Three Floyds Releases

I got (3) bottles in southern Indiana. I bought them out.

 

Isn't BA Behemoth released by now?

 

I was just wondering that today too. Checked the site. Nothing yet.

 

Not yet. Regular Behemoth hasn't even been released yet. BA Behemoth usually comes after

 

Thanks....just wondering if I missed it

 

$40 or will we see it hit $50 this year?

 

Help me understand something here.

Straight Jacket released this week for $15 (brewery) - $25 (high marked up stores) a bottle.

BA Behemoth about to be released for $40(ish).

Is BA Behemoth really worth 2X more than Straight Jacket? (IMO, no, not even close)

Why are people paying $40+ for this? Resale? To trade? I'm genuinely curious - When you pick up this bottle, in your mind how do you justify the purchase with so many other great options available on the market? Perceived rarity? Packaging? FFF in general? Only-one-place-to-pick-up-the-bottle-plus-it's-Limit-1-so-special?

The $40 price was initially set in a world where we didn't see a lot of variety or well-crafted beer from smaller producers. This isn't the case anymore. There is a great deal of variety out there, and I'm having a lot harder time justifying anything close to what we all paid way back when. Curious how the thought process has changed/is at current.

 

BA Behemoth is one of my favorite beers. And I enjoy 3 floyds barrel stuff in general so i don't mind the price. Yes it's unusually high, but they don't drop these bottles often so I don't mind to splurge

And living in Indiana, yes I favor 3 Floyds

 

These things aren't worth picking up for the little they get in resale value so I don't think people are buying them to resell. They are priced in line with other FFF BA offerings. I think they are still riding the rarity and hype wave from a few years ago with those prices, but I know I've been disappointed by a lot of the BA stuff I've had from them, it isn't bad, it just when you pay $35 for a bottle and know you could have had something on par or better for $20 less.

 

I'm personally not a fan of BA Behemoth. Not a bad beer by any means, but I think it takes away a lot of what I love about the base. I treat Behemoth like an IPA, drinking it as fresh as possible because I love the hop profile. Barrel aging it makes it more of a typical BW and doesn't stand out to me, therefore not worth the price. But regular is always one of my favorite FFF annual releases.

 

I have to ignore the first portion of your post since I haven't had Straight Jacket (BA barleywines aren't 100% my thing. I like 'em, but I don't $15 like 'em).

I had BA Behemoth on tap at DLD and was really surprised how much I liked it. It tasted very appley to me, in a good way. I haven't had a lot of BA barleywines that gave me the same profile, so that'd be why I'd personally buy it (although not at $40).

To me, there's an FFF tax. They're one of the OGs of the "cool, edgy" craft scene, and aside from that have traditionally been both hugely popular in trades, and coveted at local beer shops (I mean, really, what the hell does "do you guys have any FFF" mean, anyway? I've seen people ask that at Binny's and walk out as soon as the answer is no. C'mon). You pay a little more for FFF because they've "earned" it. Every BA DL variant is $50 a bottle, and yet it seems like half the variants each year are deemed mediocre at best. GI gets lambasted for a bottle of Prop that isn't perfection, yet they also set MSRP around $20, and don't require a ticketed release to buy. Hell, GI Clybourn releases one-off bottles at $30 or 40 and can't give them away (and some of these are fantastic).

I'm not trying to diss FFF, because they were one of the first breweries I really fell in love with, and they consistently make great beer (Permanent Funeral is an all-time fave DIPA, DL is one of my favorite non-BA stouts). However, I think that their style/attitude/"aura" allows them to get away with shit that a lot of other breweries couldn't even think of trying. The only thing local that's comparable to me is Big Hugs, which is wayyyyyyy more popular than I can understand. I've always assumed that is a Half Acre fan-thing.

 

Definitely appreciate the responses! Keep em coming - good discussion and conversation.

 

I completely agree with you. There are so many more options now. It looks a bit ridiculous to price all your BA stuff that high. They are still riding the dark lord/zombie dust hype train.

 

BeerAdvocate - "Let us tell you what your time and money is worth!"

 

I don't think it's ridiculous. It's basic supply and demand. If the product is priced too high, consumers won't purchase it. If BA Behemoth sells out at $40 a bottle, it obviously wasn't priced too high. If the beer is priced too low for the market and supply is limited, that's what creates secondary resale for profit. The Willett distillery in KY caught on to their popularity and started pricing bottles of their Family Estate bottlings at close to secondary market pricing (20 plus year Bourbons/Ryes for north of $600.00). Sounds ridiculous, but the bottles still sellout, and they virtually did away with illegal resale of their products. And I would personally rather see the establishment that created the product see that money, that can be reinvested into infrastructure to make more and better things than some random dude on the internet. That being said, I will never buy a $600 bottle of bourbon, but there are obviously people who will. Just be happy craft beer in general is still a pretty accessible hobby cost wise.

 

BA Behemoth has bottle counts listed RIGHT ON THE BOTTLE! SJ hits wide distro. QED

Serious though, you know it's not worth 2x more on taste alone. It's honestly a middle-tier BA barleywine. but, to your next point...

Emphasis added. You've seen trades go batshit over the past few years. The auction sites make it even worse. Only way to win that game is step up with your own trade bait whatevers.

Wasn't it like $30 initially, and didn't go up to $40 until it came wick cherries and they figured out anything they put in a barrel will sell out?

ETA:
Neither beer is as good as Sucaba, which is on a fucking break this year. Also $15.

 

It isn't the tired old supply and demand argument, what people are saying is that the vast majority of consumers are foolish for paying 2-3 times what they need to for a comparable product. It isn't 2012 when BA Barleywines were a novelty...you can find better for much less. GI put out a cheaper one that has better ratings since...

 

GI put out a better one in 2011 for $13/bomber. And it sat on shelves until everyone caught on and snatched it up as trade bait

 

I agree with you that some beer prices have become foolish. I'm personally not running out to buy a $40 barrel aged barley wine. But there are obviously a decent number that are. As the purchaser you choose to spend your $$ where you see fit. We may think these people are foolish for paying that much for BA Behemoth, but they have justification in their mind for doing it. I've paid more than $50 for a bottle of Cantillon or Rarer 3F at a bar before, and that was worth it to me. And I think if enough people felt like they were getting burned by 3 Floyd's limited releases at the Kiosk, those beers would start sitting around and collecting dust. So far they haven't.