SoCal Enjoy By distribution

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013.

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  1. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    I wrote the following email to Stone. Does anyone else feel the same way I do in Southern California?

    Greetings,
    I must say that, as a Stone loyalist, I am extremely disappointed in the brewery. You've released 4 batches of Enjoy By, and so far it's only gone to YOUR HOME MARKET TWICE! I've never heard of a brewery sending their beer to other markets and ignoring their own. Three Floyds, Jester King, Cigar City, these breweries make sure their home state is taken care of before any other market. How could you skip Southern California twice now? It's extremely frustrating to see this, and it makes me question why I buy your beer. Firestone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, hell ever Russian River makes sure California is taken care of before any other market. Firestone even makes a beer that is only available in their area code (which also happens to be mine). This is unacceptable guys.
    And don't even get me started on how difficult it is to get Enjoy By when it does get to SoCal.
    I understand that I am just one voice, but this one voice buys at least one of your products a week. I can't see myself continuing until you start taking care of us first.

    Travis Tucker
    Simi Valley, CA
     
    #1 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  2. ryno09

    ryno09 Pundit (835) May 1, 2010 California

    Well the second batch was available for growler fills and on draft at the brewery and their stores. I believe this will also be the case with the new batch. Just no bottles this time around.
     
    #2 ryno09, Jan 7, 2013
  3. CommanderOfAwesome

    CommanderOfAwesome Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2012 California

    Sure don't.
     
    #3 CommanderOfAwesome, Jan 7, 2013
  4. sandiego67

    sandiego67 Initiate (0) Feb 25, 2008 California

    Facebook Post:

    More news on Stone #EnjoyBy 02.15.13. We will have a very limited amount available at our Stone Company Store locations.

    Stone Enjoy By 02.15.13 IPA will be available at Stone Company Store - Escondido (attached to Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens) on Friday, January 11. There will be a two bottle per person limit. Growlers fills will be limited to two 1-liter growler fills, one 2-liter growler fill, or one 3-liter commemorative growler fill.

    Stone Enjoy By 02.15.13 IPA will be available under the same conditions at Stone Company Store South Park, Stone Company Store Oceansideand Stone Company Store Pasadena on Wednesday, January 16. bit.ly/EnjoyByIPA
     
    #4 sandiego67, Jan 7, 2013
  5. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    Yeah, unfortunately I live an hour from Pasadena, and 3 hours from San Diego. It's just frustrating to me.
     
    #5 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  6. besaunders

    besaunders Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2007 California

    It almost sounds like you don't realize that one of the gimmicks behind Enjoy By... is the choice of different distribution areas for each release.
     
    #6 besaunders, Jan 7, 2013
    Xul likes this.
  7. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    No I understand the "gimmick", but why isn't it always available throughout California upon release? If they are only going to release a limited quantity at their retail locations, that limits the amount of Southern California residents that can obtain the beer.
     
    #7 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  8. luisc123

    luisc123 Zealot (513) Oct 20, 2011 California

    Looks I'll be going down to the brewery on Friday :slight_smile:
     
    #8 luisc123, Jan 7, 2013
  9. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    I guess I just thought this annoyed other people also. Ignore the thread if you would like. Maybe I'm out of my league.
     
    #9 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  10. Xul

    Xul Pooh-Bah (2,139) May 18, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    If you were in San Diego when Parabola or Sucaba came out last year (or 2011 for that matter), you would understand how hilarious the idea of FW "taking care" of Southern California is.

    I'd love to have Enjoy By without having to rush to buy it as soon as it hits, but I don't think that 10 years of drinking Stone's beers entitles me to it. They're using the Enjoy By program in a specific way - when it's available in San Diego (without rushing to the company stores at 10 AM on a Wednesday), I'll pick it up and enjoy it. Until then, there's no shortage of other beer to drink...
     
    #10 Xul, Jan 7, 2013
    Sebowski, nanobrew and pinkgrenade like this.
  11. dcgunman

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

    If I remember right (and correct me if I'm wrong) I think socal(OC) did get the last batch of Enjoy By back in Nov/Dec (?). But it was gone like in 60 seconds! No, I don't recall seeing it in the LA area but I could be wrong. I think the hype of Enjoy By is getting out of control and old. Yes its a great fresh ipa and maybe one of the better releases of 2012. But to go out and get in line for what? One bottle per person? The first time this came out I drove to the Oceanside store for bottles and growler fills the week it hit some stores in the OC. I got there at eleven when they opened and it hadn't arrived at the Oceanside store yet. I had to turn around and drive back to HB and get ready for work a little dissapointed. But I did manage to get 3 bottles before it was all gone. The last time it was released in OC it was like gone in 60 seconds. On the way out to Alpine I stopped in the Stone Escondido store (Friday) to get a couple of bottles and maybe a growler fill and it was sold out that Thursday. So I didn't get any the second time around. So this time around it will be available only at the Stone stores and other states. I guarantee it will be gone at the 4 stores day of release. I think I will wait for Citra.
     
    #11 dcgunman, Jan 7, 2013
  12. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California


    Yeah, I really had no idea there was difficulty getting Reserve series FW releases in SD. This just goes to show that I acted hastily when I sent the email.

    With that said, the idea of select markets for specific special releases (excluding brewery only) is absurd. At least from this consumers perspective.
     
    #12 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  13. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    Enjoy By 02/15/13 will be the fourth Enjoy By release. Southern California (L.A, OC, etc.) has seen full distribution the first and third time. And yes, it's obnoxiously hard to get it even when it does get full distribution which is part of my complaint.
     
    #13 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
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  14. dcgunman

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

    How many beers have you had when you sent the email? :wink:
     
    #14 dcgunman, Jan 7, 2013
    SeaOfShells likes this.
  15. besaunders

    besaunders Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2007 California

    Must suppress Alpine joke...
     
    #15 besaunders, Jan 7, 2013
  16. nabeshin

    nabeshin Initiate (0) May 25, 2004 California

    I wish when they do a release they'd send enough to LA/OC for it to not sell out the moment it hits shelves. People were following the damn delivery trucks around.
     
    #16 nabeshin, Jan 7, 2013
  17. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    Stone is Anheuser-Busch compared to Alpine. It's forgivable for them (or at least understandable).
     
    #17 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  18. Xul

    Xul Pooh-Bah (2,139) May 18, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's really not absurd, and if you step back from your desire to drink a given beer, you'll realize that breweries are inevitably going to piss someone off - if they only send a given release to certain markets, every other market gets pissed, while if they spread it everywhere, it's spread so thin that it's hard to come by in any market, and a lot of people get annoyed that it's so hard to get. Stone is hardly the only brewery to do this - Goose Island doesn't send BCBS everywhere, and different BCBS variants had different distribution footprints.

    Either way, Enjoy By has a very specific goal - to get an incredibly fresh IPA out into specific markets, from the bottling to the shelf in an abnormally short amount of time. In normal, wide releases - especially limited releases - there's normally a lag time of a few weeks for it to spread through a brewery's distribution network. On a beer intended to be drunk within about a month, that would be rather self-defeating.
     
    #18 Xul, Jan 7, 2013
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  19. SeaOfShells

    SeaOfShells Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California


    Allow me to rephrase. The idea of select markets for specific special releases that don't include the breweries home market is absurd.
     
    #19 SeaOfShells, Jan 7, 2013
  20. besaunders

    besaunders Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2007 California

    Your definition of a "home market" is pretty broad, given the amount of real estate and the number of people that live between Simi Valley and Escondido.
     
    #20 besaunders, Jan 7, 2013
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