Appalachian Wild Ale Society

Not mad at all. Just don't understand where the justify pricing at basically $100/bottle. The other perks are pretty standard for all clubs.

 

I dunno about mad. Definitely disappointed. I feel like NC is lacking in the beer club/society whatever you want to call it. It is a cool concept. Be a part of your local brewery and get perks at the same time. Looking at the ones mentioned above (El Cat, Casa Agria, TRB) and even throwing things in like Bruery Hoarders Society etc it just seems like those programs are so much more fleshed out and consumer friendly. Why pay more for less?

 

Didn't mean you, people yelling "cash grab!" It's like Todd kicked their dog or something.

 

I don't know what else to call it. Most every society gives you a shirt and glass along with special privileges to buy limited release stuff. But the price averages out around $25-$30 for a 750ml. This one isn't double. It's not even triple! I'm not mad at all, but I was looking forward to it since they're only about an hour away. Hard pass now.

 

I was hoping for a great local club. This is a joke. I like several of their beers and would love to not to have to wake up at 5 and drive for two hours to wait in line for hours to buy my bottles, but not for this price. I am a member of the Ambassadors of Sour for Rare Barrel so I don't mind paying for a club, but this is excessive.

 

Very disappointed. I could get behind this at 6 maybe even 4 bottles....but 2?

The whole premise rubs me the wrong way. I won't be going back for any releases. Not gonna pay them 200$ for the ability to spend more money there.

 

lol did they just delete and disable comments on Instagram?

 

I noticed that too thought it was a little weird.

 

Funny. They roll out a pretty bad deal/product and then delete comments/commenting when their fan bases calls them on it.

 

I was hoping there might be something in the club perks that gave you preference for a Zwanze Day ticket next year, but I guess they probably don't know yet if they're even doing it again yet.

 

Also think they messed up by announcing it one day and letting everyone think about it for a couple days before releasing the details. If they would've just rolled it all out maybe the pill would've been easier to swallow.

 

Per their FB:
We kindly ask folks to please reserve the comments section of this post for legitimate questions pertaining to the lottery or specific aspects of the membership, as well as friend tagging. Any other comments will be deleted, and commenters are subject to banning, depending on the nature of the comment. It's just beer y'all. Cheers!

 

Hilarious. Terrible PR moves by them.

 

HA! It's beer that sells for nearly the same price as Dom Perignon!

 

Not to pile on, but I really am blown away at how disappointing this is. I'm just really lost on what demographic this is catered to. I live 2 hours away, but even if I lived further, there releases are very easy to get in line for since they open at 3pm. It's not like you have to be in line at 5am.

 

It's definitely an interesting marketing move for them. I'm looking at it from a "first-class airline ticket" point of view --- set a very high price that you expect a few people with lots of money but little time/patience/tolerance for discomfort to pay, and possibly a few of the most diehard of their fan base that simply must acquire the exclusive bottles.

They'll likely sell all the bottles they put out day of anyway, particularly in the "Appalachian Wild Ale" category, so it's a win-win for both their bottom line and those select "loyal supporters" that have the money but not the time. I didn't notice any information regarding total allotment here either, which suggests this may be an experiment as much as anything. They make stellar beer and I doubt this alienates too many locals that will probably get to try most of these beers anyway.

 

I'm not familiar with most other society's/clubs/whatever, but I'm sure a lot are larger than Fonta Flora. Other breweries are able to afford to keep a membership fee at a relatively lower rate and probably get better bang for your buck. Fonta Flora is SMALL. I know they are planning to open up a larger facility in the near future, but for the time being, they are operating on a small system, with not a lot of staff, and doing everything by hand. I'm sure that plays a factor into the pricing. Everyone who is associated with Fonta Flora are great people and work terribly hard to produce an excellent product for the consumer. Just my two cents, cheers.

 

Theyre great, hardworking people, but this is a mistake. People/businesses make mistakes. It happens.

 

That has nothing to do with it. Two bottles and 30$ worth a swag isn't worth 200$ to any consumer....

Their wild ales go for 18-20$. T-shirt 20$. Glass 10$. The value of the membership is 70$ They're charging 130$ to give you the right/ability to purchase their beer with less hassle. Has nothing to do with the size of the brewery. Plenty of small places have clubs and none of them give this little value in return.

 

Fantastic sentiments, however it would be nicer or better PR if Fonta Flora was to explain the costs, rather than turning a blind eye and telling people not to complain or else they will be banned from posting.

There are 100s of beer clubs at this point, and most breweries have these clubs to focus on building up a specific experimental program which have dedicated and exited people pay for that privilege. Its fantastic, you as a consumer can help grow something you believe in.

Unfortunately, Fonta Flora seems to see this as a VIP package, to cut the line, to get a beer they were already going to release, and get the consumer to spend more money.

While this may seem good on the bottom line, it's unfortunate that it makes Fonta Flora look like they are focusing less on growing a fantastic program, and rather just trying to line their pockets for their new facility.

Personally, this has given me zero desire to go to future releases or buy any additional product from them, as their are plenty of breweries in NC doing just as good if not better beers without trying to take my money for the 'privilege' of not standing in line.