On X-mas I opened a bottle of Hunter Coffee I picked up in Indy in late November and it was badly infected. Shared it with my whole family and it was a drain pour for all. Then on New Year's I opened a bottle of Hunter Vanilla I purchased the same day as the Coffee and while it wasn't a full blown one-sip and drain pour, it was low quality, presumably due to the early signs of infection it was exhibiting. I struggled through my glass and my wife thought it sucked too. Thoughts?
Check with the brewery. I thought I saw someone else here reporting a bad vanilla hunter. I have one in the cellar I hope isn't FUBAR.
There was one batch of coffee that was for sure off, buddy brought one over for his wife to drink during a tasting and it was almost like rust/metallic flavored...unpleasant to say the least and a drain pour without question. He messaged them about it and they said to bring it in and they would replace it with something else. Needless to say, we weren't interested in making that drive, but it was nice to see them willing to rectify the situation. More than I got from 51st Ward or Pig Minds on some under carbed bullshit.
Some people have messaged the brewery and received a Hunter Cherry as a replacement. They might ship it to you, not sure. Always worth asking.
I opened Hunter Vanilla and Hunter Coconut some time early December and neither were infected. Popped open Hunter Coffee last night and it was in the early stage of an infection--gushed slightly followed by a faint whiff of cherry. Poured into a tulip, about 2/3 filled with head. Tasted slightly metallic with raspberry and semi-sweet chocolate notes. There was an astringency that kept me from finishing my pour, though. I'm keeping the rest of the bottle as braising liquid for a stew.
I went to the brewery in November and had the coffee hunter on tap which I really enjoyed. I ended up buying the vanilla and coffee to take home. I didn't have problem with the vanilla. I also opened my coffee around xmas and it was sour. It was a bad sour, way off balance. There was no hint of sourness when I had it on tap. I ended up contacting 18th street. They originally said I could bring in the original bottle for and exchange. I told them that it wasn't the effort. The replied back and said they would sent a replacement or a gift certificate. A few days later I got a cherry hunter shipped to me.
Pretty much every Hunter bomber I've had has been ridiculously over carbonated. My Coffee Hunter was infected and I just gave up buying their products. Maybe when they get that new facility open they can build a bottling line and hire someone who knows what the fuck they're doing.
I had a Hunter Coffee last night, a Devil's Conclave last weekend, and they both tasted fine. My only minor complaint is that they seemed a bit under carbed and somewhat flat. Other than that, I've had no issues with any of their other beer. Kudos to 18th for making good with those that have had bad bottles. They've experienced a meteoric rise in a short two year period. Hopefully the dust settles when the Hammond facility opens and affords more comfortable growth. Lastly, the title of this thread is a bit misleading as it could imply overall product infection, when in fact the 'issue' seems to be with the Hunter series or more specifically the Coffee Hunter.
I've been a patron of 18th street since day one and I can tell you 1st hand that they do everything possible to ensure the best product & experience is had by their customers. Obviously, they're a small operation; and while that's no excuse to put out a bad product (which I definitely don't think they do), when there is an issue such as some of the Hunter Coffee's having a sour flavor, they seem to do everything possible to make it right. which is more than i can say for a number of other breweries. As for the rest of their beers, almost everything I've had from them has been nothing short of amazing...especially their barrel aged offerings.
I opened a Coffee Hunter and Vanilla Hunter last week and had the same experience. The Vanilla was off, not necessarily "infected" but had an off flavor and really no vanilla coming through. Then opened the coffee and it was very sour, obvious infection, not enjoyable at all. I've been meaning to send a note to 18th Street as this is only their 2nd & 3rd beer I've tried and its pretty disappointing.
I had a Coffee Hunter (purchased at the brewery on November 1st) on Saturday night. Poured into a 3 oz taster, I knew right away something was off when 3/4 of the pour was carbonation. Took a sip and it tasted worse than the '15 BCBCS that we had right before. All in all, a bad night for coffee stouts for us.
The coffee and coconut hunters I bought late November were way off too. The coffee seemed way too sour. Didn't even finish the coconut.
I emailed the brewery last week with a question... Me: Hello, I've seen some reports of possible infected Hunter Coffee bottles. I wanted to check if there has been any truth to this, and if so, have you been able to narrow down which batches/types may be affected. I currently have a BBA Hunter (part of the vertical series). Response: Alex, BA Hunter is not Coffee Hunter. Cheeeeers! -Joey Potts I'm not very familiar with the Hunter beers they offer. Was simply trying to find more information.
Well, glad (but also disappointed) to hear I'm not the only one. Based on some of the feedback I will send a note and see if they attempt to make this right with me. Will post how that turns out.
If you look at some of the posts above, it seems to be explained. I haven't seen anyone say that they contacted 18th Street about an infected bottle and get a negative response from them (I don't count the one post about someone asking about a different beer). Contact them and it sounds like they'll do something for you, even if you're in NJ.
Surprised hearing the over carbonation issue with Hunter. Had this so many times over the past year and not once have I seen that. Did not have coffee, but have had regular, vanilla, chili without problems. Suppose I've been lucky.
