Is DuClaw killing it lately?

My local store has an end-cap where at least 6-8 varieties of Du Claw are available in 6ers and for singles... twice i've done mixed 6ers and twice i went "meh" when all was said and done.

 

I thought the same thing - been picking them up more often lately and especially liked SBJ. TOTALLY agree on pricing as well. It's remarkable how approachable from a price point perspective they are. If they continue to tweak their brewing to make any one of or a few of these from good to killer, than watch out - these things will fly off the shelves.

 

Have only had the HoW and Retribution - both solid. Also, the Neon Gypsy is not terrible.

Other than those, I haven't been impressed with this brewery at all. Hopefully they're improving!

I cannot, for the love of God, understand why Sweet Baby Jesus is so popular. It tastes like cheap peanut butter candy in the worst possible way...IMHO of course.

 

Have to agree on the guilty filthy soul I really enjoyed that one. A lot of there stuff has been pretty good and I'm going to go grab some devils due today because of your post, although I've never had BCBBW so I wont be able to compare it.

 

I wouldn't say that they're killing it. I didn't even buy Devils Due based on the reviews that friends gave it and how terrible the last batch of Devils Milk was. Someone said that they think it was probably a botched Divine Ret. blending attempt that they passed off as Devils Due. And that would honestly make sense based on the price.

 

killing it? no

making beer that isn't god awful? yes

 

First time I had DuClaw was about 4 years ago at the BWI airport when I went to pick my girlfriend up from an arriving flight. I had an hour to kill, so I figured I'd have my own flight (hehe). Tried like 6 of their beers and didn't like a single one of 'em. Also, I thought the names and branding were dumb. Are they trying to attract comic book readers with these beer names? Then, a year or so later when I was living in Florida, my roommate got to pick one of the beers off the shelf of beers at our favorite beer bar that was basically the owner's public cellar. The beer he picked was Pax Nemesis. I don't know how long that beer had been sitting, but it was pretty oxidized though apparently I wasn't missing out on much given the low BA score. Fast forward to about two months ago, my friend in my bottle share group who's from Maryland brought a Colossus to the share. Man, what a syrupy sweet mess of a beer. It got left in my fridge and, over the course of a week, poured myself a shot or two of it, cooked with some of it (made a great glaze) and drainpoured the rest. Now, DuClaw has made their way into the NC market so my buddy brought me a couple bottles of Sweet Baby Jesus, Serum and Naked Fish. Even with all my negative DuClaw experiences, I really wanted to try SBJ because so many people said it was great and those who said it sucked complained it was too sweet, but I like sweet. It's really good. Not mindblowing but very good. It actually reminds me more of Nutella than peanut butter which is a plus for me. Serum sucks and I haven't had Naked Fish yet. I'll let ya know. I really wanna try Retribution because it has a high score and I just like that word. If I was in a metal band, that's what I'd name it.

TL;dr Have had a lot of their beers and the only one that stuck out was Sweet Baby Jesus. Check out my metal band, Retribution.

And @tkdchampxi what's with the MA/VA area appreciation threads for lackluster breweries? Ya gonna write a "Does Heavy Seas still suck?" thread next?

 

I've been trying a bunch of their beers lately for funsies, and they're more hit and miss, so I at least have an open mind. Such a prolific brewery, but I wonder if it's a quality/quantity issue?

I can't justify the price tag on the Retributions.

 

Never had a bad beer from DuClaw

 

I agree, Guilty Filthy Soul was damn good!

 

Good point but you seem to be illustrating the see-saw effect of swinging away from the widespread hyped beers to "Hey everyone, don't focus so much on the bigger guys, drink local!" which can often-times be just as robotic and annoying especially when your local breweries suck. I'm writing this as an NC transplant who used to live in Delaware so I have a certain respect for breweries like Starr Hill, Flying Fish and even Heavy Seas (love the Cannon series, everything else is subpar) because I cut my teeth on their beers and would still enjoy having access to more of them today. That's cool that you're using your voice to try and get people to take a second look at certain breweries you think are getting better. Still, everyone knows, the cream always rises. If the beers truly are getting better, the sales will reflect that.

 

Solid all around.. Nothing is going to Wow you but still solid nonetheless. Don't get why every beer has to be the best beer you ever had to get a decent response these days... Ridiculous..

 

Every time I go to DC, I try to pick up a few bottles of DuClaw to try. Haven't tried out all the ones that the OP listed, but distinctly remember having the Sweet Baby Jesus and Naked Fish and thought it was decent. Will have to look out for the other ones.

 

I'll start the "When will Legend Brewing start shaking things up?" thread one day. Not today though....Like to see DuClaw thread continue to gain steam.

 

Devil's Due is BA Stout AND BA barleywine so it's hard to compare to BCBW but I def think Devil's Due > BCBW