What are some of the most reliable bottle shops/bars in the Philly area to find Pliny, Pig, and any or all sours?
pig and pliny are draft only, check http://www.phillytapfinder.com/ to find out who has it on tap at the time Sour bottles come in from time to time, your best bet to find them is probably http://local44beerbar.com/bottleshop.htm you will have a better chance of finding Consecration as that one sits around more than the others.
Local 44 is also doing a Russian River event during beer week, see below. Sunday, June 8 :: Starting at 11am Russian River Sunday Grab a Pliny and watch as one zillion people squeeze into the nuttiest PBW event out there — plus a special bedlam-for-brunch menu from the kitchen! On Draft: Supplication Consecration Temptation Damnation Pliny The Elder Blind Pig ...and more!
Yep. This. In fact, Blind Pig is now bottled in such limited quantities, that you can only get it in California.
I love these threads. Can't we just "sticky" the best one so they don't keep popping up every two weeks?
Maybe Todd could fix it so entering Russian River, Pliny, or Blind Pig takes you to the search box instead of making the post.
monks is usually a great bet to try some russian river. they usually will have a sour or two on via bottle. I've had both blind pig and pliny there on tap as well.
I would hit Monk's, but only for the draft lines. A 16 oz. Pliny pour for $7 is pretty awesome. Better than paying $30 for a bottle of Supplication. I got my only Consecration at Local 44.
Supplication is $30 in Philly? That's what they charge for it in the DC gray market stores. It's only about $15-20 in CA.
I've never seen it at a bottle shop there; Monk's is a bar, so it charges bar prices for bottles. Thus the $30 tag. Consecration was $16 at Local 44, so I assume Supplication would be around the same in theory. I think they might get a case 2-3 times a year.
Bottle prices in SEPA tend to be all over the map because of the "by the case" purchase restrictions in the state. Some importer/wholesaler/distributors also have a retail license (unforuately, I don't believe the RR distributor for the area - Origlio - does), and those places tend to have great prices; sometimes as good or better than what you'll find in the brewery's home state. Of course you have to buy beer by the case at those places, which makes for an expensive proposition if you're buying something as spendy as RR supplication. Most bottle shops and beer bars get their beer from a distributor, not all of which offer a wholesale price to the retail store or bar. Those places have to put their own mark-up on the beer as well, which is why you can sometimes see some pretty extravagant prices at certain bars and/or bottle shops.... yet at other places, you can sometimes find some surprising deals. No doubt about it, shopping for beer to go in SEPA can often be an interesting (and sometimes costly) adventure .
