Alpine Brewing Thread

Seems there's a little gamesmanship going on with Alpine's beer description...

 

Maybe I am missing something but are there ANY BBA sour stouts that are really highly regarded....? Seems like these only pop up as accidents. (I can pretty much only think of Tart of Darkness...)

 

Cascade Bourbonic Plague stands out as a stellar BBA intentionally sour Stout/Porter. Could quite honestly be the best.

 

FT: alpine one off ISO: 4 cans of Julius. Will add if needed.

 

Anyone know where I can find out what is actually available at Alpine (their own brewed beer, not gf)? Heading into town tomorrow and a growler or two would be lovely.

 

For Sure Green Flash - Duet, Nelson, Pure Hoppiness, Hoppy Birthday
Either Now or Soon Green Flash - Alpine Ale, Willy Vanilly
Alpine - Everything else

I believe that's the situation right now.

 

I got that.... What I'm asking is what is the current "everything else?" What beers do they currently have on tap.

Sorry for the confusion and thanks

 

http://brewerycam1.alpinebrewing.com/view/viewer_index.shtml?id=21455

 

Sorry, read that wrong. In my opinion you'll want to get a crowler ($2.50 for new one) of HFS and one of Babyface.

 

I was there Tuesday, no Nelson bottles no PH bottles and no growler fills of either of those. They do have a new Singled Out with Mosaic that is quite tasty.

Cheers……….

 

Bruery Tart of Darkness
Cascade Vlad the Impaler
Almanac Sour Porter
Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme (a loose analog if you consider it starts as Judgment Day quad... I know ... not a porter)

But the thing with these beers is that they are identified as wild/sour ales.

On the other hand, this Dark Elixir looks like it is intentionally being described in a vague manner to mitigate potential fall-out...

 

I get that Alpine has burned some bridges, but you guys are a tough lot. If some brewery w/ less baggage released a "Imperial Porter {that} has been aged in bourbon barrels with sour cherries", there's no way in hell there'd be conspiracy theories so quickly being tossed about.

Could you guys be right? Could it be an infected BA porter w/ cherries? Sure. But I'm not sure why a brewery deciding to make a barrel-aged dark beer w/ sour cherries has to imply infection.

 

So you're saying that we're applying the context of Alpine's past mistakes in judging this release? That seems pretty logical and reasonable. Am I missing something or are you basically saying we should ignore their past issues when guessing how this beer will be?

 

I'm not super well versed in the history of Alpine's BA releases, so I assume you're suggesting there have been infected beers released before? If so, certainly, fair to be skeptical. I just haven't experienced any of that, so, absent that history, it doesn't make sense to me why there's so much mistrust.

 

Yes, they've released infected bottled batches of both BA Odin's Raven and Token. When they were asked about it at the tasting room, their response was "Keep the beer in the fridge and it won't be an issue."

They also released a hilariously bad batch of Chez Monieux which isn't specifically relevant to a BA stout release, but is relevant to their decision making processes when it comes to releasing a subpar product.

 

That vomit cheese....still can't undrink that.

 

Gotcha. Fair enough on the skepticism, particularly if that was Alpine's response. My only thought is that, nevertheless, other breweries (say, Modern Times, who incidentally has also had infection issues, albeit with much better customer service) have released barrel aged dark beer w/ sour components, and there didn't seem to be as much hullabaloo raised. It just feels like the microscope is more exacting for Alpine b/c of all the GF baggage.

 

Most of the time when breweries release infected beers they make it right to the consumer by either offering a refund or giving them something in return. They don't tell them 'keep it refrigerated' and send you on your way. Modern Times track record in regards to customer service is leaps and bounds ahead of Alpine. I love Alpine, I'm just stating the facts.

 

Indeed, that was pretty much covered by my noting MT has much better customer service, as well as noting Alpine's poor response.

 

If my memory serves correctly, Modern Times debuted their "Sour Monster's Park" at an anniversary party after full disclosure that it was an "accidentally soured" beer. That beer, or a similar beer, has been on at special events multiple times. By the time the bottles were released, I don't think there was any potential deception on the part of MT.

Note, I'm not saying that there has been any deception on Alpine's part. However, I do believe that any brewery releasing a similar beer would be questioned as to whether or not the beer had the intended result or if it was accidentally soured.

My "beef" with Alpine is:
1) The "prepare to camp out in line" comment. Petty beef, I know, but for some reason it annoyed me (haha).
2) How inefficient they are at handling a brewery only release.

Maybe it's an unfair comparison, but New Glarus cleared a 200+ person line in about 10 minutes. It took Alpine 30 minutes to clear 10 people in line. Maybe NG's location allows them to handle a release better than others, but they planned ahead, staffed people accordingly, and had a system in place to expedite the process. I think a lot of these breweries can plan these things out better and have a better experience for the customers, the staff, and the surrounding businesses.