Carton Brewing (2020)

Carton's prices have gone up across the board and I think a lot of places are deciding not to carry much more than Boat and 077XX. It's a real shame because the brewery is too far for me to drive to and 2 cases is way to much to get delivered.

 

both those places got beer in the last 10 days, either they sold it too fast or it was still
"in the back" when you got there Wegmans has a lot going for it for stocks, those guys buy and sell tons of beer, way more cold storage, and they have made a respectable commitment to local craft across the board

 

Appreciate the insight @augiecarton!

Wegman's has been a great supporter of local and seems to have doubled down on local recently, too.

 

How is the Carton tasting room working these days? Indoors? Full pours and flights like usual? Reservation needed?

 

And (for one who didn't care for crowds even pre-Covid) are they still discounting cases to go?

 

4.2% Czech Pils

• Hops: Saaz
• Malt: Bohemian Pilsner, Vienna, Sauermalz, Carafoam

 

Hey @augiecarton , Can you share anything on the approach or details of the announced Extreme Beer Fest beer:

The World's Turned Upside Down; 12oz can; ABV% TBA; A grilled pineapple and maraschino cherry Barleywine.

 

where did you see this and how can we get this?

 

20 IBU's - half of Pilsner Urquell. What's up with that?

Typo? Can says 4.4% (same as Pilsner Urquell).

 

By buying tickets to this:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/extreme-beer-fest-cyberspace-2021.649504/

@Todd

 

4.2% came from the post, but assuming the can is probably more accurate, and ya - perhaps not as snappy at the given IBU, but there could be an ulterior motive

 

I too have noticed my goto store whose used to carry tons of fresh carton all the time slowly stop carrying them over the past like 2 months. And what ever Carton they did have was not all that fresh. I haven't paid attention to the price @SmashAdams but now I am curious. Im not sure why Liquor stores don't feel as motivated to carry as much Carton today as they use too, Or mabey Carton just been holding back from some accounts for whatever reason. Not sure but it would be nice to start seeing Fresh Boat and 077xx in abundance again.

 

If you look at the Carton online store the price of every beer has increased about $2. Boat is now $13, This Town is $12, etc. For this reason I stopped doing the delivery because at 2 cases this make a difference. It's definitely very unfortunate that I see very little Carton in my local stores these days.

 

a lot of restaurants and other businesses have increased their pricing due to lost revenues from Covid. I don’t know if that’s the case with Carton but it’s something I’ve noticed in the service industry in general

 

we have a library of barley wines in the cellar of various ages and wood choices going back about 4 years now. we will select and blend for that point where the treacle notes match some bright acidic/oxidized tones around that "cooked vanilla sugar level" then separately we will charcoal grill a bunch of pineapples roll those in demura sugar and Brule that then add that and maraschino cherries not enough to flavor but to suggest a pineapple upside down cake. we are still playing with where the parts fit

 

$13 for boat at retail is still a losing proposition for us, a decade later with things like "new gas taxes that have raised 2x in 3 years" and just basic ingredient costs skyrocketing since 2011 we were long over due for these price increases, they were scheduled for last spring but we pushed them 6 months trying not to add to the burden of people at the top of lockdown. at $12 a six for town and $13 for 4 pints of boat, they are still pretty much the best deals in independent craft, keeping to our tradition of doing the best we can for those that play our games and hoping people have found their new grooves 6 months later

 

we are actually sold more beer this october than last, and it was all in cans, in stores, in nj. i think its just people are buying a lot more cans to drink at home in this version of normal. but yea, all of this summer and so far this fall we have made more beer than the past, in cans, and sold it to more different stores than the last five years. we are working on doing more so i guess the good news is demand is way up and we are working to keep up with it, and the smaller places are moving through it faster than the bigger ones, either because of less ability to hold supply or because jersey customers are looking out for them. either way very good news. if your store needs more have them reach out to the their carton crew member we always do our best to get it to those that get it.

 

nah just the way the world works, the parts get more expensive the products get more expensive, we are still far below what's considered "standard mark ups" but we are getting by

 

I understand completely and for what it’s worth, COVID has caused business expenses in general to go up for many businesses in many different sectors (at least for those of us here in the healthcare/DME industry that certainly has been the case). I did not mean to imply that you guys were increasing prices willy-nilly, just “because COVID” (regardless of expenses).

Thanks for clarifying though, as always

 

tell me more about this barleywine and tell me it will be released soon so I can enjoy this as my thanksgiving dessert