Bruery 2017 RS/HS Allocations

From a business stand point, I get you have to make a profit. No one will fault you for that. It is known in the Industry that the Bruery has the largest Society/Club of any other brewery in the U.S.
Yes the cost of being a member goes towards beers we will be getting, but it benefits you because it allows you to brew just enough to make sure you won't take a loss.

I think warning people prior to opening up registration would have been the right thing to do. Personally, I wouldn't have picked up the growler. One of the reasons why I got it was because, like most places, tap fills are cheaper than buying bottled/packaged beer. Unlike most places, I need to buy a special growler to be able to purchase a fill there. I bought nice growler at costco, and I can, and have had it filled every where, except the bruery. So, not only have the fills gone up in price, I have to use this special growler to even get a fill.

So then, what is my incentive to re-new next year? The ability to spend more money through allocations? Geez thanks.

Before any one responds with "Well if you can't afford it...blah blah blah", let me say I can easily afford it. I can afford it for various reasons. One of them is because I don't just throw my money in the garbage and make stupid financial decisions.

Unless my math is off, if I purchased enough pours of Mocha Wednesday to match the amount in a bottle, I'd be paying a lot more than the bottle price.

By the way, I didn't know we got discounts at the tap rooms. I've never gotten one, despite always ordering from the Reserve Society tap list.

I think it was poor planning by the Bruery. I've never experienced anything but great customer service from the Bruery. So I guess I just set the bar a bit too high.

*Gets off soap box

 

I don't know if this was asked yet or not, but is Chocolate Rain going to hit distribution?

In the email announcing the releases it has "Public release planned for 3/24". Like I said, I didn't see it previously mentioned, but I could have missed it if it was mentioned here or somewhere else.

Thanks.

 

Can you please rationalize a 200%+ price increase?

January: Mash & ____ $7 for 10oz
March: Mash & ____ $8 for 5oz

W H Y ? ? ?

I don't care if the beer is great. Principle is principle and you guys kinda just flipped off your loyal customers.

EDIT: I bet Pocky is now $5 a box.

 

Oh no! Drop me a direct line (here or via email).

 

It's planned public release is at our Tasting Rooms and on TheBrueryStore.com.

 

I sent an email to the society asking for a refund of the growler. I suggest you do the same. My reasoning is exactly yours!

 

Thank god I didn't buy a growler this year. For 3 growler fills and a taster flight my bill would be well over $100. The price increases are worse than the modern times limited release bottle prices.
Also, what I liked about the bruery was their relatively cheap tasters, so that I could try several beers. I actually stopped buying tasters at several breweries because a taster would be $3 and full pour was $6 and the full pour was 4x the beer. Also, I typically ask for splashes at other breweries to make sure I like something. At the bruery, I think I have done that once or twice in my 20+visits and only when I was filing a growler and not having tasters because I didn't mind the affordable price of a taster.

 

I'm not going to. There's nothing wrong with mine. My fault, chalk it up to a loss. Nothing against you or anyone that does, just my own personal feelings on this. Just like I would never ask for a refund on my Society dues. Made a commitment, gotta stick it through. Again, just my own OCD thing. Don't think I'm holier than thou or anything like that.

 

Agree with all of this.

 

Even though taster pours have gone up in size from 2oz to 3oz, that's still less than most breweries (not familiar with anywhere you can go and get a pour for under 5oz), so I'd first like to recognize that The Bruery is still at least _better_ than most places in this area.

But, especially given the high number of beers on tap and the exceptionally high average alcohol level of those beers, this is definitely a move in the wrong direction. I usually try to stop by and try some new stuff when I'm in the LA area, and there's only so many ounces of 10+% alcohol beer I can drink without illegally impairing my ability to drive back. I'd like to (and I imagine I'm probably not alone here) be able to spread those precious ounces across getting to try more beers, rather than drinking more of a smaller number.

+1 on still <3'ing @BruerJoel, it's a huge asset to us to have him here answering our questions and helping us out.

 

And I thought there was an unsaid commitment to current prices or incremental price adjustments.

 

Yeah, I'm not attacking @BruerJoel. I'm sure he's a nice guy. Unfortunately he's representing them here. If anything, it's a ballsy move by him to come one here and face our wrath. I respect him for that. I've also made it a point to not come off like I'm attacking him, but rather, his employer. I appreciate that he makes himself accessible to us, and wouldn't want to lose that.

 

All good man.

 

I'm kinda conflicted about this. On one hand, that's basically market price for a beer of that quality - where can you go and get a beer as good as RdF (or any of The Bruery's several excellent barrel aged offerings) for cheaper than that?

On the other hand, as it so happens, my favorite craft beer bar here in SF has Mash & Vanilla on tap right now: http://www.liquidgoldsf.com/live-tap-menu/

$8 for 5 oz (or $14 for 9oz), which is the same price as The Bruery's tasting room - except unlike at the tasting room, this is after The Bruery, the distributor, and the bar have all taken their cut. We can't go straight to the source and get at least _some_ discount (excluding our society credentials) for supporting you directly? Come on.

I've always felt that as customers, we got a pretty great deal at the tasting room and it was a bit of a gem to be able to go and not break the bank while trying some world-class beers and taking some generously priced growlers home to enjoy and share with friends. The Bruery certainly has the right to not give us that great deal anymore, as it was a pretty great ride for us while it lasted - but then the tasting room becomes just another place that's serving premium beer at a premium price.

 

@BruerJoel I see you are reading these posts and appreciate your responses.. I am still curious about the logic on the Mash & ___ Pours.

January: Mash & Coconut/Toast $7 for 10oz
March: Mash & Coconut/Toast $8 for 5oz

How do the "powers that be" explain such a steep price increase? Thanks!

 

So if the taster pour is going from 2oz to 3oz, are there new taster glasses? Because from what I remember, there was not a whole lot of room left in those. (Which was great because the mild bulb shape you could actually get a smell as opposed to other brewery's tasters)

Just hoping that the servers aren't going to be doing their best #bosspour impression on every flight I do or the floor will be forever sticky, haha.

 

If you think you are actually getting more beer in your tasters compared to what the have poured in the past, I think you would be mistaken. I compared my photos on untappd from last year compared to this weekend, and the pour levels were the same.

 

We hope all of our Reserve and Hoarders Society members (and their guests) are able to join us. We know not everyone will be able to make it though (and if they could, the space couldn't hold them). But, if they all surprised us and could, we couldn't guarantee it. That's the reason behind the non-guarantee. Sorry for any confusion!

 

Good question! Our taster glasses will continue to be the same glass, which can fit up to 5-oz.

 

@BruerJoel - not sure if I can travel to LA for the anniversary party but I have friends who are interested in going - can I buy tickets for them even if I'm not attending, or does a member have to attend?