Three Brothers Resolute Day

Tirckery was phenomenal. The CCB crew coming to help them out was crucial with that. Milkman should be another good one, whenever it actually gets released.

 

maybe you have been in a few bad trades, or dealt with some major assholes lately in regards to beer. But, the people in these beer groups do give 2 shits about me, and i have made a lot of great friends in these groups. the last thing i would call these guys are assholes that look out for themselves. I just ran a LIF for a lady at my work who lost her son. I had 500.00 raised within a few days, and people cared about this lady who they will never meet. people drop random boxes on doorsteps with some serious beers in them, just for the hell of it. I can, with 100% certainty, vouch for the guys in my group. and for you to say that all we care about is making sure we get the beer we want is a slap to the face. i feel like i am very generous with beer i get, and spread out to guys b/c that is what it is what being a beer advocate is all about.

Like i said, the rare releases (BA cake, KBBS, assassin, and prop come to mind) and low bottle counts are not the beers that guys come in and try to buy out the brewery so nobody gets their fair share. I am beginning to think this beer is one that would not fall under the "everyone gets hooked up" umbrella, and to be honest, I, nor anyone in the groups really think about. We just send good beer back and forth to each other. Call me or anyone in the group what you want (and by the way, i knew nobody that went to the resolute release, so i have no idea who the guys were that dropped so much money on the resolute and variants), but the guys i have come to know and become friends with are some of the most generous people I have met in the beer community.

 

DOH, sorry. I meant two hours, well, just under for me.

 

I was replying to this... ( used the quoting function )

"I haven't heard of any other release or any of the 50ish releases that I have been to where someone spends 3k, or let alone buys 1/5 of that amount."

I gave some concrete examples recent and not so recent... I guess the Florida example bothered you?
I could name names in all of my examples, but do not want the thread deleted or a time out.

I never said anything about there not being good people in the community.

Again just giving examples that this is not a "new" or "imaginary" issue.

 

This couldnt be more wrong...you would be amazed by what gets accomplished all over the country for people "that nobody gives 2 shits about" in these groups...that sentiment is probably the reason you arent part of anything that special.

 

As someon who loves stout in general and has never heard of Resolute, I think I´ll avoid trading for this one, too much bad karma.

 

Finally someone comes to the rescue and helps me get saved from the wolves, @BlumBeer! in the 2 groups i am in, there are some of the best group of guys and gals that are great advocates of beer.

 

Im in one group that straight dominates...its 155 people that put in more work than the 4800 people on here combined...I also have personally met about 1/3 of the people in the group and they are all amazing people and share a great passion for beer and helping others enjoy their passion.

 

I don't doubt the effectiveness of these groups, but if you are buying beer for more than a few members at these brewery only releases, then you're essentially allowing them to invisibly cut in line. Just because they allow you to invisibly cut in line at the releases they go to doesn't make it any less of a dick move. I'll put emphasis on the "IF" here, because I don't really know the extent of what these groups do, but IF you wait in line for limited releases and buy obscene amounts to distribute to your group, then all you've done is organized a way to beat the system.

 

Well I just moved to Harrisonburg for a job (got in on the 6th believe it or not) from Seattle. My work is less than 5 minutes from Three Brothers so I figured I would stop by around noon when I finished in lab and see how things were going. The line for the bottles was rather long so I said screw it lets head to the tap room. An hour later I finally get my two variants and the mole was definitely great. Rather wish I had gone to Capital as no wait but still interesting. My thoughts on the release are:
1) They want to sell out. This shows how well the brewery is doing. I give them props and hope all future releases go as well business wise for them.
2) There need to be better systems than lines (both for tap and bottle sales). For bottles, as people have reported here, there is definite cutting and handing over of cash. I no longer do the black friday thing of standing in line for hours for cheap products or good beer. Personally, I know there are beers out there I can buy which I am happy with and I don't need to sit in line for. Others consider these beers worth it and will wait and I salute them, but I don't salute their friends who are too lazy to get in line at the same time. Sure, you may be a good friend letting them do it, but it really is a crappy move (I am waiting for someone to pull a prank where they get 100+ classmates to show up 30 minutes before a major release and try to get them to cut in as 'friends'. Just think about how much you would hate that. Don't do it to others you hypocrite). My suggestion here will play in line with thought #3 in that the brewery really should hand out numbered tickets so once someone gets there they don't all need to stand in line (aka standing in line will do you no good, same with trying to cut). It seems the safer thing for everyone (think if it were 0 degrees and snowing) and I really don't see anything socially wrong with getting a ticket and heading out, the person showed their dedication by getting up at the ass crack.
3) Limits are tough, especially for those people who do drive long distances. But without limits at these type of releases those people may end up with 0 instead of 2. The brewery still needs to sell out though. I like the idea of you can buy as much as you can carry, and then get your ass to the back of the line. Most people will be able to carry a case or two, anyone who tries more risks dropping and breaking, their own stupid fault. If you don't allow cutting than this really eliminates the friend-cash-handoff as well, making the line do what it is supposed to do (benefit people willing to get up early to get the ticket while still offering options for people who come in later as long as they aren't too late).
4) This was the most annoying for me since I didn't even try to buy bottles but please please fix your tap movement at this type of event. My thoughts are separate the cash from the pouring issues (I do recognize them though). Have a table outside with set prices (round numbers only please) where people hand over cash for a blue/red/green/whatever ticket. Take that ticket in, get beer, andout they go. The bartenders don't deal with the cash and you don't have people hanging around slowing down the ordering and pouring. I sat in the tap room for 30 minutes watching people just sitting at the bar ordering and reordering. I have no issue with utilizing the benches, but if they want another beer they should have to go out and get another ticket instead of slowing everything down by sitting there. Sorry, again you are being hypocrites.

