Other Half Brewing July 2017

Yeah that's fair, definitely takes me an hour to get there too (that F train is the worst!!), but I still think the sheer mass of people within an hour of the brewery is pretty significant by comparison. As for most people being out-of-towners, I guess that was sort of my point -- under this model those people are the target audience. I think more locals would brave the somewhat prohibitive trip if there were a more consistent promise of getting a smaller amount of beer with a 30 minute or less wait. For example, I usually only make the trek if I can combine with something else, or if I'm sure I can get beer without waiting in line for hours.

 

Yeah that's part of what I'm wondering. OH hype is real, but TH sits in this privileged position of being maybe the only place where people drive 6+ hours round trip for 12 cans of beer. Trillium may be a better example, though I don't think their production scale is comparable either.

 

Treehouse also does not distribute their beer to bars. Other Half does a huge service making sure that bars have access to kegs of their beer. That is a huge part of their model.

It's their business and they can do what they want but I'll be taking a lot of my business elsewhere if they don't adjust. Too many good breweries in the area to not vote with my dollar. The trader/reseller crowd can have their Sat morning parking lot fests, I'll be buying cans of locally produced beer who do not try and cater to that crowd.

 

Part of this might be because those TH beers have many more ratings - even the rarer offerings from TH, like King Julius have 3x more ratings than most of the OH beers in the top 250. But I agree, I think that the "wo/man on the street" would still probably think TH is a step above.

 

One thing no one has pointed out yet, and what I think is truly amazing about Tree House is they are doing this with pretty much the same rotation of beers week in and week out. OH caters to the beer collectors, the people that must tick and have every new beer. If OH released the same 10 beers every week no way there would ever be a line.

 

Exactly. In reality Other Half pretty is pretty much releasing the same beer every week with new labels and a small tweak or new hop here or there. They are definitely great brewers, but I would argue, better marketers

 

I guess when you can only get 12-20 canned beers a week (if you go more than one day, which in itself is kind of crazy), you have to go as often as you can. Although, just needing that much beer is also kind of insane.

 

This is the craziest part of it for me. I'm 1.5hrs one way from TH and have to take a day off to go since I work M-F. So I used to maximize my trips by going on days when I think something big will drop. (I'm 3 for 3 on big drops so far). But you literally have people that drive hours and wait in line for 6 cans of an admittedly world class beer that was released 2 weeks before.

I usually just trade for all my TH beers

 

yah cause they can't walk out with 3 cases of beer every week

 

I am well aware of amount of shady reselling & raffling going on in the craft beer scene; however, I have to ignore it because frankly it is going to piss me off too much & make the beer taste worse.

 

oh but they're clearly collectible cans.

 

Speak for yourself. That's an absurd statement to say that many New Yorkers would consider Carroll Gardens to be in the "middle of nowhere".

 

I must say, I used to line up a lot. But I started to back away from lining up after seeing things going on while being in line. Most recently for me was the DDH Daydream/Riwaka/DMD release, there was a kid a head of me that had his (I assume girlfriend) in line with him. He had a buddy who came out with a full allotment that also had a girl with him who had another full allotment. He hands his buddy a bunch of cash, then leaves the line saying something like "Gotta load up the car I'll be right back" and has his girlfriend hold his spot. He comes back, with a DDH Daydream in hand drinking it, then buys another full allotment.

Mind you I would have said something but just wasn't in the mood for confrontation that morning. He did get heckled a bit, but he still got his second allotment. Since then, I haven't lined up. I only go if a double batch lasts, and last time I did that was for DDH DMD.

 

I also used to wait on line for Other Half beer but have been repulsed by the clientele and culture surrounding it. It's like a baseball card convention with the nerdiest of the nerds. People just walking up and down the line with cans of beer being flaunted at their side for potential trades. People cutting in line then being indignant about any murmur of limits being dropped. I haven't even touched on the drunk driving. This is one of the reasons I want my favorite brewery to adjust their strategy and not feed into the ugly side of craft beer. The other is more beer for me to drink.

 

Why is it still your favorite brewery?

 

I feel the same way he does about the line. So many selfish shitty human beings. Having said that, Other Half is also my favorite brewery. Why? The beer is delicious.

 

Other Half is what reintroduced me to craft beer after moving back from Berlin in 2014. I had their IPA on draft at Do Hwa Korean in the West Village and was blown away. This was before they started canning. I've been a huge fan since first sip and have seen how their style has evolved and how it has influenced the craft beer scene as a whole. Not too mention, their hoppy beers are some of the best in the nation.

I love their tap room, love the music selection (even though some will disagree), and overall love their aesthetic.

I also am a 10 minute bike ride, 20 minute run and 15 minute car ride from the brewery.

 

The Other Half facebook "trading" group is nothing but dudes selling their allotments and offering to mule for cash. Maybe that helps people get beer idk but I do know it's the only trading group I'm currently in that I've been unable to successfully trade in. It does seem like a different type of people than some of the other brewery groups. Which is positive and negative given how annoying the TH group can get

 

What neighborhood you in? Trying to back into it via those numbers haha

 

fort greene/clinton hill/navy yard border