Haven to Take Over Provisions

I remember when Provisions first opened they had really good prices on bottles. They were selling Ten Fiddy four-packs for like $12. But over the course of its existence the prices all seemed to go up, which was a bummer. Who knows what Havens markup will be but their bottle prices at the pub are insane. I know bottle prices at bars are always much higher than retail, but theirs are astronomically so. Hopefully that doesn't bleed into the retail shop.

 

I thought I was just high or drunk recalling ten fidy for around $12

Glad I wasn't crazy

Yeah the prices want up

 

I doubt they kept the name Provisions without some sort of blessing from The Bruery.

 

While I'm not a haven fanboy by any stretch (I stopped visiting their old town orange location when 9 of the tap handles were dedicated to their entirely lackluster, disappointing self branded beers) I never found their prices to be significantly higher than any other place carrying comparable bottle only offerings. Living within the confines of the service industry, I've adjusted to the premiums charged for bottles in a restaurant context, and have adjusted my drink choices accordingly.

When you take Bruery Provisions corkage fees into account for onsite consumption, Haven was fairly competitively priced, albeit with a more static lineup of offerings.

 

With them offering pints, did people actually pay for the corkage fee to drink something they just bought at provisions? Their tap list offered a fairly decent variety.

 

I didn't have a problem with their bottle prices, which I expected to be significantly higher than retail (they always are at a restaurant, which makes them easy to pass over). I _DID_ have a problem with paying $9 for a goblet (8 oz.? 6?) of acrid coffee stout which was imported all the way from Pasadena.

 

Agreed. I guess beer makes for strange bedfellows.

Oh, wait.

 

This makes me very happy. As others have said, I hope they keep the Provisions staff. They have always been friendly and helpful. Haven...not so much. The food was always just "okay"...and the service was never very good. This being said, I have been to Provisions countless times and only Haven three times.

 

When Haven first opened they had great prices, as did Bruery Provisions. For reasons that I can't explain (as someone who lived in Old Towne Orange for three years), the overhead is outrageous. I get markup. Will D. explained to me on several occasions the markup for Haven beers was 50%. Much Higher than Bruery Provisions (granted running a restaurant is more costly than a bottle shop), but with the expanded food menu, distribution chain, and Haven business model, I am not hopeful for better selection and prices than Hollingsheads, or restaurants in the Santa Ana art district.

Just as Bruery Provisions took over the Frogs Breath model (with modifications) and license, so too, is Haven taking over Bruery Provisions licensen and model (with modifications). There is no 'blessing' needed.

 

Kinda like paying $7 for a 4 oz "pour" of smoking wood imported all the way from the fermentor you're looking at while you drink it?

 

Fair point, but I don't remember Smoking Wood being that expensive for a pour at the tasting room. Was it last year's vintage?

Also, Smoking Wood is 1) twice the strength of Brewmasters Breakfast, 2) seasonal (limited), 3) barrel-aged, and 4) delicious. Decent mitigating factors in my book, though I'm not sure I'd pay $7 for 4 ounces.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all aboard the "haven's beers suck" bandwagon. But lately at the tasting room, smoking wood, melange 3, and every other BA offering has been $7 for a 4 oz pour. All recent vintages. I only really noticed when I saw that what seemed like a disproportionate number of beers at the tasting room were priced $7. Admittedly, this is anecdotal, so I'll have to swing by tonight to confirm. For, you know, science and shit.

 

Yes, Haven is pricey, the food doesn't live up to the expectations set by the price and they don't always have the best service but them taking over Provisions is better than not having Provisions. I would have rather had it stay in the Bruery family but whatever Haven does to it is still better than it not existing so for that I say thank you to Haven!

 

Everytime melange 3 has been on at the tasting room old and new it's has been at around that price and that pour size give or take an oz here and there. Same goes for BA Coton when it was on tap at the old tasting room. I could be wrong but I'm 99.9% sure of this!