The Veil Brewing - Richmond

In case anyone is wondering, I just walked by and there's maybe 25-30 people in line. No need to rush over for this one.

 

Everything still left for today (9/14)... Limits same as yesterday Except for the glasses which were raised from 2pp yesterday to now 3pp.
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~Single Origin Coffee Coconut Hornswoggler - $17.50+tax/4-pack. 4x 4-packs per person

~Step Step Dad Dad - $18+tax/4-pack. 1x case/6x 4-packs per person

~Jimothy - $16+tax/4-pack. 1x case/6x 4-packs per person.

~Kevin from Sales - 4x 4-packs per person.

NEW Veilien Rastal Edel stemmed glass
$12+tax each glass. 3x glasses per person. (approx 100)

 

Glasses were 3pp yesterday so I think all limits stayed the same?

It's really nice seeing a release like this have everything last into the next day (and undoubtedly through the week). Even the "hyped" glass not running out, it's like how it was last fall but Veil is making/selling a ton more. I wonder if it'll take another batch of Oreo Horns to get the hyped up masses back?

 

Oops. My mistake. I thought it was 2pp for some reason.

I also like that most cans have been lasting several days if not until the weekend lately. Definitely add more flexibility for those that cannot make it on a Tues but may be able to plan later in the week. I also like seeing the hype lines not form as early or as long before opening. Not saying that for selfish reasons since I rarely make it to RVA anyway for releases during the week but just nice that the Veil spaceship is coming back down to reality for a bit. Also the idea that people are finally realizing they do not need to show up hours before open just for the hope they will get what they want. Roll in 2-3 hours later, as many have said all along, and it's minimal lines/waits.

 

I think also that people who live in Richmond are getting used to a steady supply of juicy NE IPAs available from multiple locations. There is certainly no shortage in this city, and if you miss out on Veil cans one week they're sure to release 2-3 almost exactly like it the next week, the week after, and so on.

 

You think the quality of their beers has kind of plateaued or there's been a lack of inspiration? Haven't been super impressed with anything i've had from them recently. Maybe they are viewing the can sales as a way to pay the bills and fund the funkhaust operation.

 

The visual of what's left...And my best guesse of what remaining based the pic. (I usually assume 9 cases per row)

- Single Coffee Horns and Jimothy: 85-100 cases
- Step Step Dad Dat: 60-70 cases
- Kevin from Sales: 30-40 cases

 

I think that the quality of their beers has plateaued and they have been pretty uninspired lately, but I still think the beers they put out are generally very high-quality as far as 8% DIPAs go. But it would be hard to call their constant stream of DIPAs "inspired" brewing, and I know I've stated my opinion a couple times in here about their gimmicky additions, so I won't repeat myself there.
They did say when they opened that mixed-fermentation beers are their primary vision, so hopefully that's where all the inspiration is. We should start to see pretty soon.

 

I dont know about plateu because I have only had veil for the last 6 months but they have been great for me. Like music or movies its hard to "innovate" when there is so much being produced, especially with 5000+ breweries. Their beers are better than 90-95% of the breweries in the US. Not sure if anyone on here is on the BTV group on facebook but their is a lot of complaining and whining there. Looking from the outside in people who live in Richmond should be pumped about their beer scene, especially from an IPA standpoint. Just my opinion though.

 

I don't think the quality of The Veil's beers have plateaued. The quality of their beers are consistent. I think they need to scale back the frequency of their debut game. Focus on debuting great beers deserving of the reputation that they have earned. I want more access to their best releases.

 

I feel like they've plateaued with the IPAs but in a good way. Their beers were all over the place in terms of consistency for a while (anyone remember the crystal clear batches of Idontever or Lord Shredder?) but I feel like they've been back on point over the past few months and the beers have been more consistent. Some beers still vary considerably batch to batch but then there are things like We Ded that haven't missed a thing on a batch yet. They're still making my favorite IPAs in the state.

 

I never see this mentioned anywhere, but is anyone else not a huge fan of the yeast they use? It's really prominent in their beers that aren't dry hopped to hell. I guess this was a bigger issue on their earlier batches.

 

Having had a decent about of NEIPAs from some of the best breweries in the country doing it Veil has a distinctive mouthfeel that many don't. It's a lot more thick than others. I like both but just an interesting thing I have noticed.

