Click Image to Read More Sometimes I wonder if the things that bother me make me sound more like a crotchety old man (stay off my lawn!) or a crazed lunatic. Talking to a friend the other day though I did not get the usual eye roll or ribbing that I get when I bring up my myriad of first world problems, in fact he agreed with me. This epidemic is not one that I can can pin on one particular brewer as it seems they are all guilty. What I am talking about is sampler or variety packs. Those mixed twelve packs that typically feature a seasonal assortment of beers. The concept is great but the way they put them together is what confounds me.
For some reason all of the brewers insist on placing their flagship beers within the sampler box. Usually it is 3 or 4 of them and amazingly they seem to be seasonally appropriate for every mix that each brewer has. Here is what I don't follow. In all markets, the flagship beer is available much sooner than the sampler packs. So by that logic, if I am looking at your sampler pack, there is a great probability that I have already had the more commonly available, year round offering. So as a brewer you have already sold me on the flagship and piqued my interest in your other beers. Even if I have not had the flagship, at this point i would rather just buy a six pack of it and have a sampler with more offerings from the brewer. It's like opening up your Christmas presents and 25% of them are your old toys wrapped up. I would love to hear from someone in the industry as to what the rationale is behind this practice.
So, here's an idea. You can buy cruelty free make up products. You can buy cage free chickens and eggs. You can even buy fat free ice cream. So in the tradition of consumer demand, we at Beer Up are offering up the suggestion of a "flagship free" sampler pack. Remember where you heard it first!
At Beer Up, strong opinions are encouraged! If you like what you read feel free to share or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or RSS. If you did not like it, we still would love to hear from you in the comments below.
So, here's an idea. You can buy cruelty free make up products. You can buy cage free chickens and eggs. You can even buy fat free ice cream. So in the tradition of consumer demand, we at Beer Up are offering up the suggestion of a "flagship free" sampler pack. Remember where you heard it first!
At Beer Up, strong opinions are encouraged! If you like what you read feel free to share or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or RSS. If you did not like it, we still would love to hear from you in the comments below.
