Other Half Brewing July 2017

Sounds like they are trying out the recipe state side.

 

Anyone try Hypersleep? It's on tap at gold star and was tapped during their OH/ civil society event. I think it is OH's best stout yet... and supposedly gold star got the only keg as the rest of the batch is aging in barrels.

https://untappd.com/b/other-half-brewing-company-hypersleep/2201252

 

Cloudwater? I'm for it.

Speaking of Cloudwater: anyone else going to OctFest in September? Guided by Voices and unlimited pours of Cloudwater amongst other breweries had me sold.

 

You had me at aging in barrels...

 

I'm very much looking forward to OctFest - definitely going to the session with Cloudwater

 

Finally got to try Fully Loaded and Twice Baked potato. Twice baked was by far the better of the 2. Fully loaded was good but I think given the hype there was no way it could live up and it didn't.

 

First can of Coir Boiz was a gusher and blew up. I think it tastes like alcoholic sunscreen (and for the record I love coconut)

 

I picked up a growler today and thought it was super boozy.

 

Yup, had both on tap and thought twice baked by far the better of the 2. I think Fully loaded was a bit harsher of the two.

Cracked a growler of twice baked after about 1.5 weeks and it was still awesome. Have a growler of fully loaded to crack open in a few days to see if it mellows a bit.

 

my growler of twice baked i had yesterday was delicious. very monkish forward.

although BP isnt the quality level of OH, i would say greenpoint is not that far behind. as a local in bk, its easier to get cans of beer like greenpoint than it is of other half. i think a big reason is the fact they cater to the trade/resell crowd. its really not that much more work to sell 3 four packs of a 200 case allotment than it is to sell the case- assuring that everyone who lines up close to opening can get cans. considering that their double batches usually last it must be a matter of limits than it is demand. the 200 people buying cases every week do not have the luxury of having OH and OH caliber beers at their disposal.

 

Coir Boiz. That is one interesting beer. I've never had a coconut tinged offering by anyone, so this is a new experience for me. The aroma is delicious, like a mix between a floral IPA and a pina colada, but it's a bit overpowering and definitely made me get through this can real slow. Can't say I'd ever go for this style again, but it definitely tastes like a gourmet offering of something I just don't love.

t minus six days til I crack that fully loaded growler...sure hope it's still carbonated.

 

Unfortunately, in the age of social media, this is how small businesses can easily market themselves with a minimal amount of effort. FOMO-driven hype and the burning desire to have faceless strangers fawn over pictures of your beer hauls is great for business.

Though, you could argue that Treehouse is doing just fine, releasing cans mid-week, while consistently having huge (though pretty efficient) lines with low limits... limits low enough that I wouldn't consider driving there to wait on-line for ~12 cans, but sufficient for locals who can go regularly.

 

Stupid question of the day: does OH not update this page regularly? looks to be pretty accurate given the last couple of week's releases https://otherhalfbrewing.com/location/taproom

 

I was thinking the other day about their two very different models. Tree House, not quite "middle of nowhere" but pretty darn close, manages to sell to anywhere from 1000-2000 people most days of the week (more now that Charlton is open), with limits usually around half a case TOTAL, and doesn't announce beer until a few hours before open. A large portion of TH customers travel large distances (at least an hour plus) for a relatively small amount of beer, which may not have even been announced before they pile into their cars.

Yet Other Half, likewise highly sought after but this time located in one of the most populous areas in the world, has adopted a model that seems to either vastly under-appreciate demand for their beer, or is not invested in ensuring access to their cans to the same extent as TH. Most of their release days are only a fraction of the amount of beer that Tree House has available every day (and still manages to unload with much smaller limits). You would almost expect the opposite models to emerge: the isolated brewery catering to people traveling long distances for large hauls, and the brewery in NYC catering to vast hordes of locals who want to drop by for a half case of beer. But the model at OH, with announcements 4 days beforehand, high limits for relatively low production, and only 1 release per week (on a weekend, nonetheless) seems to be the perfect setup for inviting the folks who we see walking out to cars packed full of cases. Now, I have trouble believing that this beer is headed for the "black market," and maybe these are all just really good friends who are carting back a haul for their whole neighborhood, but it seems like an incredible amount of beer to A: afford and B: drink within a reasonable amount of time, considering the shelf life of this style of beer.

