THIS made me stoked. Store managers take note.

Why are we assuming that this person was "driving all over to scoop up the limited beer"? So if I cannot get something near where I live I don't deserve to get any?
For me, it doesn't matter what he was doing. What matters is the place is in the business of selling beer and the manager refused to sell something to a consumer. To me thats strange retail practice. Let the guy know there is a one bottle limit and sell him the beer.

 

The slouch that couldn't start a relationship with the Store owner while hunting a limited beer, finding it and getting talked down is weak!

Need to go to beer buying 101!

 

From OP, "While i was there a dude came in and asked for BCS Coffee, the manager asked him how he had heard they had it there, and the guy said he was driving around store to store looking."

Even though the post you quote was a (failed?) attempt at humor, I will direct you to notice that there is undoubtedly a sign in the stores you visit that says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason."

And again, though my post was humor, I will ask if you think the store referenced in the OP would do worse financially if folks driving from far away stopped coming, or if folks who are regular weekly shoppers stop coming?

 

Well luckily for that owner, the chances of either of these things being true are virtually nil, given that the customer admitted that he was driving everywhere.

 

I live in a wasteland of craft beer, we get a very limited amount of any of the limited beer down here. I make sure to support the local store that will get that beer, alert them of the new beer that may be of interest to craft brew drinkers and in one case actually alerted them to a new distributor in our area. I do hope that they will tell me when new rare beer comes in and make sure I get a shot at it. I don't bring my wife or a girlfiend with me, I just want mine to enjoy. I have been in this party for a long time and what I use to be able to find on the shelves I now have to scrap for, so yes I do believe it's fair to hold some back for your really regular customers.

 

I disagree. Limited beers are not how you land regulars. That's what selection and customer service are for and that was certainly not a lapse in customer service.

 

Why does it need to be so precise? Hold it behind the counter and if you suspect the person is not a regular (never seen before, walks in and immediately asks for it and nothing else, etc.) say it's spoken for or you don't have any for sale.

The secret society of bros that you guys often propose in contrast to a total free-for-all sounds more like fiction than reality. Then again, I'm also all for an official beer club model where membership is transparent and distribution of rare beers among club members is the norm.

 

Wow, another side to a story, what a shocker ! Thought on this site there was only one side to every story !

Thanks for posting and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I would not assume from "...he was driving around store to store looking" that he was a prick head hoarder. I would assume that a rare beer is can be hard to acquire and driving around would be required to get even just one bottle.

I agree, the store can do whatever it wants to, including refuse service, there are many situations where refusing service would make sense. I just don't agree that refusiing service in this particluar instance was a great idea. My humble opinion. Now on to some Thanksgiving cheer.

 

I take it you're not familiar with Van Winkles...

 

This, This year was the first year I didn't get any Pappy in about 8 years and I am miffed.

 

Sounds like we all wished it was about karma and friendships, but in the end, it's really all about money, and that is a shame.

 

My real beef is with hoarders, and I have to believe that the regulars you save a bottle for are less likely to be hoarders than the folks driving shop to shop searching for it. Granted seeing the "latest hauls" some of you guys post on here leads me to think that may not be the case. I'm also perhaps a little bitter because I am from Alabama, so what counts for "whales" and "rare" beers down here are a bit different than lots of you that live in beer country. The stuff I've seen the biggest rush for around here were Hopslam and KBS.

I remember making my way to one of the local shops I frequent in search of KBS back when it was released and the owner told me that he sold the bulk of it to a bunch of folks who drove like 4 hours down from Tennessee and camped out for it because they knew when the trucks were hitting. Not saying they didn't go to a lot of effort and maybe shouldn't have gotten some, but I was still pissed and haven't bought anything from that store since.

What are your thoughts on jacking up the price for the super rare stuff? I'm somewhat torn because admittedly craft beer is already a pretty expensive hobby, but I do feel it helps spread the love around. At another spot in town I was actually able to check out KBS on tap even though I was pretty late to the party. They were charging a pretty stiff sum for a 10oz pour, which I think stops the first arrivals from gluttonously gorging themselves on as much of it as they can drink. I really appreciated the opportunity to try it, and I know the owner fairly well. He specifically said he raises the price less to make a profit and more to spread it around, which I actually tend to believe.

 

The bourbon? What about it?

 

This is absolutely right. Why this story would make anyone calling themselves a beer advocate stoked is beyond me (and yes, I have read all the positive posts). If anything, the guy who took the time out of his life to actively seek out a beer he badly wanted is the one who deserved it, rather than the guy who strolled around the corner on his day off. That being said, anyone who comes in asking for a bottle should get one if it is available.

 

I travel a lot for work and therefore visit a lot of stores that I've never set foot in before. I love to find new beers that I can't get in New England and bring them home to drink. It makes business travel almost bearable.

When I visit a new store I find someone who works there and explain that I'm from out of state and only here for a few days, and would love to try beers that I can't get back home. I will start to fill my basket with beers that they recommend, and then I'll ask them about harder to find stuff. Last week in Minneapolis I was offered a bottle of backwoods from the back room and boy was I pleased! Another time in Maine I was able to get a Cantillon that wasn't on the shelves too.

And each time I reviewed their place and gave them high ratings and told friends. And I bought beers there, and I will return to buy more if I have to travel there again.

And I'm sure that somewhere on beerstoreownerswholovebeernerdswithcash.com there's a thread about whales and there's a picture of me in it. If a store has a great selection, helps me out and is even willing to give a dude they don't know from Adam a beer from the back then I'm going to give them more of my money.

But telling someone you have beers that they want but just refuse to sell one to them? Blechh. That's everything I despise about elite beer hunting. Be a decent store employee and I will be a decent customer.

 

Did anyone see this other than jrnyc?

We have the truck chasing beer hoarder in our midst!!

GET HIM!!!!!!!!!

 

The store i work at does all of our limited releases by simply posting on Facebook. They post something like "BCBS JUST ARRIVED! Limit 2 per customer, first come, first served" and once its gone, its gone.

Another thing we will do if we get something extremely rare, like Utopias. We will have a beer tasting 1 night. For every $10 you spend in the store during the beer tasting you get a raffle ticket. At the end of the tasting we will pull a ticket for each bottle, and if your ticket is pulled you get the option to buy 1 of our 3 bottles.

These 2 methods have worked great for us. Has also increased sales on micro brews drastically in the first 2 hours of us posting online.

 

Yeah fuck that. I frequent a place enough and spend up $200 a month in that store, I should get special treatment over some guy who wanders in for the first time, or on a chase.

 

I like this! Fair and good for profits.