Spotted Cow

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Found this while perusing Craigslist (Nashville) tonight. Have to respect the guy's entrepreneurship, but at $14.59/bottle it can't be that good.

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Had it - meh. Tastes like your run-of-the-mill Blonde Ale, which is a crowd pleaser but nothing special. Scarcity principle at work.

Scarcity Principle in Social Psychology
Psychologists have been able to draw a connection between scarce goods and behavioral tendencies of consumers. According to their study, a scarce good often arouse a feeling of being wanted over other goods. When a product is scarce, people would like to purchase it, despite that they may not have the financial capacity to buy it. A product that is not scarce on the other hand, attracts little value and people do not desire it as much as they want scarce products. According to the psychologists, social proof and commitment are the underlying concepts of scarcity principle. Based on social proof, there is often a high tendency that people see a scarce product as a product of higher quality. On the part of commitment, people are more committed to purchase a scarce product than a product that is not scarce.
 
Definitely a good beer, but I wouldn't call it anything special. I live a couple hours from there and wouldn't make a special trip for it. Their Dancing Man Wheat on the other hand...that is a really great beer IMO.

Regardless, I can't think of many beers I would pay that kind of money for. It would have to have a solid gold cap and be able to drive me home.
 
It's okay beer. If it was available outside of Wisconsin, people wouldn't think so highly of it.

And I'm pretty sure that dude is bootlegging, and probably won't end well for him.
 
I can drink Spotted Cow whenever I want. It's everywhere around here. But I haven't had it in years.

Why?

It sucks. It's a hazy cream ale. And not even a great cream ale. The only reasons it's famous are:

1) It's only available in Wisconsin, and

2) It was hazy back when hazy was unique, and posers thought hazy was cool. Folks... That was like 20-25 years ago. It wasn't actually cool then, and it's not actually cool now either.

Anyone willing to pay anything for a crappy hazy cream ale is not trying hard enough to be cool.

Also, I could be wrong, but I believe that anyone selling this online out of state is breaking the law. I don't really care, but I'm sure the Careys do. Don't advertise too loudly and you'll be alright. I've been to the castle in New Glarus, WI. They have a few dollars to sue you with if they want to.

To be fair, a lot of the New Glarus beers are fantastic. I love their Two Women Lager. That being said... I'd much rather drink ANY of their beers OTHER than Spotted Cow.
 
I love Spotted Cow and I'm lucky I can drive up to Kenosha any time I need to stock up. Great beer but IMO not at all worth what this clown is asking. For that much money you could get into the hobby and learn to clone it.

Now if someone was selling cases of Beau's Lug Tread...
I'd def lay down some serious cash to get my hands on that sweet ambrosia.
 
.....Based on social proof, there is often a high tendency that people see a scarce product as a product of higher quality.

This is an excellent point, there are plenty of hard to get yet mediocre beers. Some breweries abuse this psychological tendency to manipulate their customers.

Yeah I'm looking at you Three Floyds.

Lotteries to get your name on a list for a "limited edition" beer?
Standing in line for hours to overpay for craft beer? For shame.

It's just beer FFS, brewed in a perfectly crappy part of town.
 
... I could be wrong, but I believe that anyone selling this online out of state is breaking the law. I don't really care, but I'm sure the Careys do.
I don't think the brewery owner really does cause their not on the hook for the violation.
However, in moonshine country there is a group that has become rather adept at tracking and catching those who violate revenue laws on alcohol, just sayin... :confused:

I would think twice about advertising on the Wild Wild Web.
 
This is an excellent point, there are plenty of hard to get yet mediocre beers. Some breweries abuse this psychological tendency to manipulate their customers.

Yeah I'm looking at you Three Floyds.

Lotteries to get your name on a list for a "limited edition" beer?
Standing in line for hours to overpay for craft beer? For shame.

It's just beer FFS, brewed in a perfectly crappy part of town.

applestore.jpg
 
I don't think the brewery owner really does cause their not on the hook for the violation.
However, in moonshine country there is a group that has become rather adept at tracking and catching those who violate revenue laws on alcohol, just sayin... :confused:

I would think twice about advertising on the Wild Wild Web.
Moonshine country? Like say, Franklin, Tennessee?
 
I can drink Spotted Cow whenever I want. It's everywhere around here. But I haven't had it in years.

Why?

It sucks. It's a hazy cream ale. And not even a great cream ale. The only reasons it's famous are:
biggest let down i've ever experienced from a beer. it was so over-hyped there was no way it could live up to the reputation.
 
Franklin Co. TN is dry, IIRC. Maybe the seller thinks the price is worthy, given his risk.
When I was a kid my dad would take us down some weekends to a boating lake in TN that was in a dry County. He would stash cases of Miller in every compartment of our boat, several dozen in total. When we got down there, my brother and I would set up camp while dad took the boat down to the slip; he'd have it all sold and a pocket full of cash within an hour or so, the boat all gassed up and ready to spend the day out on the water. Reelfoot Lake IIRC? The marina had motorized canoes powered by lawnmower engines that you could rent, we had way too much fun with those.
 
