Lawson's in NYC

I was purely speculating . And I agree, based on everything Kimmich has been about over the years, it's unlikely that Alchemist beer will ever leave Vermont and that's cool. With all of the beer that we DO have in NYC, it's nice to still have those regional gems that you only get to enjoy once in a while.

 

Yeah that's what I heard as well.

 

I asked the bartender, back when SoS was on at Barcade, and he said that was the case as far as he knew. I also know several people who were at Magnaball and they confirmed that SoS was available on tap there.

 

Agree to disagree here since we're talking about personal preference, though my "far exceed" comment was a bit of hyperbole. I have had semi-regular access to HT over the past few years and at this point, wouldn't think twice about passing it over for any Grimm IPA (save for Pulse Wave, probably). I'd even put some Singelcut brews almost on par (Mo Shuggie/Is This the Real Life?). I'd still take HT over most OH IPA's or 077xx, though I will say that the 07750 cans I had were pretty great. Kane is too damn far for me to have had enough to comment on. =)

Don't get me wrong, it's still a great beer, but factoring in the difficulty to acquire, I'd sooner head to TH or Trillium (though the latter will cost you a damn fortune compared to $75 for a case of Heady). It's not just HT though... I had my first Pliny in a few years last week and was completely underwhelmed, relative to my expectations from previous tastings.

And for what it's worth, I've gone back and forth on this, but I prefer SoS to Heady and Second Fiddle is right up there as well.

Wow, ninja'd on just about every point while making a coffee run.

Also wanted to add that, while I thought I'd had it fresh in cans enough times to have a solid baseline, I was blown away by how good Captains Daughter was when I had it on draft a few weeks ago. You can add that to the list of "beers that are easy enough to come by in NYC that make me not yearn for HT".

 

Heady Topper is an amazing, balanced, complex, and delicious beer. I for one hope that it's "over" for the trendy folks that are now chasing white chocolate mango milkshakes or whatever, so the next time I'm up in VT it'll be easier to come by.

 

I sure hope so too. I was in VT in March and was able to get two cases of HT without much effort. HMC transaction was seamless (showed up an hour after cases went on sale) and they still had a plethora of cases left.

 

I think SS #2 cans are the only things making it down this week. Should get them in today..

 

I was able to do the same around new years, was nice.

 

I know slightly off topic, but a mild winter and not much snow, probably made the crowds lighter up in VT. Thus making it a bit easier to get HT.

I'll be heading up to VT this summer and hope to get to HMC. Was there 2 summers ago and it was easy to get a case. If not, plenty of other beer to be had up there!

 

He works at City Hops (formerly Miso Hoppy).

 

Top Hops had SS2 cans for sale yesterday.
Also Gingerman had SS2 on tap yesterday, I assume left over from their "bootleggers ball" event.

 

Good Beer has cans today

 

SOS is on tap at Tørst right now fyi

 

SS2 is available at ABC Beer Co and has no limits.

 

Yes, Heady is awful, Sip of Sunshine is worse and Focal Banger is mere hype, New Yorkers. No need for you to make the 11-14 hr round trip in search of "experiences" to drink it.

You're welcome,

Boston Chapter, "VT Big 3" Fan Club

 

Yup, exactly what was said.

You may not be aware, so allow me to fill you in on the recent history of NYC beer availability... 3 years ago, there wasn't an IPA available in NYC even remotely close to the quality of Heady. Fast forward to today and there's stuff that I (as in MY personal preference) would rather drink, and others that are good enough to no longer make me wonder how I can squeeze a 4-hour detour into a family getaway to head to VT. (sidenote: I have since started trying to figure out how to incorporate visits to Treehouse/Trillium/Carton into family getaways, as the plans are far less ridiculous)

There's still a very good chance that Heady is a better option than anything on draft when walking into some NYC bar on a given day, but as someone whose consumption now mostly consists of a well-stocked fridge and purpose-driven visits to bars (based on tap list), I'm perfectly happy without (or at least, with much less) HT/SoS in my life.

 

My fiancee comes to NYC once a month, so we have a rotation that includes places like Blind Tiger, Gingerman, Rattle n Hum, Pony Bar, the Jeffrey, Dive Bar and Spuyten Duyvel; being craft beer aficionados that we are, I even proposed to her at Torst after we picked out her setting. So yes, NYC beers are getting better, especially Other Half, Grimm and SingleCut, the latter 2 of which we see up here in Boston. Their best beers I liken to Trillium or Night Shift, either of which I can make a 10 minute drive to pick up and not worry about standing in line on a release day. BTW, I thought highly of Baby Diamonds as a Session IPA I'd love to see in cans alongside Evil Twin Citra Sunshine Slacker.

At the same time, NYC has some beers we can't get in Boston, which includes Hill Farmstead in bars and Carlton, Kane, Pipeworks et al. So "in my fridge" is key, just as I can now go get Trillium at will, waiting for but a few special releases like Artaic, while I know tomorrow I can pick up a 12 pack of Tree House, which still remains the "it" beer in the IPA world. We just don't see our bartenders as often as we used to, while thanks to local access and trading partners, when we do go, the beer IPA list in Boston is still in MY fridge (last week, I stared at a Gingerman beer list and couldn't find one IPA, RIS or Porter I really wanted, yearning in defeat for even a Sculpin, Nelson or Union Jack).

That said, other than a weekend outing to Portland to procure after a 3 hour wait a couple cases of Maine Dinner, which along with HF Society and Solitude #4 and King Sue are IMO the best Imperial IPAs in the world, there is yet something special about a trip to Vermont, whether a day trip to get a special release by Lawson's of Triple/Double Sunshine, SoS, then a case of Heady and as many Hill Farmstead growlers as can fit my fridge...or a beer and ski/hike weekend in Waterbury/Stowe, where you might get to talk with Shaun Hill himself as I did a couple weeks ago. I even have a couple places where I've gotten unopened Focal Bangers, which is perhaps better than Heady Topper...I wait with anticipation for the opening of their second brewery in Stowe.

Sometimes, you should work a little harder to get the best.

 

I'm not a fan of session beers at all, but I saw at ABC beer co last night they had a decent amount of Super session #2 in their fridge. I grabbed one can, cuz what the hell. Opened it last night, it was good, didn't blow me away. Glad I let the rest of yall get the other cans there. I basically interpret session beers that are meant to "not blow you away," because none ever do. If someone had brought a case of super session #2 to a summer gathering outside, I wouldn't complain as I drank 8 of them, though.

I learned that Philly got SoS, those lucky SoBs. a buddy of mine got a 4 pack today.