Russian River hype. When will it end?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by watermelonman, May 22, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 1 of 9
  1. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    I have been wondering, for years now, when does it end? When will all the Yelp dorks and reddit weenies get enough?

    I remember when Russian River opened up and I lived ten minutes away. My girl at the time used to say, I want a real belgian, none of that RR wannabe brew; give me Orval and give me Westmalle. Not that Vinnie does a bad job, but to be blunt and realistic, these are American interpretations and clones, not the hallowed brews of an ancient time with deep following and history. How has the beer world glommed on to such a singular, admittedly excellent but definitely not phenomenal location? On what plane of existence does an artificially limited double IPA rank higher than Westvleteren Dubbel? To be clear, I love Pliny the Elder, I enjoy many Vinnie brews, but to single out this one location as beer mecca simply turns me away from the notion of internet reviewing. There is far too much cool stuff happening in Belgium, at DFH, on the east coast, at Three Floyds, at Founders, in Pittsburgh, in Boston, up the street at Bear Republic, I simply have no idea why people become to singularly minded. Where does the tunnel vision come from and how can we widen our view to include the rest of the great?

    I am not trying to hate, but rather asking why we, the internet, discriminate.
     
    #1 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
    Hoppsbabo, JOrtt, MadeInOregon and 5 others like this.
  2. MasterCraft

    MasterCraft Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2012 Massachusetts

    :astonished:
     
    #2 MasterCraft, May 22, 2013
    mooseo, ScaryHairy44, CypherEnigma and 49 others like this.
  3. libbey

    libbey Initiate (0) May 18, 2008 British Indian Ocean Territory

    They make world class beers and a wide variety of them. They have a beautiful pub in a beautiful part of the country. Why wouldn't you want to drink beer there?
     
    #3 libbey, May 22, 2013
    thedirtyname, CaptainPiret, Hanzo and 70 others like this.
  4. bayareahustla

    bayareahustla Zealot (656) Jul 13, 2012 California
    Trader

    i just got back from RR tonight. i also went to Bear Republic earlier today. and to even say there is possibly more going on at bear republic, you must be joking.....hahah
     
    #4 bayareahustla, May 22, 2013
    Geuzedad, fernz18, kingkukta and 8 others like this.
  5. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    More? You failed at reading.
     
    #5 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
  6. raynmoon

    raynmoon Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2011 Colorado

    your post basically stated:
    -you have to be old and live in a prestigious area to be good.
    -any belgian style ale brewed in america is a fake.
    -the rest of us have no clue about Bear Republic and Three Floyds.

    also, if you look on most of these beers brewed in american it says "belgian STYLE ale". Besides, they use mostly imported Belgian specialty malts, sugars and yeasts, so what do you know, right. lol.

    The last time I checked, the brewery in my town and the ones miles down the road aren't knocking out world class beers from a vast majority of styles like Russin River is doing.
     
    #6 raynmoon, May 22, 2013
    Geuzedad, yamar68, Eriktheipaman and 2 others like this.
  7. afrokaze

    afrokaze Pooh-Bah (1,974) Jun 12, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Now, take a deep breath and tell us how you really feel.
     
    #7 afrokaze, May 22, 2013
    ejw127, Bluecane, BeerKangaroo and 11 others like this.
  8. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    I appreciate an intelligent and well formed response. If I came across as believing that any American sourced Belgian was fraudulent, that was an overstatement on my behalf and I apologize. There are plenty I have enjoyed and even loved. I suppose the disconnect is in hype clouds, echo chambers, and dealing with crowds. Similarly there are many musical acts that I have loved, playing Coachella and Outside Lands, that I skip because I do not enjoy massive crowds and lines. To me, I would rather be other places, enjoying ware that are on the same level, in a more relaxed environment. That is my Bear Republic, and I definitely never said that no one else had ever heard of it.
     
    #8 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
  9. Orca

    Orca Grand Pooh-Bah (4,710) Sep 18, 2010 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't know anyone who's singling out Russian River as beer mecca. It's a great brewery that makes great beer. One of many. A lot of people consider Founders, or Three Floyds, or Hill Farmstead, or any number of other breweries to be beer mecca. They're about as correct as anyone who claims this title for Russian River. This isn't "Highlander." There can be more than one.

