King Sue Growler

Early candidate for Midwest Forum thread of the year. We were all on the bus. We all saw it quickly directed towards the edge of the cliff. Some of us hit the gas, some of us tried to turn back, most of us just sat in the back and went along for the ride.

At the risk of standing foolishly in front of a retroactively ironic "Mission Accomplished" banner...it looks like disaster has been averted, and we may all get away with nothing worse than some hurt feelings (?) and annoyed passengers vowing to never again use Metro Transit.

On topic: ...and hopefully an impromptu King Sue growler share!

 

I don't know why I didn't think of this early, complete opportunity wasted!

I should have started a funding campaign to have allowed me to purchase 33 growlers of King Sue and then for me to record me smashing them in front of everyone when they ran out. Just like all the yahoos used to do with a gaming system and iPhone releases.

 

You can look at his threads asking for big things for his growlers. I was one to comment that he was asking a bit much. He said I was making myself look foolish because he stated the trade was for a friend. Now it seems his friend didn't know the trade value so one can only presume striker666 picked the bottles he was trying to "win" in his trade posts for King Sue.

 

once a brewery gets huge, release parties suck. forget about the past releases, never going to be like that again.
i saw the same thing with Hill Farmstead when they got big - ridiculous lines, pissed off people, line cutting when the limits were approaching, resentment for all of the out of state license plates etc. each release got a little better when they figured out ticket and line strategy, but when they first got big the releases sucked bad. now they just put most of the stuff on the shelf midweek and got rid of most of the weekend shit shows. it just wasn't worth the headaches for the brewer and employees.

hill farmstead used to have a no limit policy, thankfully they changed that . i was behind a guy who bought
30 growlers of the same beer (one tap for each variety) and enough bottles to bring his total to $1988.
the brewer was in Europe for that, when he returned the limit was set. today you can only get three growlers
at a time (and may of the DIPAS are now only availavble in 750 ml growlers). if you want more, go back to the end of the line. lines are often 2-3 hours even with the three container policy.

 

I think hill farmstead is the exception, not the rule. It will be more difficult to obtain Toppling Goliath brews in the near future. It doesn't seem like they are at their peak production levels and they can always expand. Hill Farmstead has been pretty adamant this is their final expansion. Once the craft beer bubble bursts and all these "new guys" find a new obsession. It will be back to "normal".

 

You hear this idea frequently, but the problem is that no one (that I'm aware of) has any real evidence indicating when or how drastically this will occur. The rate of growth in the industry is beyond what anyone at their most optimistic would have predicted even 2-3 years ago. Craft beer, wine and top shelf liquor sales grew even during a recession period when many other luxury items sales slowed down. From my perspective "normal" is long gone.

Supply eventually catching up with demand is a safe bet for craft beer, but I think it's difficult to forecast how many people will be longtime consumers vs. those currently riding the latest fad.

 

I can't believe this thread is two pages long....

 

Craft beer and other top shelf liquors are the new luxury items.

 

Seller Zip code is 55901 aka Rochester Hmmm

 

I am waiting for LifeOfBrian to chime in with some nonsensical story about the time his mom and friend went to Toppling Goliath; also, the rumors he has heard about TG or anything else.

 

I'm from Rochester, & can guarantee its not me... With that said, I know of only 6 people in town that are big into craft, & can personally say it shouldn't be any of them either... Makes me wonder about one guy that I see all the time at limited releases, & had talked with him once... It could be him?!?

This type of shit with growlers & rare beers going for crazy amounts makes me hate the dark side I also see with ticket scalpers, & any other "fad" that people leech off of because at the end of the day they aren't good at anything other than being a fucking leech.

I'd rather set someone up with a "rare" beer for something of equal *cost-**than trying to profit a few dollars & sacrifice my integrity, & what craft beer really is about

*what I paid to said brewery/retailer & no time/gas $$ involved
**you can't put a price on integrity. Craft beer is about being humble, sharing with friends, & not being a douche/leech.

 

It is kind of humorous to know these guys are sitting on 10 growlers of flat beer.

 

You never know... they may have a growler saver!

I would never re-carb beer in the glass growler with my co2 system for obvious reasons, but if I ever had flat beer. I would have no problems pouring it in a plastic bottle and force carbing it with my co2 system so I could drink it.

Thinking of picking up a growler saver too. Haven't had any issues with growlers to date, but adding an extra level of security wouldn't hurt.

 

I wish people would not ship growlers, but have enjoyed many shipped growlers myself. When I receive one I like to know the date filled and my expectations are not as high as they would be if I were having a fresh draft of said beer. Please drink growlers fresh! Avoid trading for them when possible, when not go for it.

King Sue is going to be bottled when we finish the label details and we plan to bring this beer into our DIPA line up even more next year. Remember, hops do not grow on trees and Mike just created this DIPA a little while ago. Also, we have to insure our established production continues on the rapid pace you demand (thank you!).

So many great local beers available to all of us now. Enjoy us (local craft brewers) all and we will continue to grow slowly but deliciously.

 

Bump...

I think it's very humorous that we drank a growler this past Saturday - 2 weeks after your "flat beer post"
The King Sue lost no carbonation whatsoever, and tasted as fantastic as it did on Easter.


Nice job TG!