Apparently there is an issue with the distribution of Avery in SE Virginia (maybe the whole state?). We haven't gotten any new beer from Avery since Rumpkin. We've missed out on Uncle Jacobs and Tweak because of this. Anybody have any info on this? Is there a fix for this issue in the works?
I think Avery was also mentioned in this thread: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/va-distribution-changeup.373484/ I'd like to know what the status is too, I really like both the beers you mentioned and they were easy to get before. Since KBS came around the area, maybe Founders at least has improved.
Ever since H&W sold off a bunch of distribution rights last Summer much of what they have left has been horrible. I'm in Central VA and have seen less and less of what they have, including Avery, as well as heard buyers in several shops complain about how they really have no clue what's coming, when it's coming or how many of it they are getting.
I'll be visiting Norm's in Vienna at the end of this month. Hopefully Tweak and Old Perserverance are still around.
Yeah it's definitely South and SW of RVA - I believe that thread linked from Montman doesn't show it but another one cleared up that they split the rights up over 3 distributors depending on location, but I think Blue Ridge seems to have been the problem. There were tons of Founders beers we missed (FIS, Project Pam, still haven't seen Rubaeus etc.) and Bell's stock has been almost non-existent (I've been told what's hitting shelves is just old stock). I didn't realize this affected Avery too but I was just last night wondering about Uncle Jacob's. I think it's worth bringing up to your local shop - ask about the things you want and that might help things along. That's the best hope I can think of. One thing to note though, it does seem this helped us get more KBS than I've ever seen before so at least there was a pro there - I was worried we'd get shafted on that but fortunately that was completely unfounded.
I don't know him personally but see their Avery rep in NOVA post a lot on their local pages. They guy seems like a machine and appears to have a great relationship with many people (customers, shops, etc) in NOVA so I'm sure he is a big reason they are treated very well when it comes to Avery offerings.
I haven't been asking, but I seriously planned to ask on my next bottle shop trip. I want to throw some Uncle Jacob's aside and I definitely want some Raja when the weather warms.
Yeah I've asked about the Avery situation at G&G, Norfolk TW, and Bottlebox and have gotten mostly the same answer. Nobody seems to know when/if we'll start seeing Avery again. It does seem like the Founders/Bells stuff got worked out so that's great, but I'll be really bummed if our area loses Avery because of all this mess. Hopefully I'm not the only one asking. I think you have the right idea. If we ask hopefully shops will put more pressure on the distributors to get what the customers are after.
It seems to me that very few bottle shops are getting the good stuff from Avery. I do know that Hair Of The Dog Bottle Shop in Williamsburg gets a good selection of the awesome barrel-aged Avery stuff. They also age beers. Give them a call and see what they have.......
That's a good idea. There is a chance that this Avery situation doesn't reach all the way to Williamsburg.
I asked Hair of the Dog and they said the same thing - things like Uncle Jacob's fell into that black hole of the distributor change but Avery stuff in general should be back soon. Sounds like no Uncle Jacob's this year unless we trade for it. My thought of asking the shops went nowhere this go - sorry.
This is interesting- now I understand why when I ran into a VA person at one of my retailers in SC, they were cleaning out most of my Avery in stock there- Uncle Jacob's, tweak, Rumpkyn, and Raspberry sour.
