City Beer Store SF

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by amart79, Apr 11, 2012.

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  1. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    They do? I only know of the one.
     
  2. matedog

    matedog Crusader (421) Jan 25, 2010 California

    Maybe I'm mistaken. I thought they had a men's and a women's restroom. I just know it's a big issue at Beer Rev.
     
  3. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Maybe they do, but last time I was there I was pretty sure it was just the one. And yeah, thanks to Beer Rev's bigger capacity it's a bigger issue. Fortunately there are some places for someone who's willing to take a short walk.
     
  4. FunkyMacGroovin

    FunkyMacGroovin Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2009 California

    Please point me towards a store that is selling FW14 at a significantly lower price (or selling it at all). Or do you think the reasonable thing to do after storing a limited release beer in a temperature-controlled cellar for a year is to charge the original MSRP?
     
  5. FunkyMacGroovin

    FunkyMacGroovin Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2009 California

    Only one restroom at both locations, but unless you go on a Friday/Saturday night it's likely not as big an issue at City Beer.
     
  6. afrokaze

    afrokaze Pooh-Bah (1,933) Jun 12, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Society

    $30 is on par for bar prices but that doesn't mean it ain't pricey...
     
  7. FunkyMacGroovin

    FunkyMacGroovin Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2009 California

    Pricey? Sure, no one's going to argue that it isn't expensive. What I took issue with was characterizing that as "massively overpriced," when it isn't even a beer you can find on shelves anymore.
     
  8. PaulStoneAnchor

    PaulStoneAnchor Initiate (0) May 30, 2009 California

    I dont disagree that if you store it in a temperature controlled cooler there is a cost, but I dont believe it costs $10-15 per year, per bottle. Now, if you look at the cost to run the cooler it probably doesnt cost that much to run per month, but the market up per bottle doesnt really reflect that when you put the figures together. If you factor storage costs in that is only because the price is too high to move the product in which it creates less space for new product. An example is their on site consumption only bottles; they are selling bottles of 2010 Eclipse for $80-100 a bottle, so you're telling me that price is justified? Now, if they were allowed for offsite sale as well it still wouldn't be worth it. I have been to places that are still selling 2010 Eclipse(...and I purchased several), and they have had the bottles for the same amount of time and they are still regular retail price, $25-30. So I dont agree with marking the price sky high just because of its "rarity." Yes, they do have a great selection and decent pricing on bottles when they are released, but definitely not when it comes to the cellared, rarer beers.
     
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  9. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Shrug. I think I've seen it elsewhere recently, but don't remember where. I have two bottles already so it's not something I'm looking for. I just think $30 (actually think it was $35, but it doesn't really matter) is a ridiculous price for something that was still all over shelves a few months ago at at $15. Even if they had it in some cellar facility (which isn't advertised, so I had no way of knowing) that doesn't add $15 per bottle, it's probably more like $2. Last time I was there they hadn't sold any. So there's that too.

    Now, I roll my eyes at every dipshit that says "city rape store" (for multiple reasons), but I find it kind of perplexing that anyone could defend that price.
     
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  10. deeblo

    deeblo Devotee (389) Dec 17, 2011 Antarctica
    Trader

    Unless things have changed recently, I think the only bottle that City Beer sells for $100 is Pappy Van Winkle Eclipse, which you can't buy anywhere for anything close to $25-30. I'm not saying whether or not the price is justified but just wanted to clarify that they're not charging that much for a 2010 Four Roses or Heaven Hill Eclipse.

    To the OP: definitely go to Public House before going into the ballpark. They have a pretty good selection and you can bring two beers into the stadium (make sure to ask for plastic cups).
     
  11. Levitation

    Levitation Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2009 California

    why? if someone will pay it, they'd be idiots not to. they're a business.

    and there's no reason to put rarity in quotation marks. look at the trading forums, see the obsession with rarity, and tell me it's unexpected that someone will monetize it.
     
  12. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Yeah, if someone will pay it. I don't whine about their on-site prices because people will clearly pay it for that beer. But $30 for 14 seems pretty crazy to me (that beer sat around at $15!), and since I only saw a full shelf I assume it was crazy for other people too.
     
  13. Blackstudded

    Blackstudded Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2012

    I'll pay a mark up to City Beer because they are a family run store, they aren't making money on volume like Whole Foods, they're a small shop. The proprietors of CBS have spent years building relationships with great breweries, and because of that they get allocated awesome kegs and cases. Not because of volume, like Bevmo or Total Wine, but because of their love of beer. I remember when they were serving Hoegaarden on draft, during Beer Week this last February they had Veritas 007.... Good luck ever finding that anywhere......in the Universe. Sometimes philosophy disagrees with your wallet, and that's not always a bad thing.
     
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  14. penniwisdom

    penniwisdom Initiate (0) Sep 10, 2010 California


    I drank their last pappy van winkle eclipse. It is gone now.
    Cheers!
     
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  15. Arbitrator

    Arbitrator Pooh-Bah (1,955) Nov 26, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I freely admit I'm the biggest dipshit on BA, but I had no idea that anyone else used that phrase after I coined it a few years ago to describe their Eclipse futures pricing policy. It's crude, but it conveys their pricing scheme (and more importantly, the attitude behind it).

    So are Wal-mart, Ford, Samsung, and Disney. I don't understand that reasoning.

    When Russian River distributed Framboise for a Cure to a few stores with the agreement that they sell the beer at cost ($20) and not a penny more, City Beer Store was the ONLY store that marked up the bottles by $5. RR donates all proceeds from the beer, and Toronado did the same thing. CBS went the other way; they were literally the only people to profit off that beer besides eBay sellers. Think about that.

    I understand a business is a business, and SF is an expensive place to have a store, but let's not make naïve, feel-good arguments to lionize them. If they could take an extra dollar from your wallet, they would.
     
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  16. drgarage

    drgarage Initiate (0) Aug 19, 2008 California

    Any idea what Wanderer is going for there? It's the only one of the on-site only beers they have that I would think about splurging for.
     
  17. FunkyMacGroovin

    FunkyMacGroovin Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2009 California

    I wasn't at City Beer when FfaC was first released, but I've bought at least 6 bottles there, and paid $20 for all of them.

    $60
     
  18. Arbitrator

    Arbitrator Pooh-Bah (1,955) Nov 26, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Good. A few of us complained to Russian River about their practice, and my guess is that RR asked them to change it. It's a dick move to profit off a non-profit beer for charity.
     
  19. Rzzzzz

    Rzzzzz Savant (1,177) Nov 10, 2007 California

    If you're hoofing it I believe it's about a 30 minute walk from the ballpark. And don't buy beer from the concession stand; take a walk to the Public House and grab something good, for less. Be sure to give Zito a big hand when he takes the hill.
     
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  20. drgarage

    drgarage Initiate (0) Aug 19, 2008 California

    City Beer Store is rolling out some pretty baller beers on tap this week. So far this week, they've added:
    • 2010 Brandy Angel's Share
    • 2010 Abyss
    • Life and Limb Batch 1 (2009, barrel-aged)
    • Deviant Dale's
    • Ballast Point Sea Monster
    • Midnight Sun Panty Peeler
    • Evil Twin Biscotti Break
    When Deviant Dale's is easily the weakest new beer on draft, you're doing something right.
     
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