Refunds for Goose Island 2015 Bourbon County Coffee & Bourbon County Barleywine

I guess it does depend, but I'm not sure the state is the distinction. Price discrimination is fundamentally legal except in cases where it is found to violate anti-trust laws. In other words, price discrimination is illegal when it demonstrably harms competition.

I'm not a lawyer, but it would seem to my layperson's eyes that selling an identical product to two different retailers at different rates would be a violation of anti-trust laws because it consistently allows the retailer to whom they sell at a lower-price to dominate the market by being able to sell the product to the end consumer at a lower price.

Of course, the discriminated-against retailer would have to show in court that the cornering of the market was an inevitable outcome of the favored retailer getting to pay a lower price. That might be hard to do with beer--especially with a beer that will likely sell from both the discriminated-against retailer and the favored retailer.

 

In Connecticut, price discrimination by distributors is specifically prohibited under the liquor control act. I haven't looked, but I'd assume other states do so as well.

Back when major distributors for NYC were going to merge the Bodegas Association specifically mentioned that they didn't get the same price discount on wholesale purchases from distributors as big box stores did. I'm sure their lawyers would have loved to have more to pile on to their anti trust complaint if price discrimination was actually an illegal practice for any distributor to take part in.

 

But isn't anti-trust a federal thing? So wouldn't price discrimination that is found to undermine open competition be potentially illegal no matter what the local states specific laws were?

 

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm sure there are plenty of companies and organizations with lawyers who would have gone after distributors by now for that kind of thing if it were possible.

this article implies it's possible to do so legally:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/com...ust-laws/price-discrimination-robinson-patman

 

Punk is dead.

Side note, popped open a barleywine last night, time stamped 1543 28Oct15, it smelled like Tart Of Darkness/cherry sours I've had and the acidic carbonation was pretty fizzy and persistent. Didn't gush or anything but it shouldn't have been that lively and it wouldn't quit bubbling. It was almost (actually?) like sour BCBBW and I tried for about 2 sips, then down the drain it went. Paint thinner.

 

Yeah, the article I was reading suggested the same, that price discrimination is fundamentally legal except in certain cases where it is done with the intent or result of having an impact on competition within a given market.

I also got the impression that it can be hard to prove in court because the plaintiff has to do more than just show that it hurts their own sales. Perhaps a clue to why companies might not pursue legal action even if they believe they should be able to--especially if we're talking about local, smaller retailers who don't have deep pockets for a court battle.

Anyway, we're a little off topic I suppose. An interesting topic though.

 

Did my refund request last week for 4 barleywines and 3 coffee. I tried the coffee a month ago and it was good, I remember 2014 being more coffee-forward than the 2015. Haven't cracked the '15 BW yet though.

 

Cracked a coffee tonight and definately was on the tart side, was time stamp 1312, no gush and drinkable but tasted like a sour stout

 

BCBBW 29OCT15 1704 is not infected. Or whatever the hell Goose Island wants to call it. Pretty good but not as good as years past.

 

Two more "off" bottles for those keeping track. Drinkable, but still very disappointed. Got more of each and hoping for the best.

Barley - 9/17/15 1245
Coffee - 10/29/15 0815

 

Anyone know if big breweries take out insurance policies on batches of beer to protect against big losses like this?

I know AB-Inbev is big enough to take this on the chin and not notice, but it seems reasonable that they would protect themselves when dealing with large, expensive batches.

 

For those questioning kegging, I had drafts of both Coffee and BW last Thursday. The Coffee was definitely not infected. Tasted exactly as it was supposed to taste. BW on the other hand was definitely infected. Not the immediate drainpour that my drinking buddy that night said his bottles were, but definitely infected. Slightly acidic and the first flavor that comes is cherry/red fruit. Was actually a quandary to try and rate as it still tasted drinkable, though not at all like a barleywine. Still, in that keg the infection was starting to take hold so it it'd been left for another month or two it probably would have been a vinegary mess that I've heard the bottles were.

 

So you asked for a refund because you thought it was good? ... Interesting.

 

Great question. I would love to hear feedback on this.

 

If big beer's business practices force other breweries to improve their customer service than that's obviously a plus. But I consider many of their business practices to be at odds with craft beer community that I have grown to appreciate. A good product is important, but I want my dollars to support business practices that are conducive to bettering the craft beer community, not eliminating it.

