Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

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spzretent
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Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spzretent »

What is up with Three Floyds? I get their FB updates. It seems every few weeks they have a "special release" at $35 per bottle. It seems to me like they have shifted their focus from making great, reasonably priced craft beer to pandering to the comic book/baseball card collector mentality so pervasive with craft beer now. Except they have really began to exploit it.
In Michigan, when say Founders Bolt Cutter came out it was $15 per bomber. Some places probably $20. Not $35 right from the brewery.
They are officially on my shit list.

Read their FB updates:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/ThreeFloydsBrewpub
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TheWarmth
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by TheWarmth »

They're on your shit list because you think those limited bombers are too expensive? A lot of people would say that $16 to $18 for Bell's Hop Slam is outrageous, but both you and I drink it like there's no tomorrow. FFF has a lot of good beer that is reasonably priced. I was there on Friday night and picked up a case of Zombie Dust and a case of Alpha King for $35 each including tax. All of their other bombers are priced at $10. Just don't buy the ones that you think are too expensive. I wouldn't pay $50 for a bomber, but I did buy my buddy a bottle of Robert The Bruce aged with raspberries this summer for $35 and it was amazing. I wouldn't have paid that just to drink it myself, but it was a gift.
Last edited by TheWarmth on Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
redcloud
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by redcloud »

spzretent wrote: It seems every few weeks they have a "special release" at $35 per bottle.
:shock:

$35 for a bottle of beer? LAME.

Even a fine bottle of Chimay Trappist Ale doesn't sell for that money.
spzretent
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spzretent »

72 ounces of Hopslam for $18 vs 22 ounces of whatever they are flogging on FB for $35. Not sure how you can compare the two but oh well.
I dont see any other breweries going to this price extreme except for Brew Dog which quite frankly sucks. If I want something as strong as Tactical Nuclear Penguin at 40GBP i'd just as soon but a nice fifth of single malt.
I think at some point there will be a backlash. $35 is outrageous for a bomber. What do they sell for on the secondary market $150?
At least when Founders or Bells or Dark Horse do something limited its reasonable if you are willing to go to the brewery.
I like the regular FFF beers but out of principle I would never make the effort to buy their beer anymore. I dont really have that issue since you cant get in in Michigan but If I could I would not buy it. Period.
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TheWarmth
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by TheWarmth »

spzretent wrote:72 ounces of Hopslam for $18 vs 22 ounces of whatever they are flogging on FB for $35. Not sure how you can compare the two but oh well.
I dont see any other breweries going to this price extreme except for Brew Dog which quite frankly sucks. If I want something as strong as Tactical Nuclear Penguin at 40GBP i'd just as soon but a nice fifth of single malt.
I think at some point there will be a backlash. $35 is outrageous for a bomber. What do they sell for on the secondary market $150?
At least when Founders or Bells or Dark Horse do something limited its reasonable if you are willing to go to the brewery.
I like the regular FFF beers but out of principle I would never make the effort to buy their beer anymore. I dont really have that issue since you cant get in in Michigan but If I could I would not buy it. Period.
You'll never buy their beer again, even though you obviously enjoy it and don't have an issue with the prices of any of their beers aside from the ultra limited ones that you can only get if you happen to be at the brewery within a few days of their release? I ran across bottles of 2012 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout aged with cherries the other day and they were $40 a bomber. I just didn't buy it. I agree it's too expensive, but not something to get upset about. I bought two bottles of regular BCS for $7 each instead.

Also, keep in mind that FFF does a TON of special, seasonal brews that are generally priced at $10 a bomber. I bought two bottles of Rye'd Da Tiger (a rye IPA) at my local beer store just yesterday for $11.99 each (would have been $10 if I had gotten them at the brewery).
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by TheWarmth »

The reason I made the Hop Slam comparison was that there are a lot of people out there who would absolutely never spend $16 on a six pack of beer, just like you wouldn't spend $35 on a bomber. Heck, a lot of people wouldn't spend $10 on a six pack. Everyone has their own definition of what is within reason. I agree with you, $35 to $50 for a bomber really is too much, but I'm not going to let it stop me from enjoying the rest of the FFF beers, which are priced in line with all of the other craft stuff out there.
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spzretent »

There are so many reasonably priced options that no, I would not buy their beer anymore. There is a local brewery I feel the same way about for other reasons. I dont go there. I dont buy their beer. They win tons of awards too.
Perhaps you could blame it on FB since that is the only reason I know of these expensive beers.
And you are correct, most people would never spend $10 on six pack. Sit at a bar watch how much Coors Light, Bud Light, Miller Light, PBR etc sell.
You get what you pay for in the end and I think FFF is trying to appeal to uber exclusive beer geeks with these ltd bombers. I wonder if these people who buy them ever crack these beers open? I bet not.
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TheWarmth
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by TheWarmth »

