Toppling Goliath in Chicago (2018)

Don't worry, TG's head brewer left so they should get the ship righted soon.

 

did Fire Skulls Money cans ever show up in Chicago?

 

not yet. was talking to my binnys rep the other day and she stated something changed. they were routinely getting fresh TG but it has been a trickle the last month or so.

she also stated they dont have a direct rep with TG, they go through a distributor so she cant get clear answers. an interesting note is they are apparently going to be getting MONTHLY drops of King Sue, but it will only be a case or two at most for the foreseeable future.

 

I'm actually fine with this 1) because it will ensure that whatever's in stock is fresh, and 2) because TG won't have a reason to stop sending us shit if it doesn't sit around and collect dust (like some of the PS cans seem to).

 

I'm not gonna go digging for it but in an Instagram or Facebook comment I saw yesterday. TG told someone that they actually don't have hop contracts big enough to meet the capacity that they are now able to brew at until next year. Meaning, FSM, KS, etc will probably continue to trickle out in 4 packs for the rest of the year.

 

I'm of the mindset that keeping stuff scarce so it doesn't become a perceived "shelf turd' is a smart business tactic as I've constantly passed on great stuff I know I can get for something I don't think will be in the store the next time I go through. That being said, as a consumer who would like access to these products more often I think it is a dick move to expand markets (CT and MA) if you know you can't really support it.

 

Agreed on everything here.

 

They keep adding markets (going wider) but are doing shallow drops of all but the most core beers. Just kind of odd to me. They’ve scaled up without consistency and can’t make enough beer to satisfy demand. I’m *not* trying to start stuff but this is a familiar story in the industry that often ends in outside money (at a minimum)

 

They would be a great acquisition for someone, but I wonder if the lack of being located in a major or urban market hurts them in that regard.

 

Good point. They probably could pull off brewpubs in Madison and Chicago. But in any case, I wonder if they’d benefit from VC cash from a group like the Oskar Blues one. On the other hand, they just got away from contract brewing which is a big part of that large regional brewer VC model

 

I can feel TG slowly fading off of my radar and I’m really not that upset about it.

 

Until the market decides to start buying the best beers on the shelf instead of the newest shiny penny, companies are going to be forced to act this way.

 

How do you know you are buying the best beer if you haven't tried the shiny new one? And do most craft drinkers drink the same beer or is that a relic of the macro era?

 

I think “new, new, new” is an over correction to the “I’m a Bud man”era. Weldworks is doing 100 new beers this year which is crazy. Consumers will continue to get excited about new beers from breweries they trust. However, I do imagine there will be some fatigue on $20 4 packs of beers and styles that underwhelm. Hopefully things eventually shift back towards new beers are tried on tap and the best ones get packaged. My prediction is that an economic recession would accelerate that shift actually happening

 

I’m probably in the minority, but I’m drinking A LOT of the same beer. I’m drinking a lot of Lagunitas Sumpin’ Easy because of the price point, and Ninja vs Unicorn because It’s freaking delicious. Psudeo Sue was in the convo also, but because of the price. $7.99 at binnys is tough to beat.

I’ll then maybe buy a 4-pack or 6-pack of something more agressive (NEIPA, Stout, whatever) for the weekend.

But I’m past chasing things (at least while I’m home). Everything tastes pretty similar for the most part, and it really doesn’t give me any more joy to drink a treehouse then it does a pipeworks, and if that’s the case, what’s the point?

I’d rather try new stuff at while out at a bar.

 

What this guy said

 

You may be in the minority, but what you do is what I'd like to do ideally. However, I don't drink much beer a week (usually 3 beers a weekend, occasionally a beer on tap somewhere during the week), so if I'm having something, I usually want it to be new unless I have a very specific craving.

If I don't have something new in mind, though, then yeah, I'll go with my go-tos. I don't blame people if PS is one of theirs (especially at that sick Binny's price), I just haven't gotten into it because of the consistency issues I've run into (I have yet to have a can that looks hazy, as an example).

 

To be fair, my drinking habits aren’t much different than yours. A case of Sumpin easy lasts me at 2-3 weeks, and then I’ll usually pick up something I know I like for the weekend.

 

Looks like Fire, Skull and Money cans finally hit the Chicagoland area. There is entirely too much good beer to buy right now haha. We are very fortunate.

 

Shhhh. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/deaths-liver-disease-are-surging-drinking-blame-n892521