Ram Brewery Side Note Releases

Also wasn't there, but considering he hadn't brewed any of the five Side Notes at the last one, nor the IPAs, whatever happened last year will have little resemblance to this year which is a culmination of the huge success of 2016. Ready to enjoy the surprises Shaun!

 

Wish I knew you didn't have Morning Fog @croush, I just gave a friend the rest of my cans. I was a little afraid posting the piece more because I knew it could incite absurd trade offers like that one.

Comparing the 2014 Prop to Chaos was more of a side-by-side I was having mentally rather than in reality because comparing a 2 year old stout with something that was bottled for the review would not be fair. I remember when i had Prop 14 I incorrectly assumed coconut water meant I was going to get a 2013 Prop with cinnamon on the back end, but I ended up being quite disappointed. To me the large abundance of cinnamon was almost a turn-off and somewhat provided a thinning impression as opposed to the cocoa in Chaos that makes the beer a little more fudgy.

 

Based on that last official message regarding the event, I was thinking of showing up around 9:30. It sounded like they would try and get everyone checked in before official opening so I wanted to be there in time to get that situated and walk right in at 10. If anyone is also interested in splitting whatever on site special bottles they will have 3-4 ways, I would be open to it.

Taking this to group DM for morning folks (and afternoon folks) separately would be the way to go.

 

No worries - if I don't get to taste Morning Fog this weekend, then I'll live.

I think the 2014 Prop comparison (even if not direct due to the timing differences you mentioned) is logical...or at least it was to me, as that is what I thought of as soon as I saw what BA Chaos was going to be. As an example of palates differing, I've had 2014 Prop 4 or 5 times, and only once did I get any noticeable amount of cinnamon - the other times it was pure coconut and chocolate, and not anywhere near thin. Unfortunately, the last time I had it, there was way more cinnamon than I'd hoped for...so, it's not just palates that differ, but also bottles. Makes me think of the old adage about wine: "there are no good wines, only good bottles"...or something to that effect.

 

For sure, it's one mans opinion whenever I writer a piece, and I totally get that. I did the preview for this year's BCBS set and was the second to review publicly after the Tribute and I know they thought Prop 16 was the best and I had it as the worst.

 

So basically what you're saying is, you and I are the only people on this forum that have had the mythical coconut-forward Prop '14!

And to @MWolverines66's point (wow, a Spartan and a Wolverine talking amicably...beer really does bring people together!), I can definitely see coming to Prop '14 from '13 and being disappointed, especially if you got one of the cinnamon-forward bottles. Chaos sounds pretty tasty, although I'm hoping that sometime soon we find a new adjunct combo for every stout-brewer in America to use (I love the whole coconut/cacao/cinnamon combo, but damn)!

 

If anyone else is heading out to the morning session on Saturday and interested in possibly sharing an Uber out there, shoot me a DM. My buddy and I are still debating Uber vs. driving, but having another person or two to split the Uber with would help.

 

I don't think they're having bottles. Just drafts, but should be plenty from what they've said.

 

Alright, I was going to update this today, but you savages got it started before I could do that. Here is the list of BAs that want the rest of us to know they are going to be there.

If anybody in the afternoon session wants to meet up, let me know and let's figure out how to do this. I have a buddy going and he's easy to spot. Young guy (25ish) with a streak of white hair in the front. I'll be the tall, slightly older guy he's hanging out with.

You guys in the morning session should feel free to give us afternoon guys some pointers on how to make it go as smoothly as possible.

BAs at Ram Chaos Day:

Morning Session: Croush (+1), Eifster82(+1), Yodudeguy, dpittnet(+1), buntinjp, darktain, JLA1221, Chuckdiesel24, fondyball20

Afternoon Session: Bryan71(Bryan), Odcardinal (Orlando), Wally_World (Tim, but call me Wally), Delaced21(Eric), PhilBallins (Mike), Pound (Tony), Redsunsx01x (Ian, +1), Jaywalsh20 (+1), kdawgmoney, Circles313, mabsolon, Bbear, and toolbrew

Edited to reflect the guys below.

 

Feel free to add me to the afternoon session. Look forward to meet most of you!

 

I will also be at the afternoon session and can meet up.

 

Afternoon session for me.

 

You're right. I read the 'limited release' beers comment in that initial email as 'limited bottles'. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

Yeah, it's not clear but a friend asked Shaun specifically and he said just drafts - but plenty for everyone. I trust that - 200 people in each session seems manageable from that aspect.

 

Any word on the draft list yet? The anticipation is killing me!

 

Have to assume there's a Juicy release coming up in February once Chaos Day is over. If someone sees Shaun at Chaos Day, gather some intel!

 

From the email that just went out:

Chaos 2017 - BA Imperial Stout with coconut, cocoa nibs and Saigon cinnamon (one pour - included with your ticket)

Side Note: CoCo-Nilla - Imperial Stout with Cocoa Nibs and Vanilla (one pour is included with your ticket, you may purchase more)

Hops On Hops - DDH New England Inspired DIPA with Mosaic, Motueka and Simcoe

Wild Card Rye - BA Rye Wine brewed in Wheeling (Limited amount available - equally split between both sessions)

Saison De Alexandra - Saison

Imperial Winter Rye IPA - Rye DIPA

6 Flagships - (Blonde, Hefeweizen, Amber, APA, IPA, and Porter)

 

A little disappointed at that tap list. Will probably only try Hops on Hops outside of what's included in the ticket.

 

I really thought there would be Morning Fog, but I guess they went through it all already. It seems like they like to just go through their stuff ASAP, whether it's kegs/bottles/cans. I can't say I blame them, as my inventory accounting days remind me you don't want to hang onto stuff too long. But, it's just different from a lot of other places that save kegs for certain events, etc.

 

While part of me agrees, the other half is kind of relieved that there isn't going to be Chaos, 5 Side Note, and 3 NE IPAs. Knowing my self control I would've felt the need to try them all over the course of 3 hours.