Bruery Allocations

I completely understand...but wouldn't it have been smart to not make it "Mystery Beer No. 2" and not call it "Society Exclusive"?

 

Are you just concerned about trading value, or am I missing something that I should be frustrated about? People have been hoping for a re-brew for two years, they finally do it, give us a good sized allocation...and people complain that City Beer Store customers can also buy it?

 

RS can only get 6 bottles right? That seems a bit sad for them when you can get 12 at City Beer.

 

The Bruery has no control over how City Beer limits the sale of their portion of the batch, and blaming the Bruery for City Beer's decision to let people buy a case seems pretty silly.

 

Who knows what City Beer will sell them for, also. They're not exactly renowned for their low prices.

 

You're only kidding yourself if you think that when a Brewery that you support by paying an initiation fee of $300... just as a promise you will buy more beers that year.........and you aren't a tad bit let down that something that is supposed to be exclusive to you IS NOT. I bought my membership for next year. I will max out my allocations. I will visit the Bruery every chance I get because I love their beers. I just don't agree with this. I will always be a strong Bruery supporter. Hopefully they will see how this doesn't make sense though.

 

Seems like you got a raw deal... I paid $300 for 10 bottles of beer, a hoodie, and the opportunity to buy additional beers, some exclusive and some not, at a discount. I didn't have to promise the Bruery anything!

Anyway, can't say I care much about what happens to any of the bottles beyond my own allocation.

 

So you didn't do it for any exclusive beers? Why not do Preservation Society?

 

Part of my decision to join was to get access to the exclusive beers, sure. I just don't see much cause for concern when 12 of the 14 (?) exclusive beers have remained exclusive, and the other 2 are mostly going to HS/RS, outside of a relatively small amount being shared with the stores that had a hand in creating them.

If somebody can walk into a store in Seattle or San Francisco and buy a bottle or a case of Bottleworks XII or The Wanderer then good for them. When that store's name is on the label, and they played a part in creating that beer then I see no reason why they shouldn't be able to make some money off of it and provide something special to their own customers. They aren't taking bottles away from me, I'm still getting my allocation.

Ultimately the exclusivity of a beer isn't going to change my enjoyment of it, so...

 

Man, you're doing it all wrong.

Denying others the pleasure of good beer, or better yet, holding it over their heads is where most taste molecules originate.

 

Who fucking cares? It's one freakin' store. Big fucking deal. I really really really can't understand the butt hurt about this, what little there is.

"Ultimately the exclusivity of a beer isn't going to change my enjoyment of it, so..."

Spot on.

 

I'm kidding myself? No, you've so completely lost the context of what's going on that you're having an entirely different discussion:

1) BW XII and Wanderer both began life as collaborations/contracted brews for retailers, as such, anyone who has paid attention to craft beer for any amount of time would know that those retailers would likely be selling their own allocations of future batches.

2) Other people's ability to purchase a beer has no impact on my ability to enjoy a given beer or brewery. As long as I get my allocation - which up to this point I have, and suspect I will in the future - I couldn't care less if the Bruery only sells it to RS members, sells excess inventory in the tasting room, or trades it to the Pakistani government for enriched uranium. Whatever ensures that they maintain profitability and can continue brewing to the level I've become accustomed is what I want them to do.

In fact, they've specifically said that in 2014, Preservation Society members may get a crack at RS exclusives if there's excess stock. Does that make you want to cancel your RS membership, knowing that filthy randoms may get to drink the same beers you do?

Why though? I specifically asked if you're concerned about trading value and you skirted the question, but have offered nothing in the way of a logical alternative. What if City Beer Store's purchase of X amount of Wanderer was in addition to the amount that the Bruery was going to brew, meaning it didn't change your allocation at all? Would you still be throwing a shit fit?

I've been an RS member since day 1 and have maintained the whole time that the convenience factor is why I do it. I enjoy Bruery beers, my friends all enjoy Bruery beers, and they've created and honed a system that allows me to purchase their beers with an absolute minimum of hassle. Why would I even be bothered that they've grown production and allowed more people to purchase their beer? Do you also abandon your favorite bands when they gain even a modicum of success?

The only thing that doesn't make sense is your petulant refusal to understand that they've done nothing to harm their HS and RS members with allocations of the Wanderer.

 

What a dick

 

Lets try to bring this back to a somewhat reasonable discussion. ( I agree, the more people that get to drink good beer the better. End of story.)

I'll admit I was a little bummed there weren't any 'hands down best beer of all time' releases this year that I could land any brew I seek via trade, but there were so many immensely great beers this year that I really don't care anymore. Part of that reason is because we were able to get quite a few of everything this year meaning there was plenty to share/trade. CR/GM/BT/BWXII/Wanderer/OT+C made my membership worth it without even counting all the other cool projects.

On a more important note, I happened to be in Ye olde towne Orange today and went to Haven for lunch. To my surprise they had Tout Mais Le Coller on tap. Not only on tap but on Nitro. I thought it was quite good and they hit their goal flavor profile on the head. Nitro only made it creamier, good play whoever made that call. I think they probably used a very similar base to Or Xata and swapped out cinnamon for Orange. I liked both, so I am happy and will order my 3.

 

So that's it for the year for RS allocations?

 

I'm thinking that was actually Noble's release of the collaboration, which is Everything but the Stick. There's absolutely no Nitro kegs of ours, and we haven't released any for sale yet, so I'm certain this can't be ours. I'll hit up the Haven guys and make sure they're aware of what they have.

 

Hi Matt,

They did have it listed on the menu as 'Everything but the stick' so it sounds quite likely that was it the case. I was mistaken and thought there was only one version of the collaboration going out based on the email ""Tout Mais Le Coller" loosely translates to "everything but the stick"" assuming they were one in the same. Either way, that beer was pretty solid and am excited to see what you guys have done with it. Are you able to go into any detail on the differences between the two?

 

The only way you'd get a beer like that if it was that good AND the allocation was thin. Think last year's Grey Monday or the previous year's Chocolate Rain. Of course, the downside is... then you'd have very little/no of those amazing beers.

So if you're Hoarders you might still have a shot with Wineification (and to a lesser extent, French Barrel Bois)... but frankly, I'd rather have had access to extra bottles and less trade value because all of the best Bruery beers are the reason I had the membership in the first place and I'd like to drink those beers. Multiples of them. Over time. At my leisure.

Yeah it means there's less ammo to land Midwest or Vermont rarez but that isn't really why I signed up in the first place. And it seems clear that pain, suffering, and the inability to collect enough bottles to enjoy more than maybe once are key ingredients to the trade value of a beer, unless it is one of the 10 or so most hyped beers on the planet and literally everybody wants it (see: Proprietors).

 

I actually haven't tried ours yet, but I do know for sure that it is a slightly higher ABV, and it's not Nitro. Unfortunately, that's about all I can honestly comment on as far as differences go.

 

Anyone who cares that you can buy a case of the wanderer at one single store can have some of my allocations. Im not a huge sour fan, and will be buying at most 2 in addition to the bottle that came with the membership