CCB: The future of Tocobaga Red Ale

"the beer is expensive to make so we will sell it in 4 pks for the same price as we were for 6...." doesn't usually resonate well with customers despite reasoning.

 

I'm sure there will be people complaining about this, but I see it as "Take it or leave it, quit your bitching."
I like it, although not that much, but when I get a hankering I'll spring for the price.

 

Yea, I can't think of too many price increases that do resonate well with customers. However, I like that they were fairly upfront about the reason for the price increase (though I wouldn't have minded some more info about why exactly it was so expensive to brew) and laid it all out for us. It always stinks when a beer you've been buying at one price for a while all of a sudden changes price with no warning.

So, boo to more expensive beer, but yay for communicating with customers.

 

I pay for other quality 4 packs and would certainly pay for Tocobaga if I could get it. One of the best of the style. Would be a mainstay in my fridge if distributed in Ohio.

 

Yeah but at least they laid out their case for why it's happening. Most other brewers simply go "Surprise!" and the first you hear about it is on BSJ without mention of the price, then you get to the beer store and say "WTF?!"

Personally, if they decided to put it in 22 oz. bombers and charge $8.99, I'd still buy it I love that beer so much...that is, if I still lived in Florida.

 

Wow I didn't know they were thinking about not making it anymore, i glad they are. This is a really good beer.

 

I LOVE this beer. It's one of CCB's best, I think. Kudos for being transparent about it and making the best decision they could.

 

It doesn't matter to me, I'm not in their Distribution region. It's a Great Beer though.

 

The expensive part would be the Citra hops.

They are proprietary to the Hop Breeding Company and have a legal protection to their cultivar. Thus acreage is limited to those licensed. It also takes a few years from plants to mature to full production, so hop growers are most often behind the 8 ball in response to changes in the market.

It sure isn't the malt, yeast or water.

 

Now I understand why I could not find it here in northwest Florida. I only had one six pack when I moved to Florida a year ago, and I have been searching ever since. I am sure I will buy it in 4 packs.

 

Best Red I've had to date.

 

Haven't had the beer. Want to.

Love that they're communicating with consumers, and love that they went for 4-packs instead of bombers (like most breweries would have).

Hat tip to Cigar City for handling this one right. Though more info could have been provided regarding why it's expensive to brew, as pointed out by @SILVER.

 

I wish more info could be given about the aggressively mediocre last batch of Tocobaga - was it maybe an attempt at shifting the hop bill to a cheaper hop? Either way it wasn't very good.

 

They were open and transparent about the change, so kudos to them.

 

Think I agree. First received as an extra in a trade, now its the one I'm trading for! Love this beer.

 

It would be a mainstay in my fridge as well if I could find it and I live an hour from the brewery. Hopefully they increase production on this one.

 

Thanks for this. I was wondering how a red ale could be more expensive to produce than an IPA, since the malt bills are likely about the same cost.

 

Unfortunately for consumers that CCB priced this incorrectly at its origin. This now makes the consumer feel ripped off a bit, so the mistake was in original execution.

Never had it, but really like many of CCB offerings. Look forward to trying it when I get back into FL or if it ever arrives via distribution way up here.

 

It's still a lot cheaper than the $9 I paid for a single bottle of Maine Beer Co. Zoe.