Lawson's SOS CT Lookout Thread

No need to feel guilty, I was at a different place today that I stopped by after dropping some golf stuff off at a buddies house. Rumor was that they had Stone Enjoy By. I went in, they had a ton of bombers. I brought 1 up to the counter (most places have limits) and the lady says "You know, we sell those in 6 packs" and she grabbed the Stone IPA...I said I would prefer the bombers...and grabbed 4 more haha.

 

You're a better man than me. I'm sure it's no fun for package store employees when SOS comes out because it means a bit more work for them, but that to me is an invitation to go scorched earth on this clown.

 

Did you get gouged for two bottles or was it fair?

 

Believe me, I had to bite my tongue. I did mention that most of their hoppy beers were far from fresh and that their store was the only one I was visiting, but I had to hold back from saying what I really wanted to say to him.

The beer manager is a nice guy who I have spoken with a couple times and he always hooks me up with SOS when I ask, even though I only visit one or two times a month. I didn't want to burn that bridge over some pretentious little punk at the register.

 

@BranfordBound It was totally fair. I think it was $3.75 a can.

 

@ucmike11 This batch of Enjoy By is really nice.

 

It was the Stamford store. They used to be pretty cool, just started pulling this stuff recently.

 

So CT Beverage had it in Wallingford today. Posted it at 12 and was gone a couple hours later. Had my wife do a run for me and she only came out with GF Sculpin, fail. My go to places are just too far from work to go during a lunch break.

 

I got lucky at the Stamford store, but the guy was not exactly nice. Immediately said "you must be reading the blogs" and "too many of you guys to deal with". He said that they got three cases and he could easily have sold twenty. Then went on to say these guys at Lawsons myst be allergic to money.

Stores are definitely getting very annoyed.

 

Well its a slippery slope with supply and demand, create too much supply and the demand and the aura dies down. One of the beer buyers at a place I frequent talked about how Ithaca Flower Power used to be "the" go to IPA at its time. Then they increased supply and screwed up a few other things and no one even talks about it even though its still a good IPA.

I would rather see it more organized like places in VT where they know they are getting a supply every friday at 2pm. You then show up and get your beer even if that means its sold at fewer places here. The demand would still be there but it eliminates the frustration, people get what they want, stores sell and can account for money on a regular interval and the distributors have to deliver to less places. Everyone wins.

 

I get where you're coming from, but as the dude behind the counter, I get his point too.

It's frustrating to see people ONLY when there's a limited release item available. I wouldn't dare talk down to a paying customer (though I love messing with regulars), but it's discouraging when people you've never seen before come in and explicitly tell you that they already grabbed a 4pk of it at the place down the street and they want more from you, all while you're trying to hold onto some allocation for regulars. That's exactly what happened last SoS delivery.

With that being said, I wouldn't claim that Dirt Wolf and Heavy Seas are at the same level as SoS & G-Bot. That's crazy talk.

We didn't get any SoS yesterday, despite being assured of 1-2 cases, since allocations were much tighter than usual. The stores that usually get 2-3 cases only got one. It was a bummer for sure, but it was out of our control.

 

Shelton landed a bunch of cases yesterday. Went to my usual spots and got some 4-packs. My buddies got some in West Haven and Milford as well. To someone's earlier point, a lot of places had 2 cases delivered and they were gone quickly. News travels fast I guess

 

Very fair, nice to see them playing ball.

 

the CT beer scene is unlike anything i've ever seen….wow

 

Yeah, it's pretty gross. The attitude and mindset of most of the stores here are shameful. I'm fortunate to live close enough to the border that I can do a lot of my shopping in NY. Otherwise, I usually just buy straight from the brewery.

 

In no way I am I defending the situation, but the distribution of this particular beer is awkward by CT standards. I am strictly a consumer and I often think that I am not sure what I would do differently if I was a retailer. I say that not loving that almost all stores do not put it on the shelf .. And this is not the only beer that falls into that category. That said, this particular beer seems to be the ultimate whale (with G Bot not far behind) on the CT scene.

 

the worst is when you ask for it and the retailer acts as if it the product doesn't exist….THEN you buy a six pack of something else and SUDDENLY they have it….has happened to me on more than one occasion

 

Gandhi Bot seems harder to find unless you get it on tap. That could just be dependent on the area/distributor but I know a lot of places that get SoS but none that even remember the last time they had Gandhi Bot.

 

GBot is definitely worse, I've talked with several stores that are extremely frustrated with it. I've given up on bothering with finding cans and just grab a growler on the brewery when it's on. I've also found the cans to be inconsistent, love GBot but I've had at least a couple cans with an overwhelming grassy/vegetable taste.

I can completely see where they're coming from. It's really not difficult, look around and pick something up if it's interesting (a six of Sea Hag is both great & really cheap), then ask if they've got any SOS.

Just think of how many damn times each day somebody walks in the door, goes straight to the register and asks if they've got SOS before walking right out the door if told they don't.

 

re: only buying the limited,

myself, i've done the "try everything" thing for years now, and at this point i only buy the best. i disagree that the limited *is* the best, but if i didn't i'd be only buying SOS and such too.

i mean, i'd rather drink heady than most stuff that's on the shelf, but i'm totally good with a lot of the easier to get IPAs if they're fresh (firestone walker and founders both kill it if you find the beer fresh enough, for example, and any fresh, hoppy beer from NEBCO is excellent). clown shoes BBA beers are more interesting than most of the harder to get ones, and BCBS is higher quality than most too (you really have to head to hill farmstead or shell out $30+ for BBA beer comparable to BCBS).

re: CT scene, fuck all that shit. if you idiots are buying 3x price beer from opportunists stores, that's your fault. give me a few steady habit and NEBCO growlers for the week, maybe some pilsner urquell cans, a couple of the amazing BBA offerings coming from like every US state, a few bottles of the really excellent farmhouse stuff coming from kent falls, and i'm set.

really if someone is charging like $10 for a can of SOS or whatever people are doing, let their keep-the-lights-on beer gather dust on the shelf. CT beer scene is fucking awesome if you're doing it right. better than what i'm generally exposed to in manhattan *by far*.