That said, it seems every couple of weeks beer lasts into Sunday, or even the following week, which begs the question -- if they cut limits to 3x4packs of each beer, would they still sell out? That is, would you expect higher turnout from people like me (and many others on these forums) who don't want to wait in line for hours on a Saturday morning, but would love to buy a few 4 packs of the anticipated released? That's the strongest argument against lowering limits that I can imagine -- that OH is much more reliant on these people who max out than other similar breweries, or that they have much less capacity for selling cans outside of a 5 hour window every Saturday morning.

As always, the disclaimer that as much as it might seem like it, I am NOT offering unsolicited advice to a thriving business that makes beer that I love and clearly cares about its customers. I always have a great experience at releases, even if I only go for quiet ones, and I love the brewery staff -- they're all great people! Mostly, I'm fascinated by how many different models I've seen popping up as all these breweries try to solve the problem of getting their beer into as many hands as possible while still making their models economically feasible and relatively pain-free for the owners and staff. I'd love to know, for example, the breakdown of sales -- how much of their beer is sold as full allotments, for example, and how much is sold in smaller amounts?

 

Other Half is at post hype level. Their beer will sellout now regardless if they have 3 4 pack limits or case limits.

When you look at what other breweries who brew more beer and have longer lines (Treehouse/Trillium/Tired Hands) are doing in terms of limits- its really annoying that OH can't adjust. No other brewery allows someone to walk out with 3 cases of limited edition beer, especially when they brew lower than 300 cases per style.

 

I understand palates evolve, but it's usually in the other direction - developing at least an appreciation, if not downright love, for a food or beverage to which one used to be averse. There are some foods/drinks that I used to love which I no longer consume for some flavor-related reason, such as being too sweet (not to mention being unhealthy ), but they were favorites from when I was a literally a kid with a naive palate. I can't think of any food or drink I've grown to love as an adult to which I've later developed an aversion. While I enjoy the flavor profile of the "new" hazy/juicy NE-style IPA, I still love a good west coast-style IPA, like a Sculpin.

P.S. I hate these new emojis. :[

 

So are all bottles and cans sold out?

 

Cans? Yes. Probably still have bottles of Mosaic Is President, Twigs, and Nuts.

Don't quote me on that though.

 

That is technically true, HOWEVER OH is not exactly centrally located (even for us locals) and takes that same hour to get to, if not more.

I live in the city within two blocks of multiple train lines and it takes two trains at about an hour total to get to the brewery, mostly via the slow crawl of the F train. There are no other options aside from the train.

Most people who live in the City or Brooklyn do not own a vehicle.

Most folks I've come across in line on Saturday do not live in NYC or Brooklyn and it takes much more than an hour to get to the brewery, so do not agree with your statement.

Many New Yorkers would consider OH to be in the middle of nowhere or pretty damn close...

 

I'd like to think that if they (OH) believed that cutting limits would have either no effect or a positive effect on the bottom line, then they'd do it. So presumably they continue with the way things are because they believe it's best for business. That's not to say that I wouldn't personally like lower limits, but this topic comes up every week.

Also with all the TH v OH comparisons - is it quite apples to apples when it comes to the perceived quality of the beer (subjective I know)? To the man on the street yes they're essentially the same thing. But for the type of beer geek willing to spend lots of time and money acquiring the beer, I think TH probably sits a notch above. Maybe enough of a difference where the TH style of release wouldn't work for OH because the demand wouldn't be there.

Edit - just checked on top 250 as it's been months since I looked at that. TH has four in the top 10 (inc spots 2, 3 and 4). And plenty more high up there. OH's first entry looks to be DDH DMD at 60 something. So although we like to say OH is "world class" and all that, maybe the case limits and hype is what's needed to keep things moving along, whereas TH can dine out on being a properly diamond-encrusted brand and do pretty much whatever they like and still always sell out.