Great Notion

Went by on Saturday - had Juicebox and Ripe. I am clearly missing something here...

Juicebox was OK, but really one dimensional. I didn't really enjoy Ripe that much.

 

My guess is it's just a huge diversion from the typical NW IPA we are so used to. It's difficult for us to get anything along the lines of treehouse/trillium/HF/etc. out here, and now something remotely similar is readily available in PDX.

 

Honestly, they're really smooth but I want a little bit of a hop finish on Juice Box. Merry Dankster had a cleaner finish.

 

Just got back from Great Notion to try Juice Box. Definitely a good IPA, the aroma was insane, but I thought the taste and mouthfeel lacked a bit. It could have used a touch more bitterness, even for the style, and a bit more body. I also have to admit that I basically expected it to be the best IPA ever based on the hype so my expectations were way high. I probably liked Merry Dankster more.

 

beers are great, prices are terrible.

 

Thanks so much for the discussion here, everyone. We appreciate the love and also great feedback on our pricing. We're not charging anything that out of line though with what we're seeing at our favorite breweries in neighboring states. Please remember that startup breweries are heavily in debt and also lack the economies of scale and purchasing power of breweries that have bigger operations and tighter relationships than us. Think about it, we only have a 7 bbl brewhouse, so we're not buying the volume of hops/grain that others are buying, and therefore don't get those price breaks. We also are new so don't have the long term relationships to get discounts on ingredients either. Everything costs more for a startup from glassware, to hops to yeast and so on. Lastly, our rent is high. We are on a very popular street in Portland which costs more per sq. foot than other places, so that factors into our expenses as well. We tried our best to keep even the most expensive beer to make at a price everyone can have a glass of, thus the $5 price for every beer except our DIPA and Double Stack (those are $6). You just get a smaller amount. So $5 is expensive? Sorry guys but this is beer with the best ingredients possible and it's 2016, so prices for all these ingredients cost a lot more these days. We can't lose money just to serve amazing beer, and we're not trying to make a killing either, just serve amazing beer and food on a cool street at a price everyone can afford to have a glass of. Thanks again everyone.

 

I haven't tried GN yet. I'm happy to let the quality of the beer decide if the price is right. Based on what I'm hearing and reading in this thread, I won't hesitate to buy a few glasses when I get a chance to visit. They are at the top of my list for next Portland brewery visit.

 

You guys rule.

 

Cool, thanks for the transparency. I'm all about paying for quality and ingredients. That crowler price still doesn't add up though.

 

Is growler pricing that high? I had a 64oz growler filled with Ripe and it was substantially less than that, unless I was accidentally undercharged.

 

Can someone point out another brewery with more expensive hoppy beer fills (especially the 32oz price point) anywhere in the USA? I'm thinking great notion might have the most expensive fills atm in the country.

If people will pay a reported (can't confirm, hearsay) $17 for a crowler of a DIPA b/c of their "top level ingredients and prime location" then my hat is off.

 

For comparison...notorious and hop venom are both currently available for crowlers/growlers. Notorious $22 64oz, $12 crowler. hop venom $16 64oz, $9 crowler.

 

A growler of their IIPA's is $22 I believe. With their limited amount of beer you can expect to pay a premium for growlers. They already have a problem having available beer at the brewery, so imagine how it would be if the growler prices were lower. They probably shouldn't even being doing growler fills at all until they get their production up. It's no fun going there and seeing most of their IPA's OUT.

 

When I was living in Denver multiple breweries had growlers in the $24+ range especially if we are talking IPAs. People still pay it.

 

Crazy!