Pliny: A pain in the ass?

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by Chcshammonde, Sep 4, 2015.

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  1. Chcshammonde

    Chcshammonde Initiate (0) Sep 20, 2014 California

    I had to post my experience today. I worked out of San Jose, CA for the past few years, and right across the street was the best Whole Foods ever. The beer selection they had was double or triple other stores I had frequented. And the Pliny the Elder....it was easy to get. All I had to do was call the store on any random Tuesday or Thursday and walk right in, and get my 2 bottles. They usually had it for at least 2 hours.

    Now I work much closer to home on the SF Peninsula, in San Mateo County. Wanted to pick up some Pliny. Some to trade, and some for me. Apparently, Russian River does not distribute to anywhere in San Mateo County. Something about a problem with a distributor. I mean, the whole county? Jeez. It's a pretty populous county so I can't imagine that they would distribute to San Francisco, and Santa Clara County (San jose-Silicon Valley) and not San Mateo County. At least not if they could help it.

    Anyway, I found out that one of my spots does carry it. They said, it would be posted on their website and you had to buy your allocation of 2 online, and then pick up in the store. It would be available from 3-4pm. They encouraged me to have the product up on my phone, and keep refreshing the screen for the whole hour to make sure I could grab it. I did it for the first 40 minutes, and then started to head down there. Got to the store with 10 minutes until 4. Still not online. Then, I took a business call for 5 minutes.

    Within that 5 minutes, it had gone online, and sold out. I was flabbergasted. This is insane, I thought. Hey, I enjoy Pliny as much as the next person, but damn it isn't even my favorite IPA!! I couldn't believe the demand. Anyway, moral of the story: Gosh, what a pain in the ass just to get a nice quality DIPA.

    I miss my San Jose whole foods.

    How has everyone else's experience been getting Pliny in your neck of the woods?
     
    #1 Chcshammonde, Sep 4, 2015
  2. dcgunman

    dcgunman Pooh-Bah (2,682) Jul 1, 2009 California
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    LOL
     
    #2 dcgunman, Sep 4, 2015
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  3. whiskey

    whiskey Maven (1,308) Feb 25, 2012 California
    Trader

    It's not that much of a pain to get a good DIPA, just Pliny. There are a ton of other (D)IPA's out there that are as good as Pliny and way easier to get.

    My local offers Pliny to me fairly regularly, I turn it down every time.
     
    #3 whiskey, Sep 4, 2015
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  4. J-loco

    J-loco Savant (1,042) Jan 23, 2015 California
    Trader

    Ridiculous. Not worth the time nor the data you wasted. If I see it and happen to want a bottle I'll grab it but otherwise I don't bother chasing it.
     
    #4 J-loco, Sep 4, 2015
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  5. SoNiC21

    SoNiC21 Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2015 California

    Exactly, I sought it out to try because everyone seemed to be racing to get it and a lot of word about it. Great beer and if a store might have it, I might grab it but there's a lot out there and a new ones coming out monthly that deserve a try.
     
    #5 SoNiC21, Sep 4, 2015
  6. Chcshammonde

    Chcshammonde Initiate (0) Sep 20, 2014 California

    Obviously not going to waste my time with that shit sandwich again. I was just really disappointed on how difficult it seemed to be in this county.
     
    #6 Chcshammonde, Sep 4, 2015
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  7. weese

    weese Devotee (303) Jun 16, 2014 California
    Trader

    I gave up on pliny when the dude ahead of me at whole foods bragged about how his buddy texted him when they got it in so he could buy them.

    Thankfully California is a great place for IPA's in general.
     
    #7 weese, Sep 4, 2015
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  8. Chcshammonde

    Chcshammonde Initiate (0) Sep 20, 2014 California

    Heck yeah, thank goodness for that.
     
    #8 Chcshammonde, Sep 4, 2015
  9. sittinggc

    sittinggc Pundit (836) Mar 2, 2015 California
    Trader

    Not too tough for me to come by. About every other Friday the bottle shops I frequent in LA will have it dropped off. However, we have a 1 bottle limit down here :confused:. I only pick it up if I happen to run into it, or if I am really hankering for it.

    The thing that I am sad about is that I haven't seen a pint of Blind Pig in over a year :slight_frown:
     
    #9 sittinggc, Sep 4, 2015
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  10. atpca

    atpca Pooh-Bah (1,652) Jun 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    That's because they stopped distributing it. More Pliny! More more! Have to hit the pub for Pig bottles now.
     
    #10 atpca, Sep 4, 2015
  11. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Barbara's at the Brewery had Blind Pig on tap last week
     
    #11 Black_Rider, Sep 4, 2015
  12. sittinggc

    sittinggc Pundit (836) Mar 2, 2015 California
    Trader

    They wont distribute Blind Pig but will distribute Damnation year-round? Whyyy?
     
    #12 sittinggc, Sep 4, 2015
  13. ryno09

    ryno09 Pundit (835) May 1, 2010 California

    ZFG
     
    #13 ryno09, Sep 4, 2015
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  14. J-loco

    J-loco Savant (1,042) Jan 23, 2015 California
    Trader

    Give me blind pig all day
     
    #14 J-loco, Sep 4, 2015
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  15. tjensen3618

    tjensen3618 Maven (1,391) Mar 23, 2008 California

    2008-2010 I could buy it anytime I wanted, unlimited bottles at $4.50
    2010-2012 I would run into a bottle here and there if I happened to show up within a few days of the shipment
    2012-present I literally have not seen one bottle of Pliney on the shelf in the last few years, I refuse to go to my local store at 12pm on Tuesdays to get a bottle, I'm cool just buying all the other dipas that take no effort.
     
    #15 tjensen3618, Sep 4, 2015
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  16. atpca

    atpca Pooh-Bah (1,652) Jun 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I still remember being able to buy kegs! Such a bad idea having 6gal of Pliny in the house... I only get bottles for trade extras now, from the brewery. Still enjoy it on draft from my local though.
     
    #16 atpca, Sep 4, 2015
  17. the_trystero

    the_trystero Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2013 California

    I'm so glad I've haven't given a fuck about Pliny in ages.
     
    #17 the_trystero, Sep 4, 2015
    redmagik99, 3SH33TS and J-loco like this.
  18. Rick760Sd

    Rick760Sd Initiate (0) Jun 5, 2012 California
    Trader

     
    #18 Rick760Sd, Sep 4, 2015
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  19. FrogOut69

    FrogOut69 Initiate (0) Sep 24, 2013 California
    Trader

    A true Greek tragedy.
     
    #19 FrogOut69, Sep 4, 2015
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  20. IQBlue

    IQBlue Zealot (513) Oct 2, 2014 California

    Since you're near San Mateo now, take a day and just drive to the brewpub and get your Pliny fix there. That option is certainly better than randomly trying to find 2 bottles and then striking out because of a business call. Plus you can get more than 2 there...more for you to drink, more for you to trade.
     
    #20 IQBlue, Sep 4, 2015
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