Heady Topper Brewer Frustrated Over Black Market Sales – W/ Commentary

The Alchemest Brewery and Pub has just posted a very concise blog post concerning the black market sales of Heady Topper. Here’s an except with our comments on the matter below. Cheers.

In an effort to cut back on black market sales, we have designed a decal for all our authorized retailers to display. When Heady Topper is distributed by us, we will always guarantee freshness and quality as we are certain it has been properly stored and handled. When looking for the freshest Heady Topper available, please visit our brewery in Waterbury or visit one of our authorized retailers which can be found at www.alchemistbeer.com/retail-availability.

Thank you for supporting The Alchemist.

I can see both sides of this issue. On one side is the brewer, who wants as much possible control over where the beer goes, how it’s kept at the retailer, etc.  Then there is the craft beer enthusiast. They want what they want regardless of how they get it.  Heady is a great beer, and the demand far outweighs the supply.  This new system will likely be circumvented, unless The Alchemist gets more vigilant, which seems like a real hassle.  Ultimately, this will not solve their problem.