 

To me it gives all of their beers a very earthy undertaste, which I think is interesting given the current trend towards very fruity IPAs. I like it, but I prefer the house flavor at Triple Crossing, which is more bright and citrusy.

To me these two statements mean the same thing, which is what I meant in my post. They hit a peak at some point and have generally stayed there. In my opinion, unhyped beers like Casual Drinks and this week's Jimothy are just as good as their self-proclaimed best IPA, White Ferrari, and they're all very similar.

 

I really do not want to come off as "condescending palate guy" but IMO these beers certainly are not the same. I mean they all contain half Citra but other than that, they are pretty different to me in the overall large world of Citra hopped DIPAs.

Agree that the Veil has a pretty distinct house flavor which is much different than Triple Crossing, which is why its nice to have both pumping out some good hoppy beers.

 

@beernuts I see your point. The point I was trying to make is that Veil achieved consistent quality and some world class offerings along the way. They are hurting themselves when they don't release their best beers more often. I think there is fatigue with the constant New New Hops Hops release schedule.

Full disclosure, I have been to Veil twice. The first time, I waited in a line for an hour and a half while two registers vended to the 100+ in line. Had I been able to show up two hours after the doors opened, I would have been out the door in fifteen to twenty minutes. Unfortunately, I was heading north for a vacation with my family. The second time (9/12), I was able to plan out my arrival and was in and out in less than 10 minutes.

Jimothy was phenomenal. Step Step Dad Dad was just good.

Debut one incredible new offering on the third Thursday. Offer your New New Hops Hops for pours in small quantities and scale up the greats to a release, but only release the greats. I think Alchemist and Tree House paved the path and serve as great examples for how you build a brand and then consistently release your superstars while mixing in a few debuts and a few whales along the way. Heck, Tree House appears to be afraid of releasing their whales at this point. A Good Morning release would break the Mass Pike.

I don't think The Veil has plateaued. I think they are closer to staying at the peak of success vs. falling off, but they are creating some unforced errors along the path. Fried Fried Chicken Chicken comes to mind.

 

Not much movement in stack size since yesterday. Limits still the same and down to 60 glasses left.

 

Friday November 24th 2017 aka Black Friday, we will be hosting our first annual Dark Daze!

Dark Daze is celebration of stouts and other dark, complex, malt forward beers.

We will have over 10 different dark beers on draft from us in addition to our other standard offerings. There will be no guest beers pouring.

We will be releasing 500ml bottles of Whangdoodle! Whangdoodle is the 11.5% Imperial version of our robust chocolate milk stout Hornswoggler aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for 14 months. Info regarding bottle counts, limits, cost, etc coming soon.

We will also be releasing 4-pack 16oz cans of Double Espresso Hornswoggler and the return of our once a year Black DIPA w/Citra and Nelson called blackivy.

There will be limited edition glassware available to commemorate the event.

No tickets for this one. First come, first served like our can releases.

DRAFT LIST(So far...):
~Whangdoodle-11.5%-imperial Chocolate Milk Stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for 14 months

~Double Espresso Hornswoggler-7%-our house robust Chocolate Milk Stout conditioned on a ton of espresso

~blackivy-8%-Black DIPA with Citra and Nelson

~2017 Sleeping Forever-12%-anniversary imperial stout

~2017 Vanilla Sleeping Forever-12%-anniversary imperial stout conditioned on vanilla beans

~2016 Bourbon BA Sleeping Forever-13.2%-anniversary imperial stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for 12 months

~more to be announced soon!

We will announce full draft list, food vendor(s), and other special treats as we approach the event. Hope to see y'all there!

 

~ Single Origin Coffee Hornswoggler - $17.50+tax/4-pack. 4x 4-packs per person

~ Step Step Dad Dad - $18+tax/4-pack. 1x case/6x 4-packs per person

~ Jimothy - $16+tax/4-pack. 1x case/6x 4-packs per person.

~ Kevin from Sales - $14.50+tax/4-pack. 4x 4-packs per person.

~ Veilien Rastal Edel stemmed glass- $12+tax each glass. 3x glasses per person. (approx 30)

 

Ugh dark daze, that will be a 4th of July level $&*^show. I'm just bummed because I loved blackivy and am really glad it's coming back and all, but hyped black friday release makes it a lot less likely I'll actually get any. At least they're clearly stating it'll only be done once a year on this one.