Baby It’s Warm(er) Inside

Another cold night in the city lead me to spend the night home again instead of venturing out to Decatur to hear Freddie Eaglesmith, or to Kirkwood to attend the CocoaHeads Atlanta meet up.

Instead I loaded the trailer hitch into the Mazda (I really need to decide on a catchy name for this vehicle), learning how to fold down the backseat since the box was too long to fit into trunk without doing so. I have to thank ITP-Reader Bob for letting me know about eTrailer, who did an amazing job with this order. Considering I made the purchase late Tuesday (or was it Monday?) and a heavy package (35 pounds of steel) was delivered to my office by Thursday morning is amazing to me.

Last night’s traffic allowed me to take a route that led me to My Friend’s Growler Shop. I pulled into the parking strip, the store is located in the same small strip of shops containing Tin Lizzy’s, and entered with my two 64-ounce growlers and on 32-ounce growler. Once inside I chatted with the owners, Cam and Hunter, who gave me a rundown of what they had on tap (it’s a long list), and even offered me a swig of a New Belgium La Folie sour, which proved to be too sour for my palete.

Filling the three bottles, all of which I paid for separately the first time I had them filled, cost me $39. Note: I declined a receipt so I don’t know the individual prices of the beers I purchased.

Let’s do some math together, don’t worry this won’t be difficult.

These days a normal fancy-pants six-pack of beer costs me $11. I know, I have expensive taste.
A six-pack of beer contains 72 ounces of beer. (duh, 6 x 12 = 72).
Therefore my six-pack purchases cost me roughly: $11 / 72 ounces = $0.15 per ounce

Let’s say that one of my large growler refills (bottle purchase not included) cost me $12.
A growler of beer contains 64 ounces of beer.
Therefore my growler refill purchase cost me roughly: $12 / 64 ounces = $0.1875 per ounce

Honest Question: Why are growler refills more expensive? The beer dispensed in growlers is nothing more than keg beer, which since I’m not buying the — bottles, caps, labels, and cartons — should be cheaper, not more expensive. Am I crazy? (in general, yes, but I am specifically referring to this subject)

Note: This pricing is not limited to My Friend’s Growler Shop, and to their credit they gave me a frequent-purchaser card so after ten refills I get a free one.

I’m All Caught Up On Top Chef
With my precious cargo I returned home to struggle with my AppleTV in order to watch the latest Top Chef while drinking a Second Self Brewery Mole Porter. Because the past two Wednesdays were “holidays” (Christmas and New Year’s Eves, geez that seems so long ago…) Bravo chose not to show new episodes on those nights. Honestly, a three-week hiatus forced me to relearn the names of some of the cheftestants! Well, my advanced age of 49.5 might also be at work here.

It’s 12° F Warmer, But I’m Still Going In Later
Because it was so goddamn cold yesterday I experimented with having a leisurely morning at home before going into work. My toast and hot chocolate for breakfast were tasty and I waited out traffic so my commute wasn’t incredibly annoying. I enjoyed the result so much I decided to do it again today!

As I type this post from the comfort of my bed, having already eaten breakfast but not showered, I am getting prepared for my final “Calm Before the Storm” day at work. The bosses have been in Las Vegas for CES this week and I am certain that when they return the screws will be tightened and I will be under much pressure to deliver a release-worthy version of my app.

Sunday, Hockey, Sunday
Trick, we on? At what time should we meet up? I’ll bring a growler of beer to share. 🙂

Have a great weekend all!

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This entry was posted in My Daily Life. Bookmark the permalink.

17 Responses to Baby It’s Warm(er) Inside

  1. bob says:

    I’m happy the hitch worked out, I go the hitch for my truck there and I had the same shipping experience. Super quick service.

    Last night I went to a bimble which is a ramble that everybody bimboed because it is effing freezing outside. I had a cub scout meeting before hand so showed up late but when I walked in to Hop Alley I was shocked. 24 people came out on a Thursday night for a pub crawl. Normally you would think this sort of activity is reserved for college kids or hasher types. Aside from the one college aged kid I think I was the youngest one there, crazy. Thursday night is my favorite night of the week, I love the Thursday night ramble!

    Hockey is on! We have 9 confirmed attendees. You need 10 people for the group deal so we are going to buy 10 tickets. I’ll eat the $12 10th ticket if need be so we can all sit together unless we can find one more person to go.

  2. Steve says:

    I too had a somewhat liesurly morning, sleeping until 06:15, showered and made coffee, and assumed the position on the sofa, upon which I am still ensconsed.

    Your math is pretty shaky. You bought 156 ounces of beer for 39.00 which happens to be .25 an ounce. You are saving a bit if you consider a bottle of the quality stuff at your favorite watering hole would be $5 at least. Certainly it ain’t no bargain over regular package pils.

    We’ll be going to see the 69 Scoggin Road property this afternoon and see if it might work. I hope the “estate” is negotiable, as the price is a bit high.

    Trick, depending on the price break for the group rate, it still might be a bargain to buy 10 and only use 9.

    -FP

  3. Barb says:

    Bob – I thought Jim said he wanted to go. (on FB)

    We need to go to a Thursday night ramble, but how do I find out the location of the week?

