Great Notion

Tell me about it. I have to live with them. Sometimes it feels as if there's barely a place I can step in my local terrain that isn't on someone else's lawn.

But they're all really good folks once you get to know them, I assure you. And just especially proud and maybe even a little (over-)protective of their deep and rich Northwest beer culture. Feeling fortunate to live here, I am too, admittedly.

Where anyone takes umbrage, insofar as they do, is with the idea that some NKOTB like GN, however great, has somehow outstripped every other outstanding brewery operating here in the one year they have existed. More than once, some visitor (typically from back east, and therefore possibly predisposed to prefer a certain type of beer) has posted a re-cap of their NW trip in this forum, and largely sang the praises of GN at the expense of everyone else. Then, like today, presumably fine and upstanding people such as yourself will chime in to say how lucky we are to have to have this one brewery here, without even mentioning any other exceptional brewery we are also lucky to have. I guess some of us, and particularly the "older gentlemen" (of which I'm not one, mercifully, quite yet...), just find this strange, given the embarrassment of riches we overwhelmingly perceive all around us. It rankles certain sensibilities, and seems to lack a more comprehensive and well-informed perspective, but perhaps you can understand...

Anyway, GN's expansion plans, and the fact that they have already collaborated with or plan to collaborate with some of our most respected local breweries, is all the proof you need that your verdict, along with @ElijahSF's, whatever else it leaves out, is not unjustified. GN is doing wonderful stuff, but please remember, for the rest of us, that they are far from the only one.

 

Folks, I re-read what I wrote last night and would like to apologize. It was unfair of me to lump everyone into a group. I truly did enjoy almost all of the local stuff I tried while I was briefly in town. I traveled to Portland so that the wife and I could go to the Pacific Coast and really only had one day in PDX. I attempted to sample as much as I could while in town, but I'm only one man! I also was lucky to visit de Garde and one of the Pelican Breweries in Cannon Beach while on my visit and they were great, even world class in the case of de Garde. I know that I didn't even come close to scratching the surface of what Portland has to offer, but what I did have I really enjoyed, so please take the compliment that you guys have it great out there. So I will say that even though this is a Great Notion specific thread, any visitors to the area should visit as many of the other top notch breweries/brewpubs/taprooms and restaurants as they can. I was not trying to belittle any of the rest of the breweries in town, I was simply trying to praise a brewery that made a good impression on me.

I'm not going to edit what I wrote, because it was how I felt at the time, and I did believe I was being attacked for what was literally my opinion. Again, I apologize if I offended some of you, but really, please be happy that you have ALL of the breweries you do have.

If you do visit Minnesota, please come to the Midwest forum, or message me. I want you to enjoy your visit, and even if you decide to only visit Surly you'll still have a great time.

 

No doubt you know the scene much better than I do. At no point was I trying to insinuate that you needed to "show me respect" for my opinion, and I apologize if that's the way it came across.

What I don't appreciate is being castigated for praising a brewery in that brewery's specific BA thread. Again, I apologize if I offended you because I liked this brewery, and I guess I should have said, "commend this brewery for bringing EVEN MORE fantastic beer to the already world-class Portland beer scene." PDX has a bunch of great, tremendous, fantastic, (another praising adjective) beer all over the city, please try it all and not just this one brewery!

We good?

 

That's how I read your initial post, and had zero issue with it. It's unfortunate that certain asshats in this thread got all bent out of shape because someone expressed an opinion. An opinion about fucking beer of all things. I get the impression that some here just really want to hate Great Notion, which is unfortunate, but whatever.
I understand why you offered the apology, but it really wasn't necessary. Maybe the mods should add a trigger warning on the thread title.
I'll see the rest of you non-asshats at Great Notion!

 

I like Great Notion. The last few times I've been to Portland, I've gone. The beers are good. The food is good. Hell, my parents are headed down to Portland this weekend and they're bringing me back a crowler of Pure Guava IPA.

However, with the current Sunny Delight haze craze that's sweeping the nation, I find it a bit humorous that they're being touted as the only brewery that matters by people who aren't from the region. It's not just this thread, I've seen it a lot lately online. Pallet Jack, RPM, Wanderlust, Breakside IPA, etc. are all super tasty Oregon IPAs and shouldn't be forgotten. That's all. Not trying to be a hater, just giving some perspective to someone who asked.

 

Oh you should know that no one from the upper Midwest can handle thinking anyone doesn't like them. It goes right along with our passive-aggressiveness as one of our least desirable traits.

