Fiddlehead Mastermind Release

Or you could, ya know, call ahead and ask.

 

Plymouth got theirs today too. 10 cases only lasted an hour.

 

Such a weird sense of entitlement... they don't owe you anything. It's all part of the hunt, sometimes yo get it and sometimes you don't. I hope you made the best of it and bought a few other things at CBC and then stopped off at Jack's Abby while you were in the area.

 

Every complaint is not entitlement. That's the fashionable word to throw out when someone doesn't see the beer world through rose colored glasses all the time. Great of you to be dismissive but its just not the catch all phrase people want it to be.

"I wish they had" and "really should" =/= entitled. They don't owe anyone anything. Being disappointed that you took the trip and offering up what you wish happened and what would be nice if a place had done is fine. The constant beer shop and brewery ego stroking and nut swinging around here is far weirder than someone wishing a store tweeted they ran out of a beer.

 

The same people that are interested if a store has it in stock would also be just as interested if/when they run out. How you interpreted that as a sense of entitlement is beyond me.

 

He was 3rd in line getting his 2 - 4 packs. They started a tiny bit early. But he hung around just curious to see what the rush would be like and said it took a minute for others to even show up. There were only 2 people ahead of him when he got there early. They did say they got a decent amount so I'm guessing a rush came in sometime after 4:15 or so.

 

I showed up to Framingham just before 5 and they were out. Although, they were telling everyone they may have more this morning which I thought was strange.

 

I have nothing against people calling this a different taste at all. But you have to remember that if you are comparing this batch to having it 2 years ago in 2014 then you have quite the task ahead of you. So much beer has exploded onto the scene that we've now been inundated with flavors, mouth feel, new methods, haze, sediment, etc. What I held for standards 2 years ago is completely different to today. As it would be 10 years ago. It could be it's just hard to create the same experience in the context of today. Kinda like when you visit somewhere and you go back 10 years later, not always as mind blowing. Dare we compare to the human example of this haha

Too add my 2 cents. My recolection of my first tasting was how citrusy and orange'y I remember the beer being. This was probably when I was first having Julius and comparing to other beers like Heady, Lawson's, Alchemist, and the beginnings of Trillium really pushing the limits. I remember the exact words I used to describe it and might even have a post to reference on facebook. I'll look back. Curious to see what I think also. I highly doubt I wont like it.

 

Gets people into the store again

 

In hindsight, yeah. I'm just spoiled and/or conditioned by Tree House always being so reliable with their Twitter updates, and Belmont doing it with Mastermind yesterday morning.

 

Picked up some on Saturday and was disappointed - weak and flatted out fast. Tried it again Sunday in case Saturday was just one of those bad tastebud days. Same thing. Had some this morning with my friends though and it was pretty damn good. Everything changed a bit. Better carbonation and a tad more haze. I'm going to give the rest a couple more weeks.

 

Interesting. My favorite beer is Green with about two weeks on it, and both it and Mastermind are Galaxy bombs (I think). I look forward to experiencing its evolution.

 

Never got the hype behind this beer from the get. Was gifted a new one today. Drinking it now and it is painfully mediocre. Glad it was a gift.

 

You had the first batch? That was my #1 favorite beer for at least 6 months afterwards. I haven't had it since and reading these reviews is making me sad.

 

Yeah I had the first batch. It was fine but not anything close to as good people were making it out to be. Limited IPA from VT in a can made tons of people feel super funny in the pants. Even if the taste didnt match. It still does and it doesnt even have to be from VT

 

When I tried it on Saturday I thought, uh oh, this is going to get lambasted on the boards. I posted here Saturday and only asked if anyone had any thoughts, I didn't give my opinion. I posted today to let folks know I thought it needed aging and was showing improvement. The lukewarm reviews so far are better than I expected. Now it's in the hands of the Mass folks - a civilization not known for holding back. And Matt is down there amongst them. I'm not optimistic.


I'm hoping for the best - the Cohens are good people who give a lot to charity. The Mastermind releases have netted the Vermont Childrens hospital a ton of money.

 

and....once again we see that taste is subjective....

 

A really good beer, but not the same as 2014...

From my Untappd
https://s32.postimg.org/cnnion62t/image.png

And from this batch
https://s32.postimg.org/lhsthu4z9/image.jpg

(Sorry for the most likely crappy pic links - lousy BA app)

 

Have to say you are probably the only person who thought batch #1 was just 'fine'. I happened to be up in VT and lucked upon it, and had Heady/Lawsons (hopzilla I think)/Hill (lots) in tow as well. Both myself and my buddy were blown away by Mastermind. It jumped into top 5 beers I had ever had, it was fantastic. Not sure I have smelled a beer that good outside of maybe Double Sunshine at the time, and the taste was insanely delicious. Last years was still really good stuff, but did taper off rapidly after 2 weeks. This year was just ok. It's a fine beer, but it is not remotely the same beer it was two years ago or even last year.

For those who say we can't remember tastes that long ago or new beers spoil our palate, Heady T tastes exactly the same to me as it did the first time I had it. If other beers tainted my palate (thanks Trillium), they forgot to taint Heady or Pliny for that matter.

 

Question about this Saturday at the brewery. I know they sell from the side door starting at 11am. Do the cans usually sell out from the initial group of purchasers in line? If not, do they continue to sell during the day from either the side door or the tap room? I have gone to the previous 2 releases but was in line early. If I head that way Saturday, I would not be able to make it till around 2pm. Trying to decide if it is worth it or not.