Three Floyds Limits Case Sales At Brewpub

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 26, 2012 8:30PM

It seems as though Three Floyds can't win for losing these days. Last Thursday the Munster brewery announced they would cut back the number of case sales at their brewpub from six to two. The reason was simple: supply and demand. "You all have helped our pub grow and we continue to make more beer, but supply is still very limited," they wrote in the announcement.

And it's a good move. Limiting the case sales at the brewpub allows Three Floyds to fulfill their retail accounts, while they work on expanding the brewery's production. It makes both good business and common sense.

As is the case with many decisions by Three Floyds to ensure reaching the widest possible audience, the reaction was not well received by some.
Three Floyds closed the comments to the announcement, so fans took to the Beer Advocate forums and the brewpub's Facebook page to let their indignation be known. (And here we thought Beer Advocate's motto was "respect beer.")

Here's one comment from a BA member named "Retail1LO," who claimed to have dropped nearly $1,000 on Three Floyds beers during a recent trip to the brewery from southeast Pennsylvania to Wisconsin for a fishing trip.

I'd blow right past Munster and FFF on future trips if they want to give me the finger and tell me my business isn't welcome. You want to keep people from reselling your top shit like Zombie Dust in large quantities, then restrict the sale of that specific product. I have no problems with that. But if you tell me I can only walk out of there with two cases PERIOD...then with all due respect, Three Floyds can go fuck themselves.

The comments to the announcement on the brewpub's Facebook page was more of the same, with many supporters of the move trying to explain why this is a good idea.

The threads walk the fine line between legitimate concern and a bizarre sense of entitlement. If Three Floyds was in the business of appeasing every jackass like "Retail1LO" after these decisions, they wouldn't be in business. Beer drinkers like that make it bad for the rest of us. I'm not saying that I don't load up when I visit New Glarus, but I'm not filling the trunk of a car and a U-Haul trailer with Spotted Cow.

You can't get six cases at the brewpub anymore? Suck it up, buy wisely in Munster and visit more brewpubs on your way back home. And if you're making a 600-mile round trip to visit a brewpub, you might want to rethink your priorities.

It's beer, not crack.