I swear I'm not trolling here, I really want to know . . . Last weekend, I tried it at the Shelton Bros. festival and was seriously underimpressed, as were most of the people who tried it with me. I feel like most JK's I've tasted blow it away, and I think even many Almanacs are tastier. Was this an off batch? Does aging do wonders to it? What's the deal with the insane trades?
Ive had West Ashley and think its great IMO. A lot of the times its hype but in this case its also hard to come across. SARA releases stuff unanounced or same day i think that also factors into it. You may be the first person ive heard say it was not good.
West Ashley is a beautiful beer. Falls between the juicy Cascade Apricot and funky Cantillon Fou Foune, making it the best of both worlds for me. I loved it and think the trade value is the real deal.
Despite what you might think reading these forums, it's actually quite alright not to like a high-rated/high-trading beer. Palates gonna palate. That being said, I love West Ashley. Great beer.
Keg might be off? That, or you need to get your taste buds checked. Ive had the latest batch from 3 different kegs at different times and they were as delicious as I remember. I did not go to the festival. (I have not had the lastest batch from bottle yet). If your taste buds are off, you might be a lucky as you can buy all the Almanac you want that is turding up the shelves
I had it at Shelton as well, it was poured from bottles. I was a little underwhelmed, but could definitely see how some people could love it. It had a funk unlike anything I've had in an AWA (especially not from Almanac, whose sours are fairly one dimensional for the most part) and a very strong apricot flavor. It was also a lot less sour than I assumed it would be.
I know it's not your first rodeo, but my first thought would be "what were you drinking before WA?" Possible that what came before influenced your perception? I haven't had WA but having had a lot of other SARA beers I'll say that I find they have a similar character and a common - non technical speak here - softness to the body (maybe it's the water? maybe it's something particular to their yeast?). I've never had a SARA beer that's been "extreme" in any way. They're insanely drinkable and develop really nicely over a bottle ... and I can crush a bottle of pretty much any SARA beer. IMHO this subtlety and nuance doesn't always show best in big tastings. They're not going to knock your socks off; they're going to seduce you into taking them off.
West Ashley is really more like a fruited saison in temperament. If Shaun Hill for instance, brewed Florence with apricots, it'd have a similar character. Westly is where it really becomes more of a fruited AWA in character.
Ironically, WA was the first thing I tried at the Festival. I'm totally willing to be convinced of its greatness, it just didn't happen that day. I'm going to try to hit SARA at least once over the holidays, maybe I'll get my chance then.