 

I had the exact same experience. The lady was very nice, very apologetic, and said someone would be getting back to me with a plan on what they are going to do for Indiana. I'm wondering what they will actually do? Send some good batches directly to us? Have a free party with everything on tap?

 

Had my BW on Saturday. Going to call them today. Oct. 28, 2015, batch 1241.

Not terrible certainly, but actually had a slight sourness...indicating to me some bacterial infection.

 

Don't bother calling it's a corporate holiday at Goose Island. I used a vaction day today and this was on my to do list guess not !!

 

I thought it was going to be "I bought an infected beer and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

 

Has anyone done the swap at the brewery? How'd it go?

 

I might have missed this, but are these for Coffee or Barleywine?

 

I called and they took care of me no problems

 

This is largely correct. I e-mailed an acquaintance (know well enough to e-mail him regarding this, but not to ask if any bottles of 2010 Rare are laying around ) of mine who recommended I put mine in the fridge or cooler temperatures right away. He said if I stored all mine the same way and was unsatisfied with one of my bottles, the rest are likely to be the same. Those bottles that were stored in warmer temps are tending to have an “off-acid” flavor.

Cheers.

 

I'm glad that you mentioned this. I opened my Coffee this past week and first hint something was off was the carbonation. It fizzed almost like a coke instead of normal beer head.

After that, tasted no coffee at all. Tasted like an off BCBS. It had a weird tangy after-taste that I couldn't pin-point until I read your post. The after taste was sour cherry. I have yet to open the three barleywines I purchased. Sucks that this happened.

 

It's been 12 days now so I'm wondering if anyone has actually received their refund yet. I know many folks, myself included, were told 7-10 days, but I haven't gotten anything as of this morning.

 

Make sure your counting business days. Also dont count this monday lol.

 

Yup, refrigerating your beers will be a benefit since cold temperatures inhibit the growth of spoilage microorganisms (e.g., bacteria). That is why you refrigerate your orange juice, milk, etc., to inhibit the growth of spoilage microorganisms.

Cheers!

 

Has anyone else received email acknowledgement from GI? Got this today:

 

Got the same today

 

Yep, just walked up to the front doors of the brewery and they handed out cash. Super simple and fast/easy. Amazing!

 

I tried twice earlier and spent 30min and 5min on hold before giving up.

Just called and spoke to someone right away. They only asked for the place of purchase, the numbers off one BW and one Coffee, my shirt size, and a copy of receipt. I obviously didn't have a receipt so they said they could only refund me $99, a difference of ~$10. Very easy, thanks GI. I hope that tshirt is soft as fuck!

 

I wasn't asked to give my email. So I'll just continue to look out for the package to arrive.

 

No email, no t-shirt, no refund check yet.

 

I called last night. No wait time at all. They reimbursed me for the coffee and three Barleywines. $50 total and a T-Shirt to boot. GI is a class act. Sucks this happens and I don't blame them. They made it right and I have no problem camping out again next year.

 

Identical experience, down to the drain pour (though try I did to drink the SOB).

 

Called and got my refund and t-shirt coming. I don't understand why anyone would complain or criticize this situation. Seriously, shit happens, and the best you can expect is for someone to try to make it right by offering money back. The number of bad beers I have poured out that I got nothing for... Yeah, I appreciate this very much.

I'll be proudly wearing my new GI (hopefully BC) t-shirt, and making an effort to get more BCBCS and BCBBW next Black Friday!

 

Just got done. It took less than 2 minutes to get through. He said they were "thinking about" giving T-shirts and did ask for my size.

Coffee was 17 Sep 1223
BW was 20 Oct 1215

 

Was anyone else given the option to swap their Coffee and BW for Regular at the GI Fulton taproom? When I called about a refund weeks ago it seems like that wasn't even an option. Now I'm hearing reports of swapping. Wish that was made clear after their public statement. I would of rather taken regular BC that I can drink vs. a refund for opened bottles.

 

I was told that you could do both the refund and exchange for unopened bottles. It is supposed to be for the inconvenience of this entire situation and to make up for it in addition to the refunds.

 

Interesting. Would of been great to know before I tossed all my empties. Thanks for the tip!