Stone Groundbreaking Collaborations. Opinions?

I think this would go best in the main discussion forum. That said I wasn't investing in any Stone "futures" or "investing"

 

All I have to say in regards to this is that it means I'll (selfishly) have to wait at least two years before Stone ever bottles or release another Dayman IPA or w00t Stout, as they sure as hell won't release versions of those beers BEFORE these collaborations, otherwise those who paid a premium to get those beers through these "ground breaking" collaborations would get the shaft. So, it sucks to those Stone fans who were hoping for another w00t Stout release next year or were hoping for another Dayman IPA release next year. Not gonna happen.

Other than my selfish rant, I do think these collaborations sound really cool. I just wish there was a way for people who would like to purchase them and "contribute" to the new brewery to get these beers other than having to pick them up in person in CA.

 

I thought the re-release was a little odd at first, but then when I gave it more thought, they are making as much beer as the people will pay for, so by reopening it, it doesn't impact the first people who bought into the beer at all and for some reason to make the first buyers feel better, they got it at a $3 dollar discount.
As for the brewer's getting an option to buy the beer after release, I'm surprised they even opened this up for comments, but my reply was since they are brewing the beer, they should definitely have the option to have some and I was surprised that they are paying for it at all rather than just brewing some for themselves.

 

Since collab brewers are given an option to buy only their beers, then I don't have really have an issue...A question that should be asked is how much can they get? For those of us that have invested in futures, I don't think it will impact us. I bought the beer to drink and if I got an extra bottle or two, then maybe I cellar it.

 

I had to google it, I had no idea what you were talking about. I get it now
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-and-destination-restaurant-in-berlin.195806/


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/stone-groundbreaking-collaborations--2
http://beerpulse.com/2014/07/stones...king-collaborations-to-hit-distribution-3380/

no thanks.

 

You mean to tell me that the people that are brewing the beer, as in, the ones coming up with the ingredients and the science of it all shouldn't be allowed to PAY for allotments of said beer? That's ridiculous. And Stone should have never even had to feel as if this was something that should even involve our opinion as @jageraholic said. Seriously, how does this hurt anyone? I really want to understand the butthurt feelings that people are getting. They can only buy their own collab beer. Any others will need to be purchased during the campaign.

The next complaint of the sales being reopened bugs me too. People saying they only got in on it because it said that once they were gone, they were gone. I don't see how that changes the intrigue of the beer. Either you wanted it or you didn't. I guess it ties into the whole "rarity" of the beer. But even that is comical to me. These are still really limited beers and there is no guarantee that they will make smaller versions of them. However, they stated that if they do, they would cost about the same for half of the product. And that's assuming you can even find them on shelves when they are released due to high demand. So my question is, why are people so upset that others will now get to try what I hope will be amazing beers? Does having the bottles land in less hands magically make the contents inside taste better? I've purchased every bottle from the campaign and am really grateful that they reopened the sales. If not for that, I would have not been able to buy the first four because I learned about the campaign too late. As a result, I paid $3 more, don't get gift certificates, and don't get the Stone rewards to use at the breweries on the merchandise. Those that adopted early do. So you ARE getting something for buying in early @Doug6322. Stone has called these investments in the product "beer futures" all along. There was no set number on how many would be made of each. The output would match the demand. It's a business move to reopen the sales because it makes both parties happy. Customers get what they want and @StoneGreg gets to see an already successful campaign flourish.

I think some people need to drink more!

 

With how open Stone has been throughout this whole campaign, I highly doubt that will come to fruition. The fact that they are asking for opinions on the brewers being able to pay for the beer that THEY are brewing at a later date should indicate as much. I also only consider Beer Camp to be like this in that it was one brewery making beers with a number of other breweries. This will be more substantially more limited as far as I understand. They also will not become full on production brews. They may (and from a business standpoint, absolutely should IMO) brew more one time after the fact in the previously mentioned 750ml form and sell them for the same price as the ones we are investing in now. Either way, I wish people would recognize that those buying in now are the winners. By paying up front, you are guaranteeing yourself a reserve of the beer. No calling bottle shops and standing in lines in hopes of maybe getting one. You're getting twice the amount for the price paid. And, if you got in early, you get the gift certificates and/or Team Stone benefits. You really are winning here, I promise lol.

