Bruery 2018 RS/HS Allocations

OK, who's going to be first in line to raise their hand and declare that they won't be renewing next yet. Figured we'd get an early start since the invites haven't gone out yet.

 

I am not renewing

 

Also, anyone else notice Blue BBL went up 3 bucks. Used to be 14.99

 

It almost feels like Patrick addressed all my individual concerns from last year. Gonna have to re-up for sure.

 

I thought I was going crazy. Wtf is up
With that? It came out this year. Wow. Making it hard to renew...

 

Your paying for 9 months of temperature controlled storage costs. You might say "That's too much!", but come on, it's pretty clear why beers cost more the longer Bruery has to store them.

 

I noticed that too. I was excited for Fuzzy BBLs, saw the price point and thought maybe the adjuncts made it more costly. Then saw Blue BBLs got raised and assumed they were just raising the prices on them now. Kept me from buying more Fuzzy and re-buying Blue. Thats a $6 increase per 750mL, doesn't seem huge, but definitely adds up.

 

But usually after a year they put a 2.50 “vintage” expensive on it. Cuir was 47.49 this year.

 

I get the increase for storage reasons, but at the same time, they do list that as an included perk of your initial membership. So in essence, you're paying for the perk again. Again, its nota huge cost, but it does add up.

 

Sums it up nicely. I have a friend that stores his Bruery Society beers in a non-temperature controlled garage while mine are in a temp controlled refrigerator. I've opened the same beers picked up at the same time stored under those different conditions and quickly found out how important storage conditions are. I'll pay the difference.

 

I was giving serious consideration to not renewing but realized I would miss angering anal Bruery fanboys, so I figured I would renew.

Then I realized I don’t really have to be a member to do that, so I probably won’t renew. But still join the discussion here about spreadsheets, faulty merch, forklifts and pick up windows

 

What's the temperature range in their garage?

 

For beers that have been aged for a year or more (went through all the seasons) they have conservatively seen a low less than 50F up to high in a summer heatwave of 105f or more. not to mention the larger swings in temperature that happen everyday in a non-insulated garage versus a temp controlled setting. Not that big a deal when bottles only sit for a few months before drinking but for those big bal-aged beers or sours that you want to sit on for a while the difference is noticeable.

 

I won't be renewing either - nothing against the Bruery but with HPB Chinatown and MT DTLA opening up this year along with my growing interest in other local breweries (Mumford, Frogtown) it just doesn't fit in my budget or schedule. Five years ago it was easy to justify an hour drive each way to visit Anaheim breweries - these days, especially with a growing family, it's just so much easier to drive to great breweries that are only 10 minutes away.

 

I saw the price increase coming as they have always priced the 375ml at 50% the cost of the 750ml. That was a generous give on their part, as I expected the 375ml to cost about 60% as much of the 750 since the bottling efforts are almost the same as 750ml, but they are only charging 50% as much. I would expect their operational bottling costs as almost the same for 750 and 375ml.

Edit: I do think a $3 price hike is a bit high though....

 

Cool, thanks. I moved a year ago and use my garage now. It's newer construction and seems to be well insulated. Over the past year even after a hot day bottles always feel cool to the touch. I haven't measured, but I'm assuming they're ranging 60-75 degrees. What's your gut feeling on long term effect?

I am planning for a small fridge out there (more for fresh IPA), but I don't think the layout will allow me to do a large fridge or modified freezer as others have suggested.

 

I just assumed it was a typo and if anyone called them on it they'd fix it.

 

I never thought the math on HS would work for me, but I've thoroughly enjoyed this year (my first), so I figure my decision will be purly based on the package offered.

 

If your bottles are really staying at 60-75F you're sitting pretty compared to my friend's older construction garage. I have a large refrigerator I keep at 52F and just for reference when I recently pulled out a 2011 Black Tuesday and a bal-aged Cuir (not on the same day) both tasted spectacular. Maybe keeping your IPAs and your bal-aged treasures in a small to medium refrigerator will be the ticket since you're considering going that route.
Cheers

 

I think they did the same thing this year with either BT port or wine. Was 29.99 when it came out and a few months later it went up again at 34.99 and someone called them out on it and put it back down to 29.99.

I don’t mind paying a little extra for “storage” fees after a year but within a few months or that same year doesn’t make sense.