Bruery 2016 RS/HS Allocations

I think being a member in general makes less sense if you are not local. I really can't imagine having to pay for shipping on every beer I purchased.

The fact that most of my favorites are now at least a limited release (Film, SitR, Sans Pag, Rueuze), the need for the membership is greatly reduced. Not because they are less exclusive or anything, just cost wise, I would rather pay full price than pay $750 to get a 20% discount.

I am sad to say it, but I am seriously considering dropping HS next year unless the Terreux side starts making stuff that I can only get as a member, that doesn't have spices. The Frucht series has been my favorite new thing in a long while, but even those got limited releases.

I wouldn't be surprised if they did away with the membership program as a whole. They are established enough to not need a "loan" from prepaid memberships and can make way more increasing their distribution foot print.

 

HS seems to mostly make sense if you LOVE Bruery beers to the possible exclusion of others (hence the name). I otherwise agree it only makes sense for locals who can attend events. For me, RS makes a lot of sense for non-local fans who enjoy Bruery beers but still cannot get them any other way. Some parts of Texas now do get distro of Bruery beers (mostly just their base beers, mind you), but until most of their higher end BA beers and sours starting turding up the shelves in Houston, RS is the best (and really only) way to enjoy the great beers Bruery makes.

 

Will pretty much concur with Madirish...

I went to try and make some purchasing decisions on MnV and M15 and MnV wins by half a length.

Drank M15 pour first. Walnuts! Wondered how clearly they could come through in a beer; answer is: very. This one pretty much ends up as advertised--like Rocky Road in beer form. Enjoyed this a lot more as it warmed up and the creamy sweetness seemed to come through in a more pleasant blend with the nuts.

Palate cleansed with a taster of Frucht Bberry. Haven't had the others, so can't compare. Found it to be pleasantly jammy/fruity though. As enjoyable as Frambulous in that regard. But really didn't give it the attention it deserves.

Finished with MnV pour (though left last 3rd of M15 for some back and forth at the end of it all). First taste of this one was Wow. Vanilla comes on nicely--not over powering though. Blends really well with the base. Solid all the way through.

So I still haven't decided how much to buy of each...WC on the horizon along with BT, and most likely SitRwPandC...plus I can still get two more CRs...uggh had been doing pretty good this year so far too.

 

Could it be that they are making more? Seemed to be more of last year's BT from the start IIRC. I remember thinking maybe this was helped by the easier production without waxing (dang I miss the look of the black wax...). If more BT, then maybe more variants.

 

This was my thought too. Why wouldn't they make more if it's a tried and tested product? If people in the past cried, "we want more" and it wasn't clogging up storage, then seems like a no brainer. Also keep in mind that they haven't put CR out to Preservation (yet, I hope, for my sake), so they probably also want to make triple sure that HS/RS don't feel like they've missed out.

 

I'd wager they keep the membership program. Even if they don't need the upfront capital, it demonstrates commitment to brand so they can gauge demand for product. When you make a product as niche as their non-distrubted beers, I think it's hard to get distributors to buy into limited runs - too much risk for the end retailer (avoid shelf turds). Wineries do memberships all the time, and when you look at the product, The Bruery really is a lot more like a winery than a brewery in terms of the complexity of production, the longer production times, and risk of batches failing.

What would be really interesting is if they split the membership types so you can join Bruery or Terreux for those who don't love both. Maybe also a way to appeal to locals vs people who live far away or out of state.

As they grow in popularity, they're clearly playing with how they run things, which is healthy and necessary (even if it sucks for some people - hopefully that's only true short term). My guess is that they approach HS from the standpoint of an RS upgrade. If you're already committed for $300 to RS, then HS is a $450 premium, right? I think you get 12 extra bottles? Let's say you value each at $25 and assign no value to merch or event tickets. That's a $150 gap. If you spend $3,000 a year on additional beer (seems more than reasonable for someone calling themselves a hoarder) then the extra 5% discount on all that is $150. That covers the price difference and you break even.

So, if you assume someone sees value in being RS, the HS cost makes financial sense. Then again, if it's purely a financial move and doesn't make the customer feel extra joy or prestige then it may or may not be achieving the goals of the program.

 

@ernh

Yeah the membership comment was pure speculation. I do not know much about the distribution game, but with how they are growing the standard line up with the sours I mentioned before, I could see slipping in a few one offs to the shelves. Something similar to the Avery barrel series.

A lot of breweries do it without memberships and even do away with memberships that they had at one time. Maybe these things make more sense when you are a smaller budding brewery, which Bruery seems well past.

