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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
- Oregon Road Trip: Freeland Spirits Garden Botanicals Gin
- Botanist with Trader Joe’s Lemon and Elderflower Soda
- I’m one of the worlds leading buyers of craft gin in the world and a international spirit judge AMA
- I’m blown away…. By how let down I am by this Gin.
- The Botanist 22 Gin Review: Perhaps the most overhyped gin around
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The Illusion of Limited Releases: Is Craft Beer Marketing Losing Its Touch?
In the world of craft beer, the term “limited release” is often thrown around, but how limited are these releases really? Recently, I had an experience that left me questioning the authenticity of such claims. During a recent visit to my local bottle shop, I came across a supposedly “extremely limited” barrel-aged stout that has been languishing on the shelves since October. The marketing tags still boast about the production of just “500 cases,” yet it seems that no one is willing to fork out $25 for a brew that tastes like countless others in the same category.
Once upon a time, beers like Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) and Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) would fly off the shelves. Fans would camp outside popular retailers to snag these coveted brews, and they would quickly become collector’s items. However, today, the landscape has changed dramatically. I can now stroll into a well-stocked store and find vintage 2020 cases of BCBS sitting there, just waiting for a buyer, as if they were an everyday lager.
What’s happening here? It seems that breweries are cranking out limited releases at such a high volume that many of these brews sit unrefrigerated on shelves, well past their intended drink-by dates. This overproduction leads to a disillusionment with the concept of scarcity in craft beer.
The marketing strategy of creating an aura of artificial scarcity is becoming increasingly transparent and, frankly, a bit embarrassing. As a consumer, I find myself irritated at being charged premium prices for beers that are less rare than some mass-produced options. If breweries want to maintain the allure of their “limited edition” products, they must either ensure these beers are genuinely hard to find or cease the charade altogether. Craft beer enthusiasts deserve authenticity—not merely clever marketing tactics. It’s time for the industry to reassess how it presents its offerings and deliver on the promises of exclusivity.