 

Haha. Funny, I hadnt been to GN in a few months and randomly went there last night and then I log on to BA to see the GN thread blowing up this morning.

As others have said, chill out its just beer. Even with all of the online fan-boying going on, I was still able to walk in at 6:30 on a Thursday and get a seat in 2 min. Granted I havent attended a "release" (nor will I, as I am firmly Anti-lines for beer), but I see nothing like the NE shit shows that produce 4 hour lines for orange juice IPAs.

As for the actual beer, I am a big fan. had the Guava, the Peanut Brother, and Juice Box last night and damnit if they arent fantastic. They are a welcome addition to Portland IMO and deserve the praise they are getting. That said, there are at least a dozen other breweries KILLING it as well.

Now if you will excuse me, Loyal Legion just had pFriem tap takeover and the list is incredible...

http://loyallegionpdx.com/taplist/

 

Well, since it is a "Visitors" thread, and Grape Lotion seems to be the only thing they're interested in, you could save yourself a lot of work. I give my stamp of approval to this plan, and will steer every post in the "Visiting Seattle" thread to GL as well.

Grape Lotion Lives Matter!

 

This.

 

From what I've experienced they are doing their 'releases' the right way. It used to be that they would have only so many crowlers of their release beer and they would direct folks to line up (I believe at the back entrance if I'm not mistaken) and at a specific time they would start selling them (usually before they even opened their doors for normal business). Lately they seem to be able to produce enough beer to have crowlers of their release beer available for longer than a day. Typically 2 crowlers per person on the day of release and then 1 per after that. No special dedicated 'release' line. I wouldn't even call it a release ... it seems like whatever day they first tap the beer would be more of the 'release'. The releases these days are more like just a normal day where they happen to have an additional beer available for crowlers. The ones I've gone to lately haven't been too crazy at all. A small line at the bar a few folks deep for strictly to-go purchases and you may have to wait a few minutes for a table, but nothing too bad.

See you all there this weekend!

 

I had no idea pFriem made a Rauchbier. This is relevant to my interests.

(Kind of unfortunate that Loyal Legion doesn't have pFriem's stunning Citrus Zest IPA on tap, but this is a minor quibble.)

Sorry for the detour. We now return you to Grape Lotion.

 

Well, they've got 63 beers listed here, and (depending on how one chooses to parse the IPA/ImpIPA/APA categories) have beers in roughly a dozen styles. 25 of those beers (more than 1/3 of all listed) fall into the IPA/APA/ ImpIPA triad, 5 Imp stouts, and 10 wild ales. 40 of their 63 beers fall into 3 styles. I'd say "limited portfolio" isn't inaccurate.

 

Wow this thread blew up in all sorts of ways.
Not a huge fan of the hazy IPA. But it is cool a new Portland brewery is getting national fanboy recognition.
Guess i might try some of their beer ..someday but it can wait.

 

So are you saying they don't deserve any praise until they start brewing more different styles? That's stupid. I wish more breweries would stick to limited styles instead of the breweries who try to brew all the major styles and continually put out mediocre beer of everything they brew.

I just don't get your dislike of a brewery that you have never even been to. How is the hype of a brewery in Portland affecting you in Bellingham, WA?

 

Have you had any Claim 52? They're also putting out some excellent hazy juicy IPAs. Easier to find them on draft at craft beer bars.

 

I never said they don't deserve praise. But, the "Best Brewery on the West Coast"? Please. I'll make the argument that the Best Brewery on the West Coast (and, possibly in the country) has an even more limited portfolio than Grape Lotion; DeGarde. Having a narrow focus isn't automatically a bad thing. I have explained why I have suspicions of them; their face and their fanboys. Admittedly, they weren't as bad as Wolves and People with the pretentious public face, but they were certainly in the same neighborhood. And, having been called an asshat and stupid by a couple of their fanboys in this very thread, isn't helping my overall view of the type of folks who support this brewery. Which in turn, affects my perception of them.

 

Had Fluffy which i did like...
Was a bit hazy but not dense like the latest fashionable IPAs.
I guess as an old timer i am put off a bit by extreme hazy IPAs from the bad old days when they could be like that through really bad brewing!!!

 

Can someone point me to a listing of all current big boy breweries and big boy beers?

 

Not sure i agree with limited portfolio, they've brewer

yeah!

 

That line was the funniest thing to come from this whole surreal mess.