Bad Second Fiddle Batch? (5/22/15)

I'm at CBC Newton now. The cans for sale are from the 5/14 batch.

 

I believe the brewmaster is at CBC Belmont today. I would have otherwise!

 

For whatever its worth, I just picked some up in Belmont and it's also the 5/14 batch.

It's maybe a little more bitter than I remember it being when I had some last year, but I'm inclined to chalk that up to my palate and memory and say these taste basically the same as those I've had before (which is to say they taste fantastic!).

I'll be curious what you find.

Oh, and kudos to CBC and Fiddlehead for a very smooth experience and an impressive lack of markup on the beer! The brewmaster seemed like an exceedingly nice guy too.

 

The cans that hit the burlington area on Friday were dated 4/30. I thought that was kind of strange...

 

Cans I got at CBC Westford today are dated 5/14/15

 

so this is a definitive fact based on the two cans you drank. How many cans do you think they produced? Just your case?

 

You mess with the bull/Vermont IPA fanboys, you get the horns.

 

Went thru distro, no surprise it isn't the batch from this weekend.

That is Farrell distro for you

 

Drinking one from the 5/14 batch right now, purchased at CBC Newton today. I haven't had it before so I don't have a comparison. To me it tastes good, but is essentially no better than a fresh can of Larry. Similar character. Do others who have had it before think that's a fair comparison? Just curious if the batch I have representative of what SF is as opposed to a potential inferior batch.

 

they routinely sit on 200+ cases at a time... Wtf is that about?

 

Having had it a few times. Great beer just not ground breaking. Its got the VT magic dust by association. But its not Alchemist, HF, or Lawson's. Its a step below. Having had tons of Larry fresh. I see/taste the similarities.

 

It's a good comparison as far as I'm concerned. It's on the sweeter side of spectrum, similar malt profile, I find second fiddle a bit more fruity and floral than Larry but they aren't worlds apart. Never really understood the craze over SF. 16 oz canned IPAs from Vermont start a couple points ahead I suppose.

 

I like Larry just fine, but 2nd Fiddle is much less malty and the hop profile is much jucier.

 

SF is right up there with my favorite DIPAs and might even be my favorite. I'm getting more cans and will check the dates and taste. It reminds me of Vicinity and Swish, not Larry. Larry has a lot more malt than those three.

 

I still prefer Mastermind over SF. Much more juicy and crisp

 

Sean, talked briefly to Matt Cohen tonight and he mentioned he was hoping they would continue to drop a few cases in MA on occasion. Great news for all of us down here, for certain.

He also had no ETA on his next batch of Mastermind. Said getting hops has been difficult and he just secured the balance he needed for his next four brews. Two of Second Fiddle and probably a Hodad and one other.