The Bruery (2021)

The tickets are PDF files. You should have received them in your purchase confirmation email.

and no, I don't see mine in my cellar.

 

Thanks! I had checked my email and found the tickets and confirmation. Was just curious if it wasn't showing up because I had that credit from last year.

 

Anyone tuning in tonight

 

I did! I enjoyed it!

 

Trying Sucre Port (for the first time) from the Anniversary sale. It's pretty great, and still some good carbonation. Surprisingly not overly cloying or sweet, which I thought the port might do - actually a little less than average Ani I'd say. The vinous port flavors weave through and complement the base Ani seamlessly - one of those rare variants that is far removed from the original without being weird.

 

Madeira Sucre is my absolute favorite beer by The Bruery. If you enjoyed the port version, I'd highly suggest the Madeira variant.

 

I've had that one a couple times over the years, it's just this Port one that's been scarce since I became a member in 16.

I definitely liked this Port one more. Although I think there's something to the oxidation of Madeira that I'm not that into. I had the same reaction to the recent BT Barrel box where the Madeira one was solid for my taste, but would probably be near the last I'd choose vs others. Not that it's bad, just that I like others more.

 

The tiki adventure continues...

Also, I forgot Cocompany wasn't BA before. Should be good!

https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-bruery-adding-doctors-orders.html?m=1

 

Recently I can't see the description of the beers in the allocation section of the website. There is no link to click to see a description, but if I go into the normal shop section I can see click on them to read about 'em. I've tried it on two different browsers and my phone.

 

Yeah, I noticed this too. @SaisonSteve said it was an oversight in the last website update and will be fixed soon.

 

Boom! And there's that Birnesap allocation I figured was coming eventually. Please and thank you!

Looks like they're flush with Portified too, so still some time to figure out if I want more... got my eye on Creme Bruelay as well.

Last week I had the 2019 American Anthem bottle that was included that year and it was darn tasty. I mention because I see it available as well. I don't think I'm going to buy more because it's not something I feel I'd want to drink that often, but it is objectively very well made/executed for those who haven't tried (and holding up perfectly thus far).

 

Nice additions to the sale, picked up some Portified, Creme and Vanilla. Good stuff.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the Portified! I'm thinking about going back for a couple more.

A question to those here that still frequent the tasting rooms. I did not realize that they changed the half pour options. Sorry if this has already popped up on BA before. It used to be half the price, for the most part.

- For example, if you get a full pour of Retreat, it's $8 for 10oz. ($0.80 per oz)
- If you get a half pour, it's $6.50. ($1.30 per oz). I want to mention here that I get there should be a premium for half pours b/c it costs them more to do it.
- If you buy a 4-pk, it's $18 for 4 x 16oz. I know there could be a 4-pk discount contemplated in that pricing, but it's $4.50 for 16oz. ($0.28 per oz)

When you break out the cost per ounce of the full pour, it's just under 3x more expensive to drink Retreat in the TR. Almost 5x more expensive to drink a half pour. Also, they are pouring from draft and not opening a new can each time.

That pricing scheme makes me feel like I'm less incentivized to drink in the TR unless it's for rare pours or to try new releases. Not a casual drop-by to have a beer or be able to have half pours have a little more variety and not small tasters. Maybe they are not aware of this, but I always thought the TR was a great opportunity to try all their beers and meet up local friends or take visitors from out of town. This pricing model feels more like they prefer I take it home to drink. I only looked at Retreat, but the same seems to apply for Bakery: Sticky Bun for full pours.

Hoping they will take a look at this and make it sensible to kick back at the TR again!

 

Honestly, their pricing schemes have been a mess ever since they jacked up the price of tasters back in 2017. The only reason why I haven’t made a bigger stink about it is that I no longer live down there to frequent the tasting room enough for it to matter… but it used to be incredibly reasonable (if not an outright bargain) to get a flight or two… A flight used to cost no more than $10… but now you can easily spend $30+ on the same flight today. Don’t get me started with full pours.

 

Couldn't agree more, once they hiked the price up of all the tasters by $1+ back in 2018 or so I've definitely frequented the rooms less. Society Member Mondays often cost me 30-35+ bucks for a flight of the preview beers, especially if it was a month where there were more than 5 beers to try or they had some other good pours going on in addition to SMM.

 

Thanks to you both. The flights were certainly a steal and long gone are the days when you used to get a Bruery glass with a flight. HA! I will note that if you look around the area, BL is $7-$10 for full pours (8oz or 14oz) of non-BA stuff and $7-$8 for 6oz pours of BA beers.

I get that it's a business and they have overhead, higher min wage, etc. My biggest hang-up is that it just should be consistent with their bottle/can prices. If a BT variant costs $35-40, then a taster or full pour should correlate with that price. There are positive halo effects on both ends to have more people in the tasting room trying different beers. The Bruery gets more feedback of what is selling, people can get a broader idea of what they like, etc.

Maybe this is all just an oversight and no one at the Bruery has taken the time to look at the prices. I'm hoping someone looks at this and know that some of their customers are. Fingers crossed!

 

Random question because I'm curious... Not counting Society events, at any given time on a normal day, what percent of drinkers in the TR are Society members?

 

In other news, I just tried Vanilla Villain for the first time…

Holy Fuck (not directed at any particular staff member, haha!)!!! This is phenomenal! A Fundamental Killer… Villain killed the MTV star! Might even be better than a Hanjee on a Saturday Night!

If anyone wonders if the Bruery is still a powerhouse, this beer should put those questions to rest!

 

I've had this exact thought about drinking onsite at any brewery or bar and I myself get caught up in this money exercise. It is just cheaper to drink at home. It wasn't until today that I really tied it all together (feel stupid about this), the reason it's more expensive is employees, the facility and the supplies needed to serve the beer ie. glasses, refrigeration and cleaning them. All that stuff costs money. I think it is easy to think about the money, but how do you place a price on the experience with friends?

 

I totally agree. I do wonder why the half pours are priced the way they are though.