Cellador Ales

Rare Barrel didn't necessarily start right away, but it goes from August-August, I believe. Let's give the guy a break, ffs.

 

Ummm, could have sworn this follows the calendar year.

An example I can give is Mikkeller Viking Club after the initial sign up window closes. So say in June if they still have spots you can buy in and start to receive the discount right then. They are an April -> April type of club.

 

De garde is the only screwy one i know.

 

I see your point but that is a little different. I think a lot of these breweries should leave the clubs open if they don't sell out.

 

And some do. I used it already but it is an easy example. Mikkeller has its opening all May and then closes it for a few days. They re-open once they have all of the backend logistics ready to go and will leave it open to join until the first membership bottle is released. Then they close it perm until the following year.

I would think that leaving it open 365 days will put a strain on the smaller breweries without a ton of onsite/offsite storage since they never know if they would get an influx of signups and have to distribute older member bottles to those new enrollees. Plus it would reduce the odds of say an archive sale to existing members. Or complaints that existing members were able to purchase 4x of one bottle where new members can only get 2..wah wah wah.

Basically, there is too much stupid the brewery would have to account for to make it actually work for them.

 

Any suprirising standouts from cellador anniversary party? wish i coulda made it

 

Maybe not surprising but my favorites were Seconds, Candide, and Psalm Spite. I guess Candide was a bit of a surprise to me, at least, since it really focused on the oak character. Got a lovely vanilla from it, and wasn't expecting to enjoy that flavor so much in such a (relatively) delicate beer, having typically tasted vanilla from darker, higher ABV beers.

 

Hmmm maybe mine was a little fresh when I tried out of the bottle, I mainly got aged hops at the time.

 

Psalm Spite was incredible. I don't know what I was anticipating with that one, but it exceeded everything I thought I was going to get.

 

I wasn't a member last year so this was my first time trying it. I actually got a pour after the man in front of me said he tasted marshmellow in it. Later, I briefly talked to Kevin about the beer, and he brought up vanilla before I even mentioned it.

But it's totally possible that, right out of the bottle, there wasn't much oaky vanilla. I think hopped beers change a lot over the first few weeks. Even environmental factors could make the difference. I've had stouts where drinking outside versus inside brings out much more vanilla. There's bottle variation too. Who knows.

 

My next Amex bill is consisting of Slide Down & Psalm Spite purchases almost entirely.

 

Sara and Kevin are killing it a Cellador. There wasn't a bad beer poured at the party! A Berlinerweisse (peach as I recall?) was not listed on the menu but available and really rocked.

All of the beers are of such balance, flavor, complexity and sophistication that one could reasonably conclude that Kevin and Sara have been doing this for much longer than they have. And, they are likely among the best in the country right now at what they are doing. When the rest of the country catches on, you're all going to be sorry you didn't sign up for membership!

 

I loved that vanilla kick on the back end of Candide! I hadn't read the beer's description beforehand, but thought that was the perfect amount of vanilla, almost a passing whisp, for that beer.

Psalm Spite blew everyone in our group away. One of the jammiest beers I've ever had. Wow.

Across the board their beers showcase such an amazing breadth of complexity and depth. There is legitimately talented brewing going on here (evidenced by seeing a few other well-known LA brewers at the party). Not to mention, Kevin and Sara seem to be two of the friendliest people I've met in the beer scene. I'm not sure there's another brewery I make a point of buying every single release from. Stoked to be in the syndicate and can't wait to see what the future holds for these guys.

 

NorCal person here who is not a Syndicate member.

I'm visiting LA area in early April and was interested in trying Cellador's stuff. I know they're not open to the public. Does that mean I can't even drop by and purchase bottles? Where do I find their beers?

 

They have a online store and ship within California. U can also shoot them an email and work something out before U show up to the tasting room.

 

you can buy from them online and pick up directly from the brewery, but you need to schedule a time to do so. besides that, i've seen their bottles at various shops throughout LA like at wholefoods, craft beer cellar, valley bev., craft beer kings, etc. Since you live in NorCal, you could buy from K&L as they have a few selections for pickup in store.

 

Their online store just has one beer right now. If I visited, would I have the same selection?

 

Their bottles are available at a lot of bottle shops around LA. I think Vendome Toluca Lake pretty much always has Cellador bottles in stock, I’m sure a lot of other places do too.

 

U can also DM them on IG.

 

they will have more beer released by then so keep posted on social media. for example, later this week they are releasing their saison mellona