in California, we can take that great high quality Societé growler and get it filled at. . . Societé and only Societé.

I understand your argument w/r/t paying more for high quality products, but the context is that many of us in CA come at this issue from a place of weariness over having to own dozens upon dozens of growlers. That illogical law is certainly not the fault of Societé Brewing, but it does contribute to a skepticism and hesitance many California BAs feel regarding uncommonly pricey glassware.

The Societé growler is a supercool display piece, and absolutely nobody would have a problem with it in Oregon, Nevada or Michigan, where it could conceivably be your sole refillable jug for every occasion (or if, should you not want to pay a higher price, you could come in with any old growler and get it filled at the tap room). But apart from the odd glassware collectors, we're frankly sick of having to own extra growlers here, and especially ornate ones only exacerbate that inclination.

 

I understand caring but why not give people the option?

 

Yeah the California growler law thing is definitely a problem...though that's really not the complaint or argument I've seen on this thread.

For the record, I'm not going to take a Societe growler into a local brewery to get it filled even though I could here in NV. While its a superior growler, I think its tacky to bring in someone elses to get filled.

 

The Ca. law is ridiculous for sure. And I see no reason that it would be tacky to fill it somewhere else. If a brewery cared that much then it's not someone I would want to support. It is like bringing a re-usable bag from one store to another.

 

I've brought CA growlers in for fills plenty of times at Aces & Ales. If that's the tackiest thing that happens at A&A on any given night, consider it a tame evening.

 

Bringing in a growler into a bar for me is ok. I wouldn't go into Big Dogs or Tenaya with a Societe growler to get it filled. To each his own but if it's local guys I try to support them as much as possible of it means buying their growler glass and having multiple ones so be it.

 

I used the term ripoff, which was the wrong choice of the words (though I suppose I didn't realize that until reading more posts in this thread.). My apologies for that - it was mostly due to the cost compared with other breweries in the area, not that societe was somehow raking it in on them.

Like some of the others, I just wish there were some lower cost options.

 

Is this actually true? I know Stone has had them for quite a while.

Regardless, no one is mad that you have that as an option. It's that you don't also have a $4 piece of glass as an option as well. As I mentioned Stone has the stainless growlers, but it's one of like a half dozen that they offer, some of which are cheap. Because CA is moronic and every brewery needs their own growler, not offering that is basically forgoing sales for no real reason, because expensive growlers will definitely turn people away.

 

Completely left out end of the first sentence: "but I've liked everything of theirs that I tried."

 

Not that I needed any convincing on anything, but thanks for posting. I have been and will continue supporting your brewery, because the beer is great.

I do think there's something to be said, if you're going to be offering two different growlers, to offering an expensive, fancy one and a more affordable option.

 

Stopped by your brewery on a recent trip from LA. Enjoyed the beers and tasting room - you have a nice set up (works well for kids). To put my 2 cents in - if you had a cheaper growler price I would have definitely bought one - as I already own to many growlers I have to weigh 2 factors: price of container and the fill options (I'd give you a check for this factor).
I also did not buy a growler at hess (price of container) nor at alesmith or Greenflash (fill options). I did buy 2 alpine growlers and refilled by Pizza Port growler from a previous trip.
Mind you if I were local I would consider the expensive option.

By the way the CO2 purge is a nice touch, I was not aware that you guys did that.

 

Being from the LA area, if I were local I'd buy a growler to refill all the time, no problem.

I can only justify getting another growler from out of the area if it's cheap enough to throw the damn thing away after using it, I can't have another growler sitting in the closet collecting dust half the year. The CA law kind of ruins the concept of an eco-friendly refillable container.

 

they arent nearly as nice for holding beer to keep it fresh. they are also 25 bucks though which people complain about, but they sell for the exact same price online!

it seems that doug isnt reading this... but how long do you guarantee the freshness of your growler fills? since we all know they should be drank fresh but some growlers preserve beer longer than the brewery may tell you. or does anyone else know the answer to that?

 

Sorry, I judge all breweries by a combination of a) Quality b) Price

If I can get something of equal quality, for a lesser price, I'll go with the lesser priced option (hence, I drink a ton of Sierra Nevada & Lagunitas.). Nothing personal.