I joined Tavour back around November of 2018, and was using them through about February of 2020 - I ordered 22 "boxes" during that time. My early experiences were very exciting, although I didn't like not being able to schedule the delivery for a window when I'd be home to sign for delivery. On a few occasions, I had to drive to the courier and pick up the shipment, which wasn't a huge hassle, but it wasn't ideal either. Regardless, I was able to communicate with the courier and track packages easily enough. My first box - really all about getting my first Psuedo Sue, which is now available right across the street... At some point early-mid 2019, Tavour switched to another courier, and their tracking became crappy - I also noticed that the delivery time windows were not being met and it became something of a crapshoot as to when I'd get the beer - it could come early or late or on-time-ish... *enthusiasm waning* Shortly thereafter, I also started to notice that I wasn't getting anything really striking offered to me in my area - my first few orders featured at least a few high-interest beers I couldn't get elsewhere and were on my "wants" list - the availability of similar beers diminished over time and I realized I was getting a specific set of breweries' products offered and it didn't change much, so I was exhausting my list of what I wanted from them. Similarly, there are enough good beers locally available that it didn't make sense to order an IPA from North Dakota when I have more than I'll ever even sample right here - ditto for almost every other style. At this point my orders had become smaller. My last order placed was in February of 2020, and just to get two bottles of this... Great grab, but Tavour literally had nothing else of interest and I didn't want to sit on these for months waiting to add more to my box... When the pandemic hit in 2020, it was obvious that everyone was jumping onboard Tavour and every time I'd check for beers I wanted, they were already sold out - so I couldn't even get the few things I was interested in... And what I see now, over the past *several* months, is that while the availability of posted beers has improved (as the volume has diminished), the prices for anything even remotely interesting is insane, and that has killed the last couple of purchases I would have considered were the prices more reasonable. If you spot a personal whale/"want," or their service increases the availability of beers you cannot get otherwise, and you can get 'em before they sell out, and don't mind paying top-dollar, and can be home to sign for it whenever it arrives, it's a great service. But for me, their value and ease of use have offered diminishing returns over time.
For me at least the signing for a box is not a thing in this Covid world. My delivery guy rings the doorbell and leaves. Havent signed for a box in months.
I don't remember the last time I signed for a box. My Tavour courier has always given me a call or text when he's a few minutes away, and then just waves as he drops it on the porch. I also received two boxes recently from UPS that had stickers on the outside explicitly stating "adult signature required," and those were also just dropped off on my porch without interaction. I feel for people that this is a hassle for.
Two of the bundles I purchased - 5 pFriem beers and 3 barrel aged Braxton Labs stouts - were removed from my box. They was an inventory problem "most likely due to breakage." So, either, all of their employees have mallets for hands or they're selling more than they're actually receiving (not maliciously, I'm sure. brewery sends less than intended, some break in transit, etc. but should still confirm inventory before selling). Each time they just apologized, said 'it happens', and gave me a $15 credit. Beyond frustrating that I can't reliably expect that beers I purchase will actually show up. This is my first box with Tavour. I'm likely done with them after this.
That’s crazy. As a buyer of the Braxton bundles I will say count yourself lucky. Their BA dark charge is great but lots of imitation flavors in their other beers. The vanilla dark charge was like drinking straight imitation vanilla.
yeah....both instances i've requested that the 'unbroken' beers be included in my box. both times they danced around directly saying no. Which again leads me to an inventory problem. Or mallet handed employees - there were 8 beers and ALL 8 were broken? I suppose it's possible....but unlikely.
This is spooky. I just finished the barrel aged Dark Star I bought on Tavour. I ended my review, My first from Fremont. The prospect of being able to procure more from these fine folks will prevent me from deleting the Tavour app. This is just incredible. And then not an hour later... Another crate opened. As I said, spooky.
That does make me feel better about ultimately missing out on beers that I was initially pretty excited about.
Hmmmm...I would argue that it is NOT fair how astonishingly good the barrel-aged Dark Star I had last night was. Looking forward to trying one with lots of extra stuff in it, though I don't expect to like it quite as much.
It seems like we just need a Fremont pipeline to PA. BA Dark Star and BA Dark Star Coffee were the reasons I opened a crate last year, and B-Bomb was the reason I opened my most recent crate. The BA Dark Star Coffee was pretty great, I still have the non-adjuncted bottle in my fridge, but your mention is making me want to drink it soon.
I'm with you, absolutely exceeded the hype. I wish this year's was just coffee but I'm still excited. Hope to see a barleywine from them sometime. (Let's see how in-tune Tavour is this time...)
ADWTD DO Vanilla Bean just popped up on my Tavour. $70/btl. Limit 1 per person. Good luck to those of you trying to get it!
If my memory is correct, the first time Tavour sold ADWTD it was $35 for a 375ml ($2.78/oz), then the can was $50 for 16oz ($3.13/oz), and now $70 for a 375ml ($5.56/oz). To put into perspective, a 22oz bomber would cost $122 at this price.
