New Special Alpine Release?

Guess, I'll have to skip that Someone enjoy my two bottles! ;P

 

There was no line during lunch today, once the word passes around....forget it.

 

I like Expo, it is good. I would not drive to Alpine (1.25 hour minimum from south OC one way) for 2 bottles of it though.

There is no use in complaining about Pat's choices, it just makes you sound bitter. I for one admire someone that chooses to keep his dream small, manageable and enjoyable over the prospect of making larger profits. Remember that Pat is the owner and that he can do whatever he likes, that is part of what makes living in the US so great.

 

They've been trying to expand for a couple years but couldn't secure the necessary investment via a private offering. I don't think his dream is to keep it small so much as his dream is to expand without ceding any control or going through the lending process with a bank. Maybe it's a distinction without a difference to some people, but he has definitely shown interest in not keeping it as small as it currently is.

 

I was there about 45 minutes and had no line. I tried to time it to where the 2 hour wait after Alpine opens died down. It seems that maybe this time everyone was either out of sick time or vacation to make this midweek excursion happen. If only it was this way every time.

 

The line for Expo wasn't that bad this afternoon, managed to get my bottles after 5-10 minute wait after arrival and got a pour from the pub.

 

Thanks Pat.

 

Thank you good sir. Carry on.

 

Sounds like they may release it again soon.

From their recent FB post, "If you weren't able to make it out for this EH release, you'll have another chance... VERY SOON"

 

My best guess is that they will bottle a second batch next week because the initial rumor was that there would be a double batch. They also posted on a previous FB post that "it will be a busy next couple of weeks..." We're only in week one.

Also, to follow up on the discussion regarding BPT: I talked to a few people at the brewery/pub and they said their intent was to use BPT but that they just didn't get the necessary info into BPT in time for the release. They also said a few characters show up, pick up 2 bottles then go to their car and change shirts, put on a hat and glasses to pretend they are a different customer. You know who you are....

 

not sure which is more pathetic, this...or the dudes following around KRBCEric to all the Citra deliveries. There really are some pathetic beer geeks out there.

 

Tell me you didn'y go home during Halloween and grab a new pillow case and hit up the "best candy houses" a second time. There was no way I was the only one that did that.

As for the beer, that is kinda lowly especially now that I am older and it looks bad going out for Halloween candy. What is funny is that I always joked around with the guys at Plaza that I would do this multiple times to take all their Pliney but then heading back to the car, laziness kicked in, and at the end of the day I just wanted to crack open a bottle and relax.

So, lets hear it for laziness!!! w000000!!!!!

 

You know I guess it would just be too easy if they had a BPT release and people who work a regular job but want to drink their beer and not trade it for ridiculous amounts could actually get it !!!
that would be crazy !! to get the beer to people who want to drink it and have them pick it up OMG what a stupid idea

 

I've said this before in another thread, but how is it that so many beer geeks are afforded the luxury of waiting in all these crazy lines on weekdays, during work hours? It's seems like there is a disproportionate number of people who either work from home or can just take off work whenever, so they can follow around beer trucks. Also, with so much time spent not at work and chasing beer, how do they afford all this??

 

I'm starting to think that it's not so much a disproportionate number of beer geeks, as much as beer has reached a large enough group where there are a sufficient number of people who have both flexibility and disposable income to hit releases during work hours.

I would definitely be curious to know the demographics of the people rushing out to Alpine when they hear Expo is available with a limit of two bottles, but I'm moreso glad that most breweries have moved beyond that kind of thing.

 

Keep in mind that this release was probably very small (one batch - whatever that amounts to in terms of total cases/bottle counts) and yet it lasted almost 3 full days. The hours of the brewery are 12-6pm plus, and I may be wrong, they sell bottles in the pub when the brewery is closed. My best guess is that they really want the beer to be enjoyed by locals who live and work close enough to get the bottles. That's their choice.

I will say that the line yesterday was about 15 deep when I got there just before the brewery opened and about 45 minutes later there was no line. They hired extra help to help speed up sales but in talking to a few of the waitresses there, they were amazed at how smooth and calm everything was compared to previous releases. I also noticed that most people that were in line were enjoying lunch after in the pub so it wasn't a bunch of mules showing up and raiding the brewery. You will never avoid that from happening but from my perspective it seemed to work really well.

Ultimately, as they say, it's just a beer. Some want it more than others but not everyone can have it. It's okay....

 

Taking a long offsite lunch.

 

Past few days I've gone up there during lunch, order a burrito to go at that little place next door. Grab my beer and burrito and head back to work.

Last year I couldn't do that because of the lines. This year the biggest line for me was 4 persons in front of me....sweet.

 

what if I told you that not everybody works M-F 9-5 but may instead work on weekends or odd hours of the day?