Stores "cellaring" hard to find beer

I just left my favorite local shop that sells the best of the stuff we an get here in Texas. I asked the guy behind the counter about a beer that I really wanted that everyone in town recently sold out of. He said that he has four cases in the back and will open one of them in six months and sell one per customer at a "cellared price". This leaves me with mixed feeling because, yeah, I want one but the hoarding and gauging leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. Thoughts?

Stuff we CAN get here in Texas

I’d say holding some back for longer-term cellaring (provided it’s a beer that may benefit from that), is a prudent practice.

I’d say that holding back the lion’s share, in order to jack up the prices in mere months, is smarmy at best.

Not a great practice for instilling trust and good will among your clientele.

I don’t feel that it’s a store’s role to cellar beer (or wine) for that matter. If a brewery (or a vinyard... or a distillery) want to age something to sell at a higher price, that’s fine. But I think it’s BS when stores try to think of "clever" ways to over-price their inventory. I feel like the best way to respond to this if it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, is to NOT partake in purchasing their "cellared" items. If they do not have success, they will likely stop doing it.

It sucks, but its a legitimate business decision. He is taking a calculated risk that he can increase profits. Apparently inventory turn is not important to him.

The beer is his property to do with as he pleases (same basic argument the E-bayers use to justify their actions). Consider boycotting the seller and let the brewer know what is going on.

I laughed at the beer guy at one of my bottle shops, they WAY over bought on Big foot 11’ and when the 12’ came in they jumped the price to $14.99 a 6 pack...

He laughed back and said its great, all the Johnny come lately "beer geeks" are buying the crap out of it cause its a pre-cellared vintage beer...

Some people are such fools/tools

I especially despise it when bars do this with kegs.

ugh. few beers stores have the capacity mentally to do this properly or somewhat fairly. there is a local place that does that a lot. it used to be the older vintage would be a few bucks more, not its twice as much since they have started looking at ebay. one of the problems is that about half of the ’vintage’ stuff is old lagers and ipas and such, they dont have any clue except to hold back things that are selling fast. its painful walking past all the rotting beer searching for a fresh one in the mix; its like looking through bodies in a battlefield for survivors.

Originally posted by obguthr
I especially despise it when bars do this with kegs.

6 months doesn’t justify any price difference.

Originally posted by crosamich
6 months doesn’t justify any price difference.