Almanac Dogpatch Sour

Sooo..this tastes pretty darn awesome...I love strawberries/#3 but the cherries in this are poppin!

 

Hi, my name is Heather and I work for CA Craft Distributors, am the Co-Founder in fact. I'd like to help correct a few details that seems to be a bit off here in this thread which has some inaccurate information. First, the Dogpatch Sour that was released earlier this week has been an amazingly successful release b/c it is a great beer. We cover the state of CA. Cases sold much faster than we expected and for that reason we implemented a case limit for buyers at the initial release of the product so that we could be fair and have enough to go around to every store buyer that wanted some of this beer in the state of CA. Selling allocated/rare/limited items are a slight challenge b/c there is only so much of that one beer made, so limits are the most logical and fair approach from the distributor level. We carry a boutique list of brands that vary greatly in production levels and stock flow and yes at times, our list is quite small but always a great craft selection. We do charge a $15 delivery fee (not $25 as someone claimed, although some of our competitors charge $25 so maybe that's where the confusion came in there) and this is if you order less than the minimum 5 items typically which is the industry standard for most every distributor. we take responsibility and waive this fee when we are low on levels and don't have as much for a buyer to choose from, so that no one is forced to buy beers that they aren't ready for on their shelf or store. Perhaps Amy didn't explain the situation fully to Raza or to Jazz about the reason behind the limits we had to set, and if that is the core misunderstanding here I do apologize on her behalf. Maybe she didn't explain that this beer will be brewed twice a year and we'll have more in January, so it's exciting to look ahead. But please understand we are a small distributor who cares equally about our breweries and our retailers. We have built a foundation on recognized customer service and a passion for craft beer. Everyone on our team is passionate about the brands we represent and this portion of this BA post is wrong to lead anyone to think otherwise. if you have any questions, please contact us directly (email inquiry at califoniacraftdistributors dot com) and I'll help answer any confusion there may be on this topic. Thank you for reading. Cheers!

 

Hi, I'm Heather from CA Craft Distributors and I'd like to point out that we don't distribute Gigantic or Drakes, two great breweries but they are both with much bigger distributors. We do have a boutique portfolio that is small and full of great craft beer that we are proud to sell. I apologize if Amy has not explained the allocated product situation well but rest-assured we are not splitting up orders to enable a delivery fee. in fact our fee is less than any other distributor and is rarely charged to a retailer unless they only have 1 or 2 items delivering on an order and in that case we do have to apply the $15 to cover the fee to deliver the goods. I am sorry you feel this way, it is not at all what our reputation was built on and certainly isn't the norm for our business practice. Our core business is to passionately sell our craft beer and that is our focus. cheers

 

Really appreciate that you're able to land Crooked Stave on your portfolio. Wishing you, your company, and your retailers the best in all your endeavors.

 

Thanks for the response Heather! The troubling part is not the fee. It is the fact that your email sent out to retailers listed a 3 case max...and many stores are now being told they can only have 1 case.

Like I said earlier, Raza was so upset about what happened that he pulled out his computer to show me the entire email chain. Amy sent an email to Raza claiming a 3 case limit of Dogpatch Sour. He replied asking for 3 cases. Raza later received an email from Amy saying that he could only have one case. Same goes with Jazz. I heard the same about Danny from Stearns but I can't confirm (yet). I think most retailers are fine paying a small fee if it is spread out amongst 36 bottles. Raza was clear that his concern was that he didn't want the beer community to label his store as overpriced since he would be spreading the fee out on 12 bottles instead of 36 and having to charge ~$1 more per bottle.

As for the discrepancy on the fee...the fee listed by Amy in the email was $15 (though Raza insisted it was $25). Hopefully you can smooth things over with these great store owners. We are all trying to come up with a reason why their orders got cut to one case. Did the release get oversold? Did Almanac's yield come in lower than expected? Or are orders getting split up to collect more fees/sell more core product? I hope not...but if we see a secondary roll out of Dogpatch cases, like with Farmer's Reserve #3, then we have our answer.

 

As far as I'm concerned it isn't exactly new (or poor) practice to have something like a 2 or 3 case maximum on a beer but have a 5 case minimum on ordering from that distributor. They simply will not make money selling and delivering a single case of beer to a store. Gas + employee + small profit already... Is it really that hard to buy a few cases of Almanac Pale while keeping in mind that when 50/50 and Crooked Stave releases are in town that you'll be taken care of?!

