Tired Hands (September 2017)

I think Singlecut is a good example here. They brew good renditions of trendy IPA styles (though nothing with lactose or fruit AFAIK) & distro them to larger markets at a premium price, usually $20-25 for a 4pk of a NE IPA. They don't fly off shelves immediately, but always seem to sell out within a week or so (at least in DC) so there's clearly a group of customers who are willing to pay more for a "lesser" product that is more easily obtainable.

Given their pricing, I don't think anyone really trades Singlecut--but that's sort of the point: you buy a 4pk of Billy Full Stack or Weird & Gilly because you want to drink a turbid, juicy IPA without having to stand in lines or make trades.

My point is that there's no right or wrong way to do this. Maybe you think standing in line is dumb, maybe you think a $25 4pk is insane, maybe you think trading is a waste of time--but none of this is required to drink great beer, there is a ton of it right now.

So yeah, it might be annoying to get stuck in line next to a flipper who knows nothing about beer other than that it can be resold for profit, but it can be just as annoying to be in line next to someone who's overexcited about drinking the beer; people are people.

If you aren't enjoying the beer or the brewery experience, maybe take a breather. No one is making you do this.

 

But...this is the internet...it is for complaining.
Singlecut is great btw.

 

To me it's more about the negative effect on the industry/scene (encouraging hype/scarcity pricing and high prices), than whether it violates acceptable social norms.

We're talking about alcohol, which depending on your personal usage, falls somewhere in the scale from hobby/luxury item to vice/addiction. So one's "moral" opinion of bootleggers probably aligns with one's opinion of counterfeiters, weed dealers, sex workers, and bookies. The average person doesn't care much until someone gets hurt or organized crime gets involved. The government only cares because these illegal businesses don't pay taxes or the licensing fees that similar legal businesses do.

 

Similar at Burley Oak and their sours. I typically won't buy anything that I won't drink myself. If I end up with an interesting trade, I'll forgo some of my own stash. That being said, the last big Burley release, I got some Jreams and turned them into Alchemist, Bissell, Other Half, Burial trades. (I did drink a few them also.) But a lot of people will go there and max out on the Sour allotment and not drink a single one.

 

Well, putting a beer into wider distribution usually lets more people try it and realize it may not live up to the hype. Removes the scarcity confirmation bias. Isn't that what has happened to Pliny the Elder and Heady Topper over the years? The more people that drink them, the further they slide down the Top Rated Beers list?

If you are willing to pay these prices or stand in line, of course I can't stop anyone. But I don't see anything wrong with pointing out that these actions are what is causing the price increases across the industry.

 

There is always going to be excitement over newer beers. Every brewery has to deal with that at some point. 15 or 20 years ago, Storm King was in the top 10. They drop off, not because they become less scarce - Pliny the Younger is just as scarce as ever, and it keeps dropping too - but they become familiar. As the Tired Hands beers are getting sent across the country either way, I don't know that this matters one way or the other. Making more of a beer is of course going to drive down the price as supply increases, but that has nothing to do with how it's distributed.

But in the end, the action is "buying a beer at market price." It's the most fundamental action in a market economy. Criticizing consumers for it, when individual consumers have zero power over market demand, doesn't make much sense.

Also, it's a pretty ridiculous leap from this to "this is causing price increases across the industry!" Do you read trade publications? Do you track commodity prices? Shipping costs? Do you know how this year's hop harvests are looking? If you do all of that stuff and there is no other reasonable explanation, then sure, OK, maybe. But somehow I doubt that this tiny slice of the beer market is somehow affecting the entire market. That would be remarkable, to say the least.

 

Here is my simple but honest take. I love TH, I love their beers, I love their Shakes pretty much the most. I can honestly say it's currently (and has been for the past year ++) my favorite beer. So my favorite brewery sells my favorite beer in which most times I can't take time off in the middle of the day to stand in line, so I can't buy it or enjoy it becuase the lines are filled with people buying it to trade or re-sell? Yes, it's capitalism but it doesn't make me happy that I can't buy the beer because of it.

