The Veil Brewing - Richmond

This years Dark Daze was the worst line I've EVER stood in, so brutal. Got there at 9 that morning and didn't get through the line until around 3:45ish. The only saving grace was pour after pour of high abv booze.

 

Yeah DD2 is easily the worst line they've had. It's at least understandable though why with so many options. There had been longer lines before AB CoW for sure, just to that point none of them that I had been in moved so slowly and for seemingly no reason (1 bottle, 3 or 4 cans and a glass maybe?)

 

So now that we have a release for DB CoW, I'm curious if AB and BB come out the same day or if they plan to space them out. I can imagine sales being a little slower right after the holidays so maybe spacing them out will help drum up hype and keep people coming through the doors.

 

I'm betting they space them out. Last year BB was the first release of the new year and AB was 5 weeks later. I think they let AB sit in bottles for 2 months last year. I feel like if they were going to a multiple variant release they'd have done a special Saturday CoW release with all 3 plus maybe some special taps.

They constantly surprise me though. I'm just hoping today isn't too bad. People camping out overnight pretty much always coincides with a brutal line.

 

10am and only one tent. Talked to the guy inside, said he posted up at around 10pm and drove up from VA Beach headed to DC.

 

Did he say he's there for the mag of CoW and Lord? That's the combo I'd think would have someone camping out.

 

Exactly what he is here for

 

Think I met that dude at Forever Summer. He brought his girlfriend with him through the line for extra bottles of Starve B like 6 times.

 

This is sad.

Also a personal reminder, I don't like beer nearly as much as some others.

 

I’m not sure if simply “liking beer” is what drives people to do crazy shit like this.

 

No, clearly....actually enjoying the beer itself has very little to do with this kind of stuff.

 

I never want to be one of those people who makes slinging beer on the secondary their side hustle. It is one thing bringing a mule with you, another taking it through the line multiple times especially on something so limited. But if he really did that 6 times, 12 bottles, paid ~$45 each, sell for $150 each conservatively - dude made $1200+ on minimal effort. I understand the motivation. I am just glad it doesn't ring true for me.

Edit: Oh good shirts! That'll make the line go faster lol. Silly comment I guess but Veil is a magical place where people suddenly forget what size shirt they wear and have to try them on at the register.

 

That's the guy! His name is Tim. He sells on MBC and Facebook. Pretty scummy activity imo.

 

So yesterdays release went pretty smooth all things considered. The cellar bottles and the t-shirts seemed to bog things down just a little but the line moved at a reasonable pace for The Veil. Didn't grab any cans but walked away with 3 bottles of DB CoW and grabbed the AB CoW for my cellar pick. DB CoW is drinking exceptionally well on draft, didn't crack a bottle and probably won't for a while. Tons of toffee and caramel, light raisin chewiness, nice barrel up front with a subtle apple sweetness on the tail. Tried Vast:Three on draft as well, really liked that one. Very crisp, sharp on the draw with a nice level of tartness upfront. Finishes super clean and leaves you going back for another pull. This one is better than Vast:Two but Vast:One still takes gold out of the series so far.

 

Agree on basically all points. DB CoW was great. The apple totally comes through and the bourbon is perfect. I think these will age very well but they are ready to go right now. I only got a taste of Vast 3, not enough to really judge but I grabbed 3 just because I know when the weather turns it's the type of beer I'll crave.

I felt like the line flew considering how many options there were. My starting point when they opened the doors at 4PM was the same spot as it was for AB CoW last year. I had my stuff in hand yesterday at 5PM on the dot. AB CoW it was 6:45. They killed it yesterday. Folks who got there about 3:00-3:30PM could have shot over to Answer and made it in time for cans. Or folks who hit Answer at 4 would have made it in time for DB CoW.. Not my priority yesterday but I did make in time for a qbert glass which I didn't expect.

Next time we're there for the same release @TurkeysDrinkBeer drop me a line and we'll have a beer. @beernuts - great seeing you yesterday.

 

Yeah I thought yesterday went really well too. I had said I wasn’t going to go, but I work nearby and so I went to scope the line at about 3:30 and it was surprisingly short (relatively speaking, it was to the first corner off the lot) and the weather was nice so I said fuck it. I happened to walk up at the same time as @oldn00b so it was actually a good time shooting the shit and drinking while we waited. I only tried DB CoW and Vast but I thought both were great. They did a very good job moving the line yesterday, I’ve waited in much shorter lines that took longer than yesterday did.

 

Definitely will do!

 

Well I was clearly wrong. I can't believe that they have a bottle variant that snuck by the label police. It didn't show up on Untappd or anything. So yeah, I'm in the same boat. I can't make it tomorrow, not in time to beat a sell out ~7PM or so anyway. I had my sights set on DB and just figured a BB/AB release would be easier to snag over the next month or so. At least last week went really well for me!

 

In the exact same boat man, was not expecting this a week after the DB drop. I would have planned better had I known this was going down.

 

I'm going up to the release tomorrow and had a few questions. BTW, this isn't the "Tim" referenced just above. This would be my first Veil release.

1. Based on last week, what time would you need to show up to get your bottles by 4-4:30? Would you need to be there at 3:00 or earlier?

2. Do they allow you to re-line for more bottles?

3. I'm guessing the answer to this is no, but is drinking in line allowed?