Calling bottle shops to ask for whales

It doesn't help that Mass seems to get screwed with most of these limited releases. I had to visit 12 stores between Framingham and Stoneham in one day to get 8 bottles of KBS last year, then I stepped back and realized how stupid I was for doing that. Just not worth it with so many other options.

 

interestingly enough i wasn't even referring to HC, i rarely make it to the westside for beer purchases as i'm in VaHi.

glad you found a good spot though. may i ask the name?

 

haha Pliny lovers themselves are not wieners, so don't get discouraged. It is a phenomenal beer, but getting 20+ calls on Friday all for Pliny gets a little... wiener-esque! That's all.

 

Zombie Dust is not really a whale, and Kbs( its more like a big fish) at least in Illinois....but I get your point
I rather shop @ a place that will try to help their locals/regulars...its a privilege......VS......a shop that tweets their releases, but hates when folks call to find out availability........but I find it helpful when a shops tweets out once it sells out.

 

It really depends what mood I find myself in. If I am up for a drive, I dont mind hunting down a few "whales" and see what other goodies I can find. However sometimes I just dont feel like driving all over to come home possibly empty handed. Around me whales are few and far between so calling saves me a few hours and dollars.
I went looking at 4 different stores today for FW XVII and instead found XVI, so the hunt got me something unexpected.

 

Absolutely. It is the Stout Brothers Smyrna Beer Market. It is a growler store but they have a really good selection of bottles too. They have the best selection of beers on draft that I have seen (aside from the Hop City who just has so many taps). Great bunch of guys.

Hop City is cool by me but it is usually a circus when a big release is coming through. I really like them it just isn't that close to me. The store I will not go to anymore is Smyrna World of Beverage. Not only are they dishonest but they charge what they can get for limited releases. It is usually $5 more or so there for something limited than anywhere else I have paid for it. They were charging 30 bucks for Black Ops last year and I think a 6-pack of Hopslam was like 25 or so. Don't miss them at all.

 

As a shop owner and beer fan, I understand the frustration from both sides.

We hold many special releases behind the counter to limit the amount people can buy. We also will hold bottles back for regulars.

Phone calls can get very annoying. Our policy is to not discuss the quantity we received or take "reservations" over the phone.

The king of phone requests is pappy van winkle bourbon. The script for those phone calls is sorry we are sold out.

 

Wow, this thread is certainly an eye opener at the uglier side of beer.

 

I hear what you're saying, but just because you aren't a "real chatty guy" doesn't mean your beer guy isn't, and there's nothing wrong with him appreciating customers like me who are. Personal relationships go a LONG way! The stores I frequent in MA are extremely busy, but the beer guy and I routinely spend 5-10 minutes talking shop. Trust me, they enjoy a break from their mundane duties just like you and I. Chat your beer up. You may be pleasantly surprised what comes of it, and it won't always be the rarest craft beer releases...

 

I've only called a bottle shop when it was going to be a significant drive. Frankly I'd rather show how devoted I am by driving there instead. Plus, they recognize my face. Most don't know my name.

 

I wouldn't bother if I didn't feel like the people there knew me well enough to be able to answer honest and openly (and maybe put something off to the side for me). Plus, most of the stores around here I can actually get to regularly are grocers so its not like I can really set up having "a guy," it's just whoever is working the register that day and lord knows if they know what I'm talking about. It's like trying to drum up a conversation with the girl at the bar; it probably smacks more of desperation than anything despite the innocent intentions.

 

I don't call KBS, Zombie Dust, or any Bourbon County Variant (the year it is released) a whale but that being said I would absolutely call ahead to some local stores before I ever go truck chasing.

 

while i've never been to World of Bev i've absolutely heard the horror stories. it's always a "last resort" place for a few of my tasting group pals chasing things around the ATL. they always have great beer, but it's always a hassle and you def get ripped off from what i can tell.