Not to mention the butt-in-liners. One guy is in line, then a whole hoard of people come join him and stay in line. That really sucks big time!

Bah, sounds like my Shake days are over, I'll continue to get in line on "normal" line days where I can drop by after work and pick up cans when there is a reasonable line. TH still makes some awesome beers that are canned that are not shakes.

PS: The Are You Ok is tasting really great.........really great. The "non" shake, shake.

 

It is bad enough standing in line behind chairs and everything, but really kills me when it is 5 people per chair and the people that cut in line. I called someone out for it at a release and no one backed me up and they looked at me like I was the asshole. Not worth the hassle. Love tired hands but would rather just go and have what's on tap instead of standing in line.

 

Yeah I've learned to accept the chair thing, but I just heard recently that people were doing this - bringing one chair for multiple people. If the staff wants to embrace the chairs, fine, but at least enforce one person per chair.

Then again, I guess if they did that those same people would just bring multiple chairs and then the "line" would be 3 times as long, which they certainly don't want.

 

Honestly the staff has their hands pretty full with directing traffic and making sure people aren't cutting at the points where they stage the lines. I was 30th or so in line last night and I at least saw 15-20 people cut in on someone with a single chair. Seeing as each is buying an allotment of milkshake someone near the rear of the line is getting royally screwed. As someone said last night, that type of stuff comes back around on you. At the same point I'm not there to police the line and get in to a fight, I'm there to get my beer and get the hell out of there.

 

I would prefer they jump through some hoops, you want to save 2 spots, bring 2 chairs... I am surprised there isn't more selling of chair spots occurring.

 

In non-line news. New bottling line at the dispensary. Really looking forward to even more bottles being easier to get and not wait in line.

 

Curious if anyone knows about this. I just saw on beermenus that Cold Beverage Station in Chadds Ford had Alien Church cans. They are listed as $27.50 for a 4 pack. Does Tired Hands distribute these or is this just a resale at a marked up price?

 

Tired Hands doesn't even really send out draft anymore let alone cans. Sounds like illegal resale to me.

 

hahaha come on, equating morality with legality is about the laziest argument I can think of. Do you have any critical thinking ability at all? Every time I see or hear someone say "its illegal" as a basis of argument I have to roll my eyes so hard it hurts.

And for the record, I'm not a fan of reselling beer, but statements like this are far more annoying to me.

 

Ended up going to the Ferm last night, had Mirror for a Face, True Gemini, and Screens. True Gemini was my favorite of the night, the others were good too but TG was just refreshing dry finish with a decent mouthfeel and some great tropical fruit.
I didn't ask how much was left but was able to buy a 4 pack of Fog Connoisseur at 930 pm so that was nice.
Cheers!

 

Still haven't tried Fog, but -and saying this as someone who is underwhelmed by Shakes from time to time and often prefers the brewery's other IPAs- the Tangerine Dream Shake is hands down my favorite Shake I've had from them (maybe favorite IPA in general? feels weird comparing them to their others), just awesome. It's not too green, the fruit isn't too overpowering or sweet, the flavors meld with the vanilla and lactose perfectly. This is the best "cloudy fruity vanilla IPA" I've had, Tired Hands or not.

 

I had the same experience. Dude joined his friend up in the line at a Milkshake release and I went up to them and said "that's the end of the line." He got all nervous but wouldn't move or look at me. Everyone else in the area just stood there blankly and messed with their phones. Depressing. I rarely deal with lines anymore as cans are usually available later in the evening.

 

I just enjoy setting people like you off. I'm the last person that could give a shit about legality or morality, glad I could ruffle your feathers though. For the record I didn't bring the morality bs into the discussion, but you are going to have a hard time justifying your crappy behavior within a moral argument.

 

"Haha you guys thought I was acting stupid; but I was actually acting stupid on purpose."