Aslin Beer Company (2021)

wtaf

 

Finally had one of my Glampings from the summer. I’d heard it was not good but, man, that was an instant drain pour for me which I pretty much never do. It was so cloying I felt I was getting diabetes with each sip....was hoping a few months in the can would settle it down but....yeah...no. Even worse is I’ve had all the previous iterations and it’s one of my favorites they’ve done.

My issue with these guys has not been the QC on the brew expansions. I get it. You get bigger and quality slips. I just have no idea how they taste a beer like that and decide it’s worthy of release. I bough 4 or 5 cans so now I’m down close to $40 on stuff I’ll never drink. There’s a reason I used to line up for crowlers but don’t really spend a dime on them any more despite now being able to buy it at the market at the top of my street. Sad.

 

I had it fresh back in the summer and loved it and untappd check-ins would agree that it was a really good batch, though not to its original level. So to answer your question, I think your experience (drain pour, shouldn't have been released) is more the exception than the rule.

 

It seems I'm in the clear minority on this, but I thoroughly enjoyed the July batch. I've had at least one can from every Glamping release, and I fully recognize the July one (batch 4) was very different from the others, but the over-baked graham cracker quality from that release really did it for me. Differently strokes, I guess.

 

Yeah, different strokes. Most of the people I talked too had the same experience. I really wanted to like it, especially considering how many cans I have left. Oh well, I’ll continue to let them sit and maybe another 6 months to a year will temper them down to my tastes.

The good news is after the positive reviews of the recent batch I picked up a few cans and it is certainly closer to the OG batches. Good to go right from the start.

 

In recognition of the crippling impact the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry, National Harbor, OtherSide Beverage and Aslin Brewing collaborated to create a new brew with National Harbor Restaurant workers in mind. Rising Tides Raise All will not only help to increase traffic and sales at National Harbor but OtherSide Beverage and National Harbor will donate a portion of the proceeds from Rising Tides Raise All directly back to participating restaurant’s staff.


Rising Tides Raise All will be available exclusively at the following National Harbor Restaurants:
– Bond 45
– Succotash
– Fiorella Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria
– Redstone American Grill
– The Brass Tap
– Public House
– Brother Jimmy’s
– The Irish Whisper
– Flight Deck at The Capital Wheel


Rising Tides Raise All will be available on draft and in cans. Individual purchase at participating restaurants will include a free sticker or coaster (while supplies last) and those purchasing a can 4-pack will receive a National Harbor pint glass (while supplies last.)


The juicy IPA will be available and contribute donations through March 14. Its style has been described as a 5.5% juicy bomb. It’s a hazy spa brewed with chinook, Citra and mosaic. It’s dank and easy drinking, perfect for any weather. https://www.nationalharbor.com/risingtides

 

Aslin is steadily making its way down to Hampton Roads past month or so (at least at bottleBox).. do they date their cans/packaging at all? Would like to try some but scared to jump unless I see a date... maybe I'll try a stout/porter of their if I come across one.

 

Drops have been pretty regular the past couple months in Central Va (Charlottesville/Richmond) as well and I'm also often hesitant to grab anything since nothing I have seen has dates. It's mostly IPAs. I've probably only picked up a couple things mainly due to how inconsistent I've seen people say are from batch to batch in addition to them not dating cans. If I do want to grab something I'll do a quick check of Aslin's FB/IG account since they post releases regularly there to get an idea of fresh they are.

 

Any reason why they don't date their cans? Thought it was just temporary, but they have been at their new facility for well over a year now and...still nothing.

You can check Instagram, but that is a pain in the ass. And with beers like Power Moves that they make frequently, you really have no idea which batch it is.

 

Since they are distributing more one would think they would be wise to date since it seems they do have the ability to do so but guess they prefer to have weeks/months old undated product in market than dated ones.

 

When they first started canning way back in the day, they were relying on a third-party mobile canning company for packaging, and those cans had dates stamped on the bottom. They subsequently brought canning in-house, and the date stamps disappeared because the Herndon brewing location wasn't big enough for stamping equipment. No clue what their excuse is now that Alexandria is open, because they seem to have no shortage of space.

 

With all the $30 stouts, I'd assume they can invest in a way to date cans. haha.

Hard to believe it is not intentional. Much like others, I came across a bunch of IPAs when up in DC a few months ago, but I could not locate a single date. I certainly would have bought a few if fresh, but I was not going to stand in the store checking IG to reference. I'd imagine plenty of consumers will just buy them though and give it a shot.

 

At this point it has to be intentional, IPA’s that are meant to drink fresh should have a date on the can. At one of my local beer stores Aslin cans have been sitting for a while. With the qc issues and not knowing when it was canned it’s a hard to justify buying any Aslin cans. Every time I give then another shot I am usually disappointed that I bought it when better options are on the shelf. Hopefully they get back on point cause at their peak they were brewing some really good beers but that was years ago.

 

I agree, they were making top shelf NEIPAs for a while but it's been a downward spiral as far as my experience goes. Crazy that they have ~40 different beers available at the brewery now.

As far as dating, I guess the only way to know is to check IG but like someone else said there are a handful of beers they drop every couple months so you could get a fresh can or it could be many months old. Not dating the cans is unacceptable for a brewery of their size charging what they do.

 

Well they definitely have the local gummy bear sour ipa market sewn up.

 

On this point, I'm seeing friends in MA trying Aslin, but I live 10-15 minutes from the brewery and have only been once to pick up Andy's Pizza (similarly disappointing).

 

FYI, I found a couple Aslin Power Moves four packs in Harris Teeter in Virginia Beach, $13 each. Quality has fallen off for sure, but damn I never expected to see their cans pop in Harris Teeter.