The Bruery's 2014 RS/HS Allocation Thread

I have only ONE bottle left. Damn.

 

I agree with you on the tasting notes. I think the white oak sap adds body to the beer which highlights the coconuts and brings it to the front. It is a great beer and should be drank ASAP! They did a great job blending this beer!

 

I know I've said it before, but the stupidity of these resellers is amazing. They are technically losing money based on the time and effort involved and the expected profit. If I am Patrick Rue I just contact them, laugh historically, and say if you want back in for 2015 I am upping your membership cost. I am sure they decline.

 

I wonder how Abraham Lincoln laughed?

Back on target though, my experience has been the exact opposite. The resellers make a name for themselves as guys with a great beer selection (because between clubs and trades, honestly they do have a great selection). If you don't care about that, or don't know that it's illegal (as several of my friends who've shopped at Bobby's Liquors in Santa Clara didn't), then it's just a bit of a surcharge for beers you can't find elsewhere. And if the authorities don't care, then the risk is pretty damn small for the shop owner as well.

And if you think that the Bruery is going to stop it by calling them up and raising the prices/cancelling the membership, then I think you're mistaken there as well. How hard is it to get a family member or friend to sign up instead? It's not hard to get into Reserve Society and how big of a loss are the few Hoarders beers anyway?

 

If the bruery was serious about it they would take the approach of what RR did to Perry's liquor, and stop them from getting their regular beers. I dont know if that is logistically possible for the bruery to do.

 

While I've loved some of the regular Reserve releases, the Hoarders releases are by far the best yet. I also assume that they'd command the biggest markup by retailers, and not just to cover the added cost.

 

I didn't say they [bruery] would do what I prescribed, that would make too much sense. When I say what they [illegal resellers] are undertaking is actually a financial loss, I mean that in the most literal/micro approach, totally ignoring the ripple effect financial impact, mostly because that is more speculative.
I really couldn't care less what they do with their beer they buy. I still think it's stupid and a waste of time. If I was a small business owner and had to or simply resorted to doing this, besides a necessity of having to make $ to avoid starvation or pay necessary medical bills (which isn't the case here I'm assuming),
I'd probably kill myself.

 

been lurking for a while, joined RS this year.

stupid [maybe] question: these new allocations that you have never tasted. do you still max out? drive down and hope to taste one before buying? buy one of each early and then find out you love it later?

also second [dumb?] question: i liked 6 geese at christmas. had one, found a place [KLWINES.COM] that i can buy lots more...i wanted to lay some down and have some to drink..will it come up again to RS members? i know you can't predict the future, but based on the past - [1,2,3,4,5? beers of christmas have passed?] i would love to know what the situation is. do those show up later? ever? or are they sold out except for their library and special variations?

thanks!!

chris

 

They'll most likely have 6 Geese for sale again come their anniversary and Christmas sales. They have been doing the whole 12 days of Christmas sale and without fail, the past years (up to 2-3 years prior releases) were offered again for sale at the tasting room.

But then again, there's still plenty of stores that have it, as well as 5 golden rings, sitting on the shelf.

 

For the first half of last year I maxed out on everything that sounded good to me or that I'd had before, and I was more than satisfied.

After some misfires later in the year, though, I stopped doing so and basically would try to get down to the Bruery before allocations were over. I couldn't this month so maxed out on Melange #9 untasted and bought a couple of bottles of the others.

 

I'm with you on that one.

 

I stopped by the Bruery today and tried all these beers finally - Melange 9 was amazing, when first announced after that HS event I was skeptical but the rave reviews are warranted, the coconut comes out perfectly and it's not too sour at all, really easy to drink. Would be stoked to see this make a reappearance in the online store.

Smooth Criminal also impressed me - if you like the anniversary beers you will like this beer, IMO - it just tastes a bit lighter with a bit more of a bitter hoppiness. Definitely going to try to do a side by side with a Bois to see how they compare. Bois Fume and Tumescense were also better than I expected (I guess I had low expectations for everything this month….) and I enjoyed my taster glass of each.

Also stopped by Bottle Logic afterwards - definitely recommend stopping there, their place is really nice and the beer was pretty good.

 

Smooth Criminal was great. I didn't like Tumescense at all and that was the one I was most excited for when the descriptions came out.

 

Smooth Criminal has also been my favorite from this months allocation. Any idea what's coming next?

 

according to the release calender filmishmish, tripel tonnellerie and white oak

 

FWIW the K&L Wines in Redwood City had 5 Golden Rings on clearance last year -- it was summer if I recall correctly; and they were like $5/pop. I bought them out.

 

thanks for the responses re: christmas beers & buying untasted beers.. i think my goal is to make it down to the Bruery more frequently, but the hours the taproom are open arent great. wish they were open every day at lunch and it would be less of an issue.

 

Anyone else have thoughts about getting ONE taster glass with the growler bag as merch? Who the hell needs one taster glass, especially with the high gravity and expensive beers The Bruery is putting out?

Yeah, I know I'm bitching here about something that is not all that important.

 

Considering the target audience, most of us probably have an abundance of tasting glasses, as well as glassware in general. Two glasses would've been sweet and/or an option to buy more, but I'm mostly stoked about the growler bag fitting six 750ml bottles. The 2011 growler bag has come in handy, but it maxes out at three 750mls or four 22oz bottles if you squeeze them in tight.