Profiles in beer: the "cherry picker"

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Orca, Dec 6, 2012.

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  1. Orca

    Orca Grand Pooh-Bah (4,710) Sep 18, 2010 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    If there is such a thing, I'm probably it. More than two years into hardcore beer buying and drinking, I still consume almost exclusively limited-release/seasonal brews. Honestly, it's hard to keep up! I buy them whenever and wherever I find them first, and I never look back. I hear people on here pontificating about loyalty to a specific local store etc. and how that should entitle them to the bottles they want, when they want. Just got me wondering how many of you think that people who buy only the beers they want most wherever they can find them are actually somehow harmful to the industry... or whatever. Cheers!
     
  2. ledzeppelin4

    ledzeppelin4 Initiate (0) May 18, 2011 Illinois

    Drink what you wanna drink. Live and let live. Etc.
     
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  3. 77black_ships

    77black_ships Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2012 Belgium

    I still find the idea of loyalty weird when it comes to either breweries or stores – they are both just businesses, it is ok to go to whatever supermarket is most convenient to your or whatever dry-cleaning you like best. Why should breweries or bars, they are just business selling goods to us in exchange for money why should we be loyal to them?
     
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  4. kemoarps

    kemoarps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,256) Apr 30, 2008 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Because sometimes there is more to a relationship (even one based on commerce) than can be quantified with distances and prices. There can be a million reasons why one would proclaim loyalty to a particular store/etc. Doesn't make it wrong. Doesn't make it right either, but there are considerations beyond simple convenience, especially for an emerging industry that taps so heavily into many old school ideals etc yadda yadda I'm rambling.
     
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  5. CelticAleMan

    CelticAleMan Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 California

    When buying products, I go to whatever store has what I want for the best price within reasonable driving distance. Obviously, I would rather pay a couple more dollars for a beer than drive 20 miles or something. I don't buy products that I don't want just to be loyal or only shop at certain stores (although there are a few stores normally cover all my beer needs).
     
  6. 77black_ships

    77black_ships Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2012 Belgium

    If a place has good service, prices or whatever, I will keep coming back… Loyalty for includes and obligation but I do it more because they provide excellent service like a good business should do. I am not often a fan of the old world / loyalty service type of thing because a lot of bars & stores here interpret that like we will behave terrible, apparently because you come there and pay money you can be insulted – I have received some atrocious service in the fact with the assumption we can because we are a small business & a lot of loyalty is expected there before you get even decent service. Businesses should just provide excellent service & if it is always good, I will come back again for quality, price or because of personal service which is also provided if you are not a frequent visitor.

    Same with “cherry picking” – some good stores get this, they will offer good prices & will hold onto new things & notify you about them. Most will come back because of that not because they need to be loyal but because they are an excellent business.
     
  7. s_wit

    s_wit Initiate (0) Apr 26, 2012 Wisconsin

    I'm somewhat new to the beer scene but have already learned a great lesson about places that sell craft beer. There is a small liquor store close to where I live where the person there knows a ton about craft beer and can tell me when this beer or that beer are coming out. I go into a large supermarket that has a lot of craft beer and they can't even tell me about a beer that they had in their store the day before. There's something to say about the service you receive. It doesn't have to be just about loyalty. This person is also very up to getting a distribution of whatever beer I want. I will go there almost every time.
     
  8. brikelly

    brikelly Pundit (781) Apr 11, 2010 Massachusetts

    Cherry picking: I'm ok with it
    Cherry Rye picking: I'm very ok with it
    Cherry picking from a case of Cherry Rye: I should be so lucky
     
  9. Snowrs

    Snowrs Initiate (0) Oct 10, 2009 Indiana

    I very much fit this category. I do some trading and buy cases of my favorite beers, but drinking through the beer I buy can sometimes a large proposition especially this time of year. Because of so many delicious one offs or seasonals, I rarely buy anything else. I do tend to buy from one place though ( they have three locations). I like the guys there and they respect the business I do there. I am also a whiskey guy as well so I do tend to buy a lot. My trip last week was over $200 all in limited release items.
     
  10. PABSTMASTER

    PABSTMASTER Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2009 Pennsylvania

  11. MinorThreat

    MinorThreat Maven (1,259) Apr 7, 2008 Nebraska

    Loyalty to a bottle shop has its perks. I have three shops I frequent all over town. I go into shop "A" the other day and the owner says "hey I held back a bottle of Abyss for you, interested?". Damn nice of him and yes I was interested. A day later I go to shop "B" and the same thing happens. Now I'm at two bottles. Yesterday I go to shop "C", same offer, which this time I decline since I have 2 and although I want it, someone else should have a crack at it.
    By no means do I expect that to happen but I truly appreciate they did it for me. I literally have driven fifteen miles from home to grab a sixer from store "C" that I could have grabbed two blocks away because of the way they have taken care of me.
     
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  12. cbeer88

    cbeer88 Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2007 Massachusetts

    Loyalty just doesn't buy you much these days, at least around here. Craft beer is too popular and allocations are usually too small. How is a store supposed to fairly divide a single 4-pack of KBS amongst 40 good regular customers?
     
  13. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    Cuz sometimes they're loyal back to you.
     
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  14. PsilohsaiBiN

    PsilohsaiBiN Maven (1,473) Aug 10, 2010 New York

    This problem can be easily absolved by buying a shit ton of "whalez" from every place under the sun. You're loyal to everyone now. BOOM!
     
  15. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    There's only one thing I don't like about 'cherry pickers': the condescending attitude you sometimes get about "shelf beers," as if easy availability = poor quality.
     
  16. ericj551

    ericj551 Pooh-Bah (1,638) Apr 29, 2004 Canada (AB)
    Pooh-Bah

    Good point, this attitude can be annoying.

    I find myself in a somewhat similar situation as the OP, except that I drink mostly homebrew, so when I buy beer it's almost always a seasonal/limited release bomber (luckily this is mostly from a selection of local breweries). When I'm out, I'll drink the local standards that I tend to pass over in the liquor store.
     
  17. frazbri

    frazbri Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2003 Ohio

    Rarity and seasonality don't make beer great, just more sought after. (not saying that there aren't great seasonals)
     
  18. Longstaff

    Longstaff Initiate (0) May 23, 2002 Massachusetts

    I also can't stand the snobbish attitude when people use the term "shelf beer" - as if to say "nothing to see here, move along, its just a lowly shelf beer". Consider me a shelf beer cherry picker. It's more about connoisseurship than hype and blind luck. I long ago dropped "what I should be drinking" in favor of "what I want to drink" and started appreciating the beer in my hand much more than the promise of the beers I couldn't get.
     
  19. chcfan

    chcfan Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2008 California

    It's 100% your choice how you want to buy your beer. Loyalty can be rewarded with things like getting first dibs on the good stuff. CSB time: I have a relationship with a place and they explicitly told me that they would prefer a regular customer get one of their two cases of Founders Harvest Ale (it's a case-only store GODDAM YOU PA LAWS) than a "cherry picker" who will not spend a dime in their store unless they hold something special for them.

    I have no problem with how the OP operates or cherry pickers in general, but I understand why a business would want to give loyal customers perks for their repeated business.
     
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  20. Shmeal

    Shmeal Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2009 Oregon

    I do the same, but just out of budget concerns
     
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