Night Shift Whirlpool & Morph cans

When people start talking about mouthfeel it reminds me that beer drinkers are just as dopey as all those cork sniffing wine people I like to make fun of.

 

I wrote about the cost a while back in this thread explaining the price and how we are not getting rich by selling cans. Feel free to reference that post: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/night-shift-whirlpool-morph-cans.204785/#post-2711256 That being said we are working on lowering the price on our canned offering. We are still a few months away from being able to lower the price as we wait for our printed cans to arrive. The shrink wrapping and our old brew house is what drove the cost up. Now we have solved the brew house part of the equation we are now working on the shrink wrapping. That process takes months, sadly.

 

We need to remember they're a small brewery doing something technically out of their wheelhouse. Their standard beers are exceptional values at $10-15, especially their sours. If all they did was canned beer I'm sure it'd be cheaper, but let's not put them in a category they aren't. They're a microbrewery not just craft beer makers

 

I love Whirlpool and session beers in general, but once I had Morph (all but the last one) I found them to be my faves from Nightshift. Drinking a Whirlpool NOW however :-)

 

So we shouldn't judge the individual beers based on quality and value? Really? If a ale brewery makes a lager and it stinks, is is not okay to say such because it "puts them in a category they aren't" in? I'm missing the point. The beer is either good for the value or it isn't. People can voice their opinions within that spectrum. Categorizing the brewery is irrelevant.

 

Would it be awesome if those $12 four packs of Morph were 16 ounce cans instead? Yes. Do I feel better paying $12 for a 4 pack from Night Shift vs. $15 for a six pack from a much larger operation like Ballast Point? Also yes.

 

Actually, the cans at $12 for 48 ounces ($18 per 6-pack) are a "better value" than the $10-$18 750-mL (25.4 ounces) bottles.

 

The decision you have to make is, is it worth it? If so buy it, if not don't. I support expressing opinions, mine is you can't compare this small brewery to guys like Ballast Point or Oskar Blues, their production is too small to drive costs down

 

Rob, thank you kindly for reference to your thread - this helps me understand pricing considerations better. I've been tracking my consumption out of concern for both my liver and my wallet - and while I should be more concerned about the former, the amount of money I am spending on beer is obscene! It was with pain that I passed up on a fresh four of Morph the other day, but knowing I'm going to be in Portland Maine over the weekend (and thinking of the gracefully aging headies in my fridge), I did it with a good conscience. It will be interesting to see where the industry is in a year or three, or after another economic hiccup, etc. - because I don't think I'm the only one who believes pricing at the current levels can be maintained. I may be wrong and any good analyst needs to understand the fundamentals that you so kindly pointed out before coming to a conclusion one way or another. I think the good faith in your recognition of these issues and your interest in meeting the consumer halfway (albeit not so discerning consumer in this case!) should be rewarded, especially considering the quality product you are selling. Many thanks and cheers!

 

Too much junk on the bottom of one can? I grabbed two pics from the interwebs, the 1st is from Dec ... the 2nd a pic taken in Sep. Please don't release milk shakes, seems the December batch is all cleaned up. ;-)

 

Had Whirlpool on tap at Buk's Cambridge last week ... tasted as expected. Good stuff for a session brew.

 

Yes, but is the beer better or comparable in overall quality to those breweries? I'd say sometimes. I'll pay extra to support local economy but if that involves taking a gamble every time on a $12 4-packs of pale ale (or maybe next month it will be an IPA, WHO KNOWS?!?!) then I dont think I'm very interested anymore.

 

I didn't outright say it in my previous post but cans are moving to 16oz 4-packs. Whirlpool cans design actually just got approved today! Still a few months away till we actually get these cans but we are a step closer.

The first few batches of Morph were very turbid. September was the second Morph batch. We learned a lot from those batches and adjusted our process to make them more bright. They are still unfiltered but some tweaks have resulted in better beer quality. We never stop improving.

 

Thats a killer design Rob. Very excited for the move to Pints too.

 

Awesome. Awesome to the max.

 

Thanks for the reply and I have noticed as well as many others as far as improvements. Hoping to have some time next week to swing by again.

 

When people talk about "wet dreams", I'm like 99% certain it has something to do with 16oz Whirlpool cans. Boom.

 

Great to hear Jason! We have been invested in building a lab for sometime now and have had a part time lab tech working for us for the past 3 months or so. He will become full time in March as part of our goal to push for greater quality and consistency. Every batch is now getting tested for possible infections and more (force ferment tests, diacetly tests, plating beer, propagating yeast, consistent pitch rates, shelf stability, etc). Glad people can taste the difference!

 

Sorry if this has been asked, didn't want to read through six pages, do these cans make it into Vermont? TIA

 

For the most part our beer is only sold around Boston. We send a little bit of draft beer to Maine but if you want cans they are currently only available in MA. Cheers!