Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company

You're hearing, yes, just not sure you doing much beyond that. Think a bit, and maybe you'll see some potential points of comparison between wine production, distribution, and sales with that of beer. Or maybe not.

As someone as already pointed out with the example you yourself introduced, Trillium does in fact NOT price out their distributed points of sale. First time in your life, I suppose.

Please, just gather all this together: a brewery that distributes WILL NOT sell their beer for less than what you see in stores FOR THEIR beer. If you compare your local brewpub's pint of a beer that does not get distributed with that of a beer that does, yes, I'm sure your brewpub's beer will be cheaper. No one is arguing that the costs are lower in that case. But, shockingly, there is more to the situation that just cost in the case of a brewery setting prices.

Simpler:

Case A: Brewery distributes. Brewery also sells beer via a distributor. End result: price at brewery will be "suspiciously" similar at both liquor store and brewery. Why? Brewery does not want to make it so liquor stores stop selling their beer because liquor store is being undersold by the supplier. Brewery decides to sell to liquor store for far less margin so that brewery doesn't have to employ more people to sell beer on site or, perhaps, location precludes people from getting beer or, maybe, they're trying to sell beer to people who don't just buy at breweries. (note: this will probably require selling more beer because, yes, the beer sold at the liquor store brings the brewery less money per liter...)

Case B:Brewery doesn't distribute. Brewery does math and finds best price to sell beer at. People buy it. Enough? Continued business! Not enough? Out of business!

And yes, if you sold your cucumbers to a grocery store, I guarantee they would demand a price lower than what the average cucumber price would be at the farmers' market. Maybe someone can get a price check on cucumbers.

 

After sifting through pages of price discussion, I have a question...one which may have been answered above by @krantul and @konabrewer.

Is the Koelsch a true Koelsch? Has anyone with Koelsch/subtle German style experience drank this beer yet? I'm very curious to try it, but I'm also hesitant to try a new breweries' attempt at a Pilsner/Koelsch/Helles...etc. I've been burned MANY MANY times.

The IPA certainly looks delicious, and very "New England-style"-esque.

I'd also like to add that Pemberton Farms in Cambridge have Exhibit A in stock. Which is why I was asking the questions above. I wanted to give them a shot last week, but the combination of having just dropped ~$40ish on Bourbon County beers, and not knowing anything about Exhibit A, stopped me from giving their beers a whirl.

Hopefully this week!

 

Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women!

 

I don't have enough experience with Koelsch to really say for sure but at a minimum it's not an obviously Americanized version. I.e. it hasn't been hopped to death, despite the presence of Mandarina Bavaria. The one Koelsch I have had a decent amount of over the years is BBC Gold Spike. I'd say that Goody Two Shoes is pretty much along those lines and if anything a little better.

 

Don't sleep on their Hair Raiser DIPA. That stuff is really, really good.

 

These guys reviews are better than Trillium when they came out. I haven't had anything but they must make some fabulous beers

 

Looks like that one used to be Demo Tape Seven. I liked cats meow better, but some of my friends had the opposite thought. I'm definitely interested to see this batch!

 

Yeah, Hair Raiser is legit. It's very reminiscent of a Treehouse style IPA. Very soft, a little mint. To me it actually tasted like Swish.

 

The last time I had Gold Spike I think it may have been on cask, and I didn't care for it. I don't remember much else, although I'm sure I've had it a few times over the years.

I have it on good authority that the Kölsch (Goody Two Shoes) was brewed to style...... I look forward to drinking it!

Damn, the Hair Raiser does look good. Swung by the liquor store yesterday and picked up The Cats Meow and Goody Two Shoes. I was torn between The Cats Meow and Hair Raiser (or both, but I have enough beer at the moment).

I'll grab Hair Raiser next time as this appears to now be a regular offering at one of my locals.

 

Where abouts? I was thinking of stopping by after work tomorrow but it's a bit of a hike.

 

Pemberton Farms in Cambridge.

