The Beer Thread

fine, i'll talk stout.

tonight i'll either enjoy a stone espresso RIS, which is one of my favorite beers period (and it's a shame it's only out every other year) or a fremont kentucky dark star (i have half a case just sitting there…).

Attention suburbanites: Backwoods Bastard on draft at Fairfax Whole Foods. Single serving or growler.

Went to Ravens game yesterday.  They have some Ravens Walk outside and a stand had domestic for 4 bucks and imports for 5.  I asked what imports he had and he said "Shock Top, Bud Light Lime, and Twisted Tea".  Anyway inside I got a big can of Sam Adams Boston Lager which was truely terrible.  Orioles sure beat the Ravens on Beer.

I went to Bluejacket over the weekend. The space is amazing but the beers were average at best. Debuting with 20+ beers seemed like a bit much. I'm sure over time they'll get better, but right now I don't see a reason to go back just yet. It was also incredibly crowded for 4pm.

i haven't been to BJ yet, but a friend who has was of the same opinion… some very respectable beers but not much was  mind-blowing.  also said the food was expensive - $16 burger.  can't say that i'm in a hurry to make it down there.

Has anybody had Hardywood's Gingerbread Stout?

Tentatively planning on daytripping to Richmond for the release party Saturday (as well as other Richmond activities…you know, like egging Julian's house, etc).

sweetcell wrote:
i haven't been to BJ yet, but a friend who has was of the same opinion… some very respectable beers but not much was  mind-blowing.  also said the food was expensive - $16 burger.  can't say that i'm in a hurry to make it down there.

How do you think he is able to afford his cool hipster wardrobe?

Are you talking about Greg Engert, or sweetcell's friend?

If the former, I think he just goes to civil war reenactment surplus stores and gets things on the cheap.

If the latter, he's a great guy but I don't think he had a hipster wardrobe.

Shemp wrote:

sweetcell wrote:
i haven't been to BJ yet, but a friend who has was of the same opinion… some very respectable beers but not much was  mind-blowing.  also said the food was expensive - $16 burger.  can't say that i'm in a hurry to make it down there.

How do you think he is able to afford his cool hipster wardrobe?

more on the new brew pub close to the 930:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/youngandhungry/2013/11/13/first-look-at-right-proper-brewpub-opening-soon/

Yada wrote:
http://www.citizensbrewingco.com

"Citizens Brewing Co. is a craft brewery serving European-style lagers, American-style ales, Belgian-inspired beers, sour beers, and barrel-aged beers…"

trying to be everything to everyone much?

sweetcell wrote:

Yada wrote:
http://www.citizensbrewingco.com

"Citizens Brewing Co. is a craft brewery serving European-style lagers, American-style ales, Belgian-inspired beers, sour beers, and barrel-aged beers…"

trying to be everything to everyone much?

i dont get these places that open up immediately and start souring and barrel-aging beers. takes a while to develop those styles, especially barrel-aging.  first, you need to produce a beer that's good enough to age, then second, you need to find a suitable barrel. 

sweetcell wrote:

stevewizzle wrote:
upstairs?  gots to be the duchesse.  

i tried the duchesse when it first appeared upstairs.  i wasn't into sours at the time, the bartender warned me about what to expect… and i didn't like.  i def need to try it again next time i'm at the club.  i have since acquired a taste for certain sours.  based on what i've read, the duchesse is very acetic and is a polarizing beer even among sour lovers.

i had a beer at showbox at the market last night in seattle.  i loved the venue, but i died a little when i got to the bar.  they had one or two okay drafts, a georgetown manny's pale ale and a widmer hefe, but they have not cleaned their lines in maybe an eternity and the beer was absolutely awful. bring me back to nine-thirty, please.

The Alchemist hopes to have a replacement retail location operational by Xmas: http://www.alchemistbeer.com/updates/";

so the retail operation is knocked out while i'm in VT over thanksgiving but will return once i'm gone.  great, just great.

(seriously tho, just means i'll have to hunt around and find a store that has some in stock.  hopefully all these shenanigans have scared away the masses…)

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /updates/ on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

sweetcell wrote:
The Alchemist hopes to have a replacement retail location operational by Xmas: http://www.alchemistbeer.com/updates/"

so the retail operation is knocked out while i'm in VT over thanksgiving but will return once i'm gone.  great, just great.

(seriously tho, just means i'll have to hunt around and find a store that has some in stock.  hopefully all these shenanigans have scared away the masses…)

fine, since you seem to lack a decent internet connection:

Updates
Posted on November 12, 2013

Thank you, thank you, Thank You to all of our loyal supporters, friends and family as we face our newest challenge. We would also like to give a heartfelt thanks to our incredible staff?you have all done an amazing job rising above the nonsense and keeping your chins up.

Last week we made the decision to close our retail shop beginning November 16th.  This decision was unplanned and prompted quickly to mitigate ongoing traffic issues and public access concerns. Each week our retail shop has become busier and more chaotic?too much for our physical location?and demand continues to grow.

We decided to post the closing as soon as we were aware of the situation. Although we did not have a lot of information to share, we understand that consumers and local businesses depend on our retail shop being open and we needed to get the word out.

