Forest & Main Brewing Co. (2021)

Damn looks like it sold out super fast again. Wish I was aware of this, would’ve been perfect for NYE. What was the asking price for one of these bad boys?

well, tastes are subjective. one man’s delicious pint is another man’s flat/oxidized mess. that said: someone on IG said they’ve been drinking the last box all week long and it was still tasty.

they also mentioned they’re “still learning exactly how long they last” so take that for what it is.

 

Yes, beer taste and evolution of beer flavors over time after tapping is indeed subjective.

That is indeed one claimed data point. An 'anonymous source' is not something I am willing to 'hang my hat' on.

The price of this Bitter Ale was something like 35 bucks per my recollection. When I visited the Forest & Main website this morning it was still available for sale and for a split second I contemplated buying one but the detail of "good clip" kept me from clicking the box.

Cheers!

 

I had updated my comment prior to your response. F&M says that they do not know at this point; at least they are being honest in that regard.

I certainly don’t blame you for having reservations but since NYE is my birthday anyway I figured it’d be a nice little birthday present to myself (I plan on drinking quite a bit of beer at a “good clip” as it is )

 

Permit me to suggest an alternative approach that F&M could (should IMO) have taken. Why not 'test' this new product internally prior to selling it? Produce a few boxes of varying beer styles and have your employees (or local volunteers?) consume those boxes under varying storage conditions and varying duration. Create evaluation score sheets and prior to the start of this testing decide upon an evaluation criteria (perhaps create an overall quality measurand that freshly tapped the beer is a 10 and when the beer is judged a 7 it is at the end of its shelf life). With this information/data in hand they can then better advise their customers on how to best utilize this new product.

Woo-Hoo! A twofer!!

Have fun celebrating your birthday/New Year's Eve.

Cheers!

 

I forgot to ask: if anyone has a box to spare and is interested in a trade, let me know. I just got some tree house and vitamin sea over Christmas break when I was up in MA visiting family. It would be a big favor but I know it’s definitely a longshot at this point (but worth a try I figure).

Thank you! Have a happy new year!!

 

From IG:

 

"Just a few days" is a step in the right direction but needless to say what is "few" to me could be different from you.

Did you read my post in the other thread where Adnams actually states a value (4 days) for the Poly Pin product?

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cask-ale-in-a-bag-box.652505/page-2#post-7134658

Cheers!

 

I did read it but I cannot watch the video at the moment. I will give it a watch tonight.

Thanks

 

Their post about a new cask-in-a-box beer is (maybe?) more declarative:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaI_1wFvwf/

 

I would be interested in hearing how you think this beer tastes at day 7 vs. days 1 - 4.

Cheers!

 

Bitters are hit or miss for me, so don't want to commit to 10 pints in a week of a beer I haven't had before. I am waiting for another Dark Mild before trying to buy one of the boxes. If I do, I will be sure to report my thoughts.

 

I 'hear' you here. I prefer to drink my homebrewed Bitter Ales.

I look forward to hearing what you have to report on the Mild Ale(s).

Cheers!

P.S. I suppose an option is to purchase a four-pack of the Bitter Ale before committing to a cask-in-a-box?

 

Recent discussions with Endicott on the new production space, expanding the Oak program, increasing the lager portfolio with mashing technicalities, and incorporating distinct foeders: Saison & Lager

+ an eagerness to get back to the hand pump…

• The Full Pint - PODCAST EP 199 – BELIEVE IN SAISON – DANIEL ENDICOTT
• 16oz Canvas: EPISODE 181 - DANIEL ENDICOTT (FOREST & MAIN BREWING)

 

Forest and Main has announced "March Mildness" (a nice play on words of college basketballs March Madness for any non-sports fans out there)

From their social media announcement:

https://www.forestandmain.com/march-mildness

 

March Mildness has begun. 2 pints down, 8 to go of a box of Cester of Drawers. Since it was in the fridge until I opened it, the first glass was a little too cold, flavor opened up with the second getting closer to cellar temp. Will report back on how the carbonation/ flavor is over the weekend, and depending on how it is at that point, may leave a few pours for sampling at 4 and 7 days for science.

 

So to report on the rest of my experience with the Cask at Home box of Chest of Drawers.

I drank the first 8 pints over the course of the first three days. Since my basement is only below grade on three sides of the house, the room I stored the box in fluctuates a bit with the exterior temperature, and was between about 48 and 52 degrees last weekend. Sunday night, I put the box in the fridge since that room was going to be in the 50's this week with the warmer weather. Pint number 9 on Day 4 was at the minimum carbonation level that I would personally find acceptable, even for a cask-conditioned beer. I was traveling for work then for a couple days, but last night on Day 8 I drank the last pour, and while there were some bubbles created by the pour, the beer was basically flat. The flavor was still fine, so I topped up my glass with a half a can of F&M's next Mild release, Mental Cabinets to improve the drinking experience. So I agree with F&M recommendation to drink the boxes as quickly as possible.

Overall I really enjoyed the flavor of the beer, but the gravity pour from the box only created big foamy bubbles that quickly faded, instead of the nice creamy head from a hand pump with a sparkler. So while it was a fun experiment, I much prefer the in-pub experience for cask beer, and will stick to cans until hopefully this summer/fall when the brewpub re-opens.
My review of the beer

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 8. Had to squeeze out the bag

 

Let me ask a question from a differing perspective. What would your thoughts be if you purchased this box for an event (e.g., a St. Patrick's Day get together on the deck) with the expectation of all of the beer being consumed quickly? Would this be a worthwhile purchase in this context or would the delivery system (i.e., "the gravity pour from the box only created big foamy bubbles that quickly faded") still make it 'better' just to buy cans of Forest & Main Mild Ales instead?

Cheers!

 

I would say if it was a group that normally enjoyed cask-conditioned beer and therefore would appreciate the novelty of the "cask at home" experience, that would probably out-weigh the downside. Plus, it does get you a few free pints based on the cost per volume perspective.

 

Fair point. My buddies are not delivery via cask aficionados so...

Cheers!

 

Furthering the series with Schwarz -

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