    As for your comparison to the venerable Belgian beers, Russian River will be the first to tell you:

    How are "Belgian inspired ales" different than actual beers of Belgium?
    Out of respect for our brewing friends in Belgium, we choose to use the word "inspired" when explaining these types of beers. We certainly do not set out to copy any Belgian ale. But we do take inspiration from them. Like all of our beers, we brew them with our own unique California craft beer twist.
     
    #9 Orca, May 22, 2013
    CurtisMcArthur, jasonmason, tehzachatak and 33 others like this.
  10. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    Mostly because you cannot get a seat within two hours of arriving. Thought.
     
    #10 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
    JOrtt and xgeneralzodx like this.
  11. raynmoon

    raynmoon Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2011 Colorado

    Coachella is basically the Russian River of the beer world. EVEYRBODY knows about it and loves it and flocks there, making you wonder "Well, Outside Lands SF is awesome too!". But when you look at the line-ups, Coachella just somehow seems to get the biggest variety of bands to play. That is just preference though. But these places earned their hype by delivering awesome beer. I think we just caught up in "hype". Businesses have to sart somewhere, and good for them.
     
    #11 raynmoon, May 22, 2013
  12. pixiesfanyo

    pixiesfanyo Crusader (495) Oct 25, 2010 California

    this is the worst thread ever. russian river makes brilliant beer that is hyped because of its amazing consistency. its very hard to master so many different styles and literally everything theyve done is a benchmark in terms of American styles. Also, have you even ever been to Belgium? Talked to the brewers there and how they feel
    about these "ancient" brews from Westmalle? Be thankful you can get Russian River, its truly a gift to be bless with such a wide arrange of great beer from one brewery. Shout out to Row 2 love that shit.
     
    #12 pixiesfanyo, May 22, 2013
    TommyLiam, ejw127, IMSPEAKNOENGLISH and 21 others like this.
  13. bodell82

    bodell82 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2006 California

    If you're complaining that Pliny is only hyped because of its artificially limited distribution, you may not want to pick the most artificially limited beer in the world as a comparison. Just sayin.
     
    #13 bodell82, May 22, 2013
    CypherEnigma, ejw127, fujindemon74 and 13 others like this.
  14. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    You crack me up. Consistency? I have had Perdition in dark ruby red and bright pale gold. Great beer overall, but I said that right off the bat. I love Pliny the Elder, I love some of the sours, I do not love the inconsistency, I do not love the crowds.
     
    #14 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
  15. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    I think you missed the point, prone to happen to young ego dudes. Enjoy what you got, sorry to disturb you.
     
    #15 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
  16. podunkparte

    podunkparte Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2009 Washington

    Did you really just compare DFH to Russian River?

    Sorry, subjectivity and all, but DFH and Russian River are at far different ends of the good beer spectrum.

    Also, what does Westy Dubbel have to do with Pliny? You're comparing apples to oranges on a site located in a country where most of its posters haven't ever tried the apples.

    Basically, this thread is fucking weird.
     
    #16 podunkparte, May 22, 2013
    Roguer, lndsy, depechemode1983 and 19 others like this.
  17. watermelonman

    watermelonman Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2004 California

    Hah, I tried to get in for a non younger growler fill and they told me to wait in a month long line.
     
    #17 watermelonman, May 22, 2013
  18. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    If it's yelp and reddit that are bothering you, why not ask this question to them?

    Believe it or not, there are places outside of California...not everyone in the world is worrying that much about what Russian River is doing.
     
    #18 pixieskid, May 22, 2013
    Roguer and MichiBrew like this.
  19. CORKSCREWFISH

    CORKSCREWFISH Initiate (0) Apr 22, 2011 Illinois

    So,to translate:
    I love Russian River and so do a lot of other people. This makes it hard for me to get what I like. .............Go find your own beer assholes!

    Pretty much?
     
    #19 CORKSCREWFISH, May 22, 2013
    Wally, tommyz, hoppinessisacoldbrew and 5 others like this.
  20. MykelJH

    MykelJH Initiate (0) Aug 3, 2011 California


    That has literally never happend any time I have been there. Even on the busiest friday nights saturday nights I have never had to wait more than an hour. Pliny the younger release I didnt stick around for so cannot comment.

    Waiting? go drink a "fake belgian" that tastes really good. done /
     
    #20 MykelJH, May 22, 2013
    Dagsy and litheum94 like this.
Page 1 of 9
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.