Cheers!

 

The fact that an HS membership went for $2000 proves that it is worth more than we pay for it - my comment was simply meant to encourage you to consider all of your options before just voluntarily giving up your very valuable HS membership, that's all.

 

See, the only thing I believe that price tag (which was not for the membership but for the right to still pay for one) proves is that people are stupid about beer and that there's always a sap that'll pay any price for some perceived exclusivity or superiority they can tell people about. That's not to knock current Hoarders. Just to point out that the auction price has no bearing on the actual value of membership.

 

Plus that was for charity.

 

Frucht, for the price point and taste has been hands down the best perk for me. Easy to max out on and don't feel guilty crackin a bottle for personal consumption just cuz. Looking forward to trying this next one soon

 

Tax write-off for the win.

 

What's the next bottled frucht?

 

two Qs -- first, M15 and M&V - how "barleywine" are they compared to like the old ale flavor profile in the back like you get in m10/m12? i love m10/m12 and like the anniversary stuff. i don't like BWs or straight mash.

 

Also, what's the current turnaround time from buying the shipper to the order arriving?

 

Ordered on Monday, selected GSO. Order scheduled to be delivered today. Just a reference point.

 

Those are like comparing apples to peaches. Sure, they're both stouts, but they're completely different beers.

Well there's your problem then, BT variants have been a selling point for RS and HS for awhile, and if you simply don't like them, then there's even less of a reason to be HS/RS.

However, I could understand if you lived on the east coast because of shipping costs. Luckily for me, I live in Oregon and just do a big pick up when I'm down to visit my family. I plan on keeping my HS because I'm guaranteed the beers I want and I live in a beer wasteland where there's nothing barrel aged or sour. The most interesting thing I can get here is Alaskan Smoked Porter.

 

Same for me. The shipping confirm didn't come until Tuesday night though. It's always fast though since they overnight it.

 

I'll throw my unsolicited 2 cents in... maybe this will help add some perspective. Maybe this is a waste of time, idk.

I live in New Jersey, about as far from The Bruery as you can possibly be. I bought in to the RS when it was still something you could just buy on the website for a few weeks while it was available. I maxed out tons of stuff the first year because I had very little in the cellar and distribution around me was fair to middling. I bought second and third chance sales for stuff that I enjoyed (and apparently no one else wanted like Floyd D'Rue) and I got the HS invite the next year.

For the RS year and the first HS year, I didn't have much of a problem paying for the beer, paying $28 to ship it to my friend in SoCal, and then spending like $65/case to have it shipped ground to NJ. I've started to develop a little bit of a wince when the SMM emails come in nowadays, but I keep doing it anyway.

For most people reading this, spending that much money to have these beers shipped to me sounds irresponsible at best, if not certifiably insane. Why go to such outrageous lengths to procure beer? Why not buy locally produced or distributed beers for 1/2 the price?

I'll tell you why! Despite excellent local breweries and a massive improvement in distribution in NJ and NYC where I work, the competition for these beers is insane. I have neither the time, nor the patience, nor the low self-worth required to chase around rare bottles of beer by riding the subway all over the place or driving an hour to a brewery on a Saturday to stand in a 2-3 hour line for a small allocation of beer. I have a family and children that I'd much rather spend time with than sweat whether or not the last bottle or 6-pack of whatever is going to sell out before I arrive. I don't need the stress.

So anyway, are The Bruery beers overpriced? Possibly. The $40 retail for a Chocolate Rain is well above what you would pay for similar BA stout (though quite honestly, I can't think of a line of stouts produced by another brewery that is legitimately comparable to the days of the week stuff from the Bruery... it is unique), but to me, built into that price is a huge premium for convenience that I value highly. Guaranteed allocations are quite nice, after all.

Has the value of the HS been watered down? I don't know... to an extent maybe? It is irritating to see things that were sold to you as "exclusive" being offered to others (though frankly it doesn't happen all that often).

I acknowledge that this is an entitled attitude. I am entitled because I paid for exclusivity. There's nothing wrong with that. People who pay up for a business class seat on a Transatlantic flight are entitled to more than the people riding in coach. It's the same thing. But whatever... the beer is still excellent and there's still a lot of value in belonging to the RS or HS. You get access to a lot of cool stuff and it's pretty freakin great to have a case of these things show up on your doorstep every month or two.

I've been very pleased with the new beers that the Bruery has put out over the past couple of years. They've done some cool stuff. I never would have tried it if I weren't in it, so I'll probably stick around.