Casey Brewing and Blending

Got a ticket.

 

So can you explain how the ticket deal works? I saw the post on FB then went to BPT every hour or so never saw it actually go live. Did I just miss the sale? BPT never announces a time or anything about when the sale will happen? You just got to be lucky and be free when it goes live?

 

So no announced time of when it went live. They went live yesterday afternoon (not sure of the exact time) but they were available for at least a couple hours.

this sale was a little weird. The members party is the day after (on Sunday) so I think tickets went a little faster because more members are going up and just spending the weekend.

 

Dang, wish BPT would give some heads up or let you put an alert on. I checked all yesterday but didn't have access to the internet a few hours and that must have been when they went live. Oh well some other time.

 

Holy shit HUGE change to how Casey releases will be going after June: https://www.facebook.com/CaseyBrewingAndBlending/posts/1103186499724416

 

I like it.

 

Troy seems like this is the best option for him moving forward, so I have no doubt he will make it work. Could be some small hiccups at first, but it sounds like dealing with a smaller and more intimate crowd will be a nice change of pace compared to dealing with the unknown of how big the mass of people can be at any given release. Plus similar bottle releases/ allotments and the ticket price now provides pours at the bar... Sounds like everyone could be a winner with the new system

 

*ducks and runs*

 

I'll preface this post by saying I have never been to a Casey release. It was definitely on the list of things I wanted to make happen but just never made it a priority I suppose.

With that said, the wife and I love Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork Valley. We got married there and visit at least once or twice a year. This is great news to me as now we have a much better opportunity to check out CBB without having to plan a whole weekend around it and dealing with the crowd. I'm sure it's bad for trade value, but that has zero effect on me. Also interesting that he says this will mean they will be cutting back on distribution, so maybe that will balance out the trade value aspect of it. I can't really see a downside to this unless you are a trader/hoarder.

 

I definitely agree with the idea and I think it will end up being an awesome time. The only difficulty I foresee is coordinating a car-pool or meeting up with people at releases since they will be much smaller and therefore less tickets sold. Regardless, I am excited to attend one of the new low-key events this summer, whether I am able to make the trip with friends or not.

 

So the first weekend of July "event"/"small tour, tasting, and bottle purchase" is going to be very difficult to obtain a ticket for now. Ouch, time to reeevaluate planning. Love the idea though, overall.

 

Potentially, yes, but I would venture a guess to say there will be multiple options for around that time seeing as how it's the 2nd anniversary and all.

 

I'm a bit bummed as I was planning to attend the July 4th weekend release with a friend from NYC. That's off the table now, obviously. I'd be interested in attending at some other point by appointment, but I never know when tickets are being sold until they sold out. That has't been a big deal because I'm more than happy just to drink on-premise of whatever is available, but it seems that option is now out of the window.

 

I remember we had talked about the 4th of July release for everyone to meet up again so yeah, potentially a big bummer on that (not ruling it out though). I was gonna text you to let you know but you saw it before I could haha

 

I'm still waiting to see how the new hours play out. I trust that Troy will play around with the setup to please as many people as possible and I'm certain the experience will be positive for those who attend. That said, as someone who goes to Casey every month, but is not an EF member, my initial reaction is a bit on the negative side. I really enjoy the atmosphere of seeing a lot of friends together at the brewery during his releases, and 1x a month on a weekend is very reasonable for most people to make a 6+ hour round trip. That we can spend more than 2 hours chatting with different friends, trying his beers, and sitting by the river makes the experience very special. Being able to buy a ticket and have the opportunity to buy (what is in many ways a crazy amount of) his beer helps to make up for the time and cost of the trip. And because the releases are held at very consistent dates/times, I can plan my schedule to set aside the day.

I have no doubt that this will remain a special experience for those who attend, but it will certainly be very different, and considerably more expensive. $20 per person with no DD means $40 if you drive up with a friend or significant other, and that covers 12 oz of beer per person (which is greater than the to-go value on every single one of his beers) and permits a total of 2 hours in the facility (which seems like a narrow window if you want to try some of his other beer onsite as he seems to be encouraging). Combine that with the (presumably) smaller array of bottles to buy, it represents a significant increase in the effective per bottle cost of his beers.

I love Troy's beer and I still plan to support his business. I'm not trying to be dismissive, because I know he's given this a lot of thought and sought feedback from EF members and longtime customers. I'm sure that he will find a balance of openings/releases that works for him and his family, and I'm sure that I will find a way to get up there every so often. Just wanted to contribute some thoughts.

 

I guess one of the questions I have is how often do you want to go on the tour? Can you just buy a ticket and just skip the tour part? I know the beers are different each time but none of you would go on a tour of say NB every time you wanted to visit the place

 

Bravo! Well said!

I echo these same thoughts. There's been so many evolutionary changes to the releases since Casey's beginning to help combat the mania and also reduce the stress of the Casey staff and frustration of customers. They've all been necessary and good moves thus far. The new necessary change was parking, something had to be done apparently. I'm just super bummed that the release events have been gutted SO severely for all the reasons you listed. Kind of takes the wind out the sails a bit.

 

Paying devil's advocate here cuz I mostly agree with you, but $40 for 12 oz. of beer per person is better than $30 (or $60) to reserve the right to an allotment (or 2) right? Personally I think 2 hours is enough time, especially with a smaller, more intimate group. My wife and I can order one of everything he's offering an share without really going overboard and presumably no real wait in line to purchase beer. I really hope the available bottles on any given day remains in the 4-7 varieties range though.

 

I'm taking a wait and see approach. I like what he has done on the surface, but I suppose it depends on how small these groups are, what kind of side events are planned, and how many of the open days are during the week vs. weekend. It's great that the weekend workers finally get a shot, but they're still a minority.

I think everything makes sense, but the idea of driving 3 hours down and back (during potentially shaky weather) just to grab your box and bail isn't very appealing. I can see people that make most releases sticking to the bare minimum 3-month deadline. Hopefully the side event concept alleviates that. In theory, something like a takeover/tasting held at the GC Brewery, the Pullman, etc. could potentially be better than the current setup. I guess the amount of tickets also makes a difference. Are these groups of 5 or 50? Too many unknowns for now, though.

 

All of this.