Sixpoint March Release: Power Ballad and V Righteous

@mikeinportc @balto22 @guinness77 @CanConPhilly @canchon

As promised, version 4.3 of the app has been pushed to the iTunes/App Store and the Google Play store for approval. With a little luck we'll be live in just a matter of a couple of days. I managed to grab some nice screenshots and also wanted to let you know the team really slayed it this time, as they managed to layer in features that weren't even part of the original planning. Let's take a look at our first REFACTOR:



So here is the new UI - as you can see, its more minimalist in style, removes a lot of the clutter, and is more closely aligned with the clean Sixpoint look we've honed as a brand over the past 14 years. Keep in mind this screenshot focuses on the timer and banners above - we still have all of the information about the individual beers, but its now listed below the beer (I will get to that momentarily). Title of the release is at the top, along with the location of the release. Did I say location? Yup, we've got a big announcement on that too...but version 4.3 will allow for multiple pickup locations of releases/events....stay tuned on that, a press release will most likely go out this week or early next week.



One of the key features of the REFACTOR was all of the beers are now listed on a single page. You will no longer have to "swipe left" or "swipe right" scroll amongst the offerings. Beer + merch + special items will all be featured in a continuous "scroll down" fashion. Wait, did I say merch + special items?



Yes, we'll be doing a series of handcrafted merch for upcoming releases, and we look forward to building upon some of the customized offerings we've done already.





Here is a look at the "just ordered" beer page. Instead of just the clunky email receipts, you will now be given a unique QR code with your beer purchase. Open your app upon arrival, and this QR code will be scanned upon entry to the brewery, similar to going to a baseball game or concert venue. More important, it will automatically send an alert to the fulfillment team that you have arrived. What purpose does this serve? Glad you asked:



Once your QR code is scanned, the alerted team will immediately start assembling your order. You also have the option of not carrying your beer around in a cardboard tray, as we are stocking these Sixpoint Totes that will work the same way that reusable bags at the grocery store work. Purchase your first one for $3, and continue to bring them back to future releases, and we'll even let you swap them out for a new one. This ensures that your tote is ready to go with your beer shortly after arrival, further reducing waiting times. Less waste, easy to carry, and no more lugging around beer on cardboard trays that fall apart.



The new "scoreboard" UI once sales go live....now you will actually see the quantities of all beers remaining, as opposed to being forced to swipe left/swipe right to see remaining quantities. But it gets better. Once you add them to your cart, the scoreboard will also be live on the payment page, so you will continue to be able to see the quantities available while its in your cart, updated in real time. Sick!

You'll also be able to change your pickup time post-purchase, and we are further customizing the user profile to layer in the next big wave of features, which will happen with version 4.4 of the app.

Perhaps one of the most disruptive things about 4.3 of the app is it further empowers the customer, giving full transparency of quantities available of beer and other items, guarantees your allotment, and further reduces waiting times by pre-assembling your order upon arrival. It does not pander to the Instagram line culture of craft beer, which has become a parody of itself and is imploding before our very eyes, just as we predicted.

In summary, version 4.3:

1) will be first version to feature multiple pickup locations/events

2) allows user to change pickup date/time after purchase

3) generates QR code receipt after purchase, will alert team upon arrival to prepare your order

4) featured merchandise

5) full refactor and UI upgrade; allows you to view remaining inventories of all beers from single page



cheers!

 

hmm...

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort Shane to detail all of these great changes. One of my pet peeves is bad customer service and bad execution, so I am supremely impressed by the focus Sixpoint has on world class customer service and the thought that has went into analyzing each part of the customer experience and improving it. I guess just about the only thing Sixpoint hasn't added to the experience is a Sixpoint employee holding the glass up to people's mouth for them!

So much great stuff in your post, won't comment on all of it, but it all looks and sounds great. As a beer geek, a software guy and someone who loathes bad customer service, the app and the whole customer experience you have put together is a grand slam for me. Looking forward to making my next purchase on the app and the release itself.

 

Hot damn. Multiple locations means maybe I’ll finally get try some small batch stuff. This is some serious customer service here. Cheers.

 

obviously the only way a beer could taste sweet

 

Wow, Apple already approved 4.3, so we are already live in both stores. Downloaded to my phone this evening...more details tomorrow

 

Yes, we know (and agree) there are many different contributing factors to the perception of sweetness in a beer, but absent any specific articulations from you other than its "too sweet" and "not bursting with hops" it is naturally hard to extract any further insight from what you are saying. Even if AE is an efficient way to measure sweetness, it alone is not sufficient. Of course there are IBU levels, pH, carbonation, ester profile, terpenes, and many other contributing factors creating a wholistic profile of sweetness perception. Fwiw, all of these can be easily measured.

Our main point was your observation has not been corroborated by the working majority of those who have sampled and offered feedback (both internal and external). If anything, we hear more often that the beers are very dry and even lacking sweetness. And perhaps most important, this working-majority observation actually has been corroborated by the data - meaning the consensus feedback from customers/internal tastings are 100% aligned with what the lab results say, i.e. our beers are often some of the most highly attenuated beers in a comparative lineup. As a brewer, this is exactly what you want to see - i.e. qualitative data that is backed up by quantitative analysis, in other words, customer/internal observations backed up by what the lab says.