    We had to go to the airport to get TJ & Mary, something screwy is going on with customs, the lines were not moving & it took then over 2 hours to get thru. Some new “computer system” was the rumor that isn’t working right. Mary said so many people were extremely upset because they were missing their connecting flights.
    I got bored waiting, so I talked Allan into going over to The Dwarf House – the very first Chick-Fil-A. It just amazes me they have table service there. Even went thru the little door, because we could.

  4. Stacy Fox says:

    Maybe the costs has something to do with the shelf lives of a tapped keg (is there more waste?) and the sanitizing equipment they need to use? I dunno. Godo question!

    But when I DO go can/bottle route, I think $11/6 pack is actually really affordable. It’s funny, because people give me poop about that all the time. Like, I’ll go do a build-your-own (in order to try new beers) and people gasp at a 6 pack for $10. Really? Like, you’d pay more than that for 3 crappy pints of Budweiser at a bar. Since working at the brewery, I’ve sort of turned into a beer snob too and I will not make apologies!!! *grin* 😉

    Say – as for Second Self: have you been to the brewery yet? They’re running a Scout Mob now (that’s the tasting, tour tshirt and they have one with a fox on it so, yeah) and I’m planning to go with Yassir on Sat. Feb 7th (tasting times are 2-4pm). Consider joining us if you’re free? (this goes for everyone else too!)

  5. bob says:

    Barb – Jim is counted in the 9. With the price break of the group buy and the fact we can all sit together I don’t have a problem with the extra ticket. I’m sure we will find somebody else to go. Also, are you FB friends with Jim? He posts the ramble location on Thursday mornings.

  6. The $39 was with sales tax, and since I didn’t get a receipt I was just guessing at the refill price of a 64-ounch growler. I don’t compare growlers to bar purchases because they are not equivalent. Every one knows beer (and wine) go for about 3x retail price when buying in a bar or restaurant; a growler store is nothing more than a retail outlet. Though not equivalent, my growler complaint is akin to my complaint about digital music and books being priced nearly the same as their physical counterparts.

    Stacy, it appears my schedule is open on February 7th, I will join you. Thanks!

    And what time do we want to rendezvous at the arena?

    Oh, and this morning I watched Jimmy Fallon from the other night where Nicole Kidman retells the story of their first meeting. At the time she was single and apparently interested in Jimmy, but when she (and a mutual friend) went over to his place he was quiet, so she just assumed that he was not interested in her. Amazing. Fallon’s reactions and facial expressions were priceless.

  7. Martha says:

    I’m with Stacy, I bet it is partly related to shelf life…bottled beer is just going to last longer with no waste (you can lose 5-20% or more of a keg to waste). Also, I wonder if the some of the kegs aren’t one off/limited production which would also add to the cost.

    This doesn’t answer your question but it is interesting.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/craft-beer-expensive-cost_n_5670015.html

    No hockey for me, we have a birthday thing with one of Jerry’s friends.

    Oh boy, the math is killing me… Paulie bought 160 oz of beer for $39

    Note for yesterday’s post. I have a Thule Helium Aero, it is aluminum so almost half the weight of a regular rack (mine holds 3 and weighs in at 19lb) and no rust. One thing…my mountian bike doesn’t fit on it very well, I think it has to do with the small size of my bike, but you might want to double check.

  8. Oops, I just realized why my math didn’t work, I typed the wrong numbers, 11 and 72, in where I was supposed to type 12 and 64.

    Stupid copy and paste error… 😉

    The result was correct however! (because I did that in a separate calculator)

  9. bob says:

    I think rendezvous time has to be before 11:59 at a minimum, like Barb says if you don’t drink before noon you can’t say you drank all day 🙂

    So what do you think? 11:30 ish work for the masses?

  10. Steve says:

    I had heard about that Jimmy Fallon interview, but forgot to go watch it. OMG, that is a scream. In his defense, had any “mortal” man been in the presence of Nicole Kidman, I figured they would have been pretty toungue tied.

  11. Stacy Fox says:

    Woo hoo! 🙂 You’re on my calendar! We’re considering either lunch before or dinner after, so when it gets closer I’ll touch base to see if you want to do that as well.

  12. Scoutmob deal purchased. We’ll chat more as the date nears. 🙂

  13. Barb says:

    ok – busy day.
    We will make chili (not veggie), & bring the gas grill so we don’t have deal with a hot charcoal grill. Everyone else bring stuff to cook on the grill if you want, hot dogs, veggie dogs or burgers whatever. June & Mark will bring stuff too. We will be there 1130-1200 – no problem. might need some hot toddies, or at least bourbon, I think it will be chilly.

    Growlers are fun, but you don’t buy them for the cost. I like the whole taste testing at the store by us, I’m half drunk before I ever get around to buying anything.

  14. Laura says:

    Okay, another hockey update. Since we are a group of 10, the only level we can get is Club level, which is $18.50 per ticket. The other, cheaper tickets are reserved for groups of 20 . If y’all don’t want to spend that much money, we can always buy the tickets at the box office prior to the game to stay together. Please let me know.

    Thanks, Laura

  15. Barb says:

    doesn’t matter to me Laura. We are fine either way.

  16. I’m able to swing the $18.50 if that’s okay with everyone else.

  17. Laura says:

    k – I’ll move forward with the swanky club level baby…

Comments are closed.