Since closing last week, we believe we have found a new, larger space for our retail shop in Waterbury Center. The parking is adequate, traffic flow will be better and there is greater visibility for turning onto and off of Route 100. As soon as we confirm all zoning and public access regulations, we will begin working around the clock to get our new shop open as soon as possible.

In the meantime, while we are temporarily closed, we will be sending extra Heady Topper? to our current accounts. Several large retailers will be selling full cases for $75.  We have added two extra delivery trucks for the month. We will replenish accounts to the best of our ability until we sell out of Heady Topper?.  We will have an updated ?Where to Buy? page on our website this week (hopefully by Wednesday). This page will include delivery days for both retailers and restaurants. We will also try to indicate which retailers will be selling full cases.

We hope to open our new shop before the holidays, but have a bit of work to do. Please keep in mind, we have never had a project NOT throw some curves. We will make every effort to open our new location as soon as possible. Until then, we will continue to produce the same amount of Heady Topper? and we will work hard to make it available.


Q:  When do you expect your new retail location to open?
A:  Hopefully before Christmas.


Q:  Where will I buy Heady Topper? while your retail shop is closed?
A:  At any one of our current authorized retail accounts. All distribution information will be updated this week. We will include delivery days and case price if available. We will also differentiate between retailers and restaurant/bars.


Q:  Are you going to increase the price of Heady Topper??
A:  As always, our suggested retail price is $12.99?$14.99/4-pack. We have not increased our wholesale price since we started distributing over two years ago. If it?s overpriced, don?t buy it.


Q:  Is my Heady Topper? going to sit in a warehouse for a month before I get it?
A:  Hell no! We will continue to sell and distribute everything we make. Heady goes into our refrigerated truck on the day it is canned. It is delivered that day. Our driver keeps a close and caring eye on Heady Topper? inventory, ensuring it is always sold fresh at our authorized retail locations.


Q: Will you be sending beer to southern Vermont?
A: Sorry, no. We don?t want to expand distribution and then pull back in four weeks. We have been down this road before and it is confusing for our customers.


Q:  What do I do with my new growler?
A:  Hang onto it?we will figure something out. If you don?t want to wait and have no use for it, please return it to us. We will give you your money back. Please keep in mind, we sold those beautiful, stainless steel growlers at our cost of $15.

Q: What are you going to do with the upcoming seasonal beers that were slated for growlers?
A: Our next two seasonals will be available on draft at Waterbury bars/restaurants. We will give more information on these beers when they are ready to be released in the coming weeks.

Q:  Were you bought out by [insert Brewery Name here]?
A:  No.

Q:  Has this all been some kind of sick marketing ploy?
A: Huh?

Thanks again to all of our supporters, friends, family and staff. We will keep you updated as we move along.

Jen & John

so individuals were complaining about the traffic, on the other hand businesses have become dependent on the traffic.  and beer drinkers are going to complain no matter what because there isn't enough beer at the right place at the right time.  poor bastards can't please anyone…

Pardon my complete ignorance on the topic, but what exactly is the big deal about this Heady Topper beer? Is it basically just another company's Hopslam (in both hoppy-ness and low availability)?

Heady Topper is the one and only beer produced by the Alchemist Cannery in Waterbury, VT. I can honestly say that Heady Topper is the best tasting beer I've ever had. And I've had many beers. I've actually had many Heady Toppers, so it's not like I tried it once and am glorifying the experience.

Many other beer lovers have reached the same conclusion, as it stands at #1 on top beers list as rated by beer advocate users.

http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top

Heady is only available at the brewery in Waterbury and nearby (like within 30 miles) stores and restaurants. Numerous beer geeks drive to Vermont, buy it by the case, bring it home and share with their friends and/or trade with other beer lovers around the world.

Because of it's lack of distribution, Heady is a much tougher find than Hopslam. Hopslam comes out once a year, and you can usually get plenty of it for a week or two in January, as long as you reside in a state where Bell's distributes. Heady IS produced year round, but again, you have to drive to  the source, trade, or have a good friend in order to acquire it.

In terms of taste Hopslam vs. Heady, Heady wins by a mile imo. Also, Heady retails at $3 for a 16 oz can whereas Hopslam works out to something slightly higher than that per 12 oz bottle.

The only downside about drinking  Heady is that when you run out, anything other hoppy beer is going to be disappointing by comparison.

Julian, wrote:
Pardon my complete ignorance on the topic, but what exactly is the big deal about this Heady Topper beer? Is it basically just another company's Hopslam (in both hoppy-ness and low availability)?

is this beer another future example, those are the best kind, of becoming mass produced . . . and then sucking?

heady topper: what ford said.

walkonby wrote:
is this beer another future example, those are the best kind, of becoming mass produced . . . and then sucking?

nope, because it won't be massed produced.  the brewer, john kimmich, is a total vermont hippie/locavore/community activist/small is beautiful/etc.  he's had many offers to make mad bank by going big and he has consistently said no.  he likes his current size, he has no ambition of going national.  in fact he dreads it and isn't entirely comfortable with the fame he and his beer have.