Alpine Brewing Thread

So I keep reading on this thread how the Alpine beers made at GF are so much worse than the original ones, So my question is what are the flaws in the beer? Off flavors? Diacetyl? Contaminated? Guess I just wonder if you drank the beer without knowing who made it or where would you enjoy the beer? Would you drink it again? Is it a balanced, well made beer within specs?

 

I understand what you're getting at, but that's not precisely the point. Green Flash bought Alpine for the value in their brand and the perception that people have of that brand, namely that they produce exceptional IPAs. If people across the country want a balanced, well made beer within specs, there are probably a lot of other options without the hassle or anticipation of getting Alpine beers, whereas exceptional IPAs are considerably less common and more desirable. It would be nice if everyone just judged any given beer based on its merits without consideration of the brand, rarity, and everything else, but it goes for both consumers and producers. Green Flash is using Alpine as leverage to get bars to carry more GF in order to have access to Alpine products - if GF is going to use the brand based on its desirability, it's entirely fair for consumers to do the same.

As far as the flaws, it varies from batch to batch but in general, the GF versions are more bitter and lack the aromatics that jump out of the glass. I know you mentioned a while ago that GF doesn't have a hopback and is procuring one to better match Alpine's process. Hopefully that will help, but Duet and Hoppy Birthday have been pretty far from the Alpine versions.

 

My last visit to Alpine was the last week of January. I bought bottles of Pure H and Duet. Duet was bottled that week. And I was told that the bottles were bottled at Alpine. I also filled 4 growlers of Nelson, Pure H and the Mission Collab. And same thing…the kegs were from Alpine. I was told eventually all bottles will be coming out of GF and will be sold at Alpine. Also that all Alpine beers will be brewed at GF. That same week I noticed Tustin had 6 Alpine beers on tap at their brewery. So the GF/ABC kegs started to appear that week.
Can someone (on their next visit) verify that where the bottles are coming from? And if some of the GF kegs are showing up at Alpine for pours and growler fills? Thank you.
And yes, those who are drinking Alpine beers for the very first time it is good. So Drink Alpine or go to bed. . . . .

 

Makes sense, but really? He specifically came into the Pacific forums to jump on the GF-ruined-Alpine-bandwagon? He admitted the misunderstanding and stands by his opinion. And you're disappointed because you can't flame him any more? That's cool

 

Gunman - I've found that you don't always get an honest answer from people at Alpine. It's probably more accurate to find an "insider" and ask them, though I've found a few of them have been misled at times lately. The most accurate way to get info on this is to have info from friends that work at Green Flash. They'll know when they start bottling Alpine, and the last i had heard (which was about 2 weeks ago) they definitely have not started bottling yet. Of course, I could have been lied to. LOL

Alpine themselves (on their Facebook page) have verified that some of the Nelson that was in the pub and in the store for growler fills was from Green Flash. I'm guessing that a good rule of thumb is that the week before a fresh Nelson batch comes out (as well as the bottles), one might want to be a little suspect.

 

I suspect you are more likely to get diacetyl/contaminated beer from Alpine than Green Flash. The differences that people seem to be noting in the Green Flash Alpine have more to do with what Xul pointed out - bitterness, aroma, finish.

 

Thank you. I think when we start seeing more bottles showing up in the OC/LA/IE & rest of California we know then that they are bottling at GF. I got a buddy who should going to GF tasting room today. He's a virgin to Alpine beers. Never had it. He's actually a newbie to craft. I told him about Alpine beers at GF. So I'll see if he got to try any Alpine there. Cheers.

 

The assumption is that because he thought the bottles were

I stop drinking good beer when it becomes widely available too. It doesn't taste as good When others can have it.

 

Boom. Thank you.

 

i enjoy Alpine IPAs but don't understand people driving all the way from LA to get them, when we have so much good stuff here now

 

You are absolutely right. For me, it gets me the hell away from the OC area 4 to 5 times a year. I find a good place, I keep going back. Good food or beer. Same for Citra at Kern. If I score bottles or not I will make the trip to the brewery for Citra and other goodies from Kern. Plus I will make it a camping trip out of it. If you've never been to ABC pub then you wouldn't know I was talking about. Their food is equally as good as their beers. I will also stop at Societe and one other SD brewery on the way back to OC. So it's not just about Alpine. I can drink Societe beers most any day of the week 4 blocks from my house. But I still like to visit Societe. So you are right about we have so much great beers to chose from in our own backyard.

 

I,wish I had the discipline to keep a growler of Nelson unopened for 11 days. I want to open it up on my drive home.

 

what will they even be using the brewery for if everything comes out of GF? Make a sour once every 2 years? I have a tough time believing that they will suddenly just stop brewing their beers

 

"All Alpine beer" brewed at GF meaning all SKUs, not that every drop of Alpine beer would be brewed at GF. Considering how much misinformation has been floating around, I wouldn't even concern yourself with it until something is announced via official channels.

 

Bad Boy
Keene Idea
Odin's Raven
etc.

Anything that is not available by bottle.

 

I have no clue how to attach a picture , but if you are on facebook look at the post on ABC FB page from feb 24th posting of "new Nelson". I did a blind tasting at my homebrew club meeting last week of homebrew nelson , alpine nelson and GF nelson with about 25 members. No one voted for GF Nelson as their favorite of the three.

 

that's my thought too.

 

I'm not sure if it is misinformation as much as it is people misinterpreting what has been released or said, and then the misinterpretation getting passed down the line.

 

Went to Alpine last Friday.

Keene Idea was amazing. Nelson was amazing.

Bought bottles of PH, Duet, and Nelson. So far Duet and Nelson are spot on. Havent cracked a PH yet.

 

I don't think this is necessarily true because they are starting to bottle a lot more of the beer brewed at Alpine. During the Kiwi Herman release they bottled a double batch because they knew they would get a lot more traffic that week. It appears they are doing more of this because the keg of Nelson they had on tap Saturday was a GF keg. I talked to a few people there and they confirmed that they have been bottling a lot more lately. The downside is that they are starting to pour GF brewed Nelson and possibly others at the pub.

Also talked to Danielle and she said they are not that happy yet with the GF brewed stuff. Obviously GF continues to try to tweak the recipe/process to get closer to the original but it's not there yet.

As someone said prior there is a lot of misinformation out there, mostly as a result of the transition to GF production.

Oh and Keene Idea was on point.