It certainly doesn't mean anyone is right or wrong, because in the end taste is subjective and everyone has their own unique experience. But if the consensus of feedback is that our beers are very dry and lacking sweetness, and that observation is vindicated by a comparative sampling showing they are in the high range of attenuation, it shows that your observation is an outlier. It doesn't mean its not valuable, but it needs more depth of articulation to determine what "too sweet" means as a critical and relevant observation for these purposes. Otherwise, its just an outlier.

cheers

 

For my humble palate, most recent can of Anti-Resin I have drank, booziness is gone, a bit more juicy and on dry side. I like it, not the stereotypical NEIPA.

 

Must be the 86% attenuation?

 

Congrats on the refactor and the UI upgrade, this is fantastic product work. And a fantastic example of taking feedback from customers and making their experience easier, rather than championing line culture.

Unfortunately I have to sit this release out but will be roaring back in April. Can’t wait to see what you do next, mostly from a beer side but also from a customer experience perspective.

 

86% attenuation is quite impressive. The 1.011 FG is nearing Saison dryness territory.

Didn’t get to make this last release but I’m sure the beers were solid.

 

Also, any chance we start seeing some kegs make it out to accounts? I cant remember if this has been discussed in the past. I did see (and drank all 3, even though I had cans) the Beans made it to Swingbellies a few months back. I’d love to see some of the small batch IPA/Pale Ales make it there as well!

 

What are the beer releases like? Is it more of a pick up your beer and leave, or are there pours/music/place to hang out, etc?

 

Everything you mentioned in the latter plus food, lots of people having a good time and strong participation from Sixpoint staff.

 

@jrnyc @Sixpoint @frozyn @scottkramer



Wow! I knew my fans were out there, but I never expected such a reaction from the community. The feedback has been positively overwhelming. When I started reviewing years ago, I could only dream that some day someone would read my qualitative analysis and take note. What we're doing together will totally change the way beer reviews are prepared and perceived. I've got a whole new review system that I'm near ready to drop and you won't ever want to go back to what reviews were in the past. I'd hate to understate what it is I'm trying to do so here goes, I've taken the model for beer reviews, stripped it of all the things people have hated, kept the parts that people love, and rebuilt beer reviews from the ground up. People are already waking up to the fact that these reviews are now amongst best-of-breed in the area, and naturally, the trend is on our side to make them that way for a larger audience as well.



Perhaps one of the most disruptive things about the new review is it further empowers the reader, giving full transparency of the quality of the beer and other beverages, guarantees your understanding, and further review time by implementing a proprietary machine learning algorithm to queue additional reviews for you upon your arrival. It does not pander to the Instagram culture of craft beer reviews, which has become a parody of itself and is imploding before our very eyes, just as I predicted. Seriously, how many more people do we need taking saturated photos to play up the juiciness?



Shouldn't merchandise be rated too? Using my newest, most disruptive, proprietary metrics and algorithms, I've been able to build generalized linear models that measure the drinkability gained from printed tekus and I will include those factors in the reviews when ready. As a sneak peak, let's just say it matters when the glass matches.



In summary, the new reviews:

1) will be first review to feature multiple beers

2) allow user to view reviews for other similar beers

3) will not do anything with QR codes.

4) feature merchandise.




Because I'm committed to continuous improvement of the review, there are great new things in the works that you'll want to stay tuned for! Some things I'm working on include a more transparent system that allows the user to convert fire emojis to more nuanced qualities like haziness and dankness, bro. I'm also currently measuring the impact of wearing beer merchandise to a brewery to pick up your beer and this generates entirely new data for feature analysis. Should you stick to one brewer's swag at their brewery? How much can you mix and match? These are great questions generated by you, the beer review reader. You'll have to stay tuned to see what else I come up with in the lab!



cheers!

 

Hilarious! Nice one man.

Well, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We'll take it from your latest response that you're going to acquiesce on this round of fact-based discussions, as you've given up and resorted to doing impressions instead.

 

@balto22 @Daveshek28 @canchon @frozyn @BoardwalkBock

This is worth mentioning now, so there are no issues....

according to what we see, we have 94% and 96% adoption for 4.3 with Android and iOS respectively....this means most people have updated to the new app...but there are a few who have not

we are putting a kill switch on the old app, so you will have to update to the new version before completing the purchase this time around....should only take 10-20 seconds to download, but its worth noting

 

35 minutes before release @RobNewton , hope you have updated the app and can tear yourself away from the next round of comedy you are working on ! I assume Shane will be there Saturday, come on down to the brewery and commiserate with the man himself. I know you are good at Math ,the two of you can commiserate on sweetness calculations.

 

I will be there on Saturday with my TI-85 calculator, ready to program some new software and develop the latest algorithms while spilling beer on my shoes.