Firestone Walker - Parabola 2014

That's what they say, but I'd not be shocked to see it magically show up next week.

 

Shocked to have gotten some on my first try. Binny's Evergreen Park and Prestige Liquors in Countryside contributed one each, so I'm rolling.


It'll ease the pain of missing out on Dark Lord tickets.

 

After hours of searching for the elusive, Parabola I finally found a liquor shop that had it in stock. Then I was shocked to hear that they wouldn't sell me a bottle. That's right, the guy on the phone refused to sell me a bottle until I was able to prove that I was a customer of his.

UN...believable...

 

@McBeery Thanks for the FYI. Jetted there as soon as I saw your post. They had 8 left by the time I got there, and the guy said no limit. I just picked up 2 though =P

 

WTF! Wow.

I've never found beer at liquor stores around me, I wish though.

 

I had the same problem. But I drove 35 miles to go pick up my bottle. The guy at the deli/bottle shop sold it to me under the condition that I buy a pint to drink at the shop, and sandwich to eat there, as well as another beer (I opted for a BBA Joseph James Russian Imperial Stout). Set me back some money, but well worth every penny.

 

I get the feeling like we will see the first spotting of Parabola in the Denver area on Thursday... Crossing my fingers!

 

It's a small liquor/bottle shop. But I couldn't believe he or anyone would ever turned down business. Even if I was a new customer, why would he or anyone deny a potential NEW customer? That's just bad business.

That's also bad business. Say he sold you the bottle & you saw other brews you wanted to try. You would probably go back, eh? But to ask someone to spend more money is ridiculous. A guy tried to get my girlfriend to spend at least $50 in order for her to get a 6 pack of Hopslam. When she said she didn't want to buy anything else at that time he put the 6 pack back & refused to sell it to her. She said, "you sir, are an asshole & you just lost yourself a lot of business".

 

I agree with you, in that I certainly wouldn't run my own business that way; however, I will be going back there simply because the bottle shop had a good selection of pretty great beers, the deli had one of the best French dips I've had in a long time, and the bar section had 108 taps. I probably won't go there often, but I will go back sometime in the near future.

And although the guy had some pretty stringent demands, I still think I came out on top by a longshot.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm pissing off my local Costco employees, as I'm stopping in or calling basically every day to ask if it's been ordered yet. They keep saying "no", but they got some last year, and the guy who stocks the beer/wine thought they'd have it again.

I got burned on §ucaba this year (I bought a bunch at Whole Foods at $15/bottle the day it came out, only to later see it for $11.50/bottle at Costco; of course, there are still bottles at WF), but I'll probably get screwed on Parabola by trying the opposite strategy (I bought one bottle at WF, now my cheap ass is waiting for Costco... inevitably, it'll never come, and by the time I figure it out there'll be none left anywhere). C'est la vie.

 

See, in those situations the owner or manager or employees should believe in their products to draw people back. But the demand to spend more money on one visit is just absurd. But that's awesome you found a good watering hole with a good selection with good food (that's always a huge plus!). I found a store in my area with a great selection but the service was god awful. So I refuse to ever step foot in the store or promote them in any way. I look at it this way, if you want my business, that means you must want to keep your job. So be appreciative of my business & I'll be back. Treat me like dirt & you'll never see me again. See, I work at a restaurant so I show appreciation to all of my customers. Without them, I don't have a job. I feel as if everyone in the customer service industry should feel the same way. Just my opinion.

 

As someone who has been everything from a host to a dishwasher to a line cook, I appreciate good service. And although I agree that the product should speak for itself, I can understand someone being a bit hawkish over a couple bottles of Parabola. The guy told me that he had two cases (the cases this year, I hear, though I could be wrong, only contain six bottles), so it was quite the gesture giving me one of the bottles. Again, as someone who has worked in a restaurant, I appreciate the fact that he probably wanted to reserve a bottle for a regular or some beloved customer, and I was just some shmuck coming in to pick up a single bottle.

Most of the time, I'm more on your side. It doesn't take much to piss me off, and I have no qualms about not supporting a place that has blatantly mistreated me.

 

what an effin clown. What sort of shit is this?

 

Which one in socal if you don't mind me asking as there are several. I was at one in the fontana area & they simply acknowledged the fact that I was aware they would not have any when asked. They didn't even know when they would be receiving it.

I had also asked for victory at sea & the chick was just waiting on me like, come on you big dummy I'll show you where it's at (when i had already looked) & had thought they had some in stock. Checked inventory & no go.

 

Long Beach, this guy seemed pretty knowledgeable as he knew it hadn't hit their Bevmo distro center

 

Don't know if anyone had responded/mentioned this yet, but as of Tuesday night, the Perfect Pour in Columbia had a few bottles for $19.00 with a 1 bottle/person limit. Got a bottle and I'm very happy about it!!

 

I know, Bullshit eh?

 

This is not BS nor is the guy a clown. He has a business and he is trying to make sure those who keep him in business get some of the limited releases. People who buy more than the limited stuff. They are who pay his overhead. Not those who only call to ask for limited stuff. You may or may not ever come back, and if he sold you a bottle, he may shutout a good customer who buys hundreds of dollars of beer there. Nothing wrong with taking care of regulars over chasers.

 

Isn't that what waiting lists are for? I tried to get some Sucaba back in February from my local shop, and they said that all of the bottles they got were reserved for regular customers who had already put their names down. They apparently do the same thing for all of their whales. Makes more sense than demanding proof that a customer is a regular or forcing them to spend more money (why not just raise the price then?).

 

agree 100%. It seems like there are truck chaisers with this stuff. Kinda kills the fun of craft beer if you ask me.