Starr Hill entering Philly market

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by hhkal17, Sep 27, 2012.

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  1. hhkal17

    hhkal17 Pooh-Bah (2,601) Jul 10, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    #1 hhkal17, Sep 27, 2012
  2. ShanePB

    ShanePB Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Very nice. A friend just brought back their sampler pack from VA, all of which were quite tasty.
     
    #2 ShanePB, Sep 27, 2012
  3. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Pooh-Bah (2,303) Sep 4, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Don't get too excited. Most that I've had from them has been meh.
     
    #3 Eriktheipaman, Sep 27, 2012
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  4. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Unfortunately, +1 to this. For the most part, their beers are singularly unexciting. Their stuff has been around in Maryland for a while now, but I rarely see anyone buying their stuff on draft. I know I never do.
     
    #4 John_M, Sep 27, 2012
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  5. garbercury

    garbercury Initiate (0) Jul 6, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Could not agree more...Starr Hill left me very disappointed, pretty underwhelming.
     
    #5 garbercury, Sep 27, 2012
  6. SwillBilly

    SwillBilly Savant (1,180) Feb 4, 2004 Virginia

    Granted Starr Hill won't blow you away with anything but they are a solid brewery with some good offerings. Northern Lights IPA is solid, the DIPA is good as is the Jomo Lager. Again, they won't "Wow" you but solid nonetheless.. Don't know why everyone is always looking for something to blow them away, nothing wrong with a good everyday drinker..
     
    #6 SwillBilly, Sep 27, 2012
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  7. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    "nothing wrong with a good everyday drinker"

    I agree, but unfortunately, my opinion of the beers you mention differs from yours. There are so many good, very good, and even excellent IPA's and DIPA's around right now, and IMHO, it's debatable whether the versions from Starr Hill even qualify as good. Typically, when I go into any half way decent beer bar in Baltimore, I can expect to find Loose Cannon for sure, as well as several other IPA variants. If the bar happens to have Northern Lights or the double platinum on tap, those are always the least interesting selections on the menu (at least to me).

    Each to their own, I understand that, but if I were a craft beer lover in Pa., I can't say I would be overly excited about Starr Hill products coming into the market. Of course that's just my opinion.
     
    #7 John_M, Sep 27, 2012
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  8. tubbnik

    tubbnik Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2006 Pennsylvania

    points for some good ol grateful dead references...
     
    #8 tubbnik, Sep 27, 2012
  9. philbe311

    philbe311 Pooh-Bah (2,516) Jan 21, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I would agree with most of what has been said, they are a solid but unremarkable brewer... That being said their "The Love" Hefeweizen will be a welcome addition to my Spring/Summar rotation... I'll likely pass on their IPAs (which I've tried) and will be happy to try the rest of their portfolio which I haven't experienced yet...
     
    #9 philbe311, Sep 27, 2012
  10. jimmy666

    jimmy666 Initiate (0) Jun 20, 2010 Maryland

    Ditto on Star Hill not impressing me as well.
     
    #10 jimmy666, Sep 27, 2012
  11. Steeeve

    Steeeve Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Craft beer is expensive, and the market is saturated. There are literally dozens of year round beers in Philly that will blow you away for a modest price. So unless their 6 packs are under $8, I'm not going to be interested.
     
    #11 Steeeve, Sep 27, 2012
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  12. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    This is just based on hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt. I mention it only because the explanation makes sense to me, and I've been told this by a couple of different bar managers.

    My understanding is that kegs of Starr Hill are relatively inexpensive, at least in comparison to the beers they compete with (loose cannon, SNPA, hop devil, etc.). Consequently, the SH beers are attractive from a merchant standpoint, as they can be priced just like any other craft beer product, resulting in a higher profit margin to the merchant. In Baltimore, some places generally don't carry SH's products (for the most part), as qualitatively the beers just aren't all that great (quality-wise, I would liken SH to magic hat). On the other hand, if you're a typical profit motivated merchant/bar owner, it's really hard to say no to SH stuff. I know one beer bar that routinely has three or four SH beers on tap at any one time... no place else in Baltimore has ever had more than one of their beers on tap, that I've ever seen. Given my understanding of the cost of SH kegs, I understand where he's coming from, and I don't blame him for carrying them (to his credit, he doesn't go out his way to push the beers on unsuspecting customers).