 

I've had the Kolsch, Cat's Meow, Porter (formerly demo tape 5), and the Double IPA (demo tape 7), and was really impressed with all of them. I'm thrilled that they are now distributing a bit... and interested to see how hard it is to come by once the hype catches up.

 

had first taste at the Julio's Mass beer tasting in November. knew the background and "hype" going in and it met high expectations. I think it was the brewer that was pouring samples at Julio's, super nice guy.

don't mean to re-beat the diacetyl horse, but my impression on the 10/26 Cat's Meow cans was that there was a slick feeling & buttery tasting finish to it. Nose, mouthfeel, taste were fantastic: I loved this beer from the samples and most of the can. I drink alot of locally-brewed IPA's, like most folks do, and I've never noticed diacetyl - even on specific Capt's Daughter batches that this forum swears it was riddled with - so this was my first experience with that taste.

Reading knoabrewers comments here, I'm definitely more inclined to try Cats Meow again. I loved the Pale Ale with oats, and even Cat's Meow. It's obvious this is the start of a kick ass brewery.

 

Don't sleep on the Galaxy Dry Hopped Kettle Sour either! Leitmotif # 2 i think it is...(demo tape kettle sour was #1) very enjoyable, if you are into that sort of thing.

 

Picked up the Kolsch tonite and I think it's pretty great. I can't really comment on its authenticity since I don't really have any experience with European versions, but I think it's safe to say it isn't an Americanized hop forward version.

It's very cracker-y, with a little lemon, and drinks super smooth. Not too much carb either - you could pound this like a glass of milk if you wished. For a quick point of reference I really liked Smuttynose's and Sierra Nevada's Kolsch and really didn't like Newburyport's version. Definitely looking forward to checking out the brewery next time I head out to Framingham.

Also, thanks to @AlcahueteJ for the heads up on Pemberton Farms. I don't live far from there but had never been because I absolutely hate driving in that area. What a great little place, both selection and price wise (plus assorted other good stuff like cookies!).

 

Down the Road's Kolsch was kick ass

 

Just had a 12/5 can and think I know what you are talking about. Don't believe it is diacetyl though, I am also sensitive to some stone fruit flavors where it is perceived as slick and buttery to my taste buds. Cat's meow may just fall in my "blind spot" and I'll have to try their other options - I already have a Leitmotif to try and won't hesitate to pick up a Hair Raiser...

 

I also liked Sierra Nevada's, although I didn't think it was particularly true-to-style from my memory, but still enjoyable. Sierra Nevada puts American "twists" on beers, but they do it in a more subtle way than most US breweries. And it works. Agreed on Newburyport's...it was riddled with diacetyl, at least the can I had. Might have been the most diacteyl I've ever perceived in a beer.

Yep, it's a nice place. I also picked up different vintages of Bourbon County's there, plus a 2016 Barleywine a few weeks ago. It's not my first stop, because I have a good rapport with another store in Somerville, but I've popped in a few times if they have something I want, and can't get elsewhere. I started following them on Twitter recently as well. They're about a half mile away from me, so it's convenient too.

As far as the Exhibit A Kölsch, I thought it was a real nice drinker. Clean, easy to drink, and it had that grape/white wine note in the finish that I've found in other Kölsch's I've enjoyed. Absolutely not an India Pale Kölsch, not even close.

I wish there was more discussion around this beer, it's quite unique to have a beer in this style locally. And at 4.5% ABV, in a style meant to be consumed in large quantities, it truly is the epitome of beer.

I also had the 12/5 version, but I was at a Christmas party, and I think I had another beer or two before it. I wasn't really paying too much attention to it. I remember it being good, somewhat juicy with a bitter finish. Perhaps somewhere in between Trillium-level juicy, and say West Coast IPA bitter, leaning more towards juicy. I want to have it >1 week old to see how it rounds out. I don't want to give too much of an opinion quite yet, not until I've sat down and paid more attention to the beer.

Regardless, I see myself picking up the Kölsch more often than any of their other beers (although I am curious about Hair Raiser too).