2014 Backwoods

Whole Foods has the best prices in all the land when it comes to craft beer sales at the retail level for bombers and 4/6 packs. It's hard to fairly compare anyone else's prices to them. They just buy so much product as a company they get everything at rock bottom prices. I don't know if they use their beer as a loss leader or not, but they definitely have earned my business.

 

So I stop by one of my dependable sources and they still haven't received shipment. I go poking around the cooler and I see on the floor under a rack a Founders 4 pack container away from all the other Founders beers. Drop to my knee to reach under and it's 2 bottles of 2014 KBS in the 4 Pack. I slide it out as the beer guy comes around the corner and I look at him with a smile and ask, " are these for sale?".

Doesn't hurt to look around the back shelves once in awhile!

 

You bought a whole case of a sort of expensive (but not for the quality) limited release beer without having ever tried it? Dumb.

 

Maybe he was planning to use it as trade bait all along.

I'm mostly just mad people in some places can be so casual about buying cases when it's impossible to get one in Founder's home state.

 

I been looking and calling all the distributors in Pittsburgh trying to score a case. noone had any or it was gone because of limited cases being shipped. I then called Save More beer in Greenfeild and they said 3 cases were just delivered but would not could not hold or let me pay over the phone. I live deep in the North Hills of Pittsburgh and it was about 5:30 PM (knew i would get screwed on traffic going there and comming home ) jumped in the car and BIngo all 3 cases were there . i grabbed one at $79.99 and put in my truck. was ready to pull off and said to myself (I would be a fool to not grab one more ) so i did . I am now the proud owner of 2 cases of Backwoods Bastard.... will sit on one of the cases for next year for sure.

 

Maybe where you live. This is not a true blanket statement nationally.

 

Interesting. Here, the prices are so good, I've yet to find a single other place where I can procure beer more cheaply. EVen when I buy by the case, the unit price per bottle ends up being cheaper at Whole Foods. I love giving the local establishments and bottle shops business, but it's tough to just toss out copious amounts of extra money when I can just go to WF and get everything ridiculously cheap.

 

If you spend money at PA bottle shops you must have a lot of money to spend. Wegmans, Whole Foods and even Giant Eagle are competitive in their approach to selling beer. This one instance of a single 4 pack may grind your gears but you can not get beer cheaper at these places than by the case. Same price as case yes, cheaper no.

Edit: I remember my first Backwoods Bastard years back purchased from a bottle shop, cost $8.50 a bottle. I don't understand how these places stay in business.

 

Let it sit for a few months it will be perfect, i promise

 

I'm sort of new here, so excuse me if my logic is off...but I don't really understand the practice of picking up multiple cases of this stuff. I was able to snag six bottles and plan on drinking three and giving away or cellaring the rest. I would rather as many people as possible (that are aware of the significance of the brew) have a shot at getting their hands on it.

I get the trade bait/cellaring concept but with a limited beer that's tough to get wouldn't it be better for the beer community as a whole if we all grabbed no more than a couple 4 packs in order to allow more people to enjoy it?

I'm not hating at all on the ones who were able to stock up (Backwoods is a fantastic beer), just curious of the logic behind it since I'm still sort of new to the craft scene.

 

That was my experience last year, as well. Sadly, I had only saved one bottle long enough to get to the "perfect" zone

 

In Pennsylvania it is illegal for Beer Distributors to sell less than a case of beer. So most of those folks are from here. The logic in picking up a second case is impulsive I would imagine.

 

he hit the nail on the head. bottle shops are far and inbetween here in PA and those just stared showing up a few years ago in Pittsburgh . we are used to buying a full case of beer at a time

 

Plus the fact that there are sooo many other beers that i would love to try and are not avlalalbe in PA . so again my logic is to snag something i can get and hope to trade with someone for some beers i cannot get in my area.

 

Wisconsin @ 13.99.....up from 10.99 last year, although im not complaining until I see it in single bottles

 

Thanks FatBoyGotSwagger and buzzedup, that makes a lot of sense. Now that you mention it...I was in Pittsburgh about a month ago and remember going into a shop where about 90% of their stock was being sold by the case. That's so much different than where I'm located, I hardly ever even see the case packaging.

Appreciate the info!

 

To summarize...you don't understand picking up cases of stuff you like? What about cases of Pepsi or Coke? And who's to say we don't share a significant portion of the cases we pick up? Yeah...maybe some trade it away, in which case another person gets to try it that may not have...but a lot of us just like to drink it. By the way...in PA, some places can only sell beer by the case. No other choice.

 

PA bottle shops are indeed a joke. I like that they're the little guy...the small, independant business owner. But their prices are out of goddamned control. I know you gotta pay the bills, but there's no excuse for the kind of mark up they place on single bottles. None whatsoever. I've even had one bottle shop owner tell me that my patronage of Whole Foods is the reason places like his go out of business. I told him that places like his are the reason people shop at Whole Foods for beer. The one thing that's interesting about the state of PA, and all of our wacky laws that dictate which places can sell beer in which formats, is that you really get a feel for what kind of mark up everyone is putting into a product. It makes it easier to be a more savvy consumer.

Just like going to the grocery store, there's no better way to shop than to buy bulk. I don't like buying IPA's by the case because I'm simply not the kind of guy that'll go back to the same beer over and over again in a short time frame such that drinking a case of IPA while still fresh would require. Stuff like Backwoods Bastard, however, doesn't present such an issue. I'll definitely drink a case between now and next year, and if it were around, I'd easily buy 2 bottles every month. So why not get it all right here right now, and pay cheaper prices per bottle than I would if I were to acquire them two at a time?

 

Showed up on deliveries here in CT yesterday. Got me 4 cases retail at $13+ a 4pk one per cust. For now

 

Bourbon in the face. Virtually no head. I honestly enjoy Central Waters BB Scotch more than this