Atlanta Perimeter Questions

She lobbied against a certain sports bar being able to fill growlers, which people thought was only for her gain as they're competition for her. That was part of it, but the main issue was a bar serving beer to go (especially the one in question) as a patron could easily come to the bar, drink 4-5 beers, become intoxicated, then have the option to buy a half gallon to take home (to be consumed in the car more than likely if they're already drunk). It just fell under a blanket law that involved brewpubs as well. I don't fault her for wanting safer laws when bars are in the mix, she just handled it poorly and made an already angry mob angrier. That said, pricing is the main reason most people choose their watering holes and I'm shocked there's enough of a following at Moondogs who don't mind paying 2x the cost for most beers.

 

Their prices just boggle my mind, period.

I'm not living paycheck to paycheck and have a modest disposable income, but I can't for the life of me understand who the hell pays those prices.

I would love to see the locals be able to sell growler fills straight from the brewery. It would seriously dent the growler shops who attempt to pride themselves on serving local.

 

Red Hare Root Beer - $7.49
Red Brick 3 Bagger - $19.49
AV Summer Solstice - $15.49
Jekyll Cooter Brown - $16.49
Cisco Indie - $18.49 (worst IPA ever brewed)
Monday Night Bed Head - $13.49 for a 32oz!
Finch's Facist Pig - $23.49
Clown Shoes Galactica - $29.99

Based on these prices they're marking up 60-70%. I know a few bars who don't add that much. That is truly mindboggling.

 

Okay, good input. Strong input, everyone.

 

I rarely do growlers because the prices in ATL are redic. I think the last one I bought was at total wine in alpharetta...I think they rung me up @ $20 for a 64 oz of Hop Dang Diggity. I think that they also had 6 packs of it for $10. So more than double the price per oz on growler than bottles in the same store. I said something about it and they let me have the growler for $10, but that was typical of my ATL growler experience.

Not to mention the deposit on the bottle and not wanting to trade them out. Growlers are a big turn off for me.

 

Could you elaborate on this? I've heard Whole Foods simply gives you a fresh bottle from their supply when you come in and then trash the one you brought if it's a competitor. Not sure if that's accurate though. Aside from that, every place I know of doesn't do deposits, you buy the bottle with a one time fee and it's yours, and therefore your responsibility to clean it. We have a sanitizer bath we dip bottles in, but I always rinse them first to keep from dirtying up the sanitizer (a lot of people fail to rinse it after emptying), but we accept bottles from anyone, we're selling beer not glassware. I don't see the issues there unless you've been to places who refuse to fill competitors' bottles, and obviously those places would charge you for a new bottle. We've had people bring in competitors' bottles and ask to swap them, which makes no sense, what are we going to do with them, and who eats the cost of our now 'free' bottle? We sanitize the one you have and fill it unless it's beyond cleaning (which happens a lot, people like growing mold in their bottles) and I assume most other places do too. I'd be surprised if retailers are forcing use of their own bottle or not having facilities to sanitize them.

 

I am sure you are right and I have it all wrong, but I dont really care to learn the growler rules. If something is only available on draft and I want it I just accept that dealing with growlers is the cost of doing business. I might have actually brought a growler back in to be refilled once. It just isnt my thing.

 

I live about 5-10 minutes from NP Mall and I did not even know that Total Wine in Alpharetta had growlers. I thought since they sold liquor that they couldn't sell growlers. Did they add a separate entrance for a growler fill area? Obviously, I have not been in that store in a long time, and I doubt the growler option would get me to go back.

 

sorry I mean perimeter total wine.

 

I am late to the party on this thread, but I thought I'd add my thoughts on Moondog Growlers in Dunwoody. I really want to like this place because it's within walking distance from my house, and I pass it every day on the way to and from work. But even setting aside the political issues that somebody pointed out above (which I know nothing about), I just can't justify the price.

For the first year or so, I thought the price for a "flight" of three different samples was reasonable, so I'd go in for that. And occasionally, I would also walk out with a growler or two. But lately, they have increased the price of a flight substantially, and the growlers are also far too much more expensive than a six-pack to make it worthwhile to me. Per ounce, it seems like roughly a 40-50% premium.

So while I appreciate having a craft beer place in the neighborhood, I've pretty much stopped going unless they have something that I really want but absolutely can't get anywhere else in six-packs. I will say that it is a pretty cool place to sit down with friends, hang out, and sample a few beers. I've done that a few times, and will probably continue. But for just grabbing beer on the go, I'm not that interested in paying the premium anymore.