The Bar Towel

When I dropped by there last winter, there were several beers from this program in the cooler. The clerk happily sold me some. She said they had brewed more than they had subscribers for. Maybe that does not always happen, but I got lucky.

As for the spirit of this 'club', I think it is excellent. They came up with a creative way to raise capital and gave themselves an excuse to experiment with more recipes. In the end, it will make for a stronger brewery that will benefit all of us through great beer for years to come.

I know of some small distilleries that have sold shares in vintages. Years ago my dad went in with a bunch of people on a barrel of single malt through his alumni club. When you lay down a whisky for 20+ years, it's pretty hard to raise capital in a market that is looking for short term returns. This allowed the distillery some extra cash flow to expand production and the alumni club, that expects to be around for years to come, will get a cut of any profits from the whiskey that does not get consumed by the members. Win win.

ErkLR wrote:

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.

I agree the display issue is the heart of the issue and is poorly concieved.

The whole elitist thing.....didn't mean to do a minor thread jacking, so this will be the last I'll say on the issue. The division between luxury purchase and elitism is likely different for everyone. I'm not going to give my whole biography to give you context about why I'm calling it elitest. I'll just say that my threshold for calling something elitist is likely very low compared to others and $300 is a lot of money, no matter how you slice it.

To each his own.

all Beau's needed to do was clearly display these products in a manner that clearly advertised them as being a special "beer club" release

then they would be getting inquires about the club rather then the beer they wont sell you

if these "beer club" beers are just in the fridge with all the normal for sale product then thats pretty decieving

i wouldnt worry about it too much jeff, your trunk was already full with beer that is almost certainly better then these beaus you "missed out on"

It`s a good idea, and I applaud Beau`s for taking the step.
Perhaps the beers should not be on display though, as it could be misleading as in this case.

In any event, I am sure there is a pale lager at the LCBO you could go tick off if you want something new.

boney wrote: I'll just say that my threshold for calling something elitist is likely very low compared to others and $300 is a lot of money, no matter how you slice it.

To each his own.

$300 is a lot of money but when you consider the beer that you get for the $300 it really isn't. What's the difference between one $300 "beer club" purchase from Beau's or 6 different $50 LCBO purchases to get the same quantity of beer (and probably lesser quality)?

I realize that coming up with $300 in one shot for beer is not something that many people can afford. But that's the point, isn't it? It allows supply and demand to not be too far out of whack. Same goes for the Bruery Reserve Society ... and any other similar club.

SteelbackGuy wrote:It`s a good idea, and I applaud Beau`s for taking the step.
Perhaps the beers should not be on display though, as it could be misleading as in this case.

In any event, I am sure there is a pale lager at the LCBO you could go tick off if you want something new.

jeff doesnt even rate beer, and he certainly doesnt tick

matt7215 wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:It`s a good idea, and I applaud Beau`s for taking the step.
Perhaps the beers should not be on display though, as it could be misleading as in this case.

In any event, I am sure there is a pale lager at the LCBO you could go tick off if you want something new.

jeff doesnt even rate beer, and he certainly doesnt tick

Not my problem.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:

boney wrote: I'll just say that my threshold for calling something elitist is likely very low compared to others and $300 is a lot of money, no matter how you slice it.

To each his own.

$300 is a lot of money but when you consider the beer that you get for the $300 it really isn't. What's the difference between one $300 "beer club" purchase from Beau's or 6 different $50 LCBO purchases to get the same quantity of beer (and probably lesser quality)?

I realize that coming up with $300 in one shot for beer is not something that many people can afford. But that's the point, isn't it? It allows supply and demand to not be too far out of whack. Same goes for the Bruery Reserve Society ... and any other similar club.

Like a gold and country club? Like owning an Amex Gold? To a lesser extent, having a costco membership?

You can bring a wad of cash to costco and it doesn't mean squat if you haven't purchased a membership.

boney wrote: The whole elitist thing.....didn't mean to do a minor thread jacking, so this will be the last I'll say on the issue. The division between luxury purchase and elitism is likely different for everyone. I'm not going to give my whole biography to give you context about why I'm calling it elitest. I'll just say that my threshold for calling something elitist is likely very low compared to others and $300 is a lot of money, no matter how you slice it.

To each his own.

OK. $300 is a good chunk of change to me too. ...at least until my army of bat-cats takes over the world.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:$300 is a lot of money but when you consider the beer that you get for the $300 it really isn't. What's the difference between one $300 "beer club" purchase from Beau's or 6 different $50 LCBO purchases to get the same quantity of beer (and probably lesser quality)?

I realize that coming up with $300 in one shot for beer is not something that many people can afford. But that's the point, isn't it? It allows supply and demand to not be too far out of whack. Same goes for the Bruery Reserve Society ... and any other similar club.

Except it's not a $300 beer club, it's a fundraiser with creative benefits. If you don't want to support a brewery trying to gear up for the future and take some token artisanal beers as a thank you, then don't. I won't sell you some of my best homebrews either; don't be offended, I might just give you some if you drop by.

SteelbackGuy wrote:

matt7215 wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:It`s a good idea, and I applaud Beau`s for taking the step.
Perhaps the beers should not be on display though, as it could be misleading as in this case.

In any event, I am sure there is a pale lager at the LCBO you could go tick off if you want something new.

jeff doesnt even rate beer, and he certainly doesnt tick

Not my problem.

if its not your problem keep your mouth shut and dont comment. Its a reference from matt to show your comment doesnt make any sense at all.

jprime wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:

matt7215 wrote: jeff doesnt even rate beer, and he certainly doesnt tick

Not my problem.

if its not your problem keep your mouth shut and dont comment. Its a reference from matt to show your comment doesnt make any sense at all.

It shouldn`t come as a surprise. How long you been around here kiddo? You should know what most of my posts don't make sense. I am aware!

As far as the project, it's no different from a CSA share - you're investing up front in the future of this company/farm.

Except this is even a little better as you're getting something particularly good and special.

In terms of the cost - lots of people here plop down hundreds across the border and then shell out another 30% in duty and say it was "worth it".

I find it hard to believe that most of us on here hasn't spent around that much in one sitting beer at some point.

Finally in terms of them having a display - why not? It advertises the products in the "share". This is no more "elitist" than a $10 bottle of Southern Tier.

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 believe the beer in question are listed with a sign of "Greener Futures Barrel Aged Hogan's Goat" etc.

Yes, if you don't know what Greener Futures is, you would have to ask but that also would prompt the question from the customers "What is Greener Futures?"

Good God, are folks honestly suggesting that Beau's is trying to "deceive" with this? So that some innocent patron takes the one step from the cooler to the counter, is told that the beer isn't actually available, and then... what? Is so unable to control themselves that they have to plunk down the $300?

What exactly is the difference between having a sign saying "this not for sale" and actually telling people "sorry, that's not for sale" (and I'm not convinced that there's no signage about Greener Futures at the brewery)?

I suppose it would be too much to ask that folks just relax and accept that the beer isn't available to everyone. I can't understand how the OP, or anyone else, is inconvenienced in any way at all.