A pretty good story in the The Patriot News of the efforts some go to to get one time release beers and the lengths people go to get them... or even to be left disappointed.
The brewery planned to sell only 400 bottles to the public. Cochran, who came from Farmington, N.M., after hearing about Splinter Blue on the "Beer Advocate" website, got No. 401, a bottle originally reserved for one of the brewery's sales representatives, who gave it up after hearing how far Cochran had come. Beer lovers began lining up outside the Paxton Street brewery shortly after midnight. By 5 a.m., there were close to 50 people in line. Sales were limited to two bottles per person. The brewery handed out bottle caps to the first 200 in line, similar to the wristbands used when concert tickets go on sale.
Quibble? Just that the newspaper chose to use the word "rare" to describe the 400 bottle release in question. I have no problem with special but shouldn't "rare" be reserved for the uncommon? There are so many of these short run beers going around its well beyond hard to keep up with them - it's hard not to run into them, trip over them, be pushed around by them. Frankly, there is so much brettanyomyces going around, I hear that Gold Bond is looking at putting out a new product.
"Rare" can't really mean something that happens as often as short run brews any more than self-assigned connaisseur should be implied to be up there with completing a doctoral program. We all like our hobby. It's nice to have a hobby - and this is a fun one - but just because you have the postage stamp the kid on the next block doesn't, well, it doesn't make it news.