You Drink Stone Brew? Shame On You

[KirkG.]

E-Mail sent and friday happy hour will be moved to a new location from now on.

K.

[blitzburgh]

Originally Posted by fishsouthcounty

anyone know where you can pick up Ballast Point in the South Orange County area? All this talk is making me thirsty. Never tried it.

Total Wine in Tustin....... 2952 El Camino Real Tustin

They have litterally 1000 different beers but the the stuff I buy most is Ballast. I love everything they make but my two favorites are the Yellowtail Pale Ale & The Sculpin IPA. Just like the one that swims, you better be careful with that Sculpin!

[herbo]

Valid points taken...All those brews you have mentioned are great, I'm a Becks beer man myself....H

[T-Rex]

Email sent. I've been drinking Stone since they first opened in San Marcos. Their IPA, Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard have been among my favorite beers. No more...

Stone should take their Double Bastard marketing propaganda to heart, "Why so many allow themselves to be led by the nose lacks plausible explanation. Perhaps you have been so lulled by the siren song of ignorance that you don’t even notice your white-knuckle grip on it. You feel bold and unique, but alas are nothing but sheep, willingly being herded to and fro.... Truth be told, you are being coddled by ethically challenged “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” marketers who layer imagined attributes specifically engineered to lead you by the nose. Should you decide to abdicate your ability to make decisions for yourself, then you are perhaps deserving of the pabulum they serve. ...(We demand) retribution for their outrageously conniving, intentionally misleading, blatantly masturbatory and fallacious ad campaigns. We demand the unmitigated, transparent truth. We demand forthright honesty. We want justice! Call ‘em out and line ‘em up against the wall... NOW."

Time to line Stone and the other f'n companies that supported the MLPA up against the wall and boycott all their products. Stone's not worthy of another penny from me!

Just tried Ballast Point Sculpin IPA for the first time today...very, very nice!

[Croaker Dave]

Just got back from BevMo. I told the beer guy the story about Stone and MLPA and he was really interested and wanted to hear the whole thing. He wanted to hear more about how to land a big fish on a kayak, too. He got me some Ballast Point Big Eye, Calico, and Yellowtail. I'll save the Sculpin for next visit. He handed me a few other beers, too, that he said were great. Also suggested that I have the porter with a nice steak, so I stopped at Costco on the way back for some filet mignons and appetizers. That was fun! Now I gotta get busy drinking and eating.

[bus kid]

Originally Posted by fishsouthcounty

anyone know where you can pick up Ballast Point in the South Orange County area? All this talk is making me thirsty. Never tried it.

Bevmo.

[FISHIONADO]

The Walton Family donated in support of MLPA's, hope you guys are boycotting Wal-Mart also.

[Whizz Bang]

I WAS a huge Stone fan. I have spent thousands on their product. Many hundreds at their Bistro, and hundreds more in merchandise. NO MORE.

Email sent. Now I got to find out if AleSmith is also out. Too bad.

[Corey]

Stone is over-hopped and over-hyped anyway.

Its easy to over-hop the shit out of all your beer styles and claim some sort of "You're not worthy" slogan, to cover up the fact that your beers are not that great.

I give my business to Ballast Point, Green Flash, Port Brewing (Pizza Port), and AleSmith.

[Nic D]

Originally Posted by Siebler

Ballast Point is the only thing you will find in the OEX keg.... Shouldnt be a hard switch for a bunch of fishermen to make.

I love Sculpin and Bigeye but there isnt a beer the brew that isnt great.

x2 Love their IPA's

[T Bone]

Stone has an IPA called "Self Righteous" good title.

I had sculpin the other day for the first time.It was great but for 7.99 a 220z
I will take Double Jack or Shipwrecked.

Sending them an Email right after this.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by FISHIONADO

The Walton Family donated in support of MLPA's, hope you guys are boycotting Wal-Mart also.

Luckily I've been on that boycott for a few years now.

[DocHaole]

Looks like I'm going to get that deposit back on my growler

[Aaron&Julie]

Originally Posted by kareem korn

while not unnecessarily displacing those who catch fish for a living or for pleasure...Samantha Loveira

Are you frickn' kidding me?
BEFORE the MLPA, Julie and I would paddle 7-12 miles a day, sometimes unsuccessfully so.
Now, let's see, after paddling many miles back 'n' forth, cramped together with all the PBers, Sportboats and other kayakers, into the one little patch of a good fishing area these assholes left for us, we've got 3 choices, if fishing is dead there.
1) We can paddle another 3 miles or more to the North for the next open fishing area, going past the Glider port, leaving a short 4+ mile paddle back to the launch, when said and done.
2) We can paddle 3 miles to fish the next South open area, getting close to Crystal pier. Hmmm, that leaves a good 8 mile paddle back. Better not have the wind in your face on that one.
3) Or the choice all the MLPA supporters want, quit fishing, and paddle 2 miles back to shore.

I mean really, since they didn't do the proper research, isn't that what this is all about?

