Brewery Pet Peeves (2023)

Children at Breweries should be treated like the crumbled candy bar they throw on the ground. DISGRACEFUL I SAY!!!! I shall endeavor from now to not only SMITE, but to show my distastes for "families" by attacking them with my well-trained group of hamsters. OH THE VENGENCE THAT WILL TASTE LIKE SWEET LAGER!!! This is warning. I'm calling the ghostbusters and we are rolling out son!

 

I'll go to my grave thinking that way. (Maybe also of something else You know, depending on the particular circumstances).

 

I can kind of understand the dislike of the memberships (although really, if the club is hard to get into it indicates that the beer would be very hard to obtain anyhow and a club is a fine way to allocate your rare and highly sought after beer to your most dedicated fans) but I can't say I understand this thought at all? Distribution is business decision, it comes with costs and risks that need to be balanced against its potential benefits.

I have a lot more respect for breweries that are very strict and careful with their distribution than I do for breweries that seem most interested in flooding their product into the market with no regard for how long it sits.

 

Would you sell beer at a wholesale price to a distributor if you could sell all your beer at a retail price at the brewery?

 

The topic I'm getting at is the exclusivity part...if my soul purpose was to make money the answer would obviously be no.

If my purpose was to make good beer for the masses to have and enjoy, while I still probably made plenty of $, then of course I would. ***as a plus it saves a whole lot of gas and driving for anyone that would've otherwise had to drive to me.

I guess I never realized it but "come to us to get it" breweries may be a pet peeve I never realized I had until now or maybe I just made it one...

 

One man's pet peeve is another's "what the hell is this guy think?"

 

I can definitely understand why it would be a pet peeve, I'm annoyed that a number of breweries don't distribute to my area. I just meant to distinguish between the creation of exclusivity via a pay to play club and the arising of exclusivity out of the choice not to distribute.

Taking TH as the example, my understanding is that they have consistently worked to make their beer more available over the years. They just haven't engaged the distribution system (which is notoriously rough on beer in terms of temp control and timely placement) to spread their beer wide.

 

I have the opposite reaction. I'm finished with tasting it all. I want to see a couple of beers, and beer styles, that I'm likely to appreciate.

 

it’s funny cause it’s not the I wish I had access to these “come to us breweries” that pet peeves me…for the bigger ones, that have the means to, it’s the idea that we have the means to make our beer accessible but we aren’t, drive all your cars to us. For whatever reason that may be, and I’m guessing the reason you stated above could be part of it in many cases.

 

If you look at distributor websites, you already see a mind boggling variety. When they take on a brand, there is a good chance it won't sell, even if they are able to get a few retailers to stock it.

 

But then wouldn't you encounter that at other places as well? Maybe I'm having a Whoosh moment, but if it were an edict handed down by the state, wouldn't it be more common?

 

I suppose you have a point, but it still feels very different. Having a brewery where people can hang out contributes to the communal culture that I love about beer and upon which I think beer is built. Anything for “VIPs” or “members only” just stinks of elitism, which goes against that vibe. But I get that I may have a double-standard here.

 

If there is added cost for such a membership without much in return I see what you’re getting at too.

 

Oh, I thought of another one. Not updating the tap list on their website/social media. I get something might kick during the course of the day, but I don’t get what’s so hard about having one person updating the tap list every 24 hours. Seems like a small task. But I’m not in the business, so maybe it’s complicated. All I know is the folks at the scurvy dog in providence are able to update their’s every day. If the scurvy staff can do this, I see no reason why actual brewers can’t.

 

18 pct added is a required service charge, not a tip. The owners might be sloppy in characterizing the amount, but the charge must be disclosed when ordering, best on the menu.

 

Yeah I'm not surprised at all by any brewer who doesn't want to wade into the sea of options on store shelves

 

I understand the angst regarding breweries that limit or do not offer distribution, but understand and accept that is their best business plan and don't hold it against them. The Alchemist, Lawson's, Fiddlehead, and perhaps Hill Farmstead are the four we don't get, not even for Chicago festivals, that I would like to try at some point.

Alchemist has dropped in Wisconsin, and drives straight below Chicago in route to their regular drops in Denver. Then again like most Illinois laws, beer distribution laws here are onerous for breweries to enter our state, and they face fierce competition when they do arrive. Hope one day Alchemist and the others mentioned above do drop here and/or provide a few offerings at a future beer festival. I do plan to return to the northeast and finally hit these breweries (sadly visited these states a few times before I was into craft beer) after I also feel comfortable also return to Quebec, Canada for at least a few days.

I do agree with the aversion of member/subscription only or app only (oznr) releases, and there are a few breweries I stay away from such as Toppling Goliath (KBBS) or Anchorage Brewing (Tavour) with their very high price points and or scalping beers themselves onsite. That said, I prefer the breweries keep the excess money over beer scalpers / "traders".

 

I didn't have to reserve a drinking time when I went to Tewksbury at the end of January.