You think the few bars in California that get BCBS don't sell Goose Island heavily throughout the entire year to earn that one measly 5gal keg? You gotta carry a shitload of Honkers and 312 to get that.

Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon - Stores are required to purchase like 40-60 cases of mediocre bourbon to get 1-2 cases of Pappy every year. They don't even have the chance to pay a higher delivery fee to just skip the nonsense and get to the Pappy.

This is a good company, with good people involved, bringing good brands to the bay area, and their limits are far from unreasonable. As for the beer coming out in stages over the course of a 2-4 week period - Deschutes has always done this, other brands have done this, this is nothing new.

Best of luck to Heather and the other people at California Craft Distributors. I looked forward to Crooked Stave coming to Northern California along with whatever other brands they can sign on.

 

I agree everything you said. I am one of the store that carries Almanac beers. I am not taking anyone side I am on same boat as other retailers. Everyone wants to save and make money. We have to realize that California Distributor is a small distributor but has quality beers. Which company gives beer like farmer's reserve without even buying any low end beer? Most stores don't get allocated even if you beg. Some of the liquor and wine distributor charge flat fee of $3 or more even if you order 50 cases. As everyone know that they picked up cascade & crooked stove and now it wont be hard to buy 5 cases or more per delivery. We should be thankful that they are trying their best so every store gets at least a case or more for each store. As penniwisdom stated, gas, paying employee and very little profit plays a huge factor in this. Just enjoy your dogpatch sour and relax

 

Crooked Stave*

 

I am A retailer and I have Dealt with Heather Amy and My New Rep Lizzie and i can Honestly say that they are Easy to Deal with and are on Point when it comes to there Almanac Releases! Plenty of Times i have not Order the 5 Case Min and Taking that $15 Charge and Taking it as a loss! I Don't care about the $15 charge i just want the Rare and limited Almanac so i can give them to My Customer. Sometimes in this Beer Game you have to make Sacrifices and do whatever it takes to get the beer in your store just to make your Happy Customers.It's Priceless to see the Look On a Customer's Face when they are Browsing your Shelf and see you have had the Almanac 1 2 3 4 and the Dogpatch on the Shelf! Keep up the good work Heather Amy and Lizzie.

 

Some liquor store owners are definitely going to be upset about getting only one case. I think the real story is that Almanac simply blew up so fast that the distributor got taken by surprise and had to cut allocations. Pretty simple really. Cheers to Almanac for producing another great sour. I'm glad it is fairly easy to get but it seems like that won't last long.

 

Cal Craft is definitely taking alot of heat for nothing. My Guess is they put out a list, response was way more than expected, so the orders got cut. I do the ordering for a few stores in LA, EACH store was cut as well. I can honestly say this has happened to me from every distributor at some point or another. This is the nature of the biz lately, more demand than supply. CA Craft has a small portfolio with limited beers in stock at any given time (like many others) and your simply not going to please everyone. 15 Dollar Fee is a reasonable one imo if your not able to meet the min. The flip side of the argument you guys are ignoring is if they had ran that on a first come first serve basis (3case max). ALOT of stores would not have gotten any and would be furious for that as well, having supported the brand. So damned if they do damned if they don't. Bottom line is each Distributor runs their allocations differently depending on where you fit it can help or hurt you.

PS Dogpatch sour on the shelves now

Danny
Stearns Liquor

 

Where is your magical store that has all 5 Almanac sours on the shelf now!? I must visit you immediately!

 

Wonderful That you carry Fantastic beers like that. I am Suitably impressed That you Have all of their lineup. Is your Selection always this good? Sir, How may I visit your store? what Town are you located in?

 

Headed their way next week. Do they have a tasting room? The description from the website sounded more like an office located in the city.

 

No tasting room. Nothing to visit for now.

 

I'm glad I had a chance to try a bottle of it out at Stuffed Sandwich on the 5th.

 

Thanks for that, I was doubting my memory.

 

Yeah, that was my take, too, the citrus stood out much better with #4.

 

"have had" I think are the operative words.

 

Damn. This beer is nice.