Other Half Brewing November 2017

Vinepair's Top Beer's of 2017. Cream Get The Honey was named 11th. I wouldn't say it's their best, but it's surely underrated. Good NYC representation overall.

 

I loved Cream Get the Honey.

Anyone know what’s on for growler fills? Was hoping to get cans tomorrow - I have the day off - but will make do with a growler or two to split with my dad on Thanksgiving.

 

DDH DMD is delish, more dank than I remember. Huge beer.....lots of good stuff going on.

Go with the Flow has a cool label.

 

Maybe im missing something but i think a tuesday release at 3pm is not really for “line lifers”. That seems to me to be as local as a locals release can be; weekday late afternoom, before the standard work day is over.

And I understand your idea that if they cut limits in half you could have gotten beer today, but then what about someone like me who cant get there until maybe 8 or 9? I dont get beer unless they cut the limit even further. So should they cut the limits to 1 4pack per person so I can pick up some too. What limit is good enough to ensure everyone who wants beer can get it? And how long does it need to last so everyone has a chance to get it?

Idk like I said maybe I’m missing something but I still do not understand the whole “local” thing, maybe I never will. Oh well.

 

Probably a bit of an over-generalization, but I imagine nearly any micro-brewery owes its initial success to the surrounding local community. People from LI or NJ weren't traveling to Other Half spontaneously when it first opened. They aren't the ones stopping by Other Half on a random weekday after work downing a few glasses with friends. I don't think that New Yorkers "deserve" cans any more than out of towners, but Other Half (as with any micro-brewery, particularly the nationally popular ones) should recognize what they owe, at minimum, to their local residents who support them on any given day, rather than OOTers who pop in for a day for cans then scram to resell them at egregious prices. I think mid-week releases have been largely successful in supplying a mainly local demand, excluding the J Wakefield and today's release, which is why I can understand why locals (myself included) are anxious about how available they will truly be in the future. To my mind, and, albeit, limited understanding in how these tertiary markets function (having never been part of it), the best discouragement to rampant reselling, hordes of lines and their outrageously early formations would be (in addition to mid-week releases) to lower limits, and list allotments when beers are first announced. That's just my 2 cents of course. I don't own or manage a brewery, but the continued grievances being aired on this forum, by locals, point to a "bad deal" if you will, between Other Half and local fans, who feel that they are being brushed aside at times in favor of crowds who buy full allotments for either reselling or trading.

 

This isn't so much about a local thing as it is about shunning a certain customer profile while catering to another.

My customer profile and many others on this site and complain about limits is the following. A long time craft beer drinker who has seen quite a few fads come and go. Someone who really enjoys and advocates for craft beer but does not want to wait in line hours for a product- that is after all, just beer. Someone who has been a fan and loyal customer of the brewery since they first discovered it. Someone who does not want to be bothered with trading but will gladly exchange beers to spread the love. Frequents the tap room at least a few times a month. Willing to buy a few packs of each release regardless of whether or not they have had. These people are more likely to be local.

The muling/trading customer profile is completely different. It is someone who believes their time is money and love spending time waiting in line for beer. They love the commoditization of beer and the FOMO limited releases bring. Someone who takes pride in waiting in line and shelling out hundreds of dollars on cases of beer as some sort of status symbol. This is baseball/pokemon cards for them. They are trying to one up the next #hazeboi or #linelyfer. These people are more likely to be from out of town and/or to be heavily in the trade scene. If a new local brewery opens up and is 'hotter' than other half, they will jump ship.

Having a release at 3pm on Tuesday allowed people from LI/NJ to line up 2 hours beforehand and load up on cases of beer while escaping NYC/BK traffic.

1 4 pack I'd be OK with. I think you underestimate how many of these cans that i want. If it allows others to get more beer then I'm all for it. And the fact is, the resell and trade market is out of control. It's quite obvious that these people waiting in line are doing it to make a profit or get free beer. It allows others to just spend more money then actually have to make the effort to go the brewery and pick up their own cans. It is a slap in the face to customers who have been there before the canning craze, who regularly buy their beers on tap around the city, and who more often than not are singing the praises of Other Half everywhere they go.