 

You're still getting the same beer at the same price that you were excited about when you made the purchase. You're just upset that the beers aren't going to be as rare as you had originally hoped? is that the problem?

 

In taking time out of the busy business of craft brewing, our collaborators are going to travel thousands of miles with the express purpose of creating some really fine beers. They probably want to check out our cool new digs while they’re at it, but still, it’s a lot of time and expense, especially considering these are some of the most in-demand brewing names in the industry. As such, the only goal here is to make things a little easier on them and guarantee them some beer futures at the same price they are being offered for now, when they can actually get their hands on them. We appreciate that the vast majority is in support of this—seriously, how terrible would it be for us to basically tell our collaboration partners, “Thanks for taking multiple days away from heading the brewing operation at your wildly successful brewery to cross the Atlantic and brew a beer that will produce zero return-on-investment for your brewery in exchange for your time, labor and expense, but sorry, we can’t be the least bit flexible with you.” Hell, we’d kinda like to collaborate with these talented folks in the future, so instead of burning bridges, we’re building one for them…but ONLY the collaborators helping to get these beers made. NOBODY ELSE will be allowed to do this—individuals, distributors, retailers, media, celebrities, the Pope…not even Greg Koch’s mother! That’s why we wanted to come out with this in question format versus an edict. We want to make sure everybody understands and let them weigh in, and thank the majority of our Indiegogo purchasers for understanding and being okay with it.

BTW, this is all a bit of a tempest in a teapot. Most of our Collaborators can’t even legally resell it. Some have restaurants and licenses to sell “guest beers.” Those folks may make it available in their restaurants. Unless they’re foolish business people, they won’t be selling it for less or the same amount that they paid for it. Off hand, we don’t know of any of our US Collaborators would be able to sell it off premise. Generally, a brewery can only sell beer off premise that they produce.

When it comes to the UK (Brewdog), Italy (Le Baladin), or Brazil (Bodebrown) there aren’t such restrictions. If you don’t live in one of those countries, you’ll never see a bottle of their “allotment,” so this wouldn’t effect our US purchasers.

Sorry, we should have explained better that the ‘ripple effect’ of allowing our Collaborators to purchase the beers (NOT at a cheaper price than any of you!) will probably not be felt in any meaningful way to 99% of the folks who have participated in this pre-sales event.

Oh, and Greg just told me that he’s going to share some of his own personal stash with his mother so she doesn’t have to worry about it…and that he’s buying those beers in advance with everyone else!

 

Craft beer, everyone!

 

To the original OP, when you and I walk into a brewery; and, we're told "this is a one time beer", start collaborating.

 

hey @StoneBrewingCo , any update on this? Working on the retail side, there has been very little relay to us, and a lot of customers who bought in on this.

 

"I assume some folks in here have taken part in this beer futures from stone what are your thoughts about the re-release of what they first said when its gone they are gone. And now they want to open it up so the collaborators can buy at original price after the beer is made..in 14-24 months, I for one disagree and this is what I posted to the comments section at the site.""

what??????

 

Got an email update recently, so no beer out until the Brewery gets a couple core batches brewed first. At least the Lost Abbey one won't be out for 2 years, others like Dayman should be out sooner

 

An email update went out on Wednesday, and is also available here: http://igg.me/at/stonebrewing/x

If you didn't receive the update but should have, feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Cheers!
Jamie Sherlock

 

I am so far out of the loop that I have no idea what's being discussed and, based on what's being said, I think I'll stay that way.

Stone used to be the kings of my craft beer world, but they jumped the shark right around the time the World Bistro opened.

IMHO, YMMV, ETC...

 

We've got a tentative brewing schedule! Looks like brewing will begin in Q3 2016 and go through Q2 2017 with beers ready to ship 90 days after brew date. If all goes well it's possible the first bottles could be ready before the end of the year.