Sand City Brewing (2018)

While you're entitled to your opinion, I'm pretty sure you have that backwards. There's no shot I'm taking >75% of these over Heady or Focal.

Beach Front Avenue American Double / Imperial IPA
Beach Glass American IPA
Best Seat in the House American Double / Imperial IPA
Burning Down The House American Double / Imperial IPA
Close Talker American IPA
Even Mo Mofo American Double / Imperial IPA
Even Mo Money American Double / Imperial IPA
Fade To Jade American IPA
Groundhog Shadow American Double / Imperial IPA
Guttersnipe American Double / Imperial IPA
I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing IPA American Double / Imperial IPA
Infinity + 2 American Double / Imperial IPA
Infinity + Everything American Double / Imperial IPA
Infinity Minus ONE +2 American Double / Imperial IPA
Infinity Minus One Plus Two With Blackberries American Double / Imperial IPA
Luca Baby American IPA
Maintain Rep American Double / Imperial IPA
Man Hands American Double / Imperial IPA
Mofosaic American IPA
Oops! I Cullen'd My Pants! American IPA
Oops! I Hopped My Pants American IPA
Oops! I Nelsoned My Pants American IPA
Power Of One (Galaxy/Nelson) American Double / Imperial IPA
Power Of One With Sauvignon Grapes American Double / Imperial IPA
Putting Out Fires American IPA
Radical ONE American Double / Imperial IPA
Radical One W Passionfruit, Mango & Pineapple American Double / Imperial IPA
Second Wave American Double / Imperial IPA
Soup Du Jour - Amarillo American IPA
Soup Du Jour - Citra American IPA
Soup Du Jour - Galaxy American IPA
Stranded American IPA
The Whole Shebang (LIC Beer Project Collaboration) American Double / Imperial IPA
TWO American Double / Imperial IPA
Up The Beach American Double / Imperial IPA
Washed Up American IPA
Wyld Mofo American Double / Imperial IPA

 

if you gonna list them all out...might as well tell us where that line is don't ya think?

 

If you ask me, Heady and Focal are two beers that don’t stack up to the quality of what other breweries in the Mid-Atlantic/New England regions are putting out these days. I tend to think of them as over-hyped and relying upon their reputation from years past. If I were to hypothetically take a beercation to Vermont/New England, The Alchemist wouldn’t be on my list of places to visit.

 

I’m with you on much of what I’ve had from the Alchemist, excluding Focal Banger, which I still think is among the best IPAs out there.

 

You're putting in > 750% of the effort I am in this "debate".

I've had access to Heady steadily for ~5 years, during a time when it was one of 2 beers they produced. Drank a good amount of Focal and Crusher... and I've recently passed, on multiple occasions, on Alchemist (as well as Sip of Sunshine) on draft for the likes of Sand City, LIC, Juice Bomb, etc. It doesn't do it for me anymore. Sorry that it upsets you that I don't agree with your opinion.

 

Copy and paste with a little bit of delete is that much effort? I'd hate to see where getting out of bed ranks for you. This is a discussion forum, is it not? No one is debating anything, it's just opinions, there is no right or wrong.

Cool? No one brought up Lawson, LIC or Sloop. Where is anyone upset? So I'm not allowed to provide feedback on your opinion of my opinion? Do you usually apologize for having an opinion?[/QUOTE]

 

Sand City's TOP beers fit in perfectly with the region's best. At some point it also just becomes a matter of taste. Would I take 75% of all Sand City beers over Heady, no? But would I take 75% of Sand City's top 10 beers over Heady, absolutely.

 

As of right now, based on what I've actually tried from SC? Zero percent.

That said, I recognize there might be a scenario where I love something from the number series, but since I haven't had any of them, I can't say.

 

Now that to me is a reasonable thought.

 

The point I was attempting to make is that it's not just an Alchemist vs. Sand City debate. It's "beers I thought were great in 2014 (Heady, SoS) vs. newer beers (or a style, for that matter) that I prefer today".

 

And there is a release going on, according to their latest IG post, only 20 cases left! Considering release started at 5pm, thats going fast, wonder how many cases they started with. Monday evening in middle of winter, if there ever was going to be an easy release, I thought this might be one of them, but doesn't appear that way.

