Minnesota Beer Bracket

Reads 4515 • Replies 61 • Started Wednesday, March 22, 2017 9:50:17 AM CT

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Message gopherfan99 beers 2001 º places 190 º 22:23 Fri 3/24/2017 Here is my first round vote: 1. Surly; 9 Schell’s (but I tossed a coin); 5. Summit; 4. Dangerous Man; 15. HammerHeart; 10. Bad Weather; 11. Fair State; 3. Indeed;
Message jackl beers 8677 º places 740 º 22:25 Fri 3/24/2017 Originally posted by TheHOFF43 Remember the post about a beer being a flavor buffet? That was awful. Oh, I ’member:
Message gopherfan99 beers 2001 º places 190 º 22:27 Fri 3/24/2017 Surprised to see that Castle Danger beat Fair State but I voted the top seeds in the second round: Surly, Dangerous Man, Bent Paddle, and Indeed.

Message CLevar places 23 º 07:57 Sat 3/25/2017 Has schells won yet?
Message islay beers 3622 º places 18 º 19:17 Sat 3/25/2017 Originally posted by TheHOFF43 Fair State, in my opinion, has the worst names, social media, etc of any brewery locally. It is just pure and utter trash for the past year. Bricoleur is a terrible name. I don’t care what it means. Remember the post about a beer being a flavor buffet? That was awful. Great beer. Great people. I’m a member. Their marketing might as well be done by competitors because they’d accidentally make it worse. U pick was really tasty. Had razz roselle on tap last night, also tasty. As a co-op member/owner, you should voice your concerns to the board of directors about the company’s marketing or even push for a change in management, if you haven’t already. That’s the supposed advantage of a cooperative, isn’t it (that the member/owners utilize their collective wisdom and preferences to guide the firm’s decision-making)? Then again, the real advantage of a cooperative may itself be as a marketing scheme to get people to fork over hundreds of dollars by making them feel like a part of the business in exchange for the mere illusion of influence. That said, I think Fair State has intentionally filled a niche at the high end of the market among consumers who fancy themselves urbane intellectuals. They may be turned off when Bricoleur is rebranded as "Fair State BRAWNDO: The Thirst Mutilator."
Message TheHOFF43 P beers 2045 º places 169 º 20:31 Sat 3/25/2017 Islay, I never will meet you is my guess. What you just said is incomprehensible. I paid $300 for my wife and I to be members so we get discounts on beers. Good deal as we’ve had over 300 beers (by a large number) so it has saved us money. What the fuck is an urbane intellectual?
Message jackl beers 8677 º places 740 º 20:38 Sat 3/25/2017 Originally posted by TheHOFF43 What the fuck is an urbane intellectual? You, moran.

Message deyholla P beers 21611 º places 849 º 20:42 Sat 3/25/2017 Originally posted by jackl Originally posted by TheHOFF43 What the fuck is an urbane intellectual? You, moran. I am the embodiment of an urbane intellectual bro!
Message islay beers 3622 º places 18 º 21:22 Sat 3/25/2017 I was honestly encouraging you to take advantage of your member/owner status to make your criticism heard. The purpose of the cooperative business model is to empower exactly that sort of feedback. Since the discussion was around Fair State’s marketing prowess (or lack thereof), I -- somewhat snarkily -- noted that the cooperative business model itself could be viewed as a marketing tool to generate customer loyalty and goodwill. The good deal for you of saving a dollar per beer also means that Fair State has sold you hundreds of pints, presumably still at a profitable margin, so that’s a really good deal for Fair State. By "urbane," I was trying to get at "sophisticated," "cosmopolitan," or "cultured," but since the word often means "suave," it probably was a poor word choice. My point is that Fair State actively attempts to attract and please sophisticated, city-dwelling customers (and those who aspire to be included in that category), and the beer names (as well as the brewery name) may be designed to appeal to that target market. Of course many Fair State customers don’t fit that stereotype. Fair State makes great beers; I think we all agree. I think Fair State has a thoughtful marketing message that, combined with its pricing strategy, intentionally takes the brand upmarket. Now, is "upmarket" the sweet spot to maximize profitability and popularity (to the extent Fair State even cares about the latter)? I don’t know. That’s a question for Fair State’s owners, yourself included. Nothing I said was a criticism of you (in case you took it that way). You have a good point that Fair State’s abstruse beer names do it no favors in a popularity contest. It’s a good enough point, in fact, that I recommended that you make that point to Fair State’s board of directors.
Message islay beers 3622 º places 18 º 21:43 Sat 3/25/2017 By the way, I’m going to file the trademark application for "Urbane Intellectual Brewing Company" first thing Monday morning before North Loop BrewCo beats me to the punch.