Ordering specific brands

Apologies in advance for dusting of my handy: "Back when I worked retail... " trope, but...

We didn't ordinarily stock certain seasonal, imported styles, as these brands were always priced outside of the main brands in a family or range. But I'd often order cases of half-Liter doppelbocks and weizen-bocks this way, all for myself! Think: Korbinian, Bajuvator, and Aventinus . . . brands that I liked to have salted away in the back of my of d.b.f. and cellar.

I always paid full retail markup and "Case 1" prices from the wholesaler, but it didn't matter because it meant I also didn't have to go all hunter-gatherer like most young males do.

 

I used to do it quite regularly decades ago and it was common in those same Mom 'n' Pop types stores for them to carry a particular brand or package just for one of their customers. Nowadays, within the "craft" segment, I don't think it would help much with freshness (and, certainly, most craft buyers would not commit to buying a case without first knowing it's bottling date). Instead of 2-4 cases of a particular beer sitting around at 15 different local stores, the same beer would be sitting on a 45 case pallet at the wholesale distributor. And the beer probably would not sell as well since many of the retail sales in shops would be "impulse" buys, a six at a time, rather than bought by shoppers who came to buy a case of that particular brand.

 

When something is 'special' ordered, it usually means whatever comes in is yours and often times, a deposit is required. It's the same as if you ordered beer on line; whatever is delivered is yours and you've already paid for it. Well, this doesn't appeal to me at all. If what comes in is out-of-date, well you ordered it, so it's yours. At least that's what I would say if I was the store owner. And if you think the solution is order a good date, well good luck with that. There's also the problem mentioned in the last paragraph above, that is, bust out retail pricing.

 

It would be nice at times, as there are beers I rarely can find. That said, I enjoy being surprised when I go to the store to pick up some beer. It makes finding that special beer all the more rewarding.

 

In the age of everyone going crazy for limited/season releases, I'd assume that people would ask for the same 15% of a breweries portfolio. Those beers would probably be limited per customer anyway.

 

If any (fresh) shelf beer from around the country were available to me, and all I had to do was wait 7-10 days for a special order, I would be one big friggin happy camper

 

Not a fan of that at all. It feels very 1950's Sears catalog-esque to me. If I'm taking the time to go to a physical location, I want to walk out with something that day. Otherwise I'll go somewhere else where I can or order online.
The only exception would be if the store can pull difficult to buy off-the-shelf items like fresh German beers, Drie, Cantillon, etc.

 

So, this poll is still very 'young' but I am bit surprised at some of the responses so far. In the time of internet shopping where you place your order and have to wait a week or so (unless you pay for expedited shipping) to obtain your products I thought more folks would be more flexible concerning the time it would take to receive what they want. But perhaps as time progresses that aspect will be reflected in the poll?

@otispdriftwood it is possible to request from your beer retailer to obtain fresh product for you. In the other thread I discussed how I requested from one of my local beer retailers some fresh FW Union Jack (all of the FW beers in my area were very old; like 6 months old). It took a long time but he contacted me to let me know he had some Union Jack that was canned just a couple weeks prior. I drove to that store the next day and bought a 6-pack. Needless to say but this is dependent on the relationship that has been developed between the customer and the retailer(s).

Cheers!

 

Thanx for the clarification. But I would also say this request is dependent not only on the relationship but also the number of requests. I'm not convinced that many retailers would be willing to do this on a large scale.

 

You won't know unless you ask.

Maybe I am spoiled in that I have excellent retail folks in my area?

@KOP_Beer_OUtlet

Cheers!

 

For me this is a normal and expected service provided by the retailers where I do much of my business. Every year I place an order for an entire case of some beers I know I enjoy. For example, I'm most of the way through my annual case of Troeg's Nugget Nectar and have just picked up my annual case of Troeg's Cultivator. That way I get to start out with fresh bottles and enjoy tracking the changes as the beer develops over its time in the bottle until the case is gone. I also don't have to spend time assessing whether the beer is fresh enough to buy. I also have learned that there are many beers released where drinking them within "hours" of bottling isn't necessarily going to give the best flavor/aroma combinations.

