it kind of makes sense. the distributors, the guys that sell your mediocore beer to stores, regardless of whether it sells or not, and who are tasked with making sure tap lines stay fresh and keep up hte marketing campaigns, get totally undercut when a big release happens. breweries in oregon (deschutes and logsdon, for example) now overprice their big releases at the brewery, and then provide a big allottment for the distributor to sell at a lower price in stores. this seems to keep the most amount of people happy.