$ol Bock Revival
Saturday
I went to the Sol Bock Revival event at Harriet Brewing. It was a beautiful day
to be out and about. My friend and I drove to Minneapolis with the windows down.
I finally could wear a t-shirt and I had my shades on. I was feeling great that
after a long cold winter I could sit out in the sun and enjoy a good beer.
When
I got to the brewery and hit the beer vending area I was disappointed, again,
in a brewery event. $6.00 a beer! Now, in fairness, you could buy 4 for 20
bucks. But still, why the heck are they charging just as much, if not more, than
a bar would charge for a beer they produced 20 feet away?
I
am not an overly cheap dude. I am not asking for anything for free. But come on,
man! There isn’t any middle man like a bar or a store trying to make a profit.
There isn’t a distributor trying to get his money too. Heck, the guy checking
IDs at the door even said the people pouring the beers were working just for
tips, so no overhead there either. It is purely the brewery selling the product
they made right at the place they are selling it. So why at brewery events do
breweries feel like they need to charge beer prices that are starting to
approach the prices for beer at major sporting events? I can’t answer that.
I
always thought these types of events were great for the community, the brewery,
and the beer consumer. The community gets some extra business in the area for
the day. The brewery gets to spotlight their products and sell some beer. And
of course the consumer gets to try some great beers at a brewery, which is
always kind of cool. But if I can get the same beer for the same price or
cheaper at a nice bar with a beautiful patio complete with plenty of chairs, a
summery acoustic musician, and a server who will bring them to me, why would I
bother standing in a hot parking lot with next to no places to sit and stand
through TWO lines (one to buy the beer tickets and one ten feet away to
actually obtain your beer) to purchase one beer for six bucks?
All
in all it was a fun event. They had some cool art. The empanadas from the MidNord
Empanada truck were spectacular. Dan Israel rocked the house with the perfect
sunny Saturday afternoon music. And I will give it to Harriet Brewing that the
Sol Bock was a great beer. I am sure the brewery would have wanted my last
thought be “Man, great beer! I think I am going to have to get Harriet Brewing beers more often!” But
as we walked back to my buddy’s truck my last thought was “Six bucks, really?!?”
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