Burial Beers not coming to SC

I'm surprised (well, not really surprised) that SC would have a law barring a brewer/distributor from refusing to sell to a retailer who fails to maintain quality requirements. Retailers are the gateway by which many customers experience the beer, and if they don't handle the product properly, the customer has a bad experience, which he doesn't blame on the retailer -- he blames it on the brewer. Burial is protecting their reputation/product. Good on them!

 

Saw this and couldn't help but wonder why they didn't research this law before committing to distro there if it is that (understandably) important to them.

 

AKA..."We don't want our beer in big box stores. Only the small shops, so we can seem a bit more pretentious."

Funny, you can also control that by..you know...sending less to distro in SC overall, if it is SUCH a big deal....

 

Their loss! Besides I only like Skillet Donut Stout from them. Which I'm sure we wouldn't get here anyway. The rest of their line-up is pretty average. And those limited, 750 mL one-offs are definitely not worth the money.

 

You must not have tried their Hazy NE style IPA's! They are doing some really good things lately!

 

I definitely am a fan of beers like Bolo, Skillet of course, some other Saison stuff. I just think that it is a *tad* pretentious to take a stance such as this, when THEY picked the distributor they did, knowing where their disto footprint was..

I mean, some of us are only like an hour away from Asheville, so it isn't that big of a deal. But it sucks for the lower state.

 

Exactly! What a joke!

From their FB page:

"State law prevents a distributor (and thus the brewery, who is required by law to use a distributor) from refusing to sell a product to any licensed retailer that places an order for a given brewery's beer, regardless of other concerns for the product's well-being."

AKA "our products are so great and wonderful and we want to choose who can carry them."

How about you let people decide?

 

So they shouldn't be allowed to decide how their product is distributed? We should just let @rmarley decide?

 

Yeah I don't really see it as pretentious, just poorly thought out. Like it or not, exclusivity is a huge part of branding these days and matters.

 

And you get testy when someone says Cigar City it average.

 

Yeah, they get to choose how it is distributed, to a point. They chose their distributor in the state. Common sense would tell you "Hey, lets see who this distributor sells products to?". If retailer choice was THAT important from the start, maybe it should have been brought into consideration when the distro deal was signed? Then it would have been nipped from the start.

 

Can't even compare Cigar City to Burial! Look at how many outstanding, world class beers Cigar City has under their belt. And all Burial is known for is just their "Skillet Donut Stout".

 

I do agree that most of their 750's haven't been all that great, but everything they've canned has been above average to great IMO. @WCKDVBZ sure has gone full on melt for someone who doesn't care about anything but Skillet lol.

 

BTW re-selling beer on those "collectibles" websites, at a huge mark-up is against BA rules!

 

Is it against the rules to sell them for a loss? What ever happened to @rmarley's nasty PMs?

 

Burial does seem to have not completed its due diligence in advance of shipping to S.C. But let me ask you this: Why is wanting ones product placed primarily in smaller independent retail outlets in any way pretentious? The big box stores often operate on lower margins than most retailers, thus making smaller outlets seem as if they are gouging, etc. Once brands do go to larger retail venues, the smaller, independent stores often stop carrying those brands. It is a weird process, especially with the more rare brands and flavors within brands. I once had a principle at a major chain offer to "fix" retail price-points to keep smaller retailers happy, and to try to induce me to sell to him. It didn't happen. I really don't know about Burial's production capacity, but possibly they simply feared not having enough product for key retailers that they do prefer.

 

As an aside to the Burial piece...I have often wondered how Clown Shoes and Flying Fish were allowed to have exclusive distribution deals with specific retailers, in South Carolina. How does Clown Shoes get to be only in Total Wine? That contradicts what Burial was presented with, completely.

 

I think we all know that unless it is a super hyped up beer, things sit on the shelf entirely too long at Total Wine. Total Wine shoppers are there for the percieved option to buy beer cheaper and to have isles of options. These shoppers dont know to check dates and what dates are considered old for which styles. If customers in a town have to rely on TW because they dont have a bottle shop that cares about freshness, they may never know what some beers are supposed to tase like. I respect Burial for taking this stance and making sure that their IPAs dont taste like every other overly malted, faded hopped TW ipa that is months past its prime.