Too Much Pliny?

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by turfy, Apr 15, 2022.

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  1. turfy

    turfy Pooh-Bah (1,872) Mar 17, 2010 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just throwing this out there for discussion. I traveled back to California last week to the Monterey peninsula and was excited to see that RR beers are now available in Santa Cruz/Monterey, etc. I even called ahead to a few shops ahead of time to see who may have PTE in stock, since it had been several years since my last sip. I was assured there were bottles on the shelf. And how.

    Every place I stopped at (Whole Foods Santa Cruz, Whole Foods Monterey, Pacific Grove Bottle Shop, etc,) had tons of Pliny. One place even had a stand alone glass front cooler just for PTE and some Blind Pig, with at least 100 bottles. The problem? All old, at least IMO. I had to dig towards the back to find a PTE with a March 4 bottle date. Most were from early to mid Feb. One worker at a Whole Foods told me to just open some of the boxes that had just been delivered...February :slight_frown:. I know that IPA lovers get slammed some time for obsessing about bottle dates, but for me, PTE needs to be within 3-4 weeks to experience its glory.

    So with its expansion, is RR producing more PTE than the public can consume and the rest is sitting on shelves to age ungracefully? I actually preferred the old days of having to "hunt" more but then be rewarded with FRESH PTE. Maybe it is different in other parts of RR distribution.

    But hey, the Blind Pig was fresh!!!
     
    #1 turfy, Apr 15, 2022
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  2. Resistance88

    Resistance88 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,462) Apr 9, 2015 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Here in LA we get week old drops all day and they go fast

    Sucks that all that beer is going to waste. All beer loses its luster when production is expanded
     
    #2 Resistance88, Apr 15, 2022
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  3. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Well, maybe Vinnie should get over it and start sending beers back to WA. It'll suck for him to have to play by the same rules every other brewer does, but we'll buy his beers.

    Apparently CO and Philly aren't buying as much product?
     
    #3 BBThunderbolt, Apr 15, 2022
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  4. bigflatsbeerman

    bigflatsbeerman Zealot (665) Nov 2, 2005 New York

    I live in Upstate New York and a beer bro just got me a PTE bottled on 3/23/22. It's sad you can't get fresh beer in CA.
     
    #4 bigflatsbeerman, Apr 15, 2022
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  5. Resistance88

    Resistance88 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,462) Apr 9, 2015 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It seems that only the immediate surrounding areas around RRBC are oversaturated with PtE hence shelf turds.

    In los angeles we get fresh pte weekly no more than days old
     
    #5 Resistance88, Apr 15, 2022
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  6. AWA

    AWA Savant (1,195) Jul 22, 2014 California

    I can still get fresh Pliny in Santa Cruz. New Leaf and AJ's usually have bottles ~2 weeks old.
     
    #6 AWA, Apr 15, 2022
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  7. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We absolutely get fresh pliny in most of CA in my experience. I'd say OPs experience is an outlier. But I do think that it's a real risk of becoming more normal
     
    #7 unlikelyspiderperson, Apr 15, 2022
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  8. JohnMpls21

    JohnMpls21 Initiate (106) Jan 10, 2021 Minnesota

    Bought a bottle in San Diego yesterday and didn’t bother checking the date until I got back to the rental. February 22.
     
    #8 JohnMpls21, Apr 15, 2022
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  9. bret27

    bret27 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,064) Mar 10, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I didn’t realize we frequent the same haunts.
     
    #9 bret27, Apr 15, 2022
  10. UnknownKoger

    UnknownKoger Pooh-Bah (1,895) Jul 9, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Part of me wonders how much of this is likely a distributor issue... Especially if a couple of them are Whole Foods
     
    #10 UnknownKoger, Apr 15, 2022
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  11. fegelFatso

    fegelFatso Pundit (949) Jun 23, 2013 California

    Honestly… I think it’s as good now as ever. Hype is one thing, but taste is another
     
    #11 fegelFatso, Apr 15, 2022
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  12. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    To be fair to OP, I think he's absolutely right about Pliny being especially time sensitive. Bottled to 4 weeks, or so, and it's absolutely divine. I immediately remember why it has the reputation it has and inevitably regret not buying more bottles/instantly order another pint.

    By the time it's at 6 weeks out, it's still a wonderful dipa and very enjoyable but it definitely recedes into the crowded field of good ipas on the shelf. Honestly, i only buy it at my local source when they have a fresh drop that is a week or two old.
     