The "whacked out" extreme environmentalists, should've spent their time, money, and energy figuring out ways to stop sewage spills, storm drain runoffs and all of the other crap that really screws up the environment. Instead, they chose closures to fishermen, who do more good, than harm. We can't tell you how much garbage we've pulled out of the ocean since we've started kayak fishing, while leaving none behind.

...while not unnecessarily displacing those who catch fish for a living or for pleasure...

Yeah, right, screw you Samantha Loveira! And the company you rode in on.

[467echo]

I'm proud to say I have been Stone free since January! And now have a keg of BP Big Eye behind my computer at all times.


I received an email from their PR person regarding CEO Greg Koch's letter in regards to the overwhelming negative response to Stone's support of the MLPA. The letter is as follows:

"Statement from Stone Brewing Co. CEO and Co-Founder, Greg Koch:

I feel compelled to respond to the mistaken claims regarding Stone and our supposed involvement with the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). Stone Brewing Co. does not currently support or plan to support the MLPA in the future.

In April 2010 we were sent what looked like a very reasonable letter from SD Coastkeeper asking permission to have Stone Brewing Co.’s name added to a long list of companies in support of the Marine Life Protection Act. I took a look at it, decided it looked okay on the surface, and said okay.

It’s arguable that that might not have been a good call. It was, however, the one and only interaction we had with the MLPA.

Between April 2010 and January 2012, I received only one email asking me to support the MLPA, to which I never responded. Additionally, we were not contacted by any anti-MLPA groups requesting that we support their point of view during this period.

Seemingly out of nowhere, in January 2012, we began receiving angry and accusatory inquiries about our “support” of the MLPA. When the accusations were brought to my attention, nearly two years after I received the initial letter asking for support, I was not aware of the issues, pro or con, behind the subject. Some people didn’t care, and saw us as a company on which to focus their online ire, beginning a litany of hostile accusations on websites and in emails. We responded to these comments with what we believed would end any speculation of our involvement. However, our response was dismissed by a small group of people who were very familiar with the MLPA. Admittedly, the MLPA issue was not something we were involved in, and not something we knew much about as it is not within our scope of business.

Stone Brewing Co. in no way has ever supported, is currently supporting, or planned to support the MLPA in the future (other than the single misguided generic letter we responded to that I mentioned in the first paragraph). Saying we support the MLPA is like saying we’re supporting a particular political party because we once said we thought one of their policies seemed reasonable. We’ve participated in no rallies. Conducted no fundraising. There has been no activity by Stone Brewing Co. regarding the MLPA. None.

We do participate in more than 500 charitable events a year, and have donated more than $2 million to local charities and nonprofits during the past 16 years. Is it possible that we donated beer to an event that was being held in support of the MLPA? It’s possible. Our policy is that if a 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 organization approaches us with the necessary and correct California Alcoholic Beverage Control paperwork, we most often say yes to their donation requests.

Due to the unfounded accusations around this MLPA issue, we reached out to the San Diego Surfrider chapter and inquired whether any funds we ever donated had been channeled to the MLPA. In their response letter to us, they assured us they had not. To guarantee our non-involvement, we have formally asked them to only use donated funds from Stone Brewing Co. exclusively for efforts such as beach cleanup, runoff treatment, Hold On To Your Butt, and their Rise Above Plastics campaign (programs which most certainly are near and dear to our hearts). We’ve made it clear to them that we do not wish to be listed as a supporter of the MLPA, as we never should have been in the first place. We’re politically neutral, and it was an error on our part to have allowed ourselves to be listed on the initial letter.

Since this letter covers how the events unfolded, this will be the last you’ll hear from us on this subject. If, after reading my account on the way everything played out, you still feel you will not buy our beer or visit our restaurant, so be it. Thank you for taking the time to read my account and taking into consideration the facts about Stone’s non-involvement in the MLPA issue.

Greg Koch
Stone Brewing Co.
CEO and Co-Founder

July 25th, 2012"

[bus kid]

1st mistake was to "take a look at it"

"In April 2010 we were sent what looked like a very reasonable letter from SD Coastkeeper asking permission to have Stone Brewing Co.’s name added to a long list of companies in support of the Marine Life Protection Act. I took a look at it, decided it looked okay on the surface, and said okay. "

2nd mistake underestimating fisherman.

A "small group of people" I wonder if he means fisherman? who else is going to send letters / emails?
If you don't know much about something why would you agree to it? My guess is the lure of free publicity was too hard to turn down?



"However, our response was dismissed by a small group of people who were very familiar with the MLPA. Admittedly, the MLPA issue was not something we were involved in, and not something we knew much about as it is not within our scope of business. "


Stone Brewery.

[Cbad Mike]

Maybe Greg Koch and Stone Brewing Co would support yakfest next week and donate a keg?

[Mongo Johnson]

I guess not being local leaves me to just drink my San Miguel Dark. Cretins.

[bus kid]

Originally Posted by Mongo Johnson

I guess not being local leaves me to just drink my San Miguel Dark. Cretins.

I have seen BP in Paso Robles, try bevmo In the LBC

http://www.bevmo.com/Misc/StoreDetail.aspx?sid=92

[maui jim]

Island Brewery. Carpinteria, ca. Just great brews. No politics..