Moonraker Brewing Thread

That's great news!

 

Yojo cans today at noon. Only 1 beer instead of the usual 2 or 3 being released. 220 cases of Yojo though. Most cans have been lasting through the weekend the last several releases.

This will be a good test of demand as Yojo is still their most popular beer.

 

Looks like some progress on the new 2nd location for brewing expansion. New tanks just went in.



With more production, we could even see the mainstays like Yojo, Dojo, Electric Lettuce and Holy Hermit hit Distro in Sac and SF Bay. Those favorites are always brewery only and you better be there on the first day.

 

Damn.... Looks like a Problem with the canning run. They just dumped ALL of the cans of Extremist TIPA.



Good on them though. Not putting out a product that they did not feel was up to QC standards.

That batch on draft is still good though.

 

Can't imagine how much it hurts to dump THAT much beer even though it's the right thing to do.

 

Don't you just LOVE that level of professionalism?
Unlike some other brewery in the Southern California Area that still sell their cans knowning they arent up to par.

 

I want more details, curious as to what could cause this?

 

Probably same thing that happened to Fieldwork 2 weeks ago. Something went wrong during canning.

I just saw a few people confirm that the kegs of Extremist TIPA are tasting great, those were not effected.

 

Maybe the lids didn't seal right?

Novo cans from SD hit my area this week. Grabbed a can of Samba Haze, tossed it in the beer fridge. Opened the fridge door the next day to see slow bubble formation at the can/lid seal and a visible foam residue from burst bubbles. Promptly drank the beer, which was OK, but definitely light on the carbonation.

 

I know Moonraker is mostly known for the hazy NE IPAs..... but don't sleep on the West Coast IPAs.

They just won 1st place Gold in the Double IPA Category at the Bistro DIPA Fest this weekend. Beat out several big hitters again this year. "All Hops on Deck" DIPA.

 

I was shocked by that outcome. For my palate and preferences its the lowest rated/reviewed beer I've had from them.

Now the Stay West from Breakside I'm having now is highly recommend for my West Coast preferences. YMMV

 

I see the next can release is week of the 19th. Are releases always on the same day of the week or are they varied. Trying to schedule a vacation day to make a drive to the brewery.

 

They just recently changed from putting the exact date on the site, to putting “week of”.
Until very recently most of them have been on Friday’s.

 

They are almost always on Friday. Close to 99% of the time. They have had a few early can runs on Wed or Thursday, but that is not the norm. A few people cried about it the one time so they changed the website dates to give them more leeway going forward. Can release dates will be posted here when they start canning : https://www.instagram.com/moonrakerbrewing/?hl=en

With so much more can release competition in Sacramento/Rocklin now, most of the beers last through the weekend so you should be good Fri or Sat and sometimes Sunday. In a few months they should also be bringing the 2nd brewing location down the street on line, so more beer.

 

Got to Moonraker a little late on Sunday. They were already sold out of a huge batch of Electric Lettuce DIPA and Low Viz TIPA cans. So even with the increased local competition, people are still willing to make the drive to Auburn.

Bit disappointing as Elec Lettuce is among my favorites. They did have it on tap though, so all good.

Did get 4 packs of Mosaic Double Crush DIPA to bring home. Very good.

 

Moonraker will be a convenient stop on an upcoming road trip of mine, and I have a couple of questions. Sorry if there are answers elsewhere in this thread I am being too lazy to look for.

Do cans ever last until Mondays?
Do they fill growlers? If so, are growler options a subset of the taplist, or is the entire taplist a go?

 

Just FYI, here are their new hours:
Sunday/ Monday: Open 12-8
Wednesday-Saturday: Open 12-9
CLOSED TUESDAYS!

Cans are about 50/50 for lasting until Monday. It really depends on the Beer. More popular ones like Yojo, Holy Hermit, Electric Lettuce will be gone by Fri/Sat. Other less popular ones will last until the following week on Monday.

They do fill growlers. But, it is a small subset of the taplist. Usually not the most popular ones. Also it is only posted in the taproom.

 

Does anyone have any ideas about what the release on 4/20 is going to be like? I'm planning on getting in line around 8:00 AM. Am I crazy? I have no idea if that is going to be crazy early or crazy late. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

If it’s like last years anniversary release it will be crazy. With that many beers being released I think it will be packed.

 

They just showed Tim & Connor (Cellarmaker) on their Instagram this past week, so I wouldn't be surprised if the fruits of their labor came out as part of that 4/20 assault.