Otherwise I enjoyed the beer and I plan on hitting up the taproom more often since they are so close to work. Hopefully next year goes smoother for everyone but I have no plans on sitting in a line for 4+ hours for any beer at this point in my life. To you who will, enjoy. I am just looking forward to my beer stash getting here next week

 

Perhaps this "work" is the reason though why more people can't try these lesser produced beer. I wasn't at this release, nor do I plan to try to get a bottle as BA Stouts aren't really my thing, but it seems that every single thread here on regarding any type of release ends in a pissing contest of the people who got the beer and the people who didn't. It may be why I have never even tried to attend a release, so if "advocating" is what these groups are attempting to do, they are gravely mistaken and I'm certain have turned off many of the fringe BA's to enjoying the scene of a beer release. I am not in any way trying to say the people in any of these groups are good people or are not good people. I'm just saying that gobbling up all the beer so people in line behind you can't get any is not a part of the beer scene I want to be a part of. I visit breweries in every single city I visit (I travel often for work) and try to hit local bottle ships as well. I dont even attempt to go to releases of beers I would really like to try simply because of what I read on these forums. fortunately most of these "gotta have 'em" beers are BA Stouts, so I am personally not missing out anyways.

So, defend your actions all you want, but dont feel that you are "advocating" the scene by not allowing the locals who support the brewery year round to try the special beers that get limited release.

 

Two problems with this logic. One, there was no "system" to beat. Anyone who was there could have purchased every last bottle if they wanted to. Two, this supposed invisible line-cutting scenario implies that somehow by buying beer for others, the person ahead of you was getting more beer than they were entitled to, which is what happens when a person cuts in line (i.e. the line cutter is entitled to 0 beers but buys 1 or 2 or whatever the allotment is instead). Again, because of #1, the person in front was already entitled to buy as much beer as they wanted to.

The obvious point here is that you can go around getting mad at people who buy more than 1 bottle or 2 bottles or 3 bottles, or whatever number you've arbitrarily decided is the "fair" amount, or you can just suck it up and recognize that people at the back of the line are bound to get screwed when there is a highly-desirable, limited release product being sold without limits. Clearly the brewery made a calculated decision as to how to distribute the beer as fairly as possible without running the risk of selling out. It seems that in attempting to achieve the latter, they did a less than ideal job of ensuring the former. Not saying they're terrible or anything; it happens. But, the solution is to limit purchases, not to pile on people who exercised the option the brewery gave them to buy as much beer as they wanted.

 

@charlottemoeron i would be hard pressed to think that the guys in these groups (as i am in the saem one as @BlumBeer and another one) are the ones that show up to these releases, grab their releases and haull ass. in fact these guys definitely arent like this at all. they show up to releases with semi-whales (BA cake sets, KBBS, assassins) so people can enjoy them. if people actually hung out with these people ever, you would realize they are great guys. plenty of the guys are on BA. hopefully they will chime in.

 

I know plenty of good people who share my love for good beer. Not a single of one them have come close to ever seeing those beers. Maybe they dont "work" hard enough. 2-3 years ago, I could find Mexican Cake at Frugal McDoogal's for several weeks after release. I really enjoy that beer (never had any of the BA versions). This past year, I found one, and it just so happened to be because I called a shop that knows me and asked if they could save any until after I got off work. It's a shame that I couldn't get a few for personal consumption, because I spend a shitload with Westbrook throughout the year. They are probably my second favorite brewery behind NoDa.

Again, not saying any of these people are bad people. In fact most people I have met that share a passion for beer are all really good people. I am just saying that reading what happens at these releases has encouraged me to just avoid them rather than attempt to join in on the "fun". So, my point is that defending these actions under the guise that they are just being Beer Advocate's seems conflicting in my mind, as their actions IN LINE are exactly the opposite of being an Advocate. I am not saying it is wrong, I am just saying it is not consistent with being an Advocate of something.

America was built on rules and finding ways around them for success. That is simply what happened here. It isn't wrong, it just doesn't seem right.

 

Perhaps I just need a star on my belly???

 

Muling is part of the game and it's never going away. Everyone has the same opportunity to find the right people. Can't keep up? Gtfo.

 

Exactly why I haven't chosen to play said game. Learn how to read AND comprehend.

 

or gtfo.

 

I didn't bother to read everything. I have that luxury.

 

The butthurt is strong in this thread