Aslin Beer Co. (2019)

upon rereading, definitely too harsh on the I vs we sentiment but this stood out like a sore thumb

 

Man, their website is hilariously shitty. Both on desktop and mobile.

 

In Alexandria, I see they do “full” and “half” pours, does anyone know how many ounces those would be and if it changes depending on the ABV?

 

The half pours are either 4 or 6 ounces, depending on ABV. I didn't ask about full pour sizes, but I would assume they're double the half pour size. Gone are the old taproom's full pints, I guess.

 

How are they expecting to do 18K barrels a year if a "full pour" is only 8 or 12 ozs?

 

Distribute to bars that do 16-22oz pours

 

They have a long way to go, Dark as Sin is closer to the bottom 3.

 

If the full pours are double in size, the pricing is odd ($4/$6, $5/$7, $6/$8, etc).

 

That’s how the pricing is at the couple of breweries I most often go to. The half pours are usually a little heavy too.

 

I haven't had any of their lagers. I think I've had the opportunity (i.e. it was available at the bar) but something like Rothaus Pils was also on draft and if you think I am passing up that, you're crazy. I think that bravado gets interpreted negatively often times in the craft community, but I think that ambition is good. If Aslin wants to put in the time and effort of brewing and the extended tank time to make a great lager, I am all for that.

I feel like a lot of the problems with these breweries is that you have people who automatically think that whatever they brew is good. They give a favorable review or are afraid to review it negatively. You're like okay and you have their lager (for example) and it is not good. It may be terrible. This has happened to me a few times, which is why I am hesitant to jump into trying a style of beer that a brewery doesn't specialize in.

I don't know how this new brewery was financed, but I imagine Aslin has some major bills. I can't see them taking the time to dedicate to a lager program at this moment.

 

Maybe those $30/500ml bottle releases are putting more of a dent in things. haha.

 

Amen, brother

 

Off topic, but I just had that beer for the first time last night and loved it. Is there a similar quality Pilsner-type beer that's more readily available (including from Aslin)?

 

I suppose a lot of folks will point towards Ocelot's stable of pilsners (Sunnyside Dweller, Lamp, Sanitarium), but I've found those to be very citrusy/hop forward (not in a bad way). My personal favorite pils from a Virginia brewery is Ardent Pilsner. That'd be my vote.

 

All of those listed are excellent.

 

Prediction: If Aslin does a barrel-aged bottle release before the Alexandria brewing system is turning out finished beer, they will completely wipe out their inventory--bottles, cans, and draft--in a single Saturday, and they'll struggle to maintain any availability until the Alexandria system is going.

I mean, that's got to be the case, right? They're currently relying on the lower-volume Herndon equipment, which often couldn't keep more than three beers on draft in the old taproom. That was with less demand and less beer available in packaged formats. Based on the crowds Alexandria is drawing, I'll be surprised if they have a robust and diverse taplist toward mid-August, even without a bottle release. If the first few Alexandria-brewed batches don't meet expectations, who knows how long the situation could stretch out.

 

A friend told me they saw labels for a beer called Reston at the Herndon location, assumed it was a BA beer as it was in the same format as many of the recent BA releases. Your prediction is likely correct.

 

I think they've already bottled another, named Alexandria, but it would probably be wise for them to hang onto both for a few weeks. The recent BA Buku trio was bottled weeks before their release, so it wouldn't be anything new for them.

 

I don't think they will really run low on draft beers, they seem to have stockpiled a good amount of what they brewed over the past month or 2 and I assume they will continue to keg a good amount of what's currently being brewed. I think ending can sales in Herndon and/or stopping the distribution of kegs until the Alexandria system is up and running is likely.

 

Herndon closed for the 3rd day in a row.