pseudoSue returns to MKE

Three Cellars @ 4pm today. There will be a limit- originally 4 bottles but could be fewer if too many people show up.

 

Yeah, this will probably be sold out before 5pm- I could see bottle limits going down to 1 if he starts to run out or if the line is too long. Still, it's a tiny bit easier to get it here than it is if you go up to Madison.

The X-hops bottles he got sometimes lasted until the next day.

 

Even better

 

My guess is that Three Cellars has held their last shipment (or had someone hang onto them in Madison) and waited until the time was right to release it. It's possible that they even hung on to multiple shipments (doubtful) so supply could meet demand. TG does a great job of announcing where they are delivering to on their facebook page, and they used to put Three Cellars on there.

The first time I stopped in to Three Cellars on a TG day, he wasn't too thrilled about everyone knowing that he'd be getting a shipment that day- he'd rather dole it out on his terms, which I can understand. So TG stopped putting Three Cellars on their delivery updates. The last official TG delivery to Madison was 5/29, and did include pseudoSue. If he's offering 4 bottles per, he had to have gotten at least 5-6 cases.

 

Not so much any of those reasons. He just wasn't prepared to sell it that same day- he would have liked to have sent out a Three Cellars alert and prepared his shop/staff for it.

 

Boooo to shops with paid Beer Club memberships. Same thing with bars (Stubby's). No way am I forking over extra money that I could be spending on beer just for the privilege to "possibly" buy more beer.

 

Ah- I assumed (incorrectly, perhaps) that only the "Brewmaster" level members could buy 4 bottles. But still, I'm whole-heartedly against both paid beer clubs and corkage fees at bottle shops.

 

I've been there multiple times. It is a bit of a trek from North Milwaukee, but I usually swing by if I'm anywhere nearby. Shawn (I think that's his name) is a super nice guy and always happy to chat about beer. The tap selections are always good, as well. But because it's a trek, it's a one-beer stop for me.

I like the ambiance of the shop and the focus on domestic craft beer. The bottle selection is good, but the only thing that Discount & Ray's don't carry that he gets is TG. Because they're both closer, I usually don't make it down to Franklin. (Otto's has been doing a great job, and they're even closer, so I have just about stopped going down to Discount altogether. Ray's will be a regular stop again once the Growler Gallery opens). I do wish he could install a few more taps at Three Cellars- that might allow him to do growler fills- maybe a day or two per week during slow hours. But again, not sure if the liquor license limits his # of taps.

If Three Cellars were closer, I would definitely frequent them more often. Good ambiance, good beer talk. My only suggestion would be to look at the shops that don't charge corkage fees and see if it would seriously impact the bottom line to eliminate it. And get rid of the Brewmaster level paid club. If someone is familiar enough to be called a regular, give them those perks at no cost.

Coffee Grounds up in Eau Claire is a similar style shop. Quite a bit bigger and with more taps (and liquor), full service cafe/restaurant/deli/coffee house/etc. I think the CG owner is related to Shawn, actually. They do growler fills, too. I'd recommend it if you're ever up in the area. Toppling Goliath is often on as well. There is also a shop opening across the street from where I live (Craft & Vessel) that will be very similar but without the wine (and with growler fills!)

 

He definitely deserves a ton of credit for going way out of his way to get Toppling Goliath to Milwaukee. I hope they reward him with regular distribution when they reach MKE.

 

Not sure what their expansion plans are. I've heard that they're targeting MN next, which would mean a delay on more beer for the Milwaukee area.

 

Three Cellars does indeed have pseudoSue on tap right now, along with a few other great beers (Rye of the Tiger, two Vintage brews, Extended Play). Worth a trip down if you've never tried pseudo.