    Shrug... this is no knock on SH beers. They aren't terrible, and I can see why certain beer bars like to carry their product. My guess is the same will be true in Pa., and that SH will find a market for their product there as well. Just my two cents...
     
    #12 John_M, Sep 27, 2012
  13. RyanBeer13

    RyanBeer13 Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 Virginia

    Williamsburg alewerks is really VA best brewery. Starr Hill not even top 10 IMO.
     
    #13 RyanBeer13, Sep 27, 2012
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  14. BeerIsland

    BeerIsland Maven (1,251) Feb 9, 2003 Pennsylvania

    But Starr Hill "The Gift" is such a pretty name...
     
    #14 BeerIsland, Sep 28, 2012
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  15. Retail1LO

    Retail1LO Initiate (0) May 4, 2011 Pennsylvania

    Riddle me this... How the fuck does a "meh" brewery prouce 19 goddam GABF medals???
     
    #15 Retail1LO, Sep 28, 2012
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  16. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Easy to answer that... the same way AB, Miller and Coors have managed to do it (actually, those breweries have likely won far more than 19 medals over that time period).

    In other words, I wouldn't take too much from their boast of winning 19 medals over the past 23 years.

    By the way.... I feel it only fair to mention (after my comment about how rare it is to see SH beers in the Baltimore area) that according to Mahaffey's website, they currently have 5 SH beers on tap, including 1 cask (I've never seen a cask of SH stuff before, and am kind of intrigued). I'm assuming they must have held some sort of SH tap take over recently, as typically Mahaffey's wouldn't carry 5 beers from the same brewery no matter what the brewery is/was.
     
    #16 John_M, Sep 28, 2012
  17. bulldogbrewhaus

    bulldogbrewhaus Initiate (0) Sep 17, 2012 Virginia

    Half agree with you on this one. Blue mountain is by far the best brewery in the central VA (Nelson County Represent) area but Williamsburg is solid. Love their red. Lost Rhino is coming on strong as well out of NOVA. Starr Hill has a couple good beers but most of them are very underwhelming. Their best beer IMO is their wee heavy which they dont bottle. Little known fact: Starr Hill contract brewed almost all of their beer out of the former Dominion brewery in NOVA prior to opening their crozet facility. Not as local as their advertising would lead you to believe. Virginia beer is kicking ass these days though. Cheers.
     
    #17 bulldogbrewhaus, Sep 28, 2012
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  18. chcfan

    chcfan Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2008 California

    A: Roughly 1000 beers have won GABF awards over the years.
    B: Look no further than past winners. Granted, lots of them are from brewpubs, but I have had quite a few of the beers on these lists and haven't thought much of many of them.

    I'm convinced that anybody who enters enough times will take home some awards even for average beers. That's why any award doesn't hold water with me. If there was one that would, it would have been GABF, but after looking over those lists for the past five plus years, they definitely aren't in line with my preferences.
     
    #18 chcfan, Sep 28, 2012
  19. Hanzo

    Hanzo Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2012 Virginia

    Double Platinum and The Love are the only two I enjoy from them, though Dark Starr stout wasn't bad. Nothing they have reaches blow you away territory. As to Williamsburg Alewerks being the best in Virginia, they need to make Bitter Valentine their flagship beer, it's one of the best DIPAs I've ever had.
     
    #19 Hanzo, Sep 28, 2012
  20. SwillBilly

    SwillBilly Savant (1,180) Feb 4, 2004 Virginia

    In other words, I wouldn't take too much from their boast of winning 19 medals over the past 23 years.

    Gotta disagree with this remark. They don't compete in the same categories BMC at GABF, just take a look at their medals and see what categories they have won in and who the competed against, you'd be surprised. Again, they are a solid brewery, nothing bad, nothing great.. Solid "grocery store" beers..

    http://www.starrhill.com/brewery/awards
     
    #20 SwillBilly, Sep 28, 2012
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