Changes at Jester King tasting room.

It's not a bar. It's a brewery, that you tour...and are offered complementary samples. Entitlement?

As stated...if the laws were different, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

No more so than the entitlement of thinking that I can show up at 3:30 to an event that goes from 1-4 and expect all of the beers to still be available for me.

I'm guessing this is more of an economic issue than an availability one, but who knows. I'm hoping Jeff or one of the other JK guys pops in here and offers some insight, because I do think that this skewers these events toward targeting new customers.

But what do I know. I just like to drink beer.

 

This was an earlier topic on Facebook. Here are two relevant posts from Ron Extract of Jester King:


"We'd love nothing more than to be able to sell you a full glass of the beer of your choosing, but current Texas law doesn't allow us to do that. If you want that to change, please join Open The Taps and help make it happen. Until then, what we can offer is a free sampling of our beers. This was always the intent of our Saturday tastings, but unfortunately, we found that some people were taking advantage of this by drinking six "samples" of our most limited and expensive offerings, which also effectively denied others the opportunity to try these same beers. Our new policy addresses and ensures that there's enough beer for everyone to try. We understand that the lines are a bit of an issue, and we'll try to address this, but please remember that we're not a bar and cannot legally function as one. If you want to come, spend the afternoon in a beautiful setting, tour the brewery, and sample the range of beers that we have to offer, and maybe enjoy some good food and good music while you're there, then we'd love to have you. If, however, you're looking for a place where you can purchase full glasses of bee...well, we'd love to be that place someday, but until that day comes, you may want to find another venue that's better suited to your needs."


"The $10 is for the access to and use of the grounds for the afternoon, including parking, the souvenir glass, and the tour. The glass alone retails for $7, so, effectively, you're effictively paying $3 for everything else, which we think is a pretty good value. The beer is and legally has to be free. If there are beers of ours that you already know you like, we'd really appreciate it if you'd demonstrate your support by purchasing them at your favorite retail locations. Again, we'd love to sell them to you ourselves, but we can't under current state law. Keep in mind that, given our size and production methods, we're very limited on the amount of beer that we can make, and often can't come close to filling the orders we receive, yet we still hold back a portion of everything we brew to give away in our tasting room. Every keg we serve represents 5.5 cases that we could have otherwise bottled and sold, but we want to give visitors to the brewery the opportunity to sample as wide of a range of beers as we're able to offer. This is also why we buy guest kegs, only to give the beer away for free. If this tour, souvenir glass, afternoon at the brewery, and sampling of our complete range aren't to your liking, that's fine. We're certainly not forcing anyone to come."

 

I think you should be happy you are getting away with being able to buy beers at brewery tours anyway. Are people getting mad that you have to try six different beers instead of drinking six pours of the same thing? I thought thats what craft beer was about? I thought we the mavens of the whole thing are supposed to like to try different beers in the same sitting? Isn't that part of what a "tour" is? Trying as many beers from the brewery you went to visit as you can? We all know what is really going on and the little loopholes of "pay money for a tour or glass and you happen to have some tickets that may or may not magically turn into beers" is walking a thin line. All it will take is for some doofus with only the best intentions to call the appropriate governing body to complain about how they aren't letting you drink whatever you want for their free tour and blam-o, all the tours in this state will dry up faster than Betty White's.... Ill stop there. Don't be that doofus. We need to change these laws now, before our beloved free brewery drink fests go the way of the Dodo. We really can't wait for something we REALLY don't like to happen before we start actually trying to change these laws. http://openthetaps.org/join These dumb laws need to change.

And, by the way... The person that calls might be a bar owner whose Saturday lunches that used to be a cash cow become empty and are replaced by drunk people wandering in at 5pm laughing about how much they have had to drink at X brewery that you can't even legally allow on your property, much less sell them a sandwich or pint. I can assure you that won't be me, I love beer too much, but not everyone in this craft beer game really cares about beer... Its just so hot right now.

 

Just like Hansel!

...Also, thanks for posting JK

 

When I went two weeks ago, my friend had tried 5 of the 6 beers, and when he went up for his last sample they were out of that particular brew. He asked if he could have something else in its place, and was told no. In other words, they were going to give him 5 rather than 6 samples. After he complained a little they gave him his sixth sample, which was a duplicate sample. In my opinion, they should not have hassled him about this because the $10 should get you 6 samples.

 

I want to end on a positive note. I love the JK beers, and they always have an amazing guest tap. In any case, it is well worth the $10.

 

You don't get 6 samples for $10. You get a glass and a parking spot.

 

Come on. You and I an everyone else know this is just the end around to the stupid laws. No one is driving all the way out there and paying $10 for a glass and a parking spot.

 

The end around is that it's a complimentary sample. The law is that they can't sell beer at the brewery. I don't get where some of yall are coming from, sorry.

 

Here's a solution: have a girlfriend with exactly the opposite tastes as you and switch cards halfway through. That's what I do! She gets to double up on Le Petit Prince while I get to double up on Boxer's Revenge! This way we're all happy and Jester King wins as well! Yaay!

I think a real solution is changing the ticking sheet to ticking cards. That way they're easily traded, but no more beer is dispensed.

 

I love how they are supporting the brewery buying 6 beers for 10 dollars too .
Such sacrifices they make .

 

Any one know of any Austin bars that will sell 6 half pours of Black Metal or Boxer's Revenge and a stemmed glass for under $10? I asked the bartenders at Gingerman, Draughthouse, and Whip In and they all laughed at me. People are really getting unreasonable these days.

But really, I drive up from Podunk Ass Corpus Christi and this is a steal. If JK could legally sell their beer directly to the public, do you think they'd sell you 6 of their most expensive brews for under $10?

 

Actually, its not 6 beers. Its 6 half pours, so 3 beers. But say you only drink 4 because you don't like the other 2 options. Then its 2 beers for $10. I paid less than that for 2 good beers at a bar last night. And I didnt have to drive 80 miles round trip to do so.

I'm all for supporting JK, and always will, but will just be less likely to drive out there any more, except maybe for the anniversary events, and will stick to just buying bottles locally. Works for everyone involved.

 

Even by that math you are still paying roughly retail, or less, considering Boxer's was $14 and Weasel is ???, for the 24 oz you receive.

All that said I can't fault your logic for not going either. Local BA's are not the target audience and with good beer plentiful, a discriminating BA can drink on the cheap if you hunt for it. (My current goto's have $2.75 (512) IPA and JK Black Metal for $13).

 

Local BA's are not the target per se, but we strive to put the geekiest menu out each week that we can. For example, this weekend we'll have:

Le Petit Prince Farmhouse Table Beer
Noble King Hoppy Farmhouse Ale
Boxer's Revenge Barrel Aged Wild Ale
JK/Mikkeller Weasel Rodeo Imp. Oatmeal Stout w/ Kopi Luwak Coffee
JK/Mikkeller Drink'in the Sunbelt Hoppy Wheat Beer
Guest: HaandBryggeriet Norwegian Wood (Norway)

 

That menu reads like beer **** to me.

 

I've got to get down there...

 

No one's forcing you to go there chief, or drink their beers, or spend an afternoon in a really pretty area, or just enjoy a round trip drive where the end destination just happens to be Texas' only farmhouse brewery. Your post reeks of "bitching", yet you play it off as though it's a good thing. Stop wrapping your shit sandwich in potpourri and acting like it smells good, it doesn't.

We get it, you don't like the changes they've made and now we're all more clear on that fact. Congratulations, internet argument won.

 

Pretty sure that was my point - no one is forcing me to go there, so I won't - but thanks for clarifying what was already said. Your post really brings a lot of insight to the discussion.