Cigar City El Catador Club Thread

[SerenityNow]

Hello El Catador Club Members,

From the day we introduced our El Catador Barrel-aged Beer Club in 2013, our goal was to foster a community of beer lovers who would appreciate our most ambitious and interesting projects and to include as many Cigar City supporters as possible in this community. We've been vigilant about the quality of the beer first and foremost; every beer we've released to our El Catador Club members we've been proud of, and we feel that we've always succeeded in our primary goal of producing world-class beer.


We've also been attentive to the customer service portion of the club. Those who have been with us from Club #1 have seen major improvements to the sign-up process, bottle pick-ups, trustee assignments and nearly every other facet of our interaction with Club members. Based on member feedback, we have made alterations to the El Catador Club, starting in the 8th Edition.

The El Catador 8th Edition Includes:

• 7 bottles (750 ml) of barrel-aged beer
• A gift of one (1) 4-pack of a Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout variant in cans to each El Catador Club member
  • 2 Bottle Members will receive two club gifts per edition
  • A never before canned product!
• Access to 2 El Catador Exclusive Events per club edition
  • Tickets may be limited and be offered on a first-come, first-served basis
• Ability to Renew at a 1 or 2 Bottle Membership
  • Regardless of Previous Member Level
• Increased Tasting Room Benefits
  • El Catador Club members will receive a 20% discount on purchases at the Cigar City Tasting Room or the Oskar Blues Taproom in Boulder, CO
• Additional Pick-up Flexibility
  • Members now have the ability to pick-up or assign trustees to pick-up at the Cigar City Tasting Room in Tampa, FL or the Oskar Blues Taproom in Boulder, CO
    • Once a pick-up location is chosen, it cannot be altered throughout the course of the club

The price for a one bottle membership is now $250
Please Note: Memberships must be renewed by EOD October 18th. After that datethe only way to get back into the club is by rejoining the lottery.

 

[FATSH1TTY]

50 bucks a bottle plus some cans. Hope they are Atleast 16 oz cans!

Makes me question if I want to continue with two bottles now...

 

[Wagon Circler]

50 bucks a bottle plus some cans. Hope they are Atleast 16 oz cans!

Makes me question if I want to continue with two bottles now...

It's 7 bottles not 5.

 

[IndianaJones]

Questioning if I want to stay on with 1 bottle. My 2 bottle memberships are definitely getting the axe. We had 2 2-bottle memberships, will probably go to 1 1-bottle or drop it all together

 

[FATSH1TTY]

It's 7 bottles not 5.

Yeah... I get that. Price increase wise—

200 more for my membership... 4 more bottles.... 50 more bucks for the added bottles each.

 

[jivex5k1]

Yeah... I get that. Price increase wise—

200 more for my membership... 4 more bottles.... 50 more bucks for the added bottles each.

 

[FATSH1TTY]

Yeah da math. It’s like 36 a bottle now, and you get two more. Plus some cans as a welcome gift. Not awful. Not a value.

 

[Mudvayne1988]

I blame hurricane IRMA for this!

 

[SerenityNow]

Yeah da math. It’s like 36 a bottle now, and you get two more. Plus some cans as a welcome gift. Not awful. Not a value.

It’s a little bit of a markup. I think the value is less of a $/bottle, but more of a, do I really want that many total bottles and do I really want to spend that much total $$$. I love CCB, but I value it more at a more manageable 10 bottles than I do at 14 bottles plus 2 4packs (though Zukov variants do excite me!).

I’m sure there’ll be a lot more people splitting memberships or dropping from 2 to 1 because of this. Some year soon I predict CCB will offer a Bruery-style Hoarders membership. Probably end up being a 3 tier system of memberships.

 

[dtx00]

I question the cans. Yea its great this round, but what happens next round?

 

[dtx00]

Also as far as bottle memberships, does this mean you can switch back and forth between 1 and 2 bottle memberships with each new round?

 

[IndianaJones]

Zhukov cans could be great, or could be meh like Vanilla Hazelnut b2. I enjoy CCBs base stout, but I'm not sure the Spinbot imparts flavor as well as Wayne thinks it does.. a lot of their stouts taste the same to me these days. Drinking a LiL b2 now, not getting much cherry or chocolate. Kind of just like the other stouts

 

[FATSH1TTY]

I’ll spin the bottle to see. Just not sure if I wanna keep my 2 bottle...

 

[drbenzo1]

 

[BigGene]

Also as far as bottle memberships, does this mean you can switch back and forth between 1 and 2 bottle memberships with each new round?

