Aslin Beer Co. Releases

Saw Aslin is doing a tap takeover at Total Wine on Black Friday. I think it’s all stouts, so not sure how that’s going to work....can’t see filling up a bunch of growlers of 15% stouts.

 

Also-had Ocelot’s Mi Corazon yesterday-So good.

 

Which TW?

I do not understand the business decisions these guys make. You’d think a tap room would be the #1 priority but they seem to be more interested in pop ups, food trucks, collaborations, tap takeovers, etc. It’s now been about 2 years since they closed the taproom.

 

Maybe those things make more money and/or are less hassle than opening the tap room?

And yes, which TW?

 

Growler fills on the seven Aslin Black Friday stouts at all the TWs in NoVA. Combining that with the BCBS release is going to be a disaster.

 

THanks. Are the seven Aslin stouts also being released at the brewery in cans/bottles, or is it Total Wine growler fills only?

 

aslin will release all seven stouts at their Elden St location (future taproom) starting at 7am on Friday. Looks like they will all be in cans.

 

I have noticed some of the IPAs being inconsistent too. The latest batch of Neutrino and Master of Karate are what I remember.

I am also excited for the Black Friday release. My plan is to go to the Aslin release and then head down to Veil. I know I will not be getting any magnums, but I am fine with that.

It is unfortunate that the tasting room is taking forever and I know that they have consistently had issues with the Town. I think the major delay is they decided to buy the property, which IMO may be causing the delay to open something else? I think they use the pop-ups to get in front of the customer and have some interaction.

 

How do you guys find out about these things?

 

I was at Aslin this week talking with the guys. Really nice bunch of people working there.

 

The front of the house folks are awesome. Really couldn't be nicer. I'd be there almost every week if there was any consistency.

 

Agreed 100%. Sometimes they’re not set up for success, though. Like it or not, they’re a retail establishment and should properly staff as such. Having one guy man the table on a Friday (I think it was last week or the week prior) is annoying. I always tip them because they are always hustling and super friendly.
Aside from that, I heard about the Total Wine tap takeover from one of my TW emails.

 

This is one of the reasons I rarely buy their beer anymore. Last time I went I waited for 30 minutes behind maybe 15 people on a Friday when there were no special or new releases. They had 2 people working the table and the same people were having to go back in the brewery to get cases of beer while I watched other employees/owners shooting the shit.

 

What beer do you buy to take the place of the Aslin beer you're no longer buying?

 

My Aslin cans fell of quick also. The Implication was totally oxidized a month after canning and Laser Raptors was a malt bomb also after 5-6 weeks. Very disappointing as the early cans I had were great as were all the Aslin beers I had on tap on my weekend visit to DC last month.

 

Don't *most* IPA's fall off after 5-6 weeks?

 

To the point of one being oxidized and the other being a total malt bomb? Hops fade over time but this was ridiculous and really changed my opinion about Aslin.

 

Like others, I've slowed my Aslin buying down and thankfully, I've noticed the flavor profile of Ocelot IPAs heading in the right direction lately (for my liking), so have been buying that.

 

I haven't bought cans in a while, but the IPAs I've had on tap at Dominion have been on point. Had a glass of You Call That A Knife last night and it was killer.

 

Had Lucky You at Dominion last week and was blown away. Perhaps Ocelots best DIPA to date.