Not sure if this has been discussed yet, but what happened to Alpine Beer getting MA distro? I saw it hit a couple good bars, and had a few release nights I think, but as far as I can tell it has since completely vanished. Anybody have any info?
I believe it's the same case as NY. Green Flash were doing some market testing with Alpine kegs before future bottle distribution. Kegs of Hoppy Birthday & Duet have sporadically hit but it's been pretty scarce since the release events. I'd imagine more information on bottle distribution is coming sometime in the near future.
Now that Alpine has been acquired by Green Flash earlier this year, they're supposed to be arriving in MA later this year, probably in Q4 according to many sources in the industry
Good to know. I passed on going to the few events I saw, my thinking being, "i'll get it on a more convenient night", and then kicking myself since I haven't seen it around. But glad to hear it'll likely be back. Thanks guys.
I've only had Alpine on draft in RI a few months ago. It was Hoppy Birthday. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. It was a dull bitter thud....... Since then, I have been told by people that frequent Alpine in CA, that this is not real Alpine. They feel the GF product is no way near an accurate representation of the brand. Anyone else hear this?
I've heard the same...perhaps from the same folk on here who may have told you. To that I say shame on Alpine if that's the case. They're the QCr's in that scenario so they're approval is reflected in the end product. That said, I only had Nelson and enjoyed it very much.
I've had HB, Nelson & Duet in bottles several times over the years & at a recent Green Flash release event. I noticed some differences in HB & Duet but Nelson was just as great as I remembered. Lets hope they iron out any issues before pushing the wider release.
Anyone else find it overrated? I had duet. It was okay enough and I am sure if I went out to SD and had it from the source it'd be a way different experience, but maybe it's something about IPAs traveling cross country. I don't know.
I had Nelson, Hoppy Birthday, and Duet (twice) when it hit MA. I found them to be very good IPAs. I think what happens with hop-forward beers such as these that are highly rated, beer drinkers expect this mind-blowing experience. To me, they tasted like every other top shelf hoppy beer, whether it be from Lawson's, The Alchemist, Trillium...etc. Brewer's have cracked the code so to speak, and have figured out how to make the new age, tropical fruit forward, IPA... So, if you're used to drinking Trillium, maybe you've sampled Treehouse, you've tried Heady a few times.....you're not going to drink Apline and think, "Wow, this blows them all out of the water."
Right and maybe it's an indictment of hoppy beers (keep in mind, I liked Duet, I just didn't get the transcendent experience I thought I'd get). I only say this because I have had beers recently that have given me that experience. Revolution's Bean Gene blew me out of the water, as you put it; Slumbrew's Yankee Swap 2014 was spectacular. This has happened less and less with hoppy beers and, as you put it, they "tasted like every other top shelf hoppy beer." Maybe I'm getting palate fatigue. Maybe I need a break from hops. I don't know. There was a time when I put a Heady Topper or Julius to my mouth and was blown away. It just seems to be happening less and less with hoppy stuff these days. Don't get me wrong: There's a ton of great stuff I wouldn't turn down. It's just that when I'm looking for that out-of-body-holy-shit-that's-wonderful feeling, I'm bummed I don't get it from hoppy beers anymore. (And, I should add, it could also have been that I just don't think Duet measures up to Tree House or Alchemist or HF -- I'm on the record saying I like Trillium's darker stuff better than the hoppy stuff)
