Archive for the ‘Miscellany’ Category

Re: [GUEST POST] from Tiff @99Pours, which Julie renamed “How Sh*t Works in the Beer Business”

Posted Jun 22, 2012 in Miscellany

In the wee hours of Tuesday last, Tiffany Hereth Adamowski—my female comrade, who also runs a beer retail shop with her husband called 99 Bottles, way over yonder in Washington state—snuck into my head and stole my thoughts. She wrote the blog post I’d been dreaming of. The one that I’d hoped to write. (The one I’d have the balls to write.) The ONE. The post of all posts from a retailer perspective. She wrapped everything up in one tidy, informative blog post that covered all my angst and inability to make sense of “The System” to myself, let alone my customers—and BONUS! She actually had the patience to write it down.

You see, even though we, the retailers, are the ones at the end of the line that deal directly with the customer (and I’m not including bars here), no one really pays a lot of attention to us. And it’s weird. It’s not that either of us are complaining. We’re just saying: It doesn’t make sense. Tiffany is specifically speaking about the great educational possibilities in the relationship between beer retailers and beer bloggers. Amen. I agree 100%. But, I’m going to go further on relationships, here.

There are, quite frankly, very few breweries who have top-noptch Brewery > Retail relationships. I would say that same holds true in Wholesalers/Distributors > Retail relationships. It’s a massive system of communication breakdown. It would truly be the Flowchart From Hell to put it into words. In there exists unholy marriages and broken promises. Hard, upspoken feelings. Treading lightly. Strange goings-on. The Works. The kind of thing that would make a really, really good book to about two-thousand people or so, maybe.

Here it is: We are the front lines, but no one asks us anything. Ever. (Well, hardly ever. That would be overly dramatic.) We have reports. We can tell you exactly what of your packaged product is selling, and when, or how long it takes to sell. Hell, I can tell you that a man/woman, depending on security camera footage, with last-four digits xxxx on a debit card, bought a mixed-six of this and that, totalling $14.41 at exactly 5:39pm last Tuesday, but the lack of wanting to know, and therefore, educate the public about “How Sh*t Works in the Beer Business” must not be really important right? RIGHT? We could spend half the day answering consumer questions that probably should be on your website—but wait, it can’t be on there, because the strange red tape the higher-ups got into make it illegal, so we’ll bury it somewhere (in maybe a government page?), that you may or may not be only able to access via password (in some states), and only a few have requested that password, anyway, so it’s unlikely that anyone will even care… even though I get asked the same question every day without fail. You know what? The extra time it takes to make it easy on the consumer to find information, makes it easier for us to relay the information. Except, we handle it and you don’t. Some days, I don’t know how to handle it. Give us the tools we need. Please.

You get the point. It could be better. That’s all I’m saying. If you are even reading this. (And, I do hope you are. Probably, 99 Bottles and many others independent retailers hope you are, too.) If do you it well—the Brewery > Retail relationship or the Wholesale/Distributor > Retail relationship—you are laughing at me right now, because you know me in real life. If you don’t, you’re hopefully considering sending your army out for a little street detail, because contrary to opinion, we have something of value to you: Knowledge.

And, yes, I’m well aware that I will probably catch sh*t for this post, because I’m supposed to be updating the website, so IN FULL DISCLOSURE, this is Julie writing, and the above is just my two-cent add-on to what that Tiffany says below, that she nor Jason may agree with me, SO I HEREBY CLAIM those statements to be mine and mine alone, forever and amen. Thank you very much. Elvis has left the building.

But before you read it, let me throw another two cents in. What Tiffany is really saying is: If these guys don’t care, how on earth do we get our job done? And done well? Let’s call out the front lines, the folks who drink. Let’s educate there, beer drinker to drinker, beer blogger to blogger. And, locally, I think Asheville could really, really benefit from a bigger beer blogger presence. Both of our most active beer writers are  journalists (and soon-to-be-authors, like Anne-Fitten Glenn). Why are there no real beer drinkers in Asheville blogging about beer? I mean we are “Beer City,” right? And we have a Blogging Society? We’re proud of our beers aren’t we? Hello? Is this thing on?

So enjoy the dirty details of our experience, a.k.a. “The System,” from start to finish. But know this from the start: Everyone knows the system is broken. And, do you know why no one can understand it? Because, how could you possibly? It’s insane, utterly ridiculous at times, put-your-fist-through-a-wall FRUSTRATING. There, I said it. But, the great news is, what applies here in North Carolina, applies there (mostly) up in Washington, so I no longer have to give myself a headache about that One Great Blog Post. The one I’d been dreaming of. The one I’d hoped to write. (The one I’d have the balls to write.) The ONE. Because Tiff did it.

So today, I have a new hero. It’s Tiffany. Today, I raise my beer glass to her while yelling “NAILED IT!” at the top of my lungs.

