Half Acre 5 year Anniversary

Weren't tickets available for a few days online and at the pub?

 

They were but HA tweeted a few days back that pub/store tix were sold out.

Half Acre Beer ‏@HalfAcreBeer

8 May​

Tickets for the 5 Year party are once again SOLD OUT. Thanks to everyone who came and bought a ticket in person. Fun times await...

Been checking the BPT page daily and it looks like "aftermarket" tix come on periodically.

 

IMO, the two best breweries in Chicago are Pipeworks and Half Acre. With all due respect to Revolution, their canning efforts need work.

 

Too lazy to create a new thread. One of my favorite releases....

GDDC release details

• Release Date: Tuesday, May 21st
• 8% ABV
• $9.99 per 22 oz. bomber bottle (limit 6)
• No growler fills
• $5 per 13 oz. tulip in the tap room

 

I was pretty pumped for the Galactic & Double IPA release news that they just tweeted out since I'll be there Saturday until I saw the release dates. Epic fail for me on that one. I'm sure there will be plenty of other good brews to taste.

 

Going to be honest. Not happy about the switch from cans to bombers. This is really a bummer.

 

more for me!

 

Truth.

 

Agreed. Such a better value in 16 oz cans. Was hoping to put one in those new koozies!

 

And making its debut at the Anniversary Party (via):
Navaja Double India Pale Ale -- This is the first time we've brought this out of its scabbard. We've never released a Double IPA - and this will make its debut at our 5th Anniversary Party on 5/17. Attacking your ability to make good choices, this bully quickly becomes your best friend.

Navaja Release Details

• Release Date: Stay tuned...
• 9.3% ABV
• No growler fills
• $6 per 13 oz. tulip in the tap room

 

Can't wait to try the double IPA on Friday at the anni party. Wondering what assortment of BA beers they'll have and what the guest breweries will bring. Really hoping for Cigar City stuff!

 

that would be nice. i'm hoping for some GDD firkins also.

 

Just a quick follow-up (curiosity killed the cat sort of thing):

2012: 64 oz. of GDDC for $18 (4 cans at 16 oz. each) ($0.28/oz)
2013: 22 oz. of GDDC for $10 ($0.45/oz)

Increase of 61% from last year's prices. I believe bottles are more expensive, but that still seems like quite the increase year-over-year?

At this year's prices, a four-pack of 16 oz. cans would cost $29.09 each (plus tax).

 

Haven't the bottles always been $9.99 though?

I think the cans were a one-time-only kind of thing...

 

If anyone has an extra ticket for the party tonight please let me know. I would love to attend with a group of buddies but I missed the chance to buy one. I will pay full face value and can throw a nice beer in as well.

 

This is just nuts and it seems like bombers at or above this price are the dominant format for the new wave of Chicago breweries. Makes my wallet hurt and sometimes keeps me from trying something new.

 

If $9.99 for a bomber of a beer we all say we absolutely love is just overpriced and a rip-off then what is a fair price? Right now, at Binny's, you can buy Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (another highly rated IPA) bomber for $7.99. I've rarely seen any craft beer IPA in bomber form for less than $7-$8. It seems absurd to me to complain over a difference of $2. We do live in Chicago remember and nothing has ever been cheap here....especially the taxes!

I'm not denying that Half Acre might be making a healthy profit margin on the sale of $10 bombers, I just don't think it constitutes the "we're getting ripped off by Chicago Breweries" conversation. Chicago is an expensive market and (even though I'm simply guessing) is probably way more expensive to own/operate a brewery in the city than it is in smaller markets. How do we know that a Chicago brewery selling a $10 bomber might have way more costs on the backend than non-Chicago breweries? Half Acre, nor any Chicago Brewery, has really ever shown me reasons to think they are in it simply for the money. Does anyone run a business to break even? The products sell, so wouldn't you want to make a profit at a price point that seemed fair? To me, $10 is perfectly fair and I have no problem supporting a brewery/business that I really enjoy.

The end to my rant.

 

I couldn't agree more. $10 for 22oz ($0.45 per ounce)? That's a $32.73 six pack. A proven winner like Hopslam at $18 per 6-pack is a steal comparatively.

As a benchmark Bourbon County Stout (which has far, far higher production costs) at $24 for a 64oz 4-pack is $0.50 per ounce....and 64oz 4-pack pint cans of Heady Topper are only $12 ($0.19 per ounce).

We were actually having this discussion last night. I'm not sure how the $10 IPA bombers plays out in the long run for the new start-up Chicago breweries. It's probably only a matter of time before the distributors lobby the state/local legislators to close the loophole that allows breweries to deliver bottles directly to stores outside of the 3 tier system.

 

So...how bout that party tonight? Only 5 short hours away. Gonna get rowdy!

 

I agree that $10 for a bomber is certainly something that we all seem to be used to here in Chicago. $10 for a bomber of something everyone enjoys certainly isn't above the threshold to which people will shell out their hard-earned beer money. At the same time however, an increase of 61% over last year's prices is a bit of a shock. I think we as consumers are beginning to have a bit of 22 oz. bomber fatigue (OK, maybe not all of us, but I am). When I see an increase along these lines from a brewery I enjoy for a few releases every year, it doesn't make me angry so much as it makes me sad. As a result, I find myself being a lot more selective when I purchase bombers.