Odd Side Black Friday Bottle Release

It does feel like they're shutting out the east side of the state though, where they have a lot of loyal fans who can't realistically drive 6 hours round trip for a case of beer.

 

Last year I bought Hipster a week after the release at oddsides. What a difference a year makes. I would bet next year they put a limit on how much you can buy.

 

I have not opened one yet, really hoping that's not the case. I really enjoyed it on draft, and thought it was better than last year.

 

Hasn't hurt Bells, Shorts, Founders, Dark Horse or the countless other Breweries across the country that do brewery only releases or limited distro compared to what you can buy on site. Your being ridiculous. Why give Dark Horse any shelf space then?

 

I would have been happy with a 6-pack. Hearing that half of the allotment will he leaving the state and used as trade

Hilarious! Seriously though, it's just frustrating, especially for us east siders to get there for this release, and now we'll have to trade (which I probably won't even do based on principle) just to get some Hipster when Odd Side is Michigan only distribution. I would have been happy just to get a 4-pack of Hipster. Seeing this already on the trading blocks makes me sick. Love Odd Side, but it took a little bit of a hit in my book on this one. Congrats to all who were able to make it yesterday. Maybe a little sour grapes on my part, but really wanted to try Hipster this year. I guess I'll have to clear my Black Friday just to have a shot in 2016.

 

So Dark Horse is off your list since BBPt5th isn't distro'd, Shorts is out because they have a whole brewery only series, Bells is out because Black Note & Wild One are brewery only so it sounds like you won't be supporting many MI breweries in the future

 

I'm not sure I understand why it's so hard for east siders to get there for the release? FWIW, my round trip was about 3 hours. The guys behind me were from Toledo (I'm guessing 8 hours round trip), but made it a point to hit some breweries on their trek to/from Odd Side Ales. On the flip side, what about the east side releases that are 5-6 hours round trip for west siders (See: kuhnhenn). I get the frustration, but it shouldn't be with Odd Side. Realistically, you could've left your house at noon and still not had any issues getting what you wanted (provided they did actually run out @ 4:00 PM like somebody said here).

While I have a hard time buying a mug club membership, and then only being allowed say 1-2 bottles of said release after driving a few hours each way (see: Witch's Hat), I would've made a drive for a 6pack even. This release, you were able to buy as much hipster as you wanted, along with another 5-6 options. I got there about 10:30 or so, and was on the road home by 1:00 PM with everything I came for.

While the release itself could've been handled differently (more efficiently), I think Odd Side had 2-3x the people show up that they were anticipating. All things considered, it was a pretty smooth process, and went quickly just talking with other BA's. You guys really can't fault Odd Side Ales for how they did this release, as I think everybody who wanted some of these beers was able to get them at the release (if willing to make the drive).

I know personally, I'd much rather spend an hour or 2 waiting for something (and knowing I'll get it), vs. driving around to all the local stores trying to find a bottle of BCBCS (and still striking out).

 

I made it to the release and live down in Baltimore. I was quite surprised by the amount of people when I arrived just before 9 yesterday Morning. The lack on a limit was surprising and seeing guys walk out with carts full of cases was a bit much. Overall I thought it was a great experience but do hope Odd Side puts a limit on it next year for everyone's sake.

 

Hi core. It was good bullshittin' with you in line yesterday. Those guys were bustin' their humps, weren't they? They were getting exhausted. I would like to see Oddside institute a reasonable limit next year if only so those guys don't have to cart all that beer to vehicles. If you can't walk your own beer purchase to your own vehicle, you purchased too much beer.

Josh did comment to my buddy that they were surprised by the amount of people that came. Even getting past the 27 case guy, I was surprised how many people were leaving with 5 to 7 cases of Hipster. Count me as another who was rubbed the wrong way by these large purchases.

 

Agreed. @spike8382 is a good guy. Met him randomly at Funvitational and He was offering me some dark horse because I was with my family and couldnt stop earlier. Great guy to randomly find in line and realize we "know" each other.

 

I think that is kind of the point is that any kind of limit would help without stopping people that are trying to spread the love. If it was 4 case limit I'm sure you would've figured out how to divvy it up even if it was 1 case less than what you were hoping for and that would've stopped the 8-27 cases that some were leaving with

Also it was cool to meet @archiebunkerjr & his crew in line

 

It was a pleasure to meet up with you. We had a great time at the release (other than the usual line-cutting bastards). It's always great to talk with people from BA at the festivals, releases, and parties. No payback necessary. If we make the trek up to Bellaire for another Private Stache release, we'll put the word out, and whenever we get our hands on a couple of extra bottles, we'll share the wealth. Enjoy!!!

 

Went to the release yesterday. Was pretty well run. Kudos to Odd Side and their staff for all of their efforts.

I can understand the sentiment for limits, but I don't necessarily agree. I imagine Hipster Brunch is one of the more expensive beers Odd Side makes. Once you factor in the manpower to bottle, box, sort, fill orders and haul to vehicles, it's a pretty pricey release for them. Doing a release without limits allows them to recoup their costs as quickly as possible. A quick ROI should be the goal of any business. I don't understand why a guy buying 27 cases in one stop is less loyal than the guy that lives down the street, has a mug club membership, and visits once a week. To match 27-case guy's "support" from yesterday alone, someone would have to get a mug club membership and buy a pint and a half every day for a year. Having a release like yesterday incentivizes people to make the trip to the brewery when they may not have. If it was a 4 pack limit, I wouldn't have come. I'd have taken my chances in distribution or through trade like I did last year. This way, Odd Side already got $150 more from me that they probably would have otherwise. Who cares if some gets traded out-of-state? Hopefully that prompts someone from Ohio or Indiana or Kentucky to plan a trip to Grand Haven. That's the idea, right? They held the release on a holiday weekend when many people would be free from work commitments to make the trip. As has already been stated, releasing at the brewery allows the brewer to control its distribution. No overhead to distributors. No need to worry about a store owner gouging or mismanaging the product. Seems there was a lot of complaints about such things regarding another popular beer release yesterday.

This is only my opinion and I'm not intending to be contentious or snide. From my perspective, there is very little to be upset about.

 

I actually travel for work every weekend in the fall so I can't make any of these releases. Thanks for your assumption though.

 

I'm very glad they held the release on Black Friday. Could you imagine if it wasn't and there were still no limits? /shudder

 

I planned on going to Odd Side, had a 545 flight out of Flint and didn't really want to take my year old on a 4+ hour round trip car ride.

 

Look all I'm saying is this. Take a page out of Founders book. The KBS ticket system is fair, and allows you to pick up you beer at time that works for you. I have a busy hectic life, it's not easy to drop everything and try to scramble to a beer release. Give everyone a chance to get just a little bit of the pie.

 

We were on vacation this past week. Hit northern Michigan and the U.P. on Tuesday through Thursday, then left Petoskey at 4:00am and drove 3 1/2 hours to be at the Hipster release. Glad that we did. Considering that they had cases until 4:00pm, who cares if people grabbed 27 cases (a tad crazy IMO). As long as you showed up near the release time (and seven hours following) you walked away with it, what could be better? Some BCBS hunters wish that they had that kind of luck, let alone at $100 for a case of Hipster! Once we saw people bringing in their own hand trucks, a sellout was pretty much guaranteed. The guy standing across from us at the other end of the line said that he was probably 50th in line at 9:00am at last year's release. He had no idea that this year's release was going to be that big, but a couple hundred in front of him did. We'll definitely make the trip back for next year's release. Hopefully that release includes some of the same beers as yesterday's.