Yes, members can choose 1 bottle or 2. I may do 1 this round just because they give us a whole 14 days to pay. Was prepared for $300 but not $500. May cut to 1 this round and 2 next. Unless someone wants to buy one of my sets for $400 then I will get 2. lol

 

[jdhende]

No offense to Cigar City, but there is no way in hell I'm paying them $1k a year for a 2 bottle membership.

 

[IndianaJones]

No offense to Cigar City, but there is no way in hell I'm paying them $1k a year for a 2 bottle membership.

You mean you don't want 28 bottles of beer and 16 cans of Marshal Zhukov for $1000?! You might get more Dis Legomemnon!

 

[deadwing]

No offense to Cigar City, but there is no way in hell I'm paying them $1k a year for a 2 bottle membership.

As opposed to the 900 dollars you presumably paid them last year? Renewal for 5th edition was on 10/10/16.

 

[jivex5k1]

Well now it makes sense why this last edition was a greatest hits album.

 

[Beer4B]

They are certainly pushing the limits on what people will gamble for a BA Huna and/or BA Zhukov variant. I'm not even close to considering this.

Now if 3 of the 7 were Huna, Zhukov, and Leon, then I might regret it - but probably not.

Too much good beer out there for less than $36/each that you don't have to gamble on!

Not to mention, that 20% tasting room discount is practically worthless these days as their to-go and draft list is rarely worth sticking around for when picking up.

 

[Scalzo]

Double Barrel Leon*****


... also what if the can variant is ice distilled DB Zhukov w Former El Catador Club members tears? Surely that ups the ante?

 

[IndianaJones]

Double Barrel Leon*****


... also what if the can variant is ice distilled DB Zhukov w Former El Catador Club members tears? Surely that ups the ante?

Nice thought, but they've already said the Zhukov cans will not be BA

 

[ckoop]

Kind of agree, even though the cash isn't that much more overall I was already questioning re-upping this year even if it stayed the same. I've enjoyed practically everything I've had from the last three rounds since I got in, but I wouldn't say they were all "worth" $30 a bottle. Like if I saw them just sitting in a bottle shop at $30, I probably would've bought 2/3rds of them to try and of those, I'd probably only go back and buy multiples of 3-4 of them.

For me, they were a total luxury purchase for ticking. And even though I personally loved beers like the BA Warmer Winter, Trouseau, and Hard Sauce, I'd just as soon spend the $30 on two four packs of backwoods this fall than either of those (or whatever their future equivalent might be). Fortunately, my brother is re-upping so I'll still get to try the way above replacement beers like BA Huna or Dioscrides.

 

[Mudvayne1988]

Gonna go ahead and drop out as well. Even with the last round being as good as it was the beers still werent great, they were just ok.

 

[dsigmon]

Gonna go ahead and drop out as well. Even with the last round being as good as it was the beers still werent great, they were just ok.

If DB MZ, Bourbon Huna, and LiL weren't considered great in your opinion, would you mind sharing what BA stouts/porters you do consider great? I'm going to have to track them down if they're that much better than those three I listed.

 

[Mudvayne1988]

If DB MZ, Bourbon Huna, and LiL weren't considered great in your opinion, would you mind sharing what BA stouts/porters you do consider great? I'm going to have to track them down if they're that much better than those three I listed.

Both DB Huna b1 and LIL b1 were mind blowing. Sr71 was a life changer. Any bourbon county reg/variant pre 15, DB mexi cake, Morning wood is great IMO also, just to name a few. Maybe im just bored. Im more into sours/mead now

 

[Jb123]

Both DB Huna b1 and LIL b1 were mind blowing. Sr71 was a life changer. Any bourbon county reg/variant pre 15, DB mexi cake, Morning wood is great IMO also, just to name a few. Maybe im just bored. Im more into sours/mead now

Maybe our tastes change, things I used to love I just think are solid now. BCBS is still amazing. Maybe if the beers were harder to acquire you would like them more ???

 

[Mudvayne1988]

That really has nothing to do with it. I really do think my pallet has changed.

 

[Scalzo]

That really has nothing to do with it. I really do think my pallet has changed.

 

[dsigmon]

Both DB Huna b1 and LIL b1 were mind blowing. Sr71 was a life changer. Any bourbon county reg/variant pre 15, DB mexi cake, Morning wood is great IMO also, just to name a few. Maybe im just bored. Im more into sours/mead now

I've had all of the beers you listed and really can't say that they were "great" in comparison to the most recent El Cat beers being just "good." Thanks for the response!