Lord Hobo - Mission Accomplished?

"He set out to make a juicy/HT like beer for the masses -- and wouldn't you know -- he's done it. "

Has he? I find BS to be really underwhelming when compared to what he wanted it to be.

Is it also a success when you have product from July 2016 still sitting on shelves?

 

Agreed on both points, especially with how they aren't moving off the shelves. These cans sit on the shelves for ages down in CT. Some "newer" batches came in recently, but they were canned in February.

I have only found Hobo Life to be the most consistently tasting beer by LH.

 

Boston finance bros love Boom Sauce, mainly cause of the name and high abv.

My sense is that they've expanded their distribution a lot, which has driven their growth and expansion. That model is tough to maintain in the current market as the flow through is harder to predict for future orders when local guys are making beer just as good and often cheaper.

 

I don't know that being relegated to the bargain bin at Total Wine next to Blue Moon and Sam Adams* really represents success these days. Also the beer isn't very good and they have absolutely no individuality as a brewery other than marketing fluff.

*YES I KNOW THEY MAKE A GREAT VIENNA LAGER, THAT'S NOT THE POINT, DON'T @ ME.

 

For me hobo life is the only palatable beer in thier portfolio. I've seen thier FB and twitter and there seem to be bunch of people who love thier beers. I've never actually met one of these people but they do seem to exist.

So good job, I guess.

 

Eh I think it is somewhat of a success* depending on their bottom line of course. Regardless of whether the readership here thinks the beer is high quality or not, the casual craft drinkers do seem to order BS and is sold on the concept this is a textbook hazy NE IPA. I follow their FB feed and they seem to be ordering new tanks fairly often, albeit not at the pace of the higher rated local breweries.

My anecdotal evidence is coming from sitting at the Yard House bar near Fenway 10+ times per season...most would say the Venn diagram of serious baseball fans and serious beer fans only overlap somewhat. Damned if I don't see this ordered about one in 20 or so times that the person is not ordering a light lager (and the YH has multiples of that many taps).

That said, I personally don't see cans moving nearly as much...

 

I feel I'm in the majority that feels their beers are tremendously underwhelming. I also work in Woburn and haven't even been to the brewery yet. I have tried most of their beers except glorious, which I'm told is actually pretty descent from a few of my friends so I will try it at some point. Overall with all the great options around the area, I definitely wont be searching for them. On a related note, I have 2 friends that are somewhat into craft beer that think Boomsauce is an amazing beer, so maybe to those who haven't experienced the TH, Trilliums, they view the beer as great.

 

Yup, Glorious is their best beer to date! Definitely a step up from the rest. Certainly worth trying.

 

My gripe with them was the hype/advertising blitz in Beer Advocate and elsewhere for Boomsauce before they had a decent brew. It was pedestrian and overpriced when it came out. Had 2 things in common with Heady: $14/4 and 8% abv. As I recall (??) they changed brewers, reworked the recipe, and was much improved.

I'm curious to try it again but there seems to be a lotta old stock at my local packies.

 

My brother in law's favorite beer is Consolation Prize. They are doing something right

 

I'll echo the sentiment that Hobo Life is a very good beer, for its class. Probably my fav session, beating out JA Calyptra which I love. I'll still spring for Calyptra ($14/12-pack) over Hobo Life ($10/6-pack) though when at Total Wine, due to price point.

Boom Sauce was underwhelming.

To me, they aren't winning in the quality+value equation so I end up buying other breweries' offerings. My two cents.

 

As others have said, I've definitely been in the presence of people who are enthusiastic about Boom Sauce so that has certainly gained traction in some circles. And I personally think the session and Consolation Prize are quite good (and I generally don't even like session IPAs).

But as to the success, I can't help but find it a bit suspect that they had to spread their distribution footprint so far so quickly. If I'm remembering the numbers right, I think Night Shift sells as much beer within the 128 corridor as LH does in several states. So given the amount of capital, name recognition, and resources they had at their disposal when they started, I'm not sure they've done a particularly impressive job, at least compared to what others have done with less.

But hey, if you're keeping the lights on, then at the end of the day there's no real argument with that.

 

I've noticed when you talk to the craft beer veterans, LH is harshly criticized, but to people who are newer to the scene, they tend to think it's pretty good. To each their own...

I do enjoy Hobo Life, but I went to buy some this weekend it was 5 months.. Not sure where they are sending the new cans but it certainly isn't anywhere I've been.

 

Does it sell well? As with others in this thread, I've noticed most LH beers on the shelves are pretty doggoned old. The assumption that Total Wine is advertising them because they're doing well is presumptuous... it's just as plausible that they've got a shitload of Boom Sauce in stock that's not selling, so featuring it on their ad could be them attempting to jump-start sales of a flagging product.

 

I think TW advertises it because they get huge quantity discounts. They're selling it about 25% cheaper than most other places. Same with HU--their pricing for 6 and 12pks is about 20% lower than most other places.

 

I had a coworker ask me about LHBC recently like it was some amazing brewery, so they're doing something right in terms of general perception. I've personally never had their stuff since I read an interview with the owner saying he was against stouts.

 

How can you be "against stouts"? Like, what does that even mean?