Rare beer attack - Sneaky bastards

So I follow a couple dozen people/breweries/beer bloggers on twitter.  Sometimes they provide useful information, other times I gloss over it like a kid being begged by his mother to make the bed.  However, one tweet rose above the others, even though it was so plain:

"Limited release beer sale coming soon....stay tuned for details!!!"

Thanks @wiseguysliquors, that made my day.  What could it be?  The intended effect worked and I was captivated.  Ok, I'll admit, I really didn't care.  Honestly, rare beers are all hype right?  The value of the beer is related to the scarcity moreso than the actual taste.  Or not.  Dark Lord seems to be popular, but with a rabid fan base and loyalists touting it as the best beer ever could just be pulling my chain.  I might think it tastes like crap!  I stayed tune for the next tweet which came about 10 days after the first:

"Our limited release beer sale will be on Saturday 10/29 @ 9:15 a.m. at our Merrillville location."

Well no shit.  You just opened your new store only two months earlier so picking your flagship location was not a stretch.  Still not telling me anything useful.

"We will be using a lottery system to determine who will get the opportunity to purchase these special items to be as fair as possible"

That's good.  The last thing you want is dedicated beer drinkers to start lining up outside your store before a beer release.  You would end up with a tent city of people drinking the night away before you opened.  That helps a lot.  But is it worth my time?

"the beers involved will be announced on Monday 10/24!!! thanks for your patience!"

Damnit.  Really?  Three more days to find out what the hell you'll be selling?  Does that mean the deal with the distributor fell through on some stuff?  Does that mean your distributor won't tell you?  Alright, until Monday...

"Saturday's limited release beer sale will include the following beers:"

140 characters, saves on advertising dollars I suppose

"victory otto, hoppin' frog DORIS, hoppin' frog naked evil, upland lambics, vintage stone vertical epics and founders CBS!"

And there it was.  The hook that the sneaky bastards were using to drive foot traffic.  It could be argued that only one of those beers was rare or highly sought after.  Then again a trip through craigslist or eBay just tells you what the secondary market is offering for these brews.  Craft beer has almost become an investment.  The Founder's Canadian Breakfast Stout alone was a myth!  You could triple your money!

I rounded up my team.  Thanks to Adrian, Brett, Melanie, Michael, and of course Michelle for accompanying me to Wise Guys Liquors that morning.

The conclusion tomorrow...