Hill Farmstead Bottle releases

I had a feeling there wasn't much DB Damon...can't wait to hear the totally reasonable and rational reaction of people on here the week after who get shutout on DB Damon.

 

LOL ... yeah ok.

 

Thank you ... simply justing pointing out the extremes people go through to get a particular beer. I am by no means judging anyone nor am I saying it is a horrible thing, just still baffled after all these years.

 

oh man this is going to be glorious.

 

I really think that it would cause less headache if they didn't announce that DB Damon was going to be released. Then they could just surprise those people who will be getting it, or even just do an unannounced shelf release one week on a Wednesday or Thursday so its not like anyone goes expecting to get it.

 

I know Allagash has done this with their Coolship beers ... simply just had them out and it was word of mouth from there.

 

What fun would that be?!?!?! lol

 

VT is a great place and these releases are an excuse to drive 8 hours and spend a couple days if you got some extra vacation days to burn.

 

let the hype train begin!

edit - i forgot it was there already

 

why would you investigate that deeply?

not bad at all. an hour is pretty reasonable.

 

Ron, I love your posts and respect your opinions. In this case, I will counter and ask what's different between bottle releases and selling thousands of tickets to a beer fest where you stand in 30 minute lines to sample two ounces of beer (many mediocre at best) only to go stand in another line again and again for 4 hours? Where's the confusion? When the love for beer dwindles, which I suspect we will see burn out in about 2/3 years, this website/magazine's audience will dwindle. Then the people will wonder what happened to those lines....the same lines/supply and demand fueling the business models for scores of new Breweries...the same lines flooding Tree House, Prarie and Sante...f-cking A I love the crazy fans driving this business. We will all miss it when it bottoms out. At the same time, everything in moderation right? Missing work for beer, driving 18 hours...I get it, that's extreme....but if I own a brewery? I want to meet that person!

 

I have faith in the American beer culture / meaning the smaller business side of it ... sadly we are already seeing less love for beer overall as the big brewers are taking hit. Craft is still very up though, we'll see double digit growth for at least five more years within the craft beer segment.

Our traffic has met and surpassed my expectations year to year ... more people on the internet, more people turning 21 so I don't see a downturn in our traffic in the near future. Print is up BTW (knock on wood) ;-)

You can't compare hype bottle releases of one brewery to a festival that promote scores of brands and brings a ton of awareness. Not saying one is better than the other ... just different beasts.

 

Hey Jason, I meant no disrespect. I hope you see/read that...also, thank you for continuing to respond. I do understand where you're coming from. The lines can be crazy and the they're not getting shorter...I believe this could eventually contribute to the downfall.

We agree that we will see growth in craft beer. While our projections differ, the growth is healthy and it is the love for the quality breweries where I see these lines increase. (FYI, I am glad to hear print is up)

I wanted to point out that I am not talking about one brewery when I talk about the lines/hype...I tried to point that out by naming other high quality breweries where the same demand seems to exists?

The lines I guess i am just not surprised to see, are for beers that have been aged for years, in some cases, in oak and multiple classic spirits to flavor them...with walnuts and berries and quality/attention to detail not seen before. In my humble opinion, I am not surprised at all that these lines continue to grow...that was where I felt I needed to say something.

 

No, thank you. There are way too many variables even in this discussion though the extreme beer hunter still baffles me. In the 1980's or even 90's I'd buy into it. ;-)

Our beer culture in the US is still so young, we all want to be cheerleaders to a point but we also want the segment to be at their best. A lot to think about for the consumer.

 

Thanks, man. What I was trying to say is that, counter to what I thought I read earlier, one is no less a fan/lover/advocate of beer if one is not driving all night to begin waiting in a line at 7am for a noon opening. I, too, love the fact that there ARE fervent fans who do that, who fly across the country for a beer festival, who take vacation time from work for beer, etc. Those of us, though, who are unable to do that because of work/family obligations, aren't any less passionate.

As for the beer festivals, I've only gone to the HFB fests, and I'm very happy passing up on the rarer stuff (and not waiting in the long lines) and just walking up for other amazing, world class beers like Edward, Arthur, etc.

I wish I could be at this release with all you crazies...

 

Back to HF bottle release/discussion info......go..........

Only HF bottle release discussion below this VVVVV line starting.......now!

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Other then the part about going to HF, this is the most important point in your post. I went there the day before FOFA. I'm still dreaming about that sandwich

 

The duck fat fries with spicy vinegar are the the best. I have cravings all the way in Cali for them.

 

I'll second that. Always our first stop from Syracuse consists of Pro Pig duck fat fries and hill farmstead draft. I love VT.

 

Do not sleep on the Heady Topper mustard. Get a side of that shit with the duck fat fries.