Total Wine?

I took Rick's advice and stopped in this evening to check out the new alcohol mega store on Fairway Drive in Roseville. The place is huge and impersonal to be sure but doesn't really feel much differently to me than our local Bev-Mo's. Until of course you look at the beer's sticker prices.
Rick indicated to me that he thought the prices must be low due to some grand opening introductory gimmick but that idea was shot down by the friendly alcohol matron that seemed desperate to quiz me in the single beer aisle. I told her "With these prices your going to smoke Bev-Mo" and she just smiled and said "That's the Plan". She assured me that the tags reflected their typical, normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill, stock pricing.
I was starting to like this store more by the minute.
She also showed me the generic six-pack carriers on the wall that could be custom mixed and matched with any of the beers on the shelves. Most all the beers I saw in six-packs in another aisle were available individually in that area.
I gotta admit I kinda liked that idea.
I've often wanted to try beers from unknown (to me anyway) brewers but lacked the fortitude and the cash to splurge for an entire 6 pack of beer of unknown quality.
I didn't have a lot of time to spend looking over the place...but then that's no real worry...The Hop Hunter can always find time in the future to seek out cheaply priced quality hop beverages.
2.69 for a 22oz bottle of Racer 5? A 6-pack of Big Daddy IPA for 6.99? Or how about Green Flash Imperial for 3.69? That's what I'm talkin about.
I suspect that the elevated grain and hop costs this year will eventually drive the cost up....but then that's going to be happening to every brewer across the board.
Well...we're off to have lunch in Fresno tomorrow....at sequoiabrewing of course....a mere three hour drive.......