Equilibrium (2021)

Nah this is 100% not a 'shelfie' issue.

They send literally all of their hops into distro (on the I-87 corridor anyhow) and you can easily find a wide variety of their cans all less than a month old, many less than a week or two old, and at like $7-8/can.

And the quality on these beers in the last year or so isn't worth half of that.

 

$7-$8/can is $28-$32/4-pack, why would anyone consider paying that much for haze when you get it at the million of breweries in the region for much cheaper? I agree, no haze is worth $7-$8/can.

In terms of quality, when they moved their production to South St I did notice a significant drop in consistency. I would get one 4-pack that tasted amazing and then another that tasted like overly ripened melon that was hardly drinkable. I do think in the past 3-4 months they have improved dramatically (at least on draft as I stated in my initial post).

I would put them behind only Obercreek and Tin Barn for what I have had in the tri-state area.

 

7-8 dollars per can is a fairly normal single can price in NYC. It’s why I usually don’t buy singles, it’s just a rip off. Is if the breweries fault or the shops fault for pricing these? Because straight from the brewery their prices are right on par (i.e. $20 DIPA 4-pack). In NYC you see the same markup for 4-packs of the other big boys, even ones that are local (Grimm, other half). 4-packs that sell for $20 at the brewery go for $24-28 per 4-pack, and even more if you pay singles-price per can. Then there other breweries, like threes for example, that I see being sold in shops for the same exact price you can get from the brewery.

 

LOL what? Where did I say or imply people should be cool paying that much for EQ? People do, because most of it moves, but that was not remotely the point of my post.

You literally said "sounds like this is about EQ shelfies" like they're bottles of 60-minute that have sat for two years, and I'm telling you -- as is everyone else -- that it's completely fresh cans that taste like dogshit.

 

My point was related to behavioral economics and expectations associated with a cost. If you recall, you responded to my initial post.

So it sounds like they have a canning issue or QC issue related to canning.

 

I have a friend at Half Time and he told me that Equilibrium (and Hudson Valley for that matter) doesn't offer wholesale pricing to shops. This was a year ago when Equilibrium started distributing so I don't know if things have changed, but it would explain why shops were selling Equilibrium for ~$30/4 pack.

There was a QC issue last year with oxidized cans. EQ has admitted it. There was discussion about it in last year's EQ thread. Then you add on EQ being sent through the mail plus being sent out to shops for the beer to sit on hot shelves for who knows how long.

I was buying their stouts pretty religiously last year, and to make the trip "worth it" I'd buy a 4 pack or two so I'm not taking a 30 minute drive for a single bottle. For me it was always about EQ hops being very sweet and melon forward, and everything tasted very similar.

 

Not a shelfie issue as 100% of what I bought was picked up at the brewery and proceeded to open them within 1-2 weeks after canning. Hopefully they've improved over the past 3-4 months - I stopped buying hops about 6 months ago.

 

Quite ironic that a company whose whole brand is science would have this problem

 

You gotta get some District 96. To me them and Root+Branch are on their own level as far as NEIPA/haze goes in the area, way better than Tin Barn and I find them both a cut above Obercreek.

 

This was my exact though when I experienced their QC issues firsthand. I remembered reading something about them being MIT graduates that formerly worked as environmental engineers and they can’t solve something like repeat oxidation issues?

 

EQ switched over to the thinner Ball aluminum cans about 2 years ago when there was a national aluminum shortage. They also increased their production output around the same time.

I've never had any issue with their cans on the 9-10 times that I've picked up from the brewery in the past year and immediately transferred to my coolers filled with ice.

I have had quality issues and oxidized cans when I've bought their products from stores/distributors in NJ and PA.

It also doesn't help that they do not can date their core beers like Photon, or if they do, they just use the ink stamp on the bottom of the can that wipes off once the can starts to sweat.

I still like their hoppy ales, but I would certainly not purchase them from anywhere but the brewery itself, and not let the temperature swing more than a few degrees.

 

a guy who I think had a major role in D96 hops just moved over to drowned lands. They just released 2 new IPAs under his guidance. I think drowned lands is gonna make big moves.

 

You're talking about Chase. He was formerly of NEBCo and was the head brewer at D96 for years. He's now the head brewer at Drowned Lands.

Drowned Lands is another great spot to visit and isn't too far from Equilibrium.

 

Hard co-sign. Tin Barn is good but there is absolutely nothing incredible about their beers whatsoever, District 96 on the other hand, is special.

 

Drowned Lands is already a top-5 brewery in all of NY and a legit destination in the Northeast as a whole, and it's absolutely insane to me that (not to pick on them because I do really like them but) Tin Barn is viewed as one of the next big things while DL flies mostly under the radar.

 

I am a big fan of Drowned Lands, though I think others do better haze. As an overall brewery and venue, DL is probably at the top. I enjoyed D96, but all their IPAs taste similar (like EQ) and I happen to like EQ's profile a little more. The Burger Loft, however, is legit and really enjoy the food there.

 

Burger loft 4 evr

 

I think their IPAs are going to jump to the next level with Chase on board. Along with the rest of their portfolio, their awesome looking branding, and beautiful venue, I see no reason why they can’t become the tree house of NY in a way.

 

Almost forgot this was an EQ thread lol. Digging all these southern hemi hop releases right before my visit tho. Nelson, enigma, riwaka - yeah I’ll take all of that

 

I will stand on a table and shout to the sky that Burger Loft's buffalo burger is the greatest smashburger on the planet.

On Tin Barn vs. Drowned Lands, I think it comes down to preference. Tin Barn is a two trick pony of hazy IPAs and fruited sours. Nothing wrong with that. Drowned Lands has a better portfolio of styles of beer. Tin Barn gets the nod from me because my wife likes their beer smoothies and my son likes their pizza. If I was 10 years younger and didn't have a 4 year old, I'd probably be hanging out at Drowned Lands.