Founders CBS 2017 Release

Picked up a bottle today, a little bit of sticker shock with $35 being the price out the door but still glad I got a bottle.

 

For the most part, grocery stores aren't equipped to do these sorts of special releases. Both Black Friday and CBS demonstrated some significant fail at my local chains.

• First Jewel I went to for CBS didn't have it yet Friday morning. I later learned they took names of other people who showed up before it arrived and called them to let them know when it had. The front-of-store employee I dealt with failed to tell me this, and it took some squawking and two trips to the store for me to get satisfaction the next day.
• Second Jewel I went to for CBS Friday morning sold it 2pp. About a dozen of us who were lined up for it didn't get any as a result. No employee thought to count the line in order to adjust the allotment or let us know that we'd likely get shut out.

On the positive side, at least they sold at MSRP!

 

Either taxes are extremely high in Texas or your retailer made a conscious effort to price gouge customers?

 

I actually live in Chicago now.

 

And in Chicago we have a time-honored tradition of getting ripped off, so frequently have to deal with above-MSRP rare beers.

 

Just curious, what was MSRP? I ended up paying almost $35.

 

I thought it was around $25. That's what it was at Binny's, I think.

 

$24.95 or $24.99 MSRP according to Founders.

 

Here in west Michigan we publicly call out retailers that do that and then boycott them. It has actually resulted in a few retailers changing their practices.

 

25.99 at Binny's South Loop on Friday

 

We used to do that. Years ago overpriced BCBS variants sat on the shelf year round. People would routinely mock these stores and refuse to shop there. Then there seemed to be an explosion in new craft fans looking to score these "whales" somewhere around 2015 or so. Now if you post "XYZ store has [insert rare beer] for [insert crazy price]" it will be sold out within the hour.

 

^^^ This is the problem. There are way too many "beer bros" in Chicago that are just interested in getting shit to say they have it. Same reason you can sell a bottle of Pappy for 10x what you purchased it for.

 

Anyone know if they will be tapping CBS at the Detroit taproom opening today? Seems like it would be a possibility, but not sure if there was an announcement.

 

Any other reports from Saturday afternoon at the taproom? Was there always a line to get in? I was wondering if there was any chance of being able to eat there with my family (2 kids), but I had figured that would be a no go. But, I'd at least like to have a beer or two while the wife & kids do something else.

 

On the topic of draft vs bottle.

My draft pours at Hopcat Madison had very little maple and hints of cinimon... Dirty Tap lines? Wrong beer??

My bomber had lots of maple and no cinimon. The maple became too sweet towards the end of the bomber.

 

It's called "Still beats secondary pricing, and at least the profits are going to a business with inventory costs, taxes, payroll, rent, utilities, etc. rather than some random neck beard or Craig's List truck chaser...."

 

$22 at the Jewels in Bloomington-Normal

 

Several of my local shops in Columbus, OH just received a case or 2.

 

I arrived at 3:30pm Saturday and had about a 15 minute wait to get in. Then waited in a line at the main bar to get a pour and 3 spots opened up at the bar literally when I got them, so we got lucky. Inside tables didn't open up often, but seemed to go in waves. Outdoor seating opened up a bit more often (and its nice as they have plenty of heaters, granted it was a warmer-than-normal day). I saw plenty of families, so its worth at try.

 

We only stuck around for an hour or so but there was a steady line to get in the whole time we were there. Wait time probably varied from 15-25 minutes. I would expect less people in the taproom next weekend than this past weekend as '17 CBS was on draft for the first time and the weather was perfect. I don't know what percentage of that crowd will show up two weekends in a row. There were plenty of people having lunch while we were there. Lots of strollers too. Far from a neckneard convention. We skipped lunch at Founders (love the food, hate the service--especially on CBS weekend) and walked the .4 miles over to HopCat for my favorite Valdimir Poutine crack fries and an awesome tap list. Hope that helps.