You are. It's not a local thing as I mentioned above. It's about supporting one customer profile over the other. I hope this better explains my position. I don't feel entitled to the beer but other breweries have made more steps to appease more than one customer profile. Until they start lowering limits, posting case counts, and having more frequent releases- I'm just going to be OK with buying Wrench from my local grocery store. Once Grimm opens up... I'll forget they exist.

 

* "on" line

 

I’m British and we are the global leaders in forming a good line. Out of deference to your former colonial masters, perhaps it should be “in the queue”.

 

Agree with most of this. Also adding to what @thedon10 said yesterday, OH announcing releases 5 days in advance and then tossing fuel on the fire with their ridiculous merchandise is what is so off-putting to me.

I would gladly come out on a Saturday afternoon, grab a few four packs and then have 2-3 pints and maybe a fill. I'd even be encouraged to bring some friends with me that otherwise wouldn't venture out there. That was my plan last weekend when I found out Mylar Daydream was a goner by 2pm. The fact that a double (even if not a "true" double) is gone by 2pm is absurd. I applaud them for hitting a ton of taps throughout the city, but they would still sellout these big releases if they slashed the limits in half or did same-day announcements. This is NYC, not some podunk town in middle America. Unless it's a complete turd, they are going to get enough volume to sell through cans quickly.

It's clear their model thrives on hype, so I take my business elsewhere when a shitshow is looming (seemingly every release of late)

 

Once Grimm opens up... I'll forget they exist.[/QUOTE]
Actually that would be the perfect time to go back to OH because all the resellers will be lining up at Grimm.

 

When Other Half release their version of a DDH English Bitter, would be a great name for it.

 

Actually that would be the perfect time to go back to OH because all the resellers will be lining up at Grimm.[/QUOTE]
Does Grimm really carry that much weight anymore? I feel like OH blows most of their IPAs out of the water.

 

Does Grimm really carry that much weight anymore? I feel like OH blows most of their IPAs out of the water.[/QUOTE]
Have you had the most recent batch of Light Year?

 

Have you had the most recent batch of Light Year?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately I have not. I've picked up some of the other recent cans and have not been super impressed. I'll see if I can find it on tap.

 

Have you had the most recent batch of Light Year?[/QUOTE]
Co-signed. OH is great but Grimm is world-class.

 

Grimm isn’t haaaaazy enough for the reseller bros.

 

Think this sums things up pretty perfectly, it is catering to one customer. It's funny, the arguments here typically come down to "well they're a business and they're in it to make money so of course that's why they do x!". Maybe I'm missing something, but when was the sole purpose of a craft brewery to make money? Is that what draws people into this scene in the first place? To go support a business that only cares about selling their shit to whoever they can, as fast as they can? Usually a business takes action to make customers feel supported/wanted/appreciated/loyal as to build repeat customers and brand loyalty. As said, OH mainly caters to pokemon card collectors at this point, not people who just want to purchase some delicious beer from a business they feel good about.

 

The case limits are absolutely absurd at this point.

I remember talking with Andrew/Sam at one point and they said they hoped to do away with the lines all together. As flattering as it is that so many people want their beer, they claimed they didn't want people lining up and waiting outside for hours. The expansion was supposed to alleviate this with more capacity, larger coolers, plus an expanded taproom. This would allow them to have cans pretty much always available like Trillium. Unfortunately, we aren't seeing that vision or benefit come to light yet.

With that being said, a first and easy step toward this (if that in fact is still their vision) is to lower allotments. Get more people to the brewery and into the taproom where margins are higher now that they have a significantly larger taproom. It makes the most economic sense. If their plan is the sell as much beer as quickly as possible, why not sell it to a wholesaler (or no with no limits at all) and sell it instantly. I get why other breweries have higher limits, such as Magnify where they don't have the space and they might not sell out but OH doesn't have that problem where demand is exceedingly out pacing supply.

If they still had cans last night after work or even today, I would have ventured over there for a few pours and grabbed a 4 pack of each but now there is no point. I've talked to several people who felt the exact same way including numerous posters here. That's a concerning trend any way you slice it.

I'd love to hear a sensible and economic argument for their current allotment strategy, but I'm hard pressed to think it's the best (and most profitable) way of doing business.