The post was reprinted with permission from 99pours.com. (@99pours)

It’s not every day your store is featured in a hip-hop video

Posted Apr 26, 2012 in Coolness, Miscellany, Music, People, Video

Our friend, Chachillie, released his new video the other week. Lo and behold, there’s a cameo by Jason and Bruisin’ Ales. (This doesn’t happen normally, right?) If you want to download the album, Goosebumps on Pangea, check out iTunes.

Attn: Graphic Designers: Asheville Beer Week needs your logos

Posted Feb 01, 2012 in Beer Art, Coolness, Goings on, In the news, Miscellany, The Beerlanthropy® Project

For immediate release: February 1, 2012

Asheville Beer Week Logo Contest
Asheville Beer Week needs a logo and fast

Love beer? Got some design skills? The Asheville Beer Week folks are looking for a hot logo for this inaugural beer-centric week (which actually will be an 11-day party running from May 24 until June 3).

Submit your logo designs to avlbeerweek@gmail.com by February 17. The logo winner will receive two tickets to Beer City Fest (June 2), two tickets to Brewgrass (Sept. 15), and two tickets to Asheville Beer Week’s Iron Brewer Competition (TBA).

You know the deal—nothing obscene or inappropriate. This is a wholesome(ish) beer week. Your design could be featured on every piece of Asheville Beer Week swag.

Submit logos to: avlbeerweek@gmail.com.

For more information, follow us on Facebook at Asheville Beer Week or Twitter @avlbeerweek.

 

Gift ideas for Beery Christmas

Posted Dec 08, 2011 in Beer, Books, Breweries, Merchandise, Miscellany, New this week, Seasonals

It’s crunch time, folks. Or panic mode, as some say. You still have gifts to get, with many more to wrap; maybe your tree isn’t up; and, the mechanical reindeer are still in the garage. Well, come visit the humble storefront, mix yourself a six-pack (to take the edge off) and get a little shopping done at Bruisin’ Ales! We’ve got some suggestions for you right here:

The Always Useful Gift Certificate
You can purchase our old-school, non gift-card, hand-printed gift certificates. You can actually write on it and make it personal. And, you can buy one for whatever amount you wish.

T-shirts
Got a t-shirt addict on your list? (We all do.) We’ve got Bruisin’ Ales t-shirts, beer•lan•thro•py® tees, and Beer City Fest shirts that benefit the Asheville Brewers Alliance. Ours are $15; Beer City Fest $18.

Books
We have a small selection of beer books available, but the real gems are the Stone Brewing books that are signed by Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing Co. Special treat for the beer geek right there!

Gift Packs
If you’re in a rush, we have some lovely pre-packaged European gift packs. Many also include glassware:

  • Chimay
  • Corsendonk
  • Duchesse de Bourgogne (Belgium)
  • Duvel
  • La Trappe
  • Lindemans lambics
  • Petrus
  • Schneider & Sons (Germany)
  • St. Bernardus
  • St. Fuellien Christmas
  • St. Martin Winter
  • Tripel Karmeliet
  • Unibroue (includes Eau Benite, a beer not normally available in the U.S. and a personal favorite)
  • Val-Dieu
  • Van Steenberge
Beer!
Of course, this is what you came here for. So, if you have some time for a chat, anyone on our staff is happy to help make recommendations based on personal preferences. And, don’t miss the holiday ales! This is one of the best seasons for beer, so get them now. Many are higher in ABV and will last for a bit. There really is such a thing as Christmas in July!
******************************************************
QUICK NOTES:
Asheville Brewing CANS of Shiva IPA just arrived. Fresh and new!
Delirium Noel is now on the shelves.
Harpoon Winter Warmer is finally here.
We have five cases of Lone Rider’s Belle Starr Belgian-style Christmas Ale.
Southern Tier Chokolat and Krampus are in stock.

Who wants to go to a Hops Festival?

Posted Jul 09, 2011 in Beer, Coming Soon, Coolness, Events, Miscellany, People

Next weekend, in nearby Weaverville, is the second annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farms. Tour the farm, try beers from their harvest. Sounds like a great time!

From there website: “Hops may not have been the most obvious choice for our first experiments in sustainable agriculture, but they have been a great choice. The soils and climate of Western North Carolina show great promise for the cultivation of hops. And local breweries have been very receptive to the idea of using locally-grown hops. Not only does local agriculture cut down on fossil fuels; it also encourages more symbiosis between local growers and local consumers.”

Here are the details for next Saturday, June 16:

Second Annual Hops Festival
*Online event registration
for 2nd Annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farm powered by Eventbrite*

Brewers and farm lovers alike are invited to the Second Annual Hops Festival at Echoview Farm in Weaverville, NC. Visit the largest hops farm in the state. See an oast at work. And enjoy lunch and home brew. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Limit 500.  Please click above for on-line registration. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011
Time: 11:00am – 3:00pm  (Last year was such a success we have extended the hours)

Echoview Farm Hops Field
534 Old Mars Hill Hwy
Weaverville, NC 28787
828-645-7667

[Photo credit: © Mike Guarracino]