Notable Releases - DC/NOVA/MD

Mug club limits are showing 300 instead of 600, so I think there's 900 total of each.

 

100 Mug Club Members x 3 Bottles Per = 300 Bottle Limit for Mug Club

 

Regarding recent quality problems at Aslin, there's a chance it just wasn't fresh. I know double starfish was on tap for at least 2 weeks. Usually the only way to get it when they were doing takeaways was to get it the day of release (even on tap). So maybe we're all just used to uber fresh dankness.

 

I just put my order in and there were more than 200 bottles of each still remaining. They also charged ~$1.25 per bottle for the Eventbrite fee which is lame lol.

 

Wow, so Eventbrite is charging them $5,400 for this? That's pretty steep. Like I said before, everything they do rubs me the wrong way, I just can't support them.

 

I know it's not as good as Aslin, but I got a $5 32 oz growler fill of Enjoy By at Whole Foods and feel so relieved I didn't have to bother with any online ticketing stuff.

 

Yeah that fee + saying "plus tax" plus the bottle price rubs me the wrong way.

Saying $10.99 for the bottle isn't true if you're tacking tax on top of it.

Does BPT charge a fee? I don't think so, or at least it's upfront and advertised and included in the price

 

Basically my thoughts exactly. FWIW, my brother lives in Boulder and it sounds like the Casey ticketed releases have been a godsend compared to what was going on out there when it was every man for himself.

 

I'm not feeling it at all. I'm not sure if the person answering questions on the Aslin page is clueless ,or maybe they didn't think this through. If it was like $0.25 per bottle, sure it's better to do a per bottle fee. But if it's $10 for a BP ticket (even not subtracted from your beer total) vs $2.40 a bottle. EVERYONE is gonna get the max of the 3 'regular' IIPAs, so clearly it would have been cheaper to jsut do a $10 flat fee ala BPT.

Not sure why they thought people would be "excited" for the expansion if it means the $12.99 32oz crowler is now $14.41 for a 25oz bottle, if you make it past the F5 mash-fest tomorrow morning.

 

More than that! Click on the blue DETAILS on the right. It says $2.42 for the $11.99 ones. That's got to be per bottle, since 2.42 is not divisible by 3. OUCH!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aslin-122216-beer-release-tickets-30444014868

 

Also - why is Aslin bottling IPAs in 750s instead of just canning? Isn't canning cheaper? They couldn't get a mobile canner? Bottling IPAs seems so weird to me (other than Maine Beer Co).

 

The cans themselves are much cheaper. The equipment to can with, is much more expensive. This is all also tied to the used market, as places typically buy a rig another brewer has outgrown, or has closed and won't need. I know for example Port City bought an old 22oz bottling line from Southern Tier, then paid to have it set up for 12oz.

 

The equipment to can is expensive but you have mobile canners which go all over the NE for breweries and will can for you for a fee. Gotta imagine that's better than buying an (outdated) bottling line.

 

Possibly. My only thoughts:
1) The crowler machine could have been on it's last leg anyways, the last 2 releases I had beer coming out of one or more cans (Passion of Johann and Key Lime Rasberry Gose). I think those are meant to be canned to order, not do 1200 cans in a row. This could have pushed up their timeline.
2) Maybe they are planning on doing more non-IPAs and this seemed a good investment in the meantime until a canning set up deal could be made.
3) Shitty 'bargain' canning lines - see DC Brau's quality level, and their inability or indifference to fix it.

 

It's amazing that the owners of Aslin don't actively solicit advice from people on this thread. Clearly everyone here knows more about running a brewery than they do

 

~ $15 for a bottle of an IPA from a brewery is kinda absurd. I'm glad they're doing online but Threes Brewing in NYC (along wit using iron heart mobile canners like other half and interboro among many others) sells online and you know how much you're purchasing it for - there are no hidden fees or added tax. It's all figured into the pricing.

 

Maybe not... but alot of people here have been to alot of different releases and while the tickets are appreciated. paying an obnoxious amount for said tickets is ridiculous.

Also this is a service industry. If customer's aren't happy hard to do business. Aslin currently as a small operation still needs people wanting to come out to a business park in Herdon, VA. They're not doing any actual distro. I think listening to feedback and criticism is part of the process.

 

Sorry to hijack this thread and point me elsewhere if need be but I am heading home (Quantico/Fredericksburg) for Christmas this weekend and taking part in a small gift exchange with siblings. They want to get me beer to which I said great but would like to know what would be a good gift for a beer need that is Virginia local on the shelves? Any thoughts? I get most larger distro Virginia beers up here in philly but any rarer hardywood etc out right now?

 

I was in Richmond for the Kentucky Christmas Morning release two weekends ago and there were several variants of Hardywood's GBS out that I think are worth trying (bourbon barrel, rum barrel, Christmas Morning, etc). If they are passing through Richmond, their best bet is to pick up bottles from the brewery. If not, I'll hang up and let others comment on beer available elsewhere.

 

Yeah if they are going through richmond I am definitely going to just tell them to swing by hardywood.