Beer shop finds.

I don't think that'd be a bad trio of saison/farmhouse/farmstead producers to be confined to drinking.

 

Midnight Snow by True North Ale Co.
Gasparos' in N. Attleborough.
A Black Ale(IPA), my first Add Beer.

 

Anyone that drinks Second Fiddle often, does it drop off fairly quickly? I grabbed a 4 pack for the first time this week canned on 1/11 thinking it’d still be drinking great and it has next to no aroma, stale hop flavor. Was kind of bummed because I’ve heard great things.

 

I'm not an authority, but that doesn't seem like nearly enough time for any drop off. It is hard to opine without knowing what else you drink and what you think about other beers. One of the restaurants that I go to weekly has both Fiddle and Second, and I usually choose Fiddlehead, but I think I am in the minority in terms of preferring the single IPA. All that said, I think Second FIddle is great and wouldn't have described it as you did - though I mostly have it on draft at Red Heat in Bedford.

 

When I first had Second Fiddle on tap at the brewery, it had just been tapped like an hour before I got there, so I'm really biased here, but each time I've had it in cans I've been kind of let down.

 

Second Fiddle has been one of those beers to me that's been pretty good, but I've never understood why everyone loves it so much. I always feel like I'm looking to like it more because people regard it so highly but it's always been a little flat to me.

 

I'm with you there. Mastermind I liked more but haven't had that in years.

 

I’m with you. Love Fiddlehead Single. Wished they canned that as well.

 

Trade Joes in Burlington VT has a big stack today, $6
On another note I also prefer fiddlehead IPA to second fiddle. I know Matty O wants to make sure it is consistently available on draft but wish they would can it.

 

very strange, though maybe you just don't like it. It's not a hugely aromatic beer, or a juice bomb.

I've had it 1-6 weeks old and always love it.

 

The second can I had was better than the first, but definitely not what I expected. I remember having Mastermind awhile back and being blown away. Maybe this ones just not for me.

 

Two very different beers for sure. Mastermind varied a lot for me. I had the first run. Loved it. Had the run last June and thought it was ok. Second Fiddle has always been solid. Great balance.

 

My local has the single IPA on tap always.

It’s consistent hazy and super fresh. Prefer it by a wide margin to Second fiddle

 

Ha that’s random. You live there or work around there? It’s not exactly a craft beer spot, decent tap list though.

Was the single IPA always hazy? For some reason I feel like there was a recipe change recently.

I like it much better than Second Fiddle for that reason. I didn’t know if they both changed either, so I have revisited Second Fiddle. Sounds like it might just have been that the single was always hazy and Secind Fiddle isn’t.

 

I recently had regular Fiddlehead IPA for the first time in quite a while and thought it tasted different as well. It seemed very "modern" with both feet in the NE IPA pool whereas my earlier memories of it were more like a Heady Topper that wasn't quite so far down that path.

 

For anyone who might give a crap about my blatherings, I was finally able to do a head to head comparison of the Antwerpen and the new barrel aged version (found it at Rapid). Short version: the barreled version is quite good!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-727.603843/page-2#post-6359438

 

@AlcahueteJ its funny, I’m not sure if the single has always been hazy - but every time Ive had it on tap in eastern MA for the past few years I seem to be taken aback by how milky turbid it looks. More so than most similar beers.

Has anybody else noticed the Fiddlehead single being exceptionally hazy?

 

I also wonder if it ever wasn't as turbid, because I find it odd that Second Fiddle has a much higher score on here, you would tend to think the opposite, as haze = high ratings.

 

Funny, just last week I had the Fiddlehead single IPA on tap and said to my friend that I don't remember it being as hazy. Not even a matter of months ago it seemed less hazy. Could be a fuzzy memory though.