Visited Beaus Yesterday

jprime · Post by **jprime** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:53 am

hey all,

I visited Beaus yesterday to see if they had anything interesting in the store that i cant get at the LCBO. When I walked in I was happy to see a whole shelf of RyePA aged in BB and a Double IPA called Double Wide aged in BB. I proceded to try to purchase said beer and was told that I needed to buy a $300 beer of the month membership to get the beer. I was standing there with my money out trying to their product and they wouldn`t sell it. Such a wierd business model and to be honest really pissed me off. Does anyone else think this is a bit wierd. Maybe i`m off base. I feel sad that these hoppy beer continue to site in the fridge and get old instead of coming home with me to get drank with my friends.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:20 am

http://www.beaus.ca/beer/greener_futures

I wouldn't be too concerned about a "hoppy beer" sitting in a fridge for just a bit longer after its already been in bourbon barrels for x number of months.

jprime · Post by **jprime** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:10 pm

That's not the point at all. Way better being consumed than sitting there.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:33 pm

jprime wrote:That's not the point at all. Way better being consumed than sitting there.

And most will be consumed shortly. A majority of them are likely already paid for/allocated to members (myself included) who have put the money down in advance and will be receiving them shortly. Money for signing up for the 'club' goes towards helping Beau's become a self-sustaining brewery - help the brewery out with some money, and they'll help you out with ~30 BA'd beers. Besides, if the beers aren't collected within a short period of time after they're released, the bottles are subject to public sale.

boney · Post by **boney** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:33 pm

I read about that beer club. I like Beau's a lot and will gladly support them with my hard earned money, but a $300 beer club strikes me as being somewhat elitist and alienating. Plus, how annoying must it be for their shop employees to explain to e everyone that comes in and sees those beers that, no, those are only available if you join the beer club.

Overall, I think they want to do something special for hard core fans, but I can't think that it will generate much good will.

ErkLR · Post by **ErkLR** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 2:57 pm

boney wrote:I read about that beer club. I like Beau's a lot and will gladly support them with my hard earned money, but a $300 beer club strikes me as being somewhat elitist and alienating. Plus, how annoying must it be for their shop employees to explain to e everyone that comes in and sees those beers that, no, those are only available if you join the beer club.

Overall, I think they want to do something special for hard core fans, but I can't think that it will generate much good will.

I don't see how it's elitist since anyone with $300 can plonk it down and join. However, having them out on display when they are not for sale is a poor idea I think.

I would never do something like that club mostly because I would forget to pick up half of the beers.

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 3:41 pm

Amazing how not having access to something drives beer geeks so bonkers. Beau's can sell what they want to who they want for how much they want. Nothing was stopping you from buying those beers but the price.

I don't begrudge them keeping the beers in the open either, maybe visitors who aren't just tickers would be tempted to sign up for the program.

Good for those of you who supported thr program, is too rich for my blood, but like the idea.

boney · Post by **boney** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:25 pm

The reason I call it elitist is that I know plopping down $300 up front is unreasonible for many. I could, but I know that it is a complete luxury in the big scheme if things.

Beau's are indeed a buisiness and as such thry can charge whatever they want and I know it's going to the greater cause of building beau's. There are also lots of beers I don't have availability to and I don't sweat it. Not blinking ay dropping $300 on a luxury purchase does, however, illustrate the inequity in our society regardless of current income and I have no problem causing it elitist.

jprime · Post by **jprime** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:05 pm

liamt07 wrote:
jprime wrote:That's not the point at all. Way better being consumed than sitting there.
And most will be consumed shortly. A majority of them are likely already paid for/allocated to members (myself included) who have put the money down in advance and will be receiving them shortly. Money for signing up for the 'club' goes towards helping Beau's become a self-sustaining brewery - help the brewery out with some money, and they'll help you out with ~30 BA'd beers. Besides, if the beers aren't collected within a short period of time after they're released, the bottles are subject to public sale.

According to the website the ryepa was released on February 23 so i don't buy your "consumed shortly "thing. I simply saw beer displayed in the cooler that they wouldn't sell me. It's a discussion thing not a fight. I am not a ticcker, just want to drink new beer that i haven't tried. This is why i visit numerous brewers. I have a trunk full of beer through my travels through Vermont , NH, Mass, and Maine so ellusiveness isn't what I'm after, just a fair shot at trying new things. Also, i have no problem spending 300 bucks on beer but i don't find it "green" to drive from Toronto to bears every month to pick up a beer

S. St. Jeb · Post by **S. St. Jeb** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:24 pm

ErkLR wrote:However, having them out on display when they are not for sale is a poor idea I think.

This is the key point for me.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:29 pm

S. St. Jeb wrote:
ErkLR wrote:However, having them out on display when they are not for sale is a poor idea I think.
This is the key point for me.

I have to agree with that as well. I can only imagine the excitement that jprime felt when he saw these in the fridge only to be told he could not buy them.

cfrancis · Post by **cfrancis** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:20 pm

There are multiple breweries doing something like this. The Bruery in California has their elitest group and now they are starting an elitest of the elite group by invite only.

Beau's was trying to come up with the capital in order to put solar panels on their brewery. As someone that has attempted to do that at their church, I know how hard it is to come up with financing from a bank. They took an great idea in order to raise capital and launched it. If they allowed just anyone to purchase that beer, where would the incentive be to purchase a $300 share?

At first they were allowing people to purchase the BA beers but now they have a sufficient level of members that they have to shut the general public out or else they may not be able to satisfy the membership.

And they should have them on display, how else are they going to get people to find out about the program and support them? You didn't know about it before, perhaps you know about what they are trying to do now. It's not for you, you move on.

$300 for 30 beers equals $10 a bottle for an exclusive BA beer, extremely respectable in my mind.

heebes · Post by **heebes** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:57 am

well said

ErkLR · Post by **ErkLR** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 10:24 am

boney wrote:The reason I call it elitist is that I know plopping down $300 up front is unreasonible for many. I could, but I know that it is a complete luxury in the big scheme if things.

Beau's are indeed a buisiness and as such thry can charge whatever they want and I know it's going to the greater cause of building beau's. There are also lots of beers I don't have availability to and I don't sweat it. Not blinking ay dropping $300 on a luxury purchase does, however, illustrate the inequity in our society regardless of current income and I have no problem causing it elitist.

That is a funny definition of elitist. Any beer, especially craft beer, is a luxury to many people. I'm going to guess you don't pass over your favourite craft beer and buy Laker instead or just forgo beer altogether because there are people out there that can't afford it. There's a pretty big difference between buying the luxury items you can afford and being a wealthy Libertarian telling all the proles that they're poor because they're lazy.

cfrancis wrote:And they should have them on display, how else are they going to get people to find out about the program and support them?

How about a sign? I just think displaying things that are not for sale in a store (the purpose of which is to sell things), is a bit silly.

phirleh · Post by **phirleh** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:08 am

ErkLR wrote: How about a sign? I just think displaying things that are not for sale in a store (the purpose of which is to sell things), is a bit silly.

I think that is the obvious and simple solution. You should be making people want your products, not leave feeling deceived.