Remember when Spiritualized were selling a t-shirt for $80 (or something like that, as I recall) at the L&G NY show? Seems like the same thing to me. I could never justify an $80 t shirt, but I'd still buy one of the others for $20.
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by Shaun »

spzretent wrote: I dont see any other breweries going to this price extreme except for Brew Dog which quite frankly sucks.
Mikkeller, Struise, 3 Fonteinen... they all do. Even Cantillon are doing to a certain extent. How much was Brooklyn Black Ops on its release?

spzretent wrote: If I want something as strong as Tactical Nuclear Penguin at 40GBP i'd just as soon but a nice fifth of single malt.
Fair point.

I bet they do drink it.
TheWarmth wrote:Remember when Spiritualized were selling a t-shirt for $80 (or something like that, as I recall) at the L&G NY show? Seems like the same thing to me. I could never justify an $80 t shirt, but I'd still buy one of the others for $20.

That's a very good comparison.
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mc
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by mc »

Brew Dog bars are great for trying their uber-expensive and limited beers at considerably less cost. They sell 5cl nips of Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Biskmarck for £5, for example - equivalent to buying a measure of single malt whisky and well worth the outlay. Both are wonderfully surprising and very tasty. Tokyo* - their 18% stout - sells for just under £5 for 1/3 of a pint on draft (about 190 ml) - again, better value than the bottle, and theeir other rare beers are often available on draft too.
Last edited by mc on Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
spzretent
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spzretent »

TheWarmth wrote:Remember when Spiritualized were selling a t-shirt for $80 (or something like that, as I recall) at the L&G NY show? Seems like the same thing to me. I could never justify an $80 t shirt, but I'd still buy one of the others for $20.
I disagree. Spiritualized dont have a habit of doing $80 t shirts. It was a one off.
I remember hearing about the posts about that Helmut Newton Spiritualized shirt. They got ripped to shreds for that. What no one pointed out was the nicer shirts that were $20.
I suppose if you want to throw in the LAGWAFIS 12x 3" Cd boxes I would be inclined to agree. However with Spiritualized and Sonic you have always gotten great value for money where artwork is concerned. Pure Phase glow in the dark case, LAGWAFIS pill pack, LICD 3-D pack, Amazing Grace 4x 12" Lp box, A&E green vinyl, SHSL white vinyl. I know the cost of those 12 x 3" Cd box sets was really high.
Neil Young is a good comparison. With his uber expensive vinyl releases. I love Neil Young. I really wanted that 4 LP box released on his web site of the 1st 4 records. That was the only way you could get 180 gram releases. I waited it out and got one for $100 and the sold off the two I already had. But every release now is ridiculously priced. Especially the new one.
Vinyl has gotten out of hand with the pricing in a lot of respects too.
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Hofstadter
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by Hofstadter »

Since I don't exactly know much (well, anything) about nice beer (student-->cheap beer i.e. pretty much always tecate/pbr), is there a "collector's" mentality at all with this stuff? For instance the same way people will pay a lot for say a Heads 7", is there an element of just having the bottle that is enticing? Do yall just chuck the bottles when you are done?

I don't know, just wondering.
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by redcloud »

spzretent wrote: Vinyl has gotten out of hand with the pricing in a lot of respects too.
AGREED!

Back to this $35 bottle of beer. You know...$35 can buy you decent bottle of wine, which equals about six glasses. Or, it's the cost of a bottle of bourbon or a few bucks shy of a bottle of Glenmorangie scotch, which will last most people quite a while. $35 for a 22oz bottle of beer just seems like somebody is taking the piss and laughing all the way to the bank.
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spzretent »

My issue is it seems like the brewery is acting as its own secondary market.
Seems their philosphy is if someone is gonna pay ridiculous money for our "limited" beer we're gonna cash in too. I'm sure there is a lot of money in doing this. Its just a rip off perpetuated by the brewery to get an extra $20 per bottle with free marketing from Facebook.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by spacemanrich »

And I thought that 'Pliny the Elder' was ridiculous and it is still ridiculous here in N.Calif. when it is released sometime in Feb/March. People line up at 'special' bars that sell it ONLY in 12 ounce servings for like $8.00. It is hyped beyond imagination and a lot of beer geeks, like myself don't care too much for it - hop overload ! In fact, their is so much hop bitterness that they use hop extract ! :oops:
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Re: Three Floyds Beer Geek Alert!

Post by TheWarmth »

I'm sure I don't stand a chance of finding any. Oh well. It's just too much damn work to obtain even a single bottle.
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