Waiting in Line for Beer

I've never waited in line for beer but don't begrudge those that do.

 

I do find interest in the psychology of lines and line behavior. I wonder if removing uncertainty plays a role here too. This goes to the fear of missing out factor. All things being equal, once they are in line they feel there is less uncertainty as to whether they'll get bottles - they are in line now & anything required to get to the line is over & complete i.e., one less thing to worry about.

 

If I could have the beers teleported directly to my house (Amazon drone maybe as a realistic alternative) I'd do that. I don't think most people like a line or waiting generally, for anything.

If I got 6 cans of King Julius waiting in line vs having them delivered to my deck via a drone, the thing that matters is the six cans. There is no benefit to the line I can see. (Treehouse....giving you lots of hints here...I may be a drone flight away). Now a great tasting room experience...that could tip the scales.

 

Nah, the assholes who showed up late and glommed on to the Dead scene were Phish.

In re: the article, to define beer as "inclusive by nature" is platitudinous happy talk and magical thinking. It's traditionally been the bevvie of the "working man," so called, but craft has taken it away from that demographic by innovating the twelve-dollar sixpack.

 

Well if you willingly start a line, I have a hard time believing you dont like it. I dont think I have ever seen the first person in a line looking disappointed. Someone must always start the line, and I understand sometimes circumstances dictate this, ie have somewhere else to be, cant spend all day in line/waiting for release sales, etc. Its usually the people that show up and see the line already formed that are disappointed.

 

I guess they do enjoy it. People line up for many other things and sometimes the media covers it. People interviewed on line waiting for "Black Friday" Christmas sales admit they enjoy it. People waiting outside the Apple Store for the new I Phone admit it too.

 

I've stood in line at the FFF brewpub many times before they open, but it's never been worth it. After I've sat down and leisurely had a couple beers and a meal, I almost always go back to the kiosk, which by that time is deserted, to pick up something extra I may have wanted. Each time they've never been close to running out of anything that was there a couple hours before. It creates just urgency and frantic tension in the air overall. Someone wise once said, "It's only beer." Good beer will always be around in one way or another. No reason to climb over people or wait in frigid temperatures for any.

 

Other than Beer Festivals, I have never stood in line for beer. Even then, I won't stand in the crazy lines for RR or others. I think the longest that I waited was 10-15 minutes and that was towards the end of a festival when I needed a break.

Never for special releases at a brewery or store. There is way too much good to great beer available today.

 

I've done Younger 4 years in a row with some buddies and its a great time every time.

 

Tree house doesn't need a Kickstarter campaign -- most Brewers w long line don't -- they are raking in so much $ they could (and are) planning their next expansion w/plain old profit. With sales in the high single digit $Ms -- profits are likely many Ms a year. Who needs loans or handouts w that kind of success and free cash

 

This topic is brought up time and time again and half the people who say they're against it probably stand in line for beer anyway.

 

Stand in a line, don't stand in a line. I don't give a shit what you do.

That's how we should all look at it.

 

Agreed. You would to be jealous to criticize someone in a beer line.

 

For me, life is too short and too busy to spend in line waiting for beer. However, if others enjoy it, then I'm glad for them.

 

The only thing I dislike more than waiting in line for beer is having people tell me what to do.

 

Waiting in a line at a beer release can be a ton of fun, especially when you've got bottle shares going on and exciting beers being released. I'd rather have a fun experience of hanging out with friends in line drinking, trying cool beers in a bottle share with friendly strangers, trying a new beer directly at the brewery right at release, etc. than just seeing the same beer on the shelf while im grocery shopping and casually buying it. I would love to have Treehouse cans on the shelves, but for some bigger beers like BA Stouts I dont really need more than one release event to get the amount I plan on drinking the rest of the year.

Granted, some releases can be miserable. To go to the Dinner releases it would require leaving my house around midnight, driving several hours, waiting more hours at the brewery, getting my beer if I'm lucky, and then being stuck in Maine after not sleeping and probably not in a mood to go out drinking.

I think the article author is being unrealistic. If 1000 people want a beer and there are only 100 made, obviously there will have to be lotteries or lines or something to account for that. People don't form lines at Treehouse on weeknights because they feel like hanging out in a random parking lot in MA. They form lines because they realize that things sell out fast, and the only way to get them is to show up earlier than others.

 

I take issue with this statement. I've seen people wait in line for hours for big movie releases. When the Harry Potter books were being released there were lines around bookstores. People wait for hours outside of popular night clubs and restaurants. Black Friday is a day built around the whole concept of people queuing in line for hours to get the best deals. I don't believe beer is this object that transcendentally opposes human behavior. Waiting in line for beer might be a new concept for people but there is nothing new under the Sun.

 

I walked away from a long-ass line at one of my favorite taprooms on Saturday with one thought in my mind, "There are too many great craft beers in this town to wait that long for one rare beer."

 

If i was single and didn't have a wife who gives me hell for the time i spend on beer WITHOUT spending hours in line.

 

I'll do it within reason, but great beer always comes along. I waited in a line this past week for Kanes Morning Bell and couldn't wait any longer because of obligations. I left empty handed. Went to Vault Brewing today and a beer they released Sunday they happened to stash 25 cases of and released today; Breakfast Stout nitro cans. Had a couple on nitro at the brewery too, good beer comes along as I'm learning.