Bay Area Thread

[guido4life]

Here we agree to disagree.

Cabs have no place in 2014. That's all. I will never take one again if I can help it, and when I see someone getting into one in SF, I think, "sucker". I'll not wait as long, have a better ride, and save enough $ to allow me to tick another beer. Screw cabs. They are straight up clowns.

 

[Arbitrator]

Cellarmaker party going well

 

[bdogg1]

Lmmfao. We made a quick stop at sara for some wa. Will be headed there shortly

 

[Teamizm]

Just got to Cellarmaker, not too crowded but sold out of Jezebel

 

[bdogg1]

Just got to Cellarmaker, not too crowded but sold out of Jezebel

Yeah i had a feeling theyd sell out quick.

Just got here and its packed

 

[jeberman]

Does anyone know why Cellarmaker will fill 750ml, 1L, and 64oz growlers, but they won't fill a 32oz growler? I can't figure out why a 32oz is treated differently than a 1L?

 

[Sage1]

Did you ask your server at Cellarmaker why they won't fill 32's?

 

[jeberman]

Did you ask your server at Cellarmaker why they won't fill 32's?

It was packed today and I didn't want to get into it. She didn't offer any explanation when I tried to get my 32oz filled and suggested I buy a 1L growler from them, which I declined.

 

[drgarage1]

It was packed today and I didn't want to get into it. She didn't offer any explanation when I tried to get my 32oz filled and suggested I buy a 1L growler from them, which I declined.

They're not licensed for it. It's very boring.

 

[stupac2]

They're not licensed for it. It's very boring.

Right, but 1L and 32 ounces are like 6% off from each other. It would be surprising to me if that weren't already in the margin of error for a fill.

 

[jeberman]

If you're going through the trouble to get licensed for three other sizes, why not get the fourth size that is so close to a 1L?

I'm not trying to bitch, it was just surprising to me that they would fill so many other sizes but not a standard 32oz glass growler. I figured there must be a good reason for it because they clearly want to encourage people to get growler fills.

 

[drgarage1]

If you're going through the trouble to get licensed for three other sizes, why not get the fourth size that is so close to a 1L?

I'm not trying to bitch, it was just surprising to me that they would fill so many other sizes but not a standard 32oz glass growler. I figured there must be a good reason for it because they clearly want to encourage people to get growler fills.

They are licensed for 750s, too. Maybe the incremental cost to the fifth one is high? There definitely aren't many Bay Area Brewers using 32s as much as they do in SD or Portland...

 

[falc0n26001]

They are licensed for 750s, too. Maybe the incremental cost to the fifth one is high? There definitely aren't many Bay Area Brewers using 32s as much as they do in SD or Portland...

Licensed for 750s...? Is there anywhere besides Hill Farmstead that has 750ml growlers? It's also weird that you have to be licensed for specific sizes. That's the first I've heard of such a law in California. Why does California have to be so weird?

 

[jtmartino1]

Being approved for growler sizes is not a license thing - it's just a label approval thing. Brewers need to apply for label approval using form ABC-412 which must indicate container size, origin, ABV, etc.

Usually breweries will apply for all growlers they can reasonably fill. Then their labels will include a check-box for each size covered under the label approval. If a brewery claims they can't fill a specific size it's because they are lying or they were too lazy to add that volume to the form.

Any brewery that doesn't have label approval for every beer they put in growlers is "breaking the law". I don't know the efficiency of California's ABC but that seems like a lot of time and work to approve every beer produced by a brewery. Granted, you can list multiple beers per ABC-412 form (section 22) but it's still a PITA.


I don't work in the industry and yet I have a feeling most brewery employees don't know this simple information.

 

[Arbitrator]

It's also weird that you have to be licensed for specific sizes. That's the first I've heard of such a law in California. Why does California have to be so weird?

Not denying that it's weird, but if it's the first you've heard of it, how long were you following this stuff?

Any brewery that doesn't have label approval for every beer they put in growlers is "breaking the law".

Reminds me of Scumbag Kern: won't fill other breweries' growlers (it's "against the law") but doesn't list ABV on the fill.