What I would wonder though is whether or not any retailer could/would afford to gamble on selling the rest of the case they have to buy if I just wanted a 6 pack or 4 pack from the case.

 

Beer that doesn't move is going to age, be it in a warehouse or retail shop. In the order it versus walk in and buy it posit, ordering adds an additional week of age to any given beer. With that said, this NO vote rests his case. lol

 

Yes, I also was raised to ask because the worst answer is "no". And no, I don't think you're spoiled, you just have been able to cultivate a positive relationship with your local retailer so it's just as much your doing as having excellent retailers.

 

would be awesome, but good luck finding a liquor store that will actually do this for you and follow through with it now.

store employee: "yeah yeah sure no problem guy, we'll get that ordered for you errrr right away....?"
you: *leaves store*
store employee: "PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT"

 

I voted yes (as a participant/conspirator in the "other thread" on this topic). I can see where there are potential pitfalls on both sides of the "counter", but the concept would interest me. I'm rarely in a hurry for anything, and if I want something "brewery fresh" I have plenty of fabulous options within easy driving distance to give me my "instant gratification". There are two small stores I deal with and after thinking about it they are very similar - limited inventories of any particular beer, but tons of choices. Neither is likely to have 50 case of anything (even Natty Lite), and for the most part "overage" beers are a rarity. Both are clear about their policies - nobody is more entitled to a beer than anybody else. Bottle limits are strictly enforced, and one owner is adamant that there are "no favors" for anybody, everything goes on the shelf (but "in plain sight" is a slightly relative term). The other store - they will keep some things stashed, but will fetch them if you ask. They are also good with their social media so people usually know what's dropped and what to ask for when "hunting". I'm cool with that - I understand where they are coming from. I think stores with clear policies and obviously "in tune" with the beer community might be able to support this idea.

While I do like poking around and finding this and that, I can get total sensory overload when wandering the beer aisle, especially at the bigger chains type stores and ending up with "WTF did I buy this for" moments. I don't know if there's much worse than creating a "shelf turd" in your own collection... I'd rather pay a little more at the small shops and have a more focused "collection", that is better curated, to peruse. If I know what I want, I wouldn't mind just filling out a form and going to fetch the order.

As @drtth pointed out though - a major pitfall for the retailer is what to do with the rest of whatever they have to purchase to fill your order? If I want 2 bottles of Curieux (I never want only two, but speaking hypothetically) what happens to the rest of the case they may not be able to move? That's a pretty big fly in the Neosporin...

 

One more reason to shop at another store?

Cheers!

 

Larry,

My guess is that the beer store/owner would level with you if there is a problem. Maybe say something like: I don't get much demand for x beer so if you want me to special order that particular beer you would have to purchase the entire case." Then the ball is in your court. If you desire Curieux enough then you can purchase the whole case or otherwise buy something (or nothing) else instead.

IMO the point is to develop a relationship where both parties can communicate their wants & constraints in an open and honest manner.

Cheers@

 

For me personally, I buy beer in store mostly based off of what looks good, and therefore, I need to see it in order to buy it. Yeah, seeing rave postings about a beer influences my buying decision, but I don't know it's available until I see it. As such, I would be more apt to make my daily purchases at a store with beer on hand. I'd be curious how this would work for rare beers. Would they still be distributed based on sales? Or what if there are only a handful of cases of an annual release in a city, would they be distributed by who's customer's requested them or like they are now?

In all honesty, if you establish a good enough relationship with the bottle shop, they can usually order you in specific beers anyway.

 

I'm probably going to talk to the manager at my local bottle shop sometime soon about this. I've gotten to love German beers and the selection anywhere in town is next to nothing. I'd love to order by the case and pay him up front. Other than that, it's walk in and grab something good from the coolers.