 

sOLD OUT

 

Infinity+2 somehow tastes more like pineapple juice than Beach Front Avenue did.

I'm not mad about it.

 

They started before 5, but not sure how soon before 5, they posted an ig live video about 20 minutes before 5 but it had clearly started before that. Looks like they had two pallets of cans to start. Line was maybe 25 or 30 when they posted so I’m aurprised how fast it went if they really only had 20 cases at 530

 

O

Bump. Anyone have any info on this? I know tasting room is still closed. Do they still sell cans out back regularly or just on new release days? My buddy lives in NPT and said he’d swing by and pick up some cans for me but certainly wouldn’t want to make him go there on a new beer release day with the lines.

 

Not sure if they sell cans on non-release days, but I would say at this time it is moot because the last can releases sold out.

Terrible tasting room is still closed, lack of cash flow from tasting room is the kind of thing that could be a big hurt on a business or even run them out of business.

 

Sorry not to take it back to the Heady stuff (but I will anyway). Obviously personal preference is the only thing that counts, so I’m not telling anyone what to drink or think. And I too would put a couple of the (small number of) SC beers I’ve had above Heady / Focal. And definitely lots of OH beers. And the fact these are all locally produced to boot makes it a no-brainer that people would prefer them.

The thing that irks me is that only a couple of years ago NY BA’s were falling over each other to find out who’s dick to suck in order to get hooked up with some Alchemist. Fast forward a short period of time and it’s “bro Alchemist is so overhyped man. drink fresh/local ya know? NY is killing it” as if that’s always been the outlook.

I just think it’s worth taking a step back and considering that a) heady/focal etc are not the same animals as the triple dry hopped cryo lactose juice beers that are now massively en vogue, and b) that despite that, those beers/breweries have the likes of the Alchemist to thank for paving the way (in terms of what hoppy beers have become as well as putting the north-eastern part of the country on the map for the style).

Beer nerds’ memories are epically short

 

I was being facetious in the descriptor - I hope that was clear. And I’m not blaming SC for anything - I’m blaming the consumer.

Whether it’s ddh/lactose/traditional english/west coast/whatever - I just think that the fact that, when the general beer population was craving/praising Alchemist beers up until very recently, to switch to saying that they’re hyped up beers that fade in comparison to the local scene, is a bit weak, and frankly a bit disrespectful.

And maybe SC aren’t making the most trade/instagram-friendly hyper cloudy ddh lactose “cutting edge” IPAs, but they’re still very much in the vein of the type of hoppy beer that holds a lot of cachet these days - they’re hardly Long Island’s answer to Hop Devil or the type of beer that would be described as an “East Coast IPA” up until fairly recently.

Edit - just reread my prior post. I genuinely don’t see how it could be construed as being in any way negative towards SC. I thought it was clear that I was defending the alchemist vs being negative towards SC (or OH - another regional brewery I mentioned)

 

This is an interesting rant...mostly because I'm not sure why you are bothered by the fact that Alchemist IPAs are no longer held in the esteem that they once were. Yes, they were once the cat's meow...and before them pliny was that meow...things change and that's a good thing if you are a fan of great beer - it means that evolution is happening. Sip of sunshine turds up shelves on LI now...that's a good thing, it means that there are better options available to LI consumers (remember when sip of sunshine was a back room special at $10+ per can if you were lucky?). If you feel that heady is simply the best liquid on earth, then rejoice...you no longer have to give an arm and a leg to get it.

There used to be no 5 guys, no burgerfi, no bareburger, no <insert your favorite "better" burger fast food option>...but there is now. Does that mean that because it used to only be McDonalds (or isn't white castle the actual OG?) that you cannot say that 5 guys is better? Sure McD/WC paved the way for other fast food chains, but America is (supposed to be) about an open and free market where you have to win over the fickle consumer by making a better product or giving better value.

What makes you say this? Just because it is not written on the can? Other half writes it on the can cause they make a version that is not DDH...pretty certain that just about every sand city beer is DDH, they just don't make non DDH versions.