Westbrook 2016 Releases

I called Westbrook today around 4 and whichever female employee I talked to said they haven't yet decided how they were gonna handle the BA Cake release this year.

 

I wonder how many hits the WB Facebook page got yesterday?

 

I feel bad for the bartenders that have to answer neckbeard phone calls asking the same thing over and over.

 

Don't. Westbrook brings it on themselves by their decision to release beers the way they do. By releasing little to no info, people seek info. Good or bad, its just they way they handle it.

 

It really is their own fault. Especially when the Westbrook website clearly states BA Mexican Cake will be released in September on their release schedule.

 

No trying to be a dick here or argue, but it also says dates are approximate and subject to change. It's just a rough schedule

 

Not only that (and it would be silly to expect them to stick to that schedule exactly, given that beer isn't always ready at the expected time, etc. - BA Cake is hardly the worst "offender" on that schedule in terms of release date), but there's an FAQ that pretty clearly says it's going to be announced ahead of time.

 

They were tired of the ugliness associated with planned releases, I fully understand why they do things the way they do. If neckbeards didn't feel so entitled and just accepted that they may miss out on a coveted release there would be less stress in everyone's lives (brewery and customer). I may miss out on this release because I may still be out of the country...such is life.

 

But ... but ... but, I deserve to know and to be able to buy it; I'm their biggest fan.

Shit. Never mind. <<shuffles off to trim up neckbeard>>

 

Well I got news for ol Westbrook...cause when I don't get my ba cake...my neckbeard starts to itch...and when my neckbeard starts to itch...my neck starts to bleed...into my reg cake...and it kinda tastes like red wine ba cake...so I'm good

 

Except last year they didn't announce details before the release, they just posted the link to BPT right when they went on sale.

 

Which is exactly what they've said they are going to do:

"The only release that is guaranteed to be announced beforehand is Barrel-Aged Mexican Cake. Any announcements will be made on our Facebook page up to a few days before the release. Specific details of the release (tickets, bottle limits, etc.) will be specified at that time."

 

Maybe they didn't want BPT to have issues like it does during West coast releases and then a thousand angry beer nerds claiming bots denied them beer.

 

Nope, they legitimately do not know. Just watch their Facebook page. The people that work there are not normally given any advance notice of releases. When regular cake was released this year they were notified at noon the day of and it released at 4 pm that same day.

 

I don't get the hate? What's wrong with neck beards?

 

I didn't think asking a brewery about their product was bothering them.

 

It it is such a pain for them why don't they just stop making barrel aged Mexican cake? No sense of making it if they are miserable, they can concentrate more on standard beers that they sell more of and probably have a higher mark up on.

 

Their BA Cake releases are some of the most chill I've attended. The only not-chill event I can recall is that one dude who showed up with a U-Haul and a half dozen mules two years ago.

I'm fine with however Westbrook handles their releases because they're always done with excellence and thoughtfulness. Morgan & Ed clearly care about creating a great product and delivering it in a joyful way, regardless of the hype. Kudos to them!

 

I was chatting with one of the bartenders that has been there a long time and he referenced a cake release (didn't specify regular or BA) that got ugly. That might be the release the bartender was referencing...or he could have been talking about the last regular cake release that was pre-announced (2014 I believe). There was certainly an impetus to move to silent releases. Regardless, I have no issues with how they have handled things.