Black Friday Goose Island Release Events (multi-state)

[tehzachatak]

That was the last post on this, I swear.

Does it have to be?

 

[BusinessSloth]

Anyone else picking up on peanut butter notes in the finish of 2013 BCBS? Maybe I just love PB so much that I'm imagining it.

 

[MordorMongo]

Anyone else picking up on peanut butter notes in the finish of 2013 BCBS? Maybe I just love PB so much that I'm imagining it.

My guess?? :

LYMI, been waiting to use that one.

 

[lb304854]

Hmm, I wonder who's going to take over Eclipse. I guess I'll just be able to ask Alicia and Andy soon enough.

Also, this has to be in the running for least-on-topic thread on BT.

Did you end up asking them?

 

[stupac2]

Did you end up asking them?

Oh, right. Apparently Todd's not actually leaving. At some point during the party he stood up to give a "thank you for coming" speech and said something like "I'm sure a lot of you have heard rumors that I'm leaving, but I'm staying here!" Though they do have a new brewer, Alyssa something or other. (Woods? It's hard to tell from her signature.)

 

[Arbitrator]

Oh, right. Apparently Todd's not actually leaving. At some point during the party he stood up to give a "thank you for coming" speech and said something like "I'm sure a lot of you have heard rumors that I'm leaving, but I'm staying here!"

The odd thing is that he was the one who started those rumors.

 

[HenrikO]

I called them out on their ******** in the forums.

I was particularly vocal about the FfaC nonsense, since RR donates all proceeds to charity. They distributed it to Beer Rev, Toronado, Trappist, and City Beer Store and asked them to sell it with no markup. Guess which one of those added $5 to the price?

I posted about it on BA and e-mailed Vinnie, who was apparently pretty pissed. Craig later messaged me on BA and asked me not to step foot in his store. He doesn't know who I am, so I don't care, but I still don't shop there.

Among other places where I seem to be unwelcome:

- Perry's Liquors in Livermore. Harpreet (the owner/buyer) claimed RR was brewing his store a special beer. I e-mailed Vinnie, who denied it. I posted a review and mocked Harpreet for lying. I also called them out on their back room of illegal beer and high prices. Harpreet told me (through a mutual friend) that he'd throw me out if I ever went back. I'd love to see the little **** try, but I don't go there anyway.

- Grape & Grain in San Mateo. The beer manager remarked that he held back bricks of Westvleteren 12 to break them up and sell them at a profit later. I posted that this was ******** (post was deleted). I commented on said ******** locally, and word got out to Adam. I think I'm unofficially banned.

- Whole Foods Los Altos. The old beer manager, Ramon, used to sell old IPAs. He once had a 4-month old end display of Pliny (this was years ago, when you could actually get Pliny in quantity) and he attempted to sell it with the claim that "Vinnie likes it with a little bit of age." Since the label explicitly says, "DO NOT AGE," I wrote a review expressing my derision, and Ramon contacted me to argue. He said that Vinnie was changing the Pliny label to reflect its ageability. Once again, I e-mailed Vinnie to check -- ********, of course -- and I posted a link to my BM exchange with Ramon. Apparently Whole Foods found it, and since Ramon was already on probation, he got fired. He ran into me earlier this year and shattered two Cantillon bottles in my face (empty). Sadly, the new buyer is even worse, so I haven't gone back.

- Monument in Concord. This was my go-to store for a period of about a year; it was over an hour away, but it had an amazing selection and very fair prices. Unfortunately, the beer buyer left, the selection stagnated, prices went up, and the overall experience wasn't worth it. There were cases and cases of year+ old IPAs gathering dust on the floor. On one trip, I saw FW XII in the display for $60 a bottle (this was when XIII came out I think) and I expressed surprise to my wife. The clerk (who always recognized me) overheard me and said angrily, "Someone will pay it. If you don't like it, don't buy it." I also later discovered they were breaking up and reselling Westy XII packs. I'm not banned exactly... Self-banned maybe?

- Cask & Flask in San Jose. I used to go there when I worked nearby. I realized that they had a Bruery RS membership and were selling RS-exclusive beers at a markup, and I wrote a review mentioning that. They messaged me and asked me not to return if I have a problem with their practices. I haven't gone back.

- FiftyFifty. I was a big champion of Eclipse in 2009 when people first started paying attention to it. I realized later that there was substantial bottle variation -- it wasn't debilitating in the 2009s, but it was pretty bad in the 2010 batch, and I wrote a series of reviews chronicling my journey through the ups and downs of various bottles. The brewer took offense and called me out through a series of private messages and even in person at the Eclipse anniversary party. I stopped reviewing his beers after that and have mostly ceased buying Eclipse (I didn't buy any in 2012 and just bought a couple for this year).


I'm seriously unimpressed with the caliber of people in the bottle shop business -- way too many unethical folks. I used to champion mom 'n' pop as a rule, but now I'd much rather support a large corporation like Whole Foods or BevMo.

You've been banned from 7 bottle shops?
How many bars?

I want to drink with you. Sounds like a blast.

 

[Arbitrator]

You've been banned from 7 bottle shops?
How many bars?

There's a followup list a few posts after the ones you quoted. At this point I'm not welcome in City Beer Store (half taproom), Grape 'n' Grain (half taproom), Livermore Saloon (owned by Perry's) and a few more.

I want to drink with you. Sounds like a blast.

Not sure if you're sincere, but good luck finding a bar that will have me.

 

[Arbitrator]

You've been banned from 7 bottle shops?
How many bars?

I want to drink with you. Sounds like a blast.

Incidentally, I did myself no favors with Fieldwork, a new brewery in the Bay Area. After their soft opening, someone posted this in a Facebook group devoted to Bay Area beer.

Turns out the brewer, Barry Braden, pays close attention and even commented on that post (I didn't know he was the brewer). Heard through the grapevine that he's inquiring "who the **** that Theodore Swimmer is." When Fieldwork had their grand opening a month ago, the guys didn't even invite me because they probably knew I'd get them thrown out.

So, you could argue I've been banned from a place before it even opened. No ragrets. Their beer is just ok so far, and **** their restrictive growler fill policies.