New to Ohio (2015)

It's all good man... I don't hate Jackie O's. Just not where I put my money. Hell, I buy a bottle about every other month. I just don't personally feel like it holds up to what I paid is all. I feel like I get better value else where is all.

New Thread Rule: Speaking ill of Jackie O's is sacrilegious.

Ok, I got it.... Onward with the weekend and the rest of the thread.

 

Gonna go out on a limb here and guess you've never had Black Maple or Sherry Oil (nd pretty much every release only beer). You are also comparing a small (but growing) brewery to inBev owned GI and Founders who obviously have much higher profit margins and can afford to charge less for beers that cost a lot to make. Even then, GI jacked up BC and it's variants to like $28 a 4 pack and 22oz bomber last year so it's really not that far off.

 

Jesus that some serious hate on Madtree. Why no soul? That seems like a bit of a leap and I'm sincerely curious if there's a story behind that feeling. I personally haven't seen any consistency issues, canned or tap, though they do seem to have a rather expansive and rotating list at the tap room so I could see where consistency issues could come in with that.
With regards to the horrendous beers? I never tried their gose you speak of but that one aside I can't readily think of another one of their beers that I would put close to the word horrendous. Personally, I liked the Galaxy High a little better than the Citra High.

What this guy was saying...HA!

And just so I won't be cast down with a stoning, let the record show I love me some Jackie O's!

 

No story...more their packaging and product that anything else. I'm not drawn in, there's zero "spark" to me. Swap out the name for another brewery and I don't see a difference. Speaking of which, the name - Mad Tree - what does that have to do with anything? Beards and headbands, isn't that AZ Wilderness? Basically, their products are rather boring to me while other breweries have something to draw me in be it marketing, quality or similarity in beers. They're all over the place. BA Axis Mundi coffee/vanilla was great. Other stuff, not so much.

We don't see their stuff in Cleveland, but at Ohio Brew Week and similar fests I've been able to try their stuff, Rhinegeist, 50 West and Listermann. Listermann kills it on the product side, best beers overall, but horrendous name (sounds like Listerine). 50 West seems to have some lore and cohesiveness in their products, and I like that, and their beers are all OK+. Rhinegeist is consistently average and, just like Mad Tree, I don't get their "thing" and the beers I've tried are similar - lacking the 'wow' factor.

Just my opinion, probably exacerbated by someone referring to Jackie O's as mediocre then pointing to Mad Tree. Take it with a grain of salt. Cheers!

 

As a Cincinnati native, I 100% agree with you. Rhinegeist and MadTree are the most "popular" breweries and seem to be the cool places to hang out. Their beers are consistently mediocre, and have only a few beers I have found stood out above the pack (Citra/Galaxy High for Madtree and Saber Tooth Tiger for Rhinegeist).

Listermann has some GREAT dark beers, and I could care less about their name. 50W hardly ever bottles, so they don't get the love they deserve. They are far and away the best brewery in Cincinnati, IMO. They do pales better than MadTree and Rhinegeist, have some phenomenal dark beers, consistently rotate their taps, and have great food and cool taproom vibe. They have that feeling of a "soul" you mention when speaking of Jackie O's (not comparing the two as 50W isn't on the same plane as them, but 50W does have that "it" more-so than MadTree/Rhinegeist).

 

I never hear anyone talk about Fifty West, but their BBA Milk Stout collab with Fatheads was one of the best beers I've ever had at Fatheads and that is saying a lot at the Palace of Hops.

 

It really is a shame no one talks about them. Brett is My Co-Pilot was their most recent limited bottle release, and it is a pretty good Wild Ale - I have one aging in the cellar and look forward to trying it. Their Coffee Please stout, Paycheck's Porter, Punch You in the EyePA, and ALL their barrel aged beers have CRUSHED anything Rhinegeist or MadTree have released with comparative styles. I really wish they could find a way to expand and start distributing bottles.

Oh, and their food is really really good. If not a bit pricey.

 

I feel that way about Rhinegeist more than Madtree with regards to the consistently mediocre, since for me, a lot of Rhinegeist brews have a similar specific taste to them and I do not get that with Madtree. One brew not mentioned that I really liked from Madtree was their Rubus Cacao, other three mentioned are probably my favorites from the two.

Are we lumping the Listermann/Triple Digit into one because if so I'd have to agree but without Triple Digit, I'm not so sure. 50W has some really good brews and others are kind of meh, loved Punch you in the eyePA, Brett is my copilot and Elanor was good as well but not everything I tried from them was phenomenal. For me the worst part was probably the grub at 50 wasn't that good when I went for lunch, everyone else in our party agreed. Granted though I've only had their food once so I should probably give it another go before finalizing my opinion there. But they do have a cool atmosphere/vibe at the taproom, love the restored VW vans.

Just read your most recent post, I'll have to try that coffee please since I love Taft's Mooly Wooly.

 

Any High Westified around Cleveland? I haven't seen or heard anything..

 

$8.99 in Lake county with no limit... This beer single handily sparked the jackie O debate! ;-)

 

Circle A was out when I stopped in late last evening. 1 bottle limit at Royal Park.

 

It also helped me realize some Cali douche ***** me in a trade a month or two ago.

 

If you liked Wooly Mooly, Coffee Please will blow your socks off. Get to the taproom ASAP! If you like DIPAs, also try Vehicular Hopicide. Their newer brews just keep getting better and better. I agree some of their older flagships are meh.

And yes, I'm including Triple Digit.

 

Not sure High Westified is going to make it do Dayton, so ISO. My GF will be in Euclid area in a few weeks so it could be sort of IP. She doesn't know I'm signing her up for this but when she hears coffee stout, I'm sure she won't be mad. PM me if anyone thinks they could do this and we can talk trades. Thanks!

 

Got Ya... The whole case (sans the two I bought yesterday) is just sitting on the floor. I guess they are over looking it. I bagged 3 more. Felt kinda guilty actually. Told the kid he said "yeah man, is it good? Buy the whole case" *usually they have a table with limits. Oh well.

 

I've been DYING to try this, and of course, nowhere to be found in Cincy.

 

I know it has started being distributed in Cincinnati via Premium. I think Root Cellar in Kenwood gets a delivery from Premium today but not 100%.

 

Appreciate the tip - yes, Root Cellar generally seems to get shipments on Friday. Forgot about them. Thank you!