Alpine Brewing Thread

I mean saying "Let me see if I can clear a few things up" and then just complaining about people asking about where the beer was brewed, like it's an insult of some kind, seriously?

I personally in fact do as you said, I go there, get a pint (taster these days), try it, order bottles and growlers to go and leave happy, so I am meeting your criteria, but to actually publicly rant about the clients asking about your products is leaving a bad taste for me. That in fact, in my opinion creates the negativity you're attempting to stop. It would be much easier to just become transparent. If the beer is not consistent between the locations, would be be too hard to pub a "brewed at" note one the board.

I have small business myself and we get the same questions about 10-20 times a day...and the answers to those questions are posted on our website, Yelp etc etc...and yet, people still ask. Should I be mad at them and ask them to stop asking? I could, but I know the consequences of those actions. I think you're seriously lacking some humbleness at this point. Step aside for a minute and think about the fact that your clients are the ones who pay for your food, your clothes, your children education, your beer and show some respect. I'm not saying it's easy, but in my opinion, that's the right thing to do.

 

I'm saying make your own decisions on the beer. Try it... if you like it buy it, if not than don't. You make the choice on taste, not on one's perception on where it was brewed... and with that I am out. Best of luck to you all. You know who I am and where I am.

Bobby

 

I'm saying make your own decisions on the beer. Try it... if you like it buy it, if not than don't. You make the choice on taste, not on one's perception on where it was brewed... and with that I am out. Best of luck to you all. You know who I am and where I am.

Bobby

 

Just put the asterisk on the board so we know when to not buy it.
Seems simple to me.

 

You start a conversation you can't even finish it.
You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything.
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?

 

I thought the friendly guy that filled my growlers was named Steve?

 

I just read that in my David Bryne voice

 

I get the impression that GF and Alpine think everyone's perception of the beers is purely psychological. I would venture to even say that they probably bottled GF Nelson at Alpine to see if anyone noticed. They probably wouldn't admit it, but its almost akin to trolling their own paying customers. I can say I had Duet at Stone Liberty Station and it was cloudy and not the clear balanced IPA I remember having. Was Duet always cloudy ?

 

I feel like I am dealing with a coke dealer asking if the stuff is grade A bam bam or its cut with flour. I just want the pure bam bam bobby. As a junky just give me the good stuff and ill be back dumping my checking account into your pocket, which means more tips for you behind the bar big guy. This is a tips industry my man, your min wage is not cutting it so up the customer service a bit.

 

miss you steve!

also i thought i was special getting smiley faces, damn!

 

Not really. Obviously they're in a position where they want to minimize the fact that the beers are different, but they're also pretty clear about the fact that they're still working on dialing the beers in with equipment purchases and process adjustments. There are certain things that are fair to criticize, but pretending that they don't acknowledge that the beers aren't identical is silly.

 

I would be transparent and even make light of the situation. Bottle Nelson and have as lightly different label for Nelson*. I would do the same labeling for kegs, etc. I am not buying the beer anymore because it taste different every time I have it.

 

Solution = Stop Asking Questions & Drink More PUPIL (f'ing love that stuff!)

 

This would have been the smart marketing decision...make light of it, have two untappd checkins, get ur equip dialed in.... no one would be sitting here having this discussion.....

 

+1

The Pupil is poised to takeover the crown of best IPA in SD, Alpine does not seem interested in keeping the title (or its' customers.)

 

So where exactly have they announced that they are dialing in brewing processes? I haven't seen anything regarding transparency of the difference of the beers brewed at different locations. Sounds to me like Green Flash is cracking down on employees hinting that there is a difference. Protecting the brand image. All I remember reading is that Green Flash bought a hop back to brew Pure Hoppiness.

 

1) You answered your own question at the end of your post with the acquisition of a hopback.
2) It has been discussed by Chuck Silva and Mike Hinkley in interviews (no, I'm not going to go back and find links).
3) Pretty much everyone that has GF Nelson with any regularity has noted that it's continuing to change over time. Not hard to figure out that they're still working on it.

Transparency in differences is an entirely separate concept from admitting that the beers are not identical. Perhaps at some point they have said that*, but the interviews I've seen have said that Pat McIlhenny is "satisfied with the quality." There's an entirely separate argument to be made that it's concerning that Pat is happy with where the GF beers are, but that's not the same as saying that they're not still working on it.

No, they're cracking down on differentiating by source. Again, you can make arguments about whether or not it's a good idea, but even the brewed-at-Alpine batches can vary substantially over time. Anyone who has been drinking Alpine long enough remembers flat bottles and diacetyl bombs, so it's not as though Nelson itself is a perfectly QCed product.

No shit, Green Flash wants to protect the brand they acquired? Again, there's an argument to be made that bringing substandard Alpine beers to market was hurting the brand, but they've created a careful corporate line of being satisfied with the quality while working to get the GF brewed product closer to Alpine. Whether you agree with their assessment is up to you (I happen to disagree), but they've been quite delicate in how they phrase it to justify selling the beer while still making adjustments.

Criticize them for valid reasons - eg, putting out substandard products when they do - rather than imagined reasons. That's the core point here.

* I'm referring to official GF communication, I don't know what various employees may have said of their own volition.

 

I work for a manufacturing plant, so I have a pretty good idea on how processes and quality control is handled. I understand that Green Flash is not a multi billion dollar company, but to me, if you are going to label something, it better be the same. A lot of companies won't even release a substandard product until they get the processes down to a documented science. While I understand that they would lose a ton of money by scrapping subpar batches, they might be losing more money from people being turned off by their inconsistent quality of product. If they can't replicate it, why name it the same thing. Why not call it Pilot Nelson or something? Or why not just have Alpine stop brewing those beers, so they can get one single consistent, if maybe crappy, product out.

I'd also like to point out that GF announcing the purchase of a hopback has absolutely zero to do with them altering processes for other beers. That was just to say they would be able to begin making pure hoppiness.

I'm just saying it is my belief if you can't put out a consistent product, don't put it out until it's exactly the same every time. I could personally give that leeway to a small town brewery like Alpine, but supposedly GF has the resources to scale up, so no excuses for them.

 

Bobby,

I've interacted with you a the brewery a few times before and I know you are a nice guy so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I understand the frustration and I also understand why people continue to "beat the dead horse" because quite honestly, fresh Nelson brewed at Alpine is out of this world. I think people are just frustrated by a lot of the batches that have come out from Green Flash, and I'm fairly certain a few of you that work there have not been happy with some of the results.

Having said that, I see where you and perhaps Alpine is coming from. Your goal is to have GF master the recipe to the point that you can't tell who brewed it. I've had some batches of Nelson that were brewed by GF that were pretty good and if I'd never had the "original" I would be impressed. Hopefully you'll get there soon.

In general, I think people can take this beer thing too seriously. I'm 100% okay with tasting a beer sample and deciding if I want to fill a growler but please be patient with us. We have bad habits, it's a growing process and hopefully at some point soon no one will even bother to ask or taste the beer and just ask to fill growlers like the old days.

Cheers!

 

Unfortunately, this is a mostly empty post, content wise. It does nothing to clarify, educate, or inform. It's basically saying "chill, dude, have a beer." Which is a pleasant, but useless, sentiment.