Bruery RS/HS Allocations (2020)

As much as I love the beers, I've decided to not renew my Hoarders membership. After no social interaction this year I find that both my 72cu ft & 12cu ft beer fridges are full, I have ~3 cases in my bedroom, and another ~4 cases at The Bruery being "cellared".

 

I'm in the same boat for 2021 renewals. Joined RS in 2014 and have held onto the membership even after moving out of CA years ago. BUT I benefited from a very reliable trustee (who pulled the plug a couple years back, just didn't want to do it anymore), AND until this year, had multiple work trips to the area annually, which made picking up, shipping, and bringing things back in my suitcase, pretty easy/low cost. Meeting my dad in LA every year for the Anniversary party was an additional HUGE perk. And while I did buy tickets and intended to be there this year, thought the changes as outlined represented a significant decline in that value as an HS member (at least on paper). COVID obviously crushed that plan and has killed my ability to be there on free pick-up trips from a work perspective. And unfortunately I anticipate the COVID issues and lack of travel will continue deep into next year (though I hope I am wrong).

I am surprised that after all these years, the legwork hasn't been done by Bruery to make nationwide shipping possible, but perhaps I shouldn't be. I imagine the way that the associated costs may impact their margins and workforce burden, isn't worthwhile in the context that they sell out the memberships on an annual basis...people are willing to bear the burden and expense of this hassle on their own, so there is no need for Bruery to offer this perk due to membership vacancy. All said, while the quality of Bruery's beers is as good as ever, the staggering increase in locally available great beer across the nation that occurs every single year, makes dealing with the hassle and tremendous expense of getting my Bruery beers less and less palatable.

I love Bruery; has a special place in my beer loving heart for sure. At this point in my life, though, my wife is my primary sharing partner and she's less interested in 15 - 20% ABV beers now, in favor of something lower ABV so that we are able to do a bit more sampling in the 1-2 hrs we are kid free on weekend evenings. Sure to say, the Bruery stockpile in our house is getting more out of control than ever before.

The idea of walking away is hard, but relative to the above, I can't really rationalize sticking with it. Perhaps a couple years down the line we'll be in the post-COVID environment, I'll have drank down my stock (sort of) and I can get back in through public RS access. If not, though, it's been a good ride.

 

Any one else having issues with the checkout process? I get a red "Your card has been declined" message when I click Place My Order. I called the card company and they say they didn't see a charge or decline on their side. Feels like a validation error on the client side since it happens almost immediately. And yes, all the fields are correct.

As a control I just placed my MT order on the same card and it went through fine.

 

I love the idea of the included being more BT style beers. 2 per month is great.

No problems renewing, I just did mine a couple minutes ago.

 

I'm pretty sure this is a regulation that they can't ship across state lines. I'm sure someone is more familiar with the specific law. Pre-Covid, the Bruery was one of the few that even shipped statewide.

I got the same message. The first attempt said declined. I tried it a second time thinking maybe I entered something wrong and it worked. At almost the same time I received a request to confirm the transaction from my bank. I'm not sure if it was for the first or second attempt.

 

It can be done. Burial is a notable example and I remember pricing out shipping stuff from Cycle one time through their third party shipper.

https://shop.burialbeer.com/

 

Neither of those are CA breweries. I'm pretty sure the issue is CA regulations. Breweries are only allowed to ship within CA (and I think NV but I'm not positive).

 

Oof. Just tried that Burial site and shipping for 16 cans to California is $33. Compared to $18 for Bruery... Though to be fair there's a couple thousand extra miles to go there...

 

Yes. Every state is different and it's quite confusing. I just did a quick search. Apparently some states only allow shipping within the state. Some states only allow shipping out of state. And up until covid, most didn't want to deal with the hassle or possibly get nailed for breaking some law. It doesn't make sense, but it is what it is.

Not unlike the asinine covid restrictions. There are two wineries 20 miles apart. One can only serve if they offer food. The other can only serve is they don't offer food. You figure it out.

 

I finally got an invite to HS after 6 years and almost missed it as my wife deleted the message. Not sure why I checked the deleted folder for Bruery mail, but I did. Hope there are still spots open tomorrow when I log on, have a busy day at work tomorrow.

 

The Bruery can ship to NV. It doesn’t make sense to me why NV would be an exception.

Oh yeah, it’s definitely not cheap. The 12 bottle shipper from Cycle I was looking at was over 100 bucks for ground I think.

 

Hi there! I think you emailed us already, but if not shoot us one at [email protected] and we'll figure it out.

 

Regarding shipping, it is indeed state regulations that dictate if you can LEGALLY ship into a state, and we like to play by the rules. NV is a notable exception that's relatively easy to ship into with full compliance. That being said, there are several other states we're working hard to open up for shipping as well, and it's good to hear that there is interest. Stay tuned!

 

Sadly, I think I am going to let my Hoarders membership go. I've been a Reserve and then Hoarder member from day one and have been a Bruery fan even before then and it's been a great 11 years. I am still a huge fan, but I just can't keep up and get through all of the releases and so, much to my wife's chagrin, I have amassed an obscene number of cases (and still have beers back from 2010). I wish them well and will still visit at every opportunity. I hope that by freeing up a spot, a deserving and appreciative Beer Advocate will take my place, and I also hope someone invites me to the events, as I have always had a great time at those (except maybe that first year at the Phoenix Club which spawned the Clusterforks).

 

I'm gonna take that spot then drain pour every beer, sucker!

 

Wow, 10+ years!

 

That's nothing - i have beers going back to the '90's (old Blind Pig Blue Granite Barleywines and a magnum of Fred). I didn't intentionally age them - i just sat on them. Now you can see why my wife disapproves of this "hobby"!

 

I don't know how to respond to that, other than yes.

 

Looking more and more like a BT box coming...

https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-bruery-adding-liberty-stoutwich.html?m=1