Hill Farmstead (2019)

Poetica... so hauntingly good. Poetica will ruin my pilsner drinking experience from now on- because I'll be continuously comparing whatever pilsner I am drinking to Poetica. All in the carbonation/mouthfeel you guys.

 

Also, they pulled out a case of Double Barrel Damon around 1pm yesterday or so. I was lucky enough to try it before having to head out to the airport.

 

Hill's take on the new experimental...A grassy, herbal, earth-spiced hop with sticky resin courtyards to presentations across pine, cedar, fir, oak, sap, lemongrass, fennel seasoned green tea, citrus rind, and muskmelon. Unfolds with orange peel, smoked pineapple, and gentle marmalade while remaining woodsy. HBC 692 is fairly bright, crisp, grainy, and prickly with a balance of bready malts, and verdant bitterness

Missed out on Fox Farm’s take on the pilot hop via pale ale: Roam. Now rather curious how they made use of it, as HF set the bar high here (per usual) yet FF is no slouch

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On a separate note: 2013 Phenomenology Of Spirit on draft was supernacular given the vinous ripe plums, green apple skins, figs, prunes, and oaked cherries on the nose. Palate picked up more dark chocolate, roasted coffee, and caramelized nuts…could feel an assault of red and black fruits coming on, as the 150ml was coming to an end = if only 5 more ounces of wonderment sustained

 

As I drove south out of Greensboro on Friday morning I was really questioning why I should be leaving. Should have just spent another day there on Friday.

Had a great time on Thursday. Had no big desire to drink any whales just all the lagers, a few hoppy beers, and one of my personal favorites, Everett. Bought too many cans and bottles as always. Hopefully they all make it home safe and sound. Such a great experience. Stayed until 6 and walked the mile and half back to the place I was staying.

I was really interested to try the hbc692. It’s a daughter of Sabro and you can really taste the similarity. A little more grapefruit than Sabro but still has that woody aspect to it. I’ve got a bunch of it at home I’ve been waiting to put into a few beers. Glad I got to try one of Shaun’s beers with it.

Can’t wait to go back. Hopefully again in September.

 

I got there Friday. The place was mobbed as you would expect. Clover/M&C8/Vera Mae '14 were the bottle offerings and Clover was gone very soon after the door opened. I was actually talking to the guy in the bottle line who got the 2nd to last clover and he got there at 11:10 a.m. so while I missed it by like 4 or 5 people, I really missed it by about 25 minutes.

Line was slow to start, mainly because they were decanting Clover for 3 minutes before pouring. But I was able to get Birth of Tragedy, and Excursions after about a 40 minute wait. S&S 4 sold out in cans the day before so I had my growlers in tow to get it on tap, and that was actually the fastest moving line out of anything and I was able to get 2 more pours while I filled the growlers. Phenomenology of Spirit , and I got an Everett to enjoy in the bottle line while I waited to get my Vera Mae.

Line was about an hour, not to bad for the event and crowd. Nothing in the bottle shop for vintage offerings. Got a handful of Vera Mae, Double Cit and Everett and was on my way. Tap room line was out past the deck by the time I was outta the bottle shop so we just decided to call it there.

Excursions HBC692 was ok, it had a very citrus front, but a resin piney finish did not do it for me. I would have loved to revisit it in a can after a week or 2. Rebirth and Everett were both fine offerings, but PoS was the best thing I had on tap that day. Had a sour note and wild character to it that I really liked.

Vera Mae was worth the drive and wait. That is such a magnificent beer. I loaded up as many as I could.

 

They updated the web page layout/design and it's pretty slick. Chock full of info too. Beers page is awesome with great background data on the beers.

 

Nice, looks good. I also notice Westly bottles for onsite.

 

That might ignite another one of these fun threads:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hill-farmstead-bait-and-switch.584227/#post-6133215

 

That was a classic.

 

Yep, everyone needs a little entertainment.

 

PoS is such an underrated beer.

I'm stunned Vera made it out of anniversary week still available, even with people double and tripling up. However, I did get a kick out of the lack of vintage to-go bottles like last year. Prolly pissed quite a few people off.

@WTCrane did you have to deal with the "line campers" at the front of the tasting room line waiting for the whalez to drop?

 

I did. It was pretty lame. And very obvious. "I'm waiting for my friend..." Yeah, right buddy.

 

I was fortunate enough that I didn't. I only waited in that draft line once, and Clover was still there for most of my wait so people had their whale in sight. I did not go through that line the 2nd time, just got my next two pours when my growler number was called.

Out of curiosity, was anything added for that afternoon crowd?

 

I refuse to be mad during a week where I had Samuel and Art, but I’m still kinda dumbfounded at the group of dudes who got the Flora BBR or w/e mag then held up at the counter long enough to buy at least 3 of the 5 bottles of Ann that were brought out while the mag was being poured. That and a whole lot of cutting at the front of the line 10 min before opening, not that that mattered as I don’t think anything that started any of the days ran out within the first hr regardless. That actually rubbed me more the wrong way as it was blatant. The big Ann group could at least argue they had some lucky timing.

 

Was one of the guys in the Flora BBR group. Somebody took my $50 pour of Flora BBR from the bar. Then had random dudes I've never met walk up to me and wave $20 bills in my face for a sip of Ann. What's wrong with people to think that's acceptable.






















...Also Edward is amazing and only $4.

 

I personally think that "line camping" is a good strategy. On Thursday, it was the difference between landing a bottle of Ann or DB Damon versus settling for non-whale draft pours.

Lately, the trend at HF seems to be that you really need to get there around 10:30AM (or earlier) if you want to tick an early morning whale from the onsite list. I know that this sort of behavior is discouraged on the forums, but if the staff at HF continue to reward these people for showing up early, the trend will continue.

Occasionally, the beer fridge will get restocked with vintage bottles in the mid-afternoon. Inventory on these bottles is typically limited. If you want to improve your odds of landing one of these bottles, your best bet is to split up your group and disperse members throughout the tasting room line (spread out over every 5 to 6 people) so that at least one of you will be able to place an order when the limited bottles drop. Once you make your way to the front of the line, call your other friends over and double down on orders to get multiple bottles of rare beer.

 

After reading a few of the posts on this page I have come to the conclusion that Common courtesy is not that common anymore.

HF makes really good beer, but it is just beer...

 

Yeah, but you get less likes for pics of Brother Soigne than Ann.

 

How long has 3F Hommage been on the guest bottle to-go list?

 

I only noticed it yesterday morning when I was exploring the new website. Previously, I felt like that section of the old page was inconsistent and or overlooked.