Whatever, I've flat-out given up on buying new growlers. It is apparently more valuable to many breweries to make sure that I keep my money in my pocket.

~~~

On that note, it sounds like Russian River ran out of Framboise for a Cure well before the 2 weeks they promised, and had to lower limits, as well. I didn't go this year, but I have to take this comment:

Four bottles per person seems like plenty, daily metering is a great idea. Announcing it in advance was probably a bad idea, but overall, I'm grudgingly impressed.

And revert back to this one:

I predict RR will release this beer in a widely-agreed-to-be-retarded fashion for a popular brewery in 2014.

How. Do you not know. How many bottles you have.

 

[falc0n26001]

Not denying that it's weird, but if it's the first you've heard of it, how long were you following this stuff?

Why can't they just write the container size on the tag like they do with the name and ABV of the beer? That's what SARA does.

 

[stupac2]

Why can't they just write the container size on the tag like they do with the name and ABV of the beer? That's what SARA does.

SARA probably has approval for all the sizes. They just need to fill out a form and pay like $250 and apparently Cellarmaker didn't do that for 32 ounce.

 

[Arbitrator]

Why can't they just write the container size on the tag like they do with the name and ABV of the beer? That's what SARA does.

Dude, I'm with you on this one. I'm just asking why you are surprised if you've been following CA growler laws at all for the past couple of years. They're pretty dumb, but breweries in general are purposely playing dumber.

 

[johnnyramirez]

How. Do you not know. How many bottles you have.

Counting is hard

 

[falc0n26001]

Dude, I'm with you on this one. I'm just asking why you are surprised if you've been following CA growler laws at all for the past couple of years. They're pretty dumb, but breweries in general are purposely playing dumber.

I agree, I'm just surprised that there's even a difference between 1L and 32 oz sizes, since, like stupac2 said, they're pretty close to the same size. If I were a brewery I would fill out just about every single size I could think of on the approval form, since it's just one form you have to fill out. But I agree, the breweries aren't exactly making it easy.

 

[evilhead]

Why can't they just write the container size on the tag like they do with the name and ABV of the beer? That's what SARA does.

They do..

SARA's don't state the size, they just date the back /shrug

 

[falc0n26001]

I've had SARA growlers with "1L" written on them, like in this pic:

In any case, it's really silly. It's been nice walking into most bars/grocery stores in Portland and just filling up an awesome beer from a variety of breweries, usually around $10.

 

[evilhead]

It's unfortunate but I have to admit the folks @ SARA have given me the most hassles when trying to fill my growlers. "I'm sorry but this growler is too wet"; "it's all gone" (while filling for ppl in front of & behind me); "we don't fill funerary urns" (my ceramic Deschutes jug)... they always ignore me when I ask for a fill of Westly too btw. Can't wait to move back to OR

 

[Arbitrator]

It's been nice walking into most bars/grocery stores in Portland and just filling up an awesome beer from a variety of breweries, usually around $10.

Yeah, that's another pet peeve of mine. I understand cost of living is higher here, so arguably 50% more for fills (Russian River, Alpine being $15) is tolerable. I think SARA at $18 is pricey, Cellarmaker at $23 is expensive, and [some] Pizza Port at $30 is pants-on-head retarded. It seems like breweries aren't united on whether we are paying them for the convenience of taking beer home, or whether they are they giving us a discount on volume. Or maybe there isn't enough competition here.

/Legalize growler fills at gas stations and groceries

 

[jtmartino1]

Yeah, that's another pet peeve of mine. I understand cost of living is higher here, so arguably 50% more for fills (Russian River, Alpine being $15) is tolerable. I think SARA at $18 is pricey, Cellarmaker at $23 is expensive, and [some] Pizza Port at $30 is pants-on-head retarded. It seems like breweries aren't united on whether we are paying them for the convenience of taking beer home, or whether they are they giving us a discount on volume. Or maybe there isn't enough competition here.

/Legalize growler fills at gas stations and groceries

Filling growlers is the most profitable venture possible by breweries per oz. The only overhead is the time required for the fill, which is not really any longer than filling an equivalent volume of pints.

And unlike pints, growlers don't have to be washed or bussed by the brewery.

Per oz sold, growlers have the highest margins of any beer manufactured by a brewery. And they don't have to cut the price for distribution like they would if they provided beer to a bar or gas station for growler fills.

More simple **** that seems to fly way over breweries' collective heads.

 

[falc0n26001]

Yeah, that's another pet peeve of mine. I understand cost of living is higher here, so arguably 50% more for fills (Russian River, Alpine being $15) is tolerable. I think SARA at $18 is pricey, Cellarmaker at $23 is expensive, and [some] Pizza Port at $30 is pants-on-head retarded. It seems like breweries aren't united on whether we are paying them for the convenience of taking beer home, or whether they are they giving us a discount on volume. Or maybe there isn't enough competition here.

/Legalize growler fills at gas stations and groceries

So far the cheapest I've seen is $7, and I've also seen special 2for1 deals where you can get two fills for $9. I've also seen La Folie for $15.

 

[RyanG1]

So far the cheapest I've seen is $7, and I've also seen special 2for1 deals where you can get two fills for $9. I've also seen La Folie for $15.

#notincaliforniabutyougottoloveoregoninsertsmileyface

 

[bdogg1]

lol ^^^

 

[falc0n26001]

#notincaliforniabutyougottoloveoregoninsertsmileyface

I was at Berryessa Brewing in Winters yesterday and it was $10 a fill for really amazing beer. About an hour from the bay area!

 

[johnnyramirez]

Has anyone tried the new Rare Barrel boysenberry sour? How is it?