No Double Bastard this year. Does Stone hate its loyal fans?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by dlcarst, Sep 28, 2017.

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  1. johnInLA

    johnInLA Pooh-Bah (2,286) Jun 12, 2005 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I find Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard to be significantly different. One is not a good substitute for the other.

    AB is far more hop forward, and as a result, better fresh.

    DB is stronger with its malt presence more pronounced and is more suitable for aging, holding up well for years..

    Very different beers.IMO.
     
  2. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,245) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I agree. DB is more like a an American Barleywine. I've got some in the cellar and it's great with a few years of age.
     
  3. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,245) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    When they made the announcement it was being discontinued I think they mentioned Enjoy By Black IPA as taking it's place. But they aren't releasing that beer at all in 2017
     
  4. SoCal_Matt

    SoCal_Matt Pundit (988) Jul 13, 2014 California
    Trader

    Agree with this 100%. I would love for them to bring that Espresso IRS back. Any time that it is available on tap at one of their outposts I rush out to get a growler fill or at least a glass, as do many others it seems because it never seems to last much longer than the day that it is put on.
     
  5. neenerzig

    neenerzig Pooh-Bah (2,851) Feb 15, 2006 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I really enjoy the dozens of different IPAs I've had from Stone over the years. But I too have also really enjoyed many of the non IPA beers they've done. The anniversary ales didn't always used to be IPAs, the Stochasticity Project series were all very excellent, the Vertical Epic series were all fantastic, Smoked Porter is the first beer I ever had from them so that one will certainly always be a favorite, the Suede Porter they did a few years back was also quite nice, the OG and IRS and the variations they did of those 2 beers are yearly seasonals I've always looked forward to and drank every year, and of course Arrogant and Double Bastard and the variations of those beers were/are great. I know they can't brew all the ones I listed above even as yearly seasonals, but it'll be really sad if Stone starts ignoring the talent they have at brewing non IPA style beers. Plus they'll be limiting themselves customer base size wise since there are a lot of craft fans that don't go for IPAs.

    Eric
     
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  6. jageraholic

    jageraholic Maven (1,378) Sep 16, 2009 Massachusetts
    Trader

    No, it is the same beer. The arrogant bastard brewing co situation is just so the narcissistic advertising of arrogant bastard isn't directly correlated with stone brewing. They have fun with it, but as is life, some people take things way too seriously.
     
  7. Gibspeed

    Gibspeed Initiate (0) Feb 9, 2017 Ohio

    Damnit. Bigger Longer Uncut was probably my favorite Stone beer last year.
     
  8. VitisVinifera

    VitisVinifera Pundit (855) Feb 25, 2013 California

    be careful or they'll bring it back......with orange peel and vanilla. Yes I'm still bitter.
     
  9. Hoppedelic

    Hoppedelic Savant (1,041) Dec 6, 2010 California
    Trader

    Haha I'm right there with you! The contamination of RuinTen with orange peel and vanilla almost upset me more than the cancelling of their Big 3. These are dark times for Stone. The gargoyle hasn't been doing his job. Hopefully they snap out of it!
     
  10. SawDog505

    SawDog505 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,666) Apr 9, 2010 New Hampshire
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I am so sad about DB, did anyone else try the box set last year with Coffee DB, incredible. I have as many as 8 of these in my cellar and I was hoping to add another 6. Guess not, really a mistake in my opinion. This thread has started my day poorly.
     
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  11. bbtkd

    bbtkd Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,326) Sep 20, 2015 South Dakota
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Loyal fans do not necessarily equate to loyal buyers, which in this case clearly hasn't. If there was profit/volume to support it, DB would be on the market.
     
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  12. thebeers

    thebeers Grand Pooh-Bah (5,393) Sep 10, 2014 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I've got no inside knowledge about this decision whatsoever. I will say though that sometimes a business will stop doing something because it's not profitable. And other times a business will stop doing something profitable because they believe they can do something else with their resources that is more profitable.

