Equilibrium Brewery

it's been quite a few.. i've had the issue with mc2/fluc/fractal/dhops hasn't really mattered what "brand" can.. they have all suffered the same fate... my guess is some are as fresh as 3 weeks.. others verge on close to 2 months... as i mentioned i have way too much beer and not all of it made it to the fridge but all of it is stored in a basement and not super warm temps either.. it's just odd to me that the EQ cans have this issue when i've got other brewery's cans of similar age and it doesn't happen... i kind of was thinking maybe EQ guys being like wizards of hops and brewing were doing something other places aren't doing.. which while it leads way to awesome hoppy beers also leads way to issues if not kept cold that other places don't face

the guy with the idea on residual sugars then EQ kind of in their guessing leading towards hops being able to be broken down then refermenting or something (not a scientist) leads me to believe maybe that is happening or the fact they do wilds in i guess the same space (never a good idea) could potentially be the cause.. sure keeping cold and at 36-38 which is pretty fucking cold btw, keeps that at bay.. idk.. i just know i had quite a lot of rock hard EQ cans.. think it was like 12 or so... probably about 2 from 6 various releases that didn't get to the fridge, which i knew i was rolling the dice on and maybe less hoppy etc but didn't think they would turn into seltzer.. i've tried to choke a few of them down.. some i can just about stomach 4-5 oz if they haven't turned completley.. others i've had to drainpour and when they are pour'd it's just all foam.. or if you let the can sit after you crack it, it becomes a geyser

i'm really not trying to shit on EQ here..i take all the fault... but something does seem off to me.. i'm not new to ipa's and keeping shit cold or beer... i've just not encountered what i like to call the "Jooooose" issue or the exploding TH growler issue in cans.. to me this is closer to whatever issue TH used to have with their glass growlers exploding

 

I suggest that you actually hand over some of these numerous "bad cans" to EQ the next time you go buy some cans. I know they have asked people for these cans (for scientific testing) but nobody ends up supplying the cans that they complain about. Nothing really gets solved or proved until this happens. I hope you can buck the trend. Should be easy for you.

 

i could certainly pass them along to my friend, nothing is easy for me these days however as i don't wait in lines or hit releases... but thanks for the concern

 

Old Denali Bastard was great, imo...missed out on the Fluctuation.

 

Uh Oh...

 

How crazy do you guys think tomorrow will be? Can I arrive at around 11-11:30 and get cans of dHop 1? How long does the line usually take to get through around that time?

Also how does parking work? Planning on going Saturday for the first time if it wasn't obvious.

 

Granted, there’s no HVB release to coincide, and Other Half is drawing a lot of attention with the collaborations; however, the stout is a major curve ball along with the “adjuncted versions for onsite consumption only during our line share.” Consequently, probably boils down to what else is being unleashed per “More to Come…”

Line moves painfully slow, but parking is fairly straight forward when you arrive

 

Damn, sounds like a crapshoot. Do people ever line up and not get beer?

 

Looks like they're also releasing dhop8. It's probably going to be pretty crazy compared to last week.

 

and brisket available too. Meatastic.

 

From the restaurant?

 

Pete does it himself. Something like 30-40 pounds of meat they are smoking for tomorrow.

 

They just keep piling on…

 

Very cool of them. EQ has a unique and specific line culture that is very interesting to me.

 

Went for the first time this Saturday and was kind of bummed about my experience. I got there at around 10:30 expecting to get on a line, but saw everyone just kind of hanging out in the parking lot. It wasn't too many people so I thought maybe there was no need for a line or something like that, so we just hung out.

I had no idea about the ticket system (no sign, no table, no mention of it on their website) until I heard some people talking about it at around 11:30. I found the dude, got a ticket and was obviously near the very end of the line. The back of the line was mostly comprised of other first timers who were also all very confused by the ticket system.

I definitely take partial responsibility for not doing proper research, but it was just a really odd situation. I'm not one to drink in the morning, so I ended up standing around in the cold for about an hour for no reason at all and then having to wait on line for well over an hour because of my super high ticket number.

I'm sure 85% of the crowd was comprised of people who had been to a release before, but I'm not sure how they expect first timers to know about a system that isn't advised anywhere. Did I miss something?

 

Sorry you had such a bad experience @brandnewcardock. IIRC there's a bunch of guys with orange hoodies that usually run the line and hand out the tickets near the front. I'm guessing it was hard to tell that as a newcomer and I feel bad not mentioning it when you originally asked.

A lot of the Equilibrium regulars definitely do know each other and they look forward to these tailgate style gatherings every week. If you're not into that, then waiting for an hour in the cold is definitely not fun. I did the bottle share line thing once and it wasn't my thing. EQ rarely sells out of everything on the line, so I always show up after the line has died down and pick up the scraps. Hopefully your experience will be better next time if you decide to go back.

 

Still have yet to visit the brewery but would like to soon - however with a one month old baby I can't do any line waiting at all. If I roll up at 3 or 4pm on a Saturday will I be able to just pop in grab some cans (assuming any remain), crowlers and go? Typically what time does the line dissipate?

 

Hi - it's a good point about not advertising the tickets. Equilibrium did post the ticket policy on all of their social media, but that was probably last done many months ago. I know the ticket guy Pete does walk around and try to make sure everyone gets a ticket, but when the crowd grows as it gets closer to the release time I'm sure some get missed. If you have Facebook, there's a group (Equilibrium Brewery Trading and Fan Page) and each release I post a line update thread in that group. There's also lots of other valuable info there, including interactions with the brewers themselves, trading, etc.

 

What a shit show this brewery is. Is the only reason people in this thread defend these guys so much because of the free food and share? I don't get it. The list amateur hour nonsense that this "business" goes through continues to grow. Cans of their beer are re fermenting and blowing up on buyers, an issue the brewery know about, and they don't offer refunds? They you guys tell the guy who post about it here to give it back, seriously? And right after that they decide to release a beer that ferments in the can and they STILL don't mention in the Instagram post to keep the beer cold?

People show up from out of town to a group of guys standing around a parking lot and they're supposed to know to talk to the middle aged men in bright orange "Line Share Kings" sweaters? Isn't that what the state gave them money to pay employees for? Or is the owner too busy cooking meat and pouring magnums for his friends to deal with the business... Gee I wonder why the restaurant owners cut ties with the brewers? These guys need to get their priorities straight. There's no taproom, can releases are a nightmare for anyone not in the know, and if your beer blows up on you its your fault because you didn't ask the guy on the can or the Facebook group. One guy in this thread even seriously said that the brewery is doing more for the town than most businesses. Guess he didn't realize the town practically gave them the building, hundreds of thousands of dollars and grants.

 

Hi - I just informed the EQ management folks about your post which is very valid and suggested they do a reminder on how the ticketing system works on their social media updates.