Instead of a long winded whiny post about all the cool glassware I can't order online, Ill just say this: Why don't more/all breweries that have such highly sought after glassware have online shops to buy such items? FFF, HF. etc. I mean, just make the glass and people will buy it. Amirite? Also, any tips for breweries that DO sell some cool glassware online? I've ordered from Deschutes, Great Divide, DFH, Boulevard, etc. I'm wondering if I'm missing some readily available additions to my collection. I'm sure part of it is they aren't big enough to justify to cost of an online store, or they have their hands full brewing awesome beer, or they want to entice visitors to the brewery. All of which I support. But let's be honest, I don't know if when/ever I'll make it to VT or other such places to pick up some of my "must haves." Thoughts?
It encourages people to visit their brewery/brewpub and spend more money and rewards the locals that do visit frequently. Additionally, some breweries (FFF, HoTD, HF, etc), won't ship glassware even if you call their brewpub/store because of the fragile nature of glassware and while people ship glassware all the time, it's the breweries way to remove themselves from that equation. Ommegang sells all the Duvel Artist series tulips, which I really enjoy collecting. I've ordered glassware from Bell's, Founders and Stone before. Cigar City also sells a great snifter online and currently, Surly has their mugs and Darkness glasses for sale online in a 4 pack. Welcome to glassware trading.
FFF did sell/ship their Teku glasses initially. There was a huge problem due to the fragile nature of them, so they had to stop.
I guess I hadn't thought of the fragility of the stemmed pieces, and I am all for rewarding the locals. If I lived in VT I can only imagine how much HF swag and beer I'd have on hand. Thanks for the tip on the other breweries selling snifters. I've got some on the way so these will be next in line!
That may be their company line, but I think it's because they just don't want to because they don't need to. Every run sells out quickly enough that they don't need to bog down one of their employees with bubble-wrapping teku glasses all day.
It's also expensive to ship tekus/stemware and other especially fragile glassware. The shipping for LA tekus costs almost as much as the glass. Collectible and sought after glassware like FFF tekus, BCBS snifters, HF stemware, etc will sell out right at the brewery on a regular basis, so they probably don't even want to waste their time wrapping, shipping, etc.
keeping up with on-premise demand is hard enough for some of the smaller breweries, so adding to that online would make things that much more difficult.