    If this is example of the former, it's unfortunate, but I suspect most of us understand that decision.

    If it's an example of the latter, it goes against the philosophy that Mr. Koch has repeatedly espoused, and I think Stone fans would have a right to be pissed.
     
  13. bbtkd

    bbtkd Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,326) Sep 20, 2015 South Dakota
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    If the latter then the beer they want to brew more of instead of DB would already be in their lineup, and with a demand exceeding production. It would be insane of them to drop a beer with excellent profit in lieu of one they want to try. When resources are scarce, they'll cut the least profitable brew, so it comes down to profit either way.
     
  14. MistaRyte

    MistaRyte Pooh-Bah (2,397) Jan 14, 2008 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    When I Untappd the orange peel/vanilla Ruinten, my comment reads "Vanilla chore by the end."
     
  15. Highbrow

    Highbrow Pooh-Bah (1,746) Jan 7, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    i get that you're trying to maybe apply & contrast that against a specific beer bottle quote. but question... did you process the actual meaning of the screen shot of Stone's tweet you opened the thread with?

    *and there are plenty of vintage bottles.*. had you by chance considered why there are plenty of vintage bottles still floating? is it because the opposite of : people didn't buy enough happened?
     
  16. CannedWaggoneer

    CannedWaggoneer Initiate (0) May 1, 2017 Ohio

    [​IMG]

    This is what you all really want from Stone. At least that's what you've made them believe. You'll just get more and more of this shit from Stone and other brewers like it. They are too big to be innovative now.
     
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  17. dlcarst

    dlcarst Zealot (721) Aug 21, 2015 Missouri
    Trader

    It's not just a specific beer bottle quote, it's Stone's mantra. They don't care what people think. It has been for 20 years. And I get that it's a marketing thing, but at least pretend to stand by it. And Stone may have vintage bottles available, but I sure don't, as I've mentioned that I have not seen any in 6 months at the 20 or so stores in 4 states that I've been to in that time.
     
  18. jakecattleco

    jakecattleco Grand Pooh-Bah (3,625) Sep 3, 2008 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    As noted in the New Beer Sunday thread, if this (and the Neopolitan thing I haven't been willing to try yet) is my consolation prize from Stone for no IRS and DB...consider me thoroughly pissed. My IRS vertical collection ends at 7 years, bummed but willing to look past this personal aspect. This beer was, for my palate and preferences, a meek and meh IPA. FAR from You're Not Worthy territory. But I guess if it's more profitable for them, I'll be forced to look elsewhere as they are a for-profit business after all. Just sad, feels like a portion of my craft experience and enjoyment is being retired.

    They still seem to know their roots (see Socal Exclusive DDH RuinTen) but aren't putting themselves as far out as before and following rather than leading trends (see national Vanilla/Orange RuinTen). Disappointed
     
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  19. CannedWaggoneer

    CannedWaggoneer Initiate (0) May 1, 2017 Ohio

    It does really suck seeing these beers set aside while they jump on the bandwagon, but it's not really their fault. Blame lies squarely at the feet of the modern beer drinker; the unadventurous, inexperienced, narrow-palated juice box brigade.
     
  20. Highbrow

    Highbrow Pooh-Bah (1,746) Jan 7, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    if you really want some, let me know. the reason i hit you back on the topic is because (1) i hadn't noticed the screenshot tweet from Stone originally. (2) i was back at the supermarket Tuesday and the beer buyer told me oh we got DB in yesterday. when i said there's no 2017 he said yes there is. while he went to grab a bottle to prove me wrong, i stalled browsing the cooler and noticed a whole row of a DB variant in it. he returned & says -- you're right the date indicates 2016. he went further to state it was weird cause he already has a 2016 -- when i snatched a bottle out of the cooler & showed him the date stamp on the variant was 2015 he was befuddled.

    last but not least, if you have a proxy, maybe try the source?

    http://shop.stonebrewing.com/en-us/beer/
     
    VABA likes this.
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