What brewery does your community sh-t on?

I think we've chatted about this before in some capacity but this makes me sad. I had just moved to Tucson when they opened in the 90s and I'm pretty sure they were the first actual brewery, rather than brewpub, that I ever drank in (their "taproom" was a couch plunked in the loading dock area).

At least I'm not missing anything I guess

 

Ah I forgot about that! I didn’t know it was you I was talking to about them.

I still have a ton of respect for them for all of the above reasons you mentioned. They were pioneers in Arizona, for sure. Unfortunately they quality had been so inconsistent they were really tough to support. Seems like there were a lot of bad business decisions like opening a massive Nimbus “Bistro” that always seemed to be empty. Food was terrible and the beer, mediocre. I also read a post/review somewhere online (oh-so-trustworthy, I know lol) that employees were ordered to dump stale, outdated packaged beer into a secondary fermenter so they could be “reworked” and repackaged. If true (unlikely IMO) it’s probably the biggest transgression in brewing I’ve ever heard of.

Despite all that, Old Monkeyshine will always have place in my heart, but they needed a reboot like 6 or 7 years ago at the very least

 

Counterpoint: I've had many bad beers from Lord Hobo.

They're decent for something you can find on the shelf at liquor stores but even their best IPAs aren't even in the same stratosphere as stuff like Night Shift who are above average at best

 

Goodwater.

 

What beers have you had from them that you would say are bad, and why?

 

Bad might be a bit strong, I should've said mediocre

Angelica is an ok wheat beer. Boom Sauce is quite boring, Virtuoso is an average NEIPA. I've had Glorious and Hobo life as well. There's just nothing that stands out about them. No flaws but no redeeming characteristics

 

See now, maybe that's where you and I differ. I spend the last 3-4 years complaining that almost every beer I tried was disappointing because it wasn't "mindblowing." Now I realize that being "mindblowing" is a never-ending chase of a promise that might not come true. "No flaws" is all that matters. If you have no real complaints, that's all you need.
And "There's just nothing that stands out about them."? Does it really need to? What makes 'X' other dozens of examples of the style "stand out"? There's over 6,000 breweries in the country now and nearly all of them make NEIPAs. They're not all going to stand out. A few hundred examples and they're going to start running into each other. Eventually, you're just going to be satisfied with having one that isn't blatantly flawed and poorly made. At least, that's been my experience.

 

Very interesting points, reading this makes me wonder if it’s even possible right now for any beer to blow my mind. I seriously have my doubts, even though I can pick thru the chaff of mediocre into great beers, but mind blowing might not be possible.

 

I like to think of it as one of those things where if it happens, it happens, but don't go looking for it. I still find beers that "blow my mind" every now and then, but it's a pleasant surprise that I don't make my main goal. You're either going to like a beer, or not. That's what it boils down to.

 

No flaws meaning no off flavors (ie Diacetyl, DMS, Acetaldehyde, etc.). The hop character, body, and overall composition doesn't hold up to many examples that I can purchase locally or trade for (specifically for their IPAs). There's no reason for me to drink Lord Hobo anymore because I always have better options to drink

 

I really love to remember those moments when beer exploded brain, but I suppose the further down this road I go it’s really unlikely. Lots for beers over lot of years and not much is new, for me to rediscover the wonderment I’d have to go into styles unexplored. I’d never ever find an ipa that would blow my mind right now, I’d recognize greatness but my eyes won’t roll back enjoying it.