Hop Delusion

It will be interesting how this industry plays out. But I certainly hope you are wrong. Because to me, the idea you describe of focusing only on volume is against the grain of the craft beer movement.

 

Volume should never be the only focus of a craft brewery, but it should be the primary focus of any business that wants to stay open. Hop Delusion and BBH are cool beers and a very important part of the Karbach brand, but Hopadillo and Love Street are the beers that keep the lights on. Hence, that's where most of the focus goes. People like to romanticize craft breweries, forgetting in the process that there's a very real business side to running a brewery. The ability to have a line of specialty brands is a luxury that doesn't pay for itself.

Bottom line: Hop Delusion is going to sell out before it's past its prime, WHICH IS ~90 DAYS AFTER CANNING, NOT A MONTH AND A HALF. If this weren't the case, Karbach would have good reason to rethink their production plan for HD (or axe it entirely like they did to Barn Burner, which they had difficulty moving). But for now, people here are fabricating a crisis of freshness that doesn't exist. That's really all I'm trying to say here.

 

Last year in my neck of the woods, Hop Delusion was still sitting on shelves for over 4 months after canning. If that happens again, is that the fault of the local distributor for bringing in an excessively huge load of HD all at once, Karbach for letting their stuff sit on the shelf past the magic '90' day rule, or are the local yokels to blame for not buying enough in a timely manner?

 

I'll blame the locals be sure HD is damn good. Probably a combination of all three though in reality.

 

Sorry, just pulling out what I think are your two key points...
1. I do not run a brewery but have a sizable private company that has a large core business and a smaller high end component. I can absolutely tell you that we make very little profit on the core business due to price pressures. The smaller (and pain in the ass) part is where we make our money. But we need both to stay open and balance the fixed costs. So I have to point out that your 'specialty brands' belief is absolutely not a rule that applies to all businesses.

2. There seem to be other people on this thread who have seen beer past your sell out date of 90 days. But I do believe the majority of drinkers never look at dates.

I personally won't buy an IPA/DIPA that is more than 60 days old. You clearly will. And frankly, I hope there are more drinkers like you than me. This will keep the shelves stocked with fresh beer. And we will both be happy. Now get back to drinking 60-90 day HD so they will make more!

 

I'd say that retailers have the highest share of burden in managing stock. Don't buy more than you can sell. You want people coming to your store to buy Hop Delusion. But ultimately, you want to run out of it.

The brewery has a responsibility to buy back old product and replace it with fresh product. This rarely happens with seasonal beers since the beer often can't be replaced with more of the same beer once it's past code. It is also the brewery's responsibility to work with distributors and retailers whenever possible to ensure that their beers are being properly marketed in order to avoid the need for buybacks in the first place. Exceptional beer doesn't sell itself like it used to before the market became so crowded.

And yes, consumers have a responsibility to create a need for fresher product. This is especially true for year-round IPAs/DIPAs. If you're not buying SA Endeavour when it's fresh, then don't bitch when you see the same batch on the shelf a few months later. Ultimately, consumers drive the business decisions of well-run breweries. Because of this, Karbach Barn Burner and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous are gone and Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's is no longer brewed year-round.

 

I've been seeing more and more local IPA's with older dates more frequently in the past 6 months or so. My theory on it all is with all the new breweries popping up all over the state, there is just more competition now while brewers are keeping production the same as in previous years, leading to a glut of beers sitting longer.

Or maybe its just not hot out enough yet.

FWIW, that canning op Hop Delusion is still tasting great, its one of the beers I look forward to drinking every year.

 

Old beer on the shelf is nothing new, in any part of the country. I am up in Illinois right now, and saw a ton of Daisy Cutter sitting on the shelf canned in Feb. Had to dig way in the back to find a few four packs from late April.

 

Mixed a couple of these in rotation with some Lone Star on the river this weekend. Delicious and dangerously drinkable..

 

I'm finally getting a chance to try this beer in DFW, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's the 4/11 batch and it's tasting pretty damn good considering. MF is top notch. Would love to jump on this when it's fresh.

 

Well they posted on Facebook that they are canning a fresh batch today

 

hell yeah!

they got it in san antonio now, I'm giving up on retirement too

 

Just talked to Karbach. The Hop Delusion that will hit Austin shelves next week is being canned today.

 

4/11 Hop Delusion at Nobi Shell Station if anyone still wants to grab some.

 

Bring me back some Daisy Cutter!

 

I just opened a can of Hop Delusion canned 06/06 (7 days old!) and it's absolutely fantastic.

 

There at Central Market but not many other high volume spots here in Hou. I guess I can't blame Silver Eagle or the stores. We consumers aren't drinking it fast enough for retailers to put in orders for the freshies held by SE.

 

Just got word from Whole Foods in HOU that they have cans dated 6/6. Heading there now.

 

I picked up some of the 6/6 batch over the weekend in Austin, and I agree its very excellent. Extremely well balanced for having 115 IBU - really easy drinking, and I think I'll be going back for seconds!