    #12 unlikelyspiderperson, Apr 15, 2022
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  13. thebeeremptor

    thebeeremptor Pundit (764) Aug 12, 2018 California
    BA4LYFE Society Trader

    For those curious about who distributes their beer in what areas: https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/where-to-get-our-beers/

    My experience in Southern California (Orange) has been pretty good. My usual place, Windsor, gets it regularly and I think the oldest bottle date I've seen was 2 - 3 weeks out. That was a one time (or rare) thing. Few other places here have similar results so Stone is doing a good job running through it quickly and completely before bringing it back on.

    Obviously the beer is very fresh when you order from them via direct shipping, as they only offer what just been packaged and they run through their online offerings quickly.
     
    #13 thebeeremptor, Apr 15, 2022
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  14. dcgunman

    dcgunman Pooh-Bah (2,682) Jul 1, 2009 California
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    When I need a Elder or Pig I get it from Windsor. 2 weeks out. No mark up. Just grab and go.
     
    #14 dcgunman, Apr 15, 2022
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  15. thuey

    thuey Pooh-Bah (1,705) Nov 13, 2015 California
    Pooh-Bah

    The other thing to think about is that even in normal times, there are more and more breweries are popping up ie. competition, so I'm not surprised if the OGs like PtE are being left behind.

    But factor in the pandemic, where all breweries are struggling to stay in business, and have been turning to shipping/distro'ing their product when they never did before... then there's even MORE competition out there competing for consumer attention & dollars.

    In other words, I don't doubt what you experienced. But it's also a microcosm of the times we live in. RR still brews and ships out fresh product. The world they ship to is different.
     
    #15 thuey, Apr 15, 2022
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  16. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just a guess here, but I wonder if this is the result of retail outlets still trying to adjust to increased distribution. Before the Windsor facility opened, I think most stores had a difficult time keeping bottles in stock. The Whole Foods I would get it at in Sonoma wouldn't put it out on the shelf... You had to ask the staff for it, and I don't think you were allowed to buy more than a couple bottles at a time. Stores that were able to get PtE didn't order it from the distributor... They had a standing order for it and were overjoyed to get whatever the distributor would drop off.

    Obviously, since the Windsor facility opened there's no longer a problem with retail outlets obtaining PtE bottles. When I go to my Sonoma WF store now they always have a huge display of it and there's no purchase limits. My guess is that they probably no longer have a standing order for whatever the distributor wants to give them... More than likely they now have a set order as to how much PtE they want to buy each week.

    Again, this is just speculation, but I wonder if some of the stores in Santa Cruz haven't caught on to the fact that there's no longer a PtE scarcity and that they should therefore use some restraint when ordering it from the distributor.

    @BBThunderbolt Terry, Philly only gets draft Pliny. To the best of my knowledge, bottles of PtE have never been available there. They get bottles of the sours, but I think that's it.

    That being said, I keep on thinking it's only a matter of time before RR revisits the Washington distribution decision. I have to think they're making enough beer to supply the State if they wanted to.

    I never bought Vinny's explanation for why they originally pulled out of Washington. I think they were having problems supplying the state with product anyway and decided that Washington's restrictive policies were a good excuse to pull out (blaming their decision on Washington policies).
     
    #16 John_M, Apr 15, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2022
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  17. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Oh, I was just poking the bear. When Vinnie pulled out of WA, due to the distro laws that everyone (wink, wink) has to follow, one of the follow-up statements he made was that it would also make more beer available for their "friends" in Denver and Philly. Some of us have long memories......
     
    #17 BBThunderbolt, Apr 15, 2022
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  18. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    See the rest of my post above. I completed agree with you.
     
    #18 John_M, Apr 15, 2022
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  19. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Don't forget that RR stopped shipping hoppy bottles to Oregon for a while as well, but then they started again. With that said, I doubt they'll ever come back to WA (and it was only PtE bottles/draft and PtY. We never got Blind Pig).
     
    #19 distantmantra, Apr 18, 2022
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  20. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I recall. The renewed shipment of bottles to Oregon seemed to coincide with the ramped up bottle production that took place shortly after RR opened their Windsor facility. So that was an understandable and predictable move on their part. Or so I thought.

    As for Washington... who knows? California seems so awash with PtE these days, and now they've even started bottling Blind Pig. Beer production at the new facility really seems to be way up. If they can't sell everything they currently make and distribute to their current accounts, expanding back into Washington seems like a plausible move. At least that's my thinking. I don't know if that will ever be the case (more beer produced than they're able to sell to their current accounts), but it at least seems like a possibility.
     
    #20 John_M, Apr 19, 2022
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