Your cart is currently empty!
Steven Coulson
Steven has been drinking beers, wines and spirits for decades and has a propensity to go about them at length after a few drinks.
Latest Posts
- Dissecting The Beer Menu – An Irish Pub & Layered Brews
- Has anyone else noticed that every “limited release” somehow stays on shelves for months?
- Dissecting The Beer Menu – An Irish Pub & Layered Brews
- Headed to Asheville – looking for top breweries to get German style in cans / bottles
- Does anyone else feel guilty drinking beer alone because it’s supposed to be a social experience?
Categories
Tags
Social Links
The Illusion of Limited Releases: Are Breweries Overdoing It?
As craft beer enthusiasts, we often get excited about the prospect of limited releases promising an exclusive taste experience. However, a growing trend has made me rethink the concept of “limited edition” beers. Have you ever walked into a bottle shop only to find that so-called “limited releases” have been languishing on the shelves for months?
Just yesterday, I visited my local bottle shop, and to my surprise, I found a barrel-aged stout proudly marketed as “extremely limited,” which has been sitting there since October. The accompanying shelf talker boasted about the production of just “500 cases,” yet it seems no one is interested in shelling out $25 for a beer that offers the same taste as countless other bourbon barrel stouts flooding the market.
Once upon a time, beers like KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) and BCBS (Bourbon County Brand Stout) were so coveted that craft beer lovers would brave the elements, camping outside shops for a chance to snag a bottle. Fast forward to today, and I can stroll into a respectable store and find vintage 2020 BCBS just sitting on the shelf like it’s a standard lager. The reality is that some breweries release so much “limited” beer that a significant portion sits untouched long after it’s past its optimal drinking window.
This marketing strategy of creating artificial scarcity has become a bit tiresome. I find myself growing weary of paying premium prices for “limited edition” brews that are far less rare than some everyday beer options. If breweries want to maintain the allure of exclusivity, they need to either truly limit their releases or stop pretending that their contract-brewed, barrel-aged concoctions are hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
In an age where craft beer has become increasingly accessible, it’s crucial for breweries to handle marketing with authenticity. As consumers, we deserve genuine offerings, not mere illusions of scarcity. Let’s hope that moving forward, we can enjoy a true limited release, rather than a common sight on the beer aisle.