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Agree on this one. I'm in IL and folks bring it back as if they've found gold. It's all about the psychology that you 'can't buy it here'. Now if it was really good I'd understand. His asking price I'm sure is due to his location. Cheaper to pay $14 a bottle than drive to WI from TN. However, Nashville has plenty of good breweries like Southern Grist that make way better beer than Spotted Cow IMO.
 
If you ever get the chance to hang out at the brewery's beer garden on a sunny afternoon absolutely do it, they've made a wonderful spot. Spotted Cow is my least favorite of their beers, and I still like it just fine. Their Lambics and other fruited sours are the best bet IMO.
 
New Glarus - Wisconsin Belgium Red. Has to be one of the better cherry beers out there. Its not like drinking cough syrup. It's a nice place to visit. They set up their tasting area very nicely.
 
If you ever get the chance to hang out at the brewery's beer garden on a sunny afternoon absolutely do it, they've made a wonderful spot. Spotted Cow is my least favorite of their beers, and I still like it just fine. Their Lambics and other fruited sours are the best bet IMO.

The brewery is worth a trip if you're in the area. It's built on a hilltop, and the beer garden has a commanding view of the area. They have a big sales room where you can buy beer in sixers or cases on the way out. If they have Serendipity, pick some up--it's awesome.
 
I don't know about over hyped. It's not really hyped at all. But it is just a solid local beer for Wisconsin. New Glarus has many other beers I would rather drink though. They discontinued their best beer a few years , Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale.
 
I don't know about over hyped. It's not really hyped at all. But it is just a solid local beer for Wisconsin. New Glarus has many other beers I would rather drink though. They discontinued their best beer a few years , Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale.

I saw the Fat Squirrel not too long ago, maybe 8 or 9 months ago. It still pops up from time to time.
 
New Glarus reminds me of Leinenkugel's they make solid beers for the masses. Nothing offensive and nothing bad but also nothing bold that stands out in any kind of spectacular fashion. All the trips made through Wisconsin and I've never brought any back home but I do know a few people that won't come home with out some type on New Glarus beer.
 
When I was a kid my dad would take us down some weekends to a boating lake in TN that was in a dry County. He would stash cases of Miller in every compartment of our boat, several dozen in total. When we got down there, my brother and I would set up camp while dad took the boat down to the slip; he'd have it all sold and a pocket full of cash within an hour or so, the boat all gassed up and ready to spend the day out on the water. Reelfoot Lake IIRC? The marina had motorized canoes powered by lawnmower engines that you could rent, we had way too much fun with those.
Reelfoot Lake. Neat place. Camped there a few times in Big Grey the Prairie Schooner (RV) while traversing East Coast to Western destinations. Did you know that the lake was formed when the Mississippi River flowed backwards for a period of time following the New Madrid earthquake swarm between 1811-1812. Strange-Happenings-during-the-Earthquake

The largest magnitude quake was estimated to be 8.1 on the Richter scale, which is UGE! Who woulda' thunk it, in the middle of nowhere, flatland mud-basin cotton growing Delta land between Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi? The area east of the subduction zone was raised tens of feet above the surrounding landscape, forming Reelfoot Lake. It's pretty big East to West. Used to fly over it quite often when I was based at NAS Memphis back in the early 80s. Also, GREAT Bass fishing if you're into that.

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Reelfoot Lake. Neat place. Camped there a few times in Big Grey the Prairie Schooner (RV) while traversing East Coast to Western destinations. Did you know that the lake was formed when the Mississippi River flowed backwards for a period of time following the New Madrid earthquake swarm between 1811-1812. Strange-Happenings-during-the-Earthquake

The largest magnitude quake was estimated to be 8.1 on the Richter scale, which is UGE! Who woulda' thunk it, in the middle of nowhere, flatland mud-basin cotton growing Delta land between Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi? The area east of the subduction zone was raised tens of feet above the surrounding landscape, forming Reelfoot Lake. It's pretty big East to West. Used to fly over it quite often when I was based at NAS Memphis back in the early 80s. Also, GREAT Bass fishing if you're into that.

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I hadn't heard of the earthquake, thanks for that! We pulled a lot of smallmouth out of the cypress groves for sure, great big crappie too. My brother and I would do a lot of panfishing with ultralight gear, took forever fileting a couple of buckets full of fish but damned tasty. Dad would fry them up breaded with pancake mix and cornmeal.
 
I hadn't heard of the earthquake, thanks for that! We pulled a lot of smallmouth out of the cypress groves for sure, great big crappie too. My brother and I would do a lot of panfishing with ultralight gear, took forever fileting a couple of buckets full of fish but damned tasty. Dad would fry them up breaded with pancake mix and cornmeal.
The small mouth bass are more common up there, and the large mouth become more common to the south in Central Mississippi. Good fightin' fish, but not like the Muskie up north.
 
The small mouth bass are more common up there, and the large mouth become more common to the south in Central Mississippi. Good fightin' fish, but not like the Muskie up north.
We lived on an inland lake in northern Florida for a few years, 83-85 iirc. All summer fishing the mangroves, large mouth so big you could put a fist in there. Broke back Rapala and a halting retrieve was a sure bet, zig-zagging along between 6" and 24" below the surface across some cover at dawn and dusk. Just watch out for the gators.
 
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