HC also has a bit of an inconsistency streak with those special releases, sometimes they do tickets, sometimes not, sometimes they are an hr ahead of the "release time", other times spot on. just makes it difficult to try and fight my way over there for a release. there's another store in town that i've had some issues with things "not being in yet, maybe next week" but i have multiple friends telling me to go as they purchased it there the day before.

i'll def check out the Stout Brothers next time i'm over that side of town though, seems like they have their act together from their website! maybe @jumboj11 can do some leg work for me?

 

As an employee the Annoying thing about these phone calls is that its normally people who didn't come in to buy founders 6packs to help us earn the numbers it takes to get KBS, Backwoods, Backstage. Its also normally people who are going to complain when you hand them a single instead of the four pack the deserve. It is also sometimes people reaching out all across distr. in there area to get as much as they can. Whats wrong with that? whats wrong with that is I can't sell things to loyal customers I know they'd like cus some beer bro came in with three office mates to get the whole four pack he so much deserves, without so much as browsing through more than 1000 SKUs of beer.

Also these phone calls normally include these fun FAQs:
How much did you get? (why does it matter?)

Can I buy all of it? (No.)

What time exactly does the truck get there? (I wish I knew the answer to that any given week)

What do you mean you don't know what time the truck will get there? (Trucks drive in traffic DC traffic is no BS)

If I told you I had a brother who lives elsewhere who also wanted some could I have 2 allotments? (you mean your brother who also never shops here?)

Can I pay over the phone before you get it in? (No, we can't guarantee a price on something like an annual release nor can we guarantee it arrives in tact or at all for that matter)

Can you hold it for me? (my store does not do holds because its a shitty feeling to tell a bunch of people who came in that no you can't buy any of those 4 cases of BCS because someone on the phone is going to…maybe. People take there sweet ass time picking something up if the know its safe which is annoying no matter what the product because my store is very short on space.

Its frustrating because not only am I probably dealing with a customer when I answer the phone, I'm taking away from a customers in store experiance so someone can call and see if my store is even worth coming too based on the fact that we are sold out of something that sold out in 4hours, or just because we don't carry 120minute year round for some crazy reason. Its not every caller, I understand you might be far out or just aren't privy to how stuff works. I'm just over what may as well be bourbon county month when bourbon county was gone everywhere here in hours. Same with KBS and all the rest.

 

I've only been to a few of those releases at Hop City. They have always done tickets when I was there. Stout Brothers for sure has their act together. They just had their one year anniversary a few weeks ago and their draft list was awesome. They had Liquid Bliss, Wake-n-Bake 2012, Bigfoot 2012, tons of Burnt Hickory beers, pretty much every Brick Mason beer (I got a growler of the 17th Anniversary and it was amazing), and tons and tons of other awesome one offs, aged, or rare beers. They just love beer and want to get good stuff. If you get a chance, check them out.

 

Where do you work? I'd like to remember to never, ever, frequent that establishment should I be in the Virginia area.

 

Sooo... What your saying is I need to stop in every Friday and ask instead of stopping in on random days of the week. Also I dont think I have called a store looking for Pliny, other stuff yes, not Pliny.

 

Talk about "ugly."

 

yea i go to a store near me fairly often but i guess not enough to be considered one of their special regulars..asked a guy behind the counter if he got any of the bourbon county variants...he said all he got was reg bcbs...as i stepped up to pay for the beer i decided to get, i see an empty folded up 4 pack of barleywine on the floor lol i understand supply is low so id respect it so much more if he was like sorry bud we only got a few cases and theyre going to our friends lol

 

Because we value loyal customers and serve happily but don't love greedy truck chasers who only want one bottle?

I'm not quite sure what about our practices offend you, but were you to walk in and we did have any BCS I'd gladly hand you one if not I would happily take the time to show you other delicious stouts of which we have plenty. And were you to call and ask I'd would very politely inform you we no longer had any, and if I have any leads on where some might be we happily divulge that info as well. I field all of those calls respectfully without condescending to anyone and do the same in the store with a smile on my face. which I know not everyone does.

But maybe your right and the loyal customers